Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council today elected, by acclamation, Valentin Rybakov (Belarus) from the Eastern European States as Vice‑President for the 2019 session, completing its Bureau.

Opening the first meeting of its 2019 session today, the Economic and Social Council elected, by acclamation, Inga Rhonda King (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) as its new President and adopted its provisional agenda and other organizational matters for its upcoming session.

The Economic and Social Council adopted 13 resolutions and 12 decisions on issues ranging from Haiti’s long-term development, to the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation, to non-governmental organizations and regional cooperation, as it concluded its 2018 Coordination and Management meetings today.

The Economic and Social Council concluded its high-level segment today, adopting a sweeping Ministerial Declaration approved a day earlier by the High‑Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

Adopting its Ministerial Declaration by a vote of 164 in favour to 2 against (Israel, United States), with no abstentions, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development reaffirmed today its commitment to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for all people, everywhere.

Senior Government officials described national efforts to ensure access to drinking water, provide modern energy services and make cities safe for all, as the general debate of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development moved into its second day.

The ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will have no real impact unless each and every global citizen make a conscious decision to change their daily habits, from the clothes they wear to the food they eat, Michelle Yeoh, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador, said today, setting the tone for the opening day of the ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

Wrapping up its first week of meetings examining progress and challenges on efforts to achieve the objectives set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held two panels on two Sustainable Developments Goals.

Amid faltering multilateralism and growing inequalities, regional partners shared mixed results in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals today, as the High‑Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development considered how best to support peer-learning among countries and stakeholders in efforts to create a better world for all by 2030.

The High‑level Political Forum on Sustainable Development turned its attention today to the world’s many fast‑growing cities, with speakers making the human rights case for housing and highlighting the urgent need to conserve and expand public space in the urban environment.