States to discuss synergies between human rights and the 2030 Agenda

Meeting for dialogue and cooperation on human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

GENEVA (11 January 2019) – A meeting mandated by the Human Rights Council is set to explore synergies between the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and human rights in Geneva on 16 January.

Speakers at the meeting, to be opened by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Coly Seck, President of the Human Rights Council, will include Mary Robinson, Chair of the Elders and the President of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice, Dr. Alaa Murabit, SDG Advocate and the Voice of Libyan Women founder, and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, SDG Advocate and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. 

Under the theme of “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”, the meeting will highlight good practices, achievements, challenges and lessons learned in the promotion and protection of human rights and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The meeting will bring together a high-profile group of experts from States, the United Nations, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations under the chairmanship of Ambassador Morten Jespersen of Denmark. Discussions with the experts will take a variety of formats, including a Davos-style interactive conversation and panel discussions.

A knowledge fair will also take place during the lunch break, promoting exchange of information on good practices, projects and methodologies successfully integrating human rights in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

For further details and programme, please visit the webpage of the meeting.  The meeting will be webcast live.

Follow the meeting on social media: #SDGshumanrights

ENDS

BACKGROUND:

In March 2018, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 37/24 on the promotion and protection of human rights and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In the resolution, the Council decided to organize two one-day intersessional meetings for dialogue and cooperation on human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The meeting of 16 January is the first of these meetings and will focus on the theme of the 2019 session of the High-level Political Forum on sustainable development "Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality."

Information on all speakers at the meeting is available from: https://hrc2030agenda16jan2019.sched.com/directory/speakers

For additional information and media requests, please contact:
Cédric Sapey, Public Information Officer, at +41 22 917 9845 / csapey@ohchr.org
Aisha Gilani, Human Rights Officer, at +41 22 928 9350 / agilani@ohchr.org

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