Side-event during the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

Jointly organized by Civil Society Financing for Development Group including the Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development, Femnet, Forum for Women and Democracy, Womankind Worldwide

Date – 13 July 2017

Time – 8:15 – 9:30 AM   

Venue – Conference Room E in the UN Conference Building

The pursuit of the 2030 Agenda requires UN Member States to provide the necessary regulatory and financial means, including the removal of structural barriers to social, economic, and ecological transformation of countries both in the global North and South as well as  the fulfillment of human rights. While the need for scaling-up financial resources, particularly public investments, is undeniable, there remains significant underestimation of the possible leverage generated by regulatory and policy interventions in the context of the democratization of global economic governance.

In this respect, one of the most pervasive structural obstacles come in the form of gender inequalities at all levels. Indeed, persistent production and consumption patterns and the sexual division of labor fail to properly recognize, value, reduce and redistribute unpaid domestic and care work, pushing the heavy and often hidden burden of work unevenly on women’s lives. While the need for scaling-up financing for gender equality has emerged strongly through the reviews of the 20th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the agreement of the 2030 Agenda as well as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, financing alone will not be able to tackle the barriers to the realization of women’s rights. Deep contradictions remain between financing structures and international human rights frameworks and commitments.   

The political and policy space for the follow-up and review of the ‘means of implementation’ as well as the their linkages with the broader Financing for Development agenda has been established with the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up (FfD Forum). The Inter-Agency Task Force Report and the FfD Forum Outcome should inform the financial Means of Implementation of SDGs.  In addition, the FfD process informs a systemic understanding of many SDGs including gender equality and inequality due to the centrality of financial issues.  How can it be ensured that human rights and gender equality are regarded as starting points and necessary pre-conditions for the journey as well as ends in themselves? How can both processes (HLPF and FfD Forum) benefit from each other and what role is there for civil society to play, in particular feminist and women’s rights organizations? How can the public policy space be protected from conflicts of interest in the emerging multi-stakeholder processes and strong private sector focus?

This side event will provide an interactive opportunity to discuss progress and challenges in delivering the 2030 Agenda and in particular the role of the FfD Forum and the HLPF as global policy spaces.

Speakers include

Rosa Pavanelli (Public Services International)
Dinah Musindarwezo (FEMNET)

Moderator: Barbara Adams (Global Policy Forum)

Co-Sponsors: Society for International Development, Global Policy Forum, Brot für die Welt, MISEREOR, Christian Aid, Social Watch, UN Major Group for Children and Youth, Public Services International.