Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals are embedded in the 2030 Agenda, a framework developed by the UN and officially launched during the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015. The 2030 Agenda sets out a 15-year plan of action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.
Progress is being made, but efforts to meet the goals are not advancing at the speed or scale required. Time is running out. We now have less than a decade in which to achieve the plan, therefore urgent action from all stakeholders is needed.
UNHCR's engagement in achieving the goals
Two core principles of the 2030 Agenda are to ensure human rights for all and to ensure that the plan of action reaches everyone (“leave no one behind”). This means that the international community has agreed to make a concerted effort to identify and lift those who are most vulnerable. This corresponds closely with UNHCR’s mandate to protect refugees and the displaced, who are among the most vulnerable people around the globe. To effectively achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is imperative to improve the situation of refugees, internally displaced and stateless people and to implement sustainable solutions, particularly in conflict-affected regions.
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Our approach
As outlined in our corporate position paper on the SDGs, we build our work on the commitment of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind.
We are actively engaging with States, host communities, civil society and key national service providers to promote the inclusion of refugees, internally displaced and stateless people in national systems such as health care or education systems.
We are strengthening and diversifying partnerships to bring together a broad range of actors – including the private sector – to innovate, create and mobilize solutions for forced displacement and statelessness.
UNHCR field operations are engaging with key goals and align with 2030 Agenda processes such as the UN Common Country Analysis and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.
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Global Compact on Refugees
The Global Compact on Refugees is a framework for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing, recognizing that a sustainable solution to refugee situations cannot be achieved without international cooperation. It provides a blueprint for governments, international organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure that host communities get the support they need and that refugees can lead productive lives.
The Global Compact on Refugees explicitly links forced displacement to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals and provides support for efforts to ensure refugees are included in work towards achieving the SDGs.
While focused on refugee situations, the Global Compact recognizes the challenges posed by other displacement situations, such as statelessness, internal displacement, mixed movements or displacement by sudden natural disasters and envisages support in these cases. UNHCR’s engagement in the UN Strategic Development Cooperation Framework furthers the Global Compact’s objectives and the pledges made at the Global Refugee Forum in 2019.
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Delivering the SDGs in partnership with the private sector
Achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals requires involvement from all of us - individuals, civil society, businesses, states and UN organizations. The private sector has taken this call to action very seriously, and many companies are already aligning their business objectives with the commitment to contribute towards achieving the SDGs.
Over the past years, UNHCR has built relationships with our private sector partners who are receptive to working towards the achievement of these goals.
For example, in December 2019, over 100 businesses attended the Global Refugee Forum and made pledges in accordance with the 2030 Agenda. UNHCR continues conversations with these businesses and encourages more companies to join.
If you’d like to work with UNHCR in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, please find contact information here: