NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY & the Major Group Urban Thematic Cluster 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum Position Paper 

NGO-MG Urban Thematic Cluster 2025 UN HLPF Position Paper (Document)

INTRODUCTION:

The NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY & the NGO Major Group Urban Thematic Cluster (Urban Cluster), along with our partner organizations, operate in alignment with the frameworks and priorities of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, with UN-Habitat and the New Urban Agenda. Guided by the vision articulated in the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres’ Our Common Agenda, along with his major UN80 Reform Agenda, and the Pact for the Future. The NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster are committed to advancing sustainable urbanization and the effective implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular emphasis on Sustainable Development Goal 11, making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, & sustainable with their interlinkages to all of the other Goals. Through collaborative engagement with Member States, United Nations entities, the UN/DESA Major Groups, and other stakeholders, the NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster promote integrated, people-centered, and transformative solutions to contemporary urban challenges, including the increasing importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the multiple barriers to participation and to innovative tools. In this context, the NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster reaffirm their commitment to fostering multilateral dialogue, mobilizing innovative partnerships, and supporting collective action to achieve sustainable, equitable, and resilient urban futures for all.

2025 UN HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM (HLPF):

The theme of the HLPF is “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science and evidence-based solutions for the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve Leaving No One Behind.” The 2025 UN HLPF, with full appreciation for the integrated, indivisible, and interlinked nature of the Sustainable Development Goals, will conduct in-depth reviews of: SDG 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages; SDG 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; SDG 8. Promote sustained, inclusive, sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all; SDG 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development; and SDG 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-Being: As a result of experiencing COVID-19 and other climatic events, we must raise awareness to promote healthy practices. We must prepare our communities by sharing vital information for future communicable diseases. Physical activity, healthy eating, and clean water are critical for underserved communities.

Recommendations:

• Promote a holistic, community-based approach integrating health, climate resilience, and urban inclusion. Localized campaigns and peer-led initiatives include training and educating communities on disease prevention, vaccination, sanitation, malnutrition, and mental health.

• Establish community support services such as hotlines and peer support groups that can address rising mental health challenges.

• Support developing long-term climate and disaster preparedness strategies by equipping communities to respond to urban heat and other climate-related health threats.

SDG 5 - Gender Equality: The NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster promote inclusion and gender equality. Access to resources and opportunities for all women and girls is critical, especially in health and jobs. Women and girls must be valued as equals in all social, religious, and political contexts. Men and women who lack opportunities can resort to harmful social activity as a means of ensuring survival. This continues a cycle of gender-based violence that inhibits equality and overall well-being. Older women in urban and rural areas can face isolation due to geographic, economic, technological innovations that don’t meet their needs, language, social, or mobility challenges.

Recommendations:

• Advocate for intergenerational mentorship and lifelong learning for all.

• Promote secure land tenure rights for women.

• Address violence against women and girls through gender-responsive policies, urban

  planning, and design.

• Promote community education initiatives to address and overcome barriers for all women.

• Support youth utilizing digital media and the arts to challenge gender stereotypes.

SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth: The NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster align with achieving sustained and inclusive economic growth, productive employment, equal pay, and decent work.

Recommendations:

• Advocate for decent, safe, and non-discriminatory labor practices and work environments.

• Promote inclusive educational life course and skills development programs, integrating emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), to empower youth, women, older persons, and people with disabilities to participate and contribute to the workforce.

• Support women and minority-led businesses, cooperatives, and access to financial services, primarily providing microloans and startup capital, and increase the social protection floor, particularly for older women.

SDG 14 - Life Below Water: The NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster have long championed the protection of our oceans and celebrated with our partners an annual observance of UN World Oceans Day each year. Bringing attention to life below water, we strive to develop new ways to revitalize and conserve our oceans and waterways from pollution and other damage. We continuously seek innovative approaches to restore and preserve marine ecosystems from pollution and other forms of degradation. NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster support efforts to develop legal instruments on all forms of plastic pollution, especially microplastics, to protect the environment from the impacts of climate change and embrace indigenous practices.

