The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), held from July 8-17 2024 in New York, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has reinforced global commitment to the UN Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions.
The forum convened more than 90 Heads of State, Prime Ministers, and other high-level policymakers, to focus on “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions”. To help end poverty in all its forms everywhere, Ministers in their Declaration called for all countries to support the implementation of the Global Accelerator. The Declaration noted “the significance of decent jobs and social protection for eradicating poverty” and committed to “strengthen social protections systems and expand coverage of social protection programmes, to reduce poverty and hunger.” Throughout the HLPF, participants emphasized the critical importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships, integrated policy planning and inclusive, comprehensive social protection systems and decent jobs as vital pathways to combat inequality and poverty. These items are reflected in the three interlinked pillars of the Global Accelerator.
For pathfinder countries, the HLPF provides strong international backing for their efforts to expand social protection systems and create decent jobs. It affirms that their ongoing initiatives are aligned with global priorities and are crucial to achieving the SDGs. As the global community looks ahead to the 2025 review of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), the strong support for the Global Accelerator’s mission at the 2024 HLPF underlines its central role in advancing social protection and decent work worldwide.