Recommendations:

• Address the reuse of plastic pollution through the circular and blue economy.

• Strongly advocate for the adoption, support, and effective implementation of a global treaty on plastic pollution.

• Engage in policy advocacy on the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, including ocean acidification on coral reefs, and rising sea levels, to develop effective local and national action plans.

• Urge all stakeholders, particularly UN Member States, to commit to and support this treaty as a critical step toward combating environmental degradation.

• Promote nature-based solutions, such as blue carbon ecosystems, mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrasses.

SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals: The Urban Cluster will continue to focus on new opportunities to address issues of sustainable urbanization, resilience, mobility, health, and wellness, particularly in the public realm. We urge Member States and Local Authorities to support the Right to the City, including providing affordable and accessible housing for all to live with equity, equality, inclusion, and dignity.

Recommendations:

• Create cohesive and inclusive partnerships among all stakeholders—UN Member States, UN agencies, academia, civil society, and the private sector—to support UN-Habitat in implementing the New Urban Agenda. These partnerships should focus on designing equitable spatial, social, environmental, and economic solutions that accelerate the achievement of the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Mobilize resources and data to strengthen partnerships and accountability to support local economic development and connect grassroots voices to regional and global platforms.

• Prioritize capacity-building and funding for local authorities, communities, and grassroots organizations to ensure that inclusive and sustainable development is effectively implemented.

Our NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster Core Group Contributors:

• Margo LaZaro, President & Chair of the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY & Convenor of the Urban Cluster

• Jane Katz, NGOCSD-NY Executive Board, Vice Chair & Washington, DC Coordinator of the Global Urban Development; Urban Rep & UNDRR/Sendai Stakeholders Advisory

• Hawa Taylor-Kamara Diallo, President & Executive Director, I. B. Taylor-Kamara Foundation & NGOCSD-NY Executive Board

• Dr. Andrise Bass, Vice Chair of the NGOCSD-NY Executive Board, & Founder of Humanitarian Focus Foundation

• Katherine Kline, NGOCSD-NY Executive Board Secretary & International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

• Major Victoria Edmonds, NGOCSD-NY Executive Board Corresponding Secretary, Salvation Army International Social Justice Commission

• Theodore Liebman, FAIA, Principal, Perkins Eastman, Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization, NGOCSD-NY Executive Board

• Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, DPACSA, NOMA, President, Architecture + Urban Design, Co-Chair UNHabitat Professionals Forum, Founder and Board Member, Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization, NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster Core Group Member

• Abdoul Byukusenge, Chief Strategist of the I. B. Taylor-Kamara Foundation & NGOCSD-NY Executive Board based at the University of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland

• Dr. David Michael Terungwa, NGOCSD-NY Executive Board & the Founder of the Global Initiative for Food Security & Ecosystem Preservation, based in Nigeria

• Beverly Bucur, Soroptimist International, Advocacy Advisor 2024-2025 & Women for Water Partnership, Advocacy Coordinator, & NGOCSD-NY Executive Board

• Sushmita Shekar, Urban Designer at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Board Member of Asia Initiatives, & the Asia Initiatives’ UN/ECOSOC Rep & NGOCSD-NY Executive Board

• Katherin Sibel, NGOCSD-NY Executive Board Youth Rep & the Community Climate Resiliency Coordinator at NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene & Urban Development

• Christabell Opudo Omondi, Start-up Innovation Specialist with I. B. Taylor-Kamara Foundation and NGOCSD-NY & the Urban Cluster Core Group Member based in Kenya

Position Paper Archive

NGO-MG Urban Thematic Cluster 2024 HLPF Position Paper

NGO-MG Urban Thematic Cluster 2023 HLPF Position Paper

NGO-MG Urban Thematic Cluster 2022 HLPF Position Paper

NGO-MG Urban Thematic Cluster 2021 HLPF Position Paper