Voluntary National Reviews

OHCHR and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

"With 177 countries having presented at least one VNR to date, they are a testament to the enduring commitment of national governments to implement the 2030 Agenda and achieve our global goals ... But the VNRs are not simply a report or a presentation at the HLPF. They are a national process of in-depth review and consultation on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda ... Ultimately, VNRs create space for governments and their partners to identify what is needed to keep the promise of the SDGs."

- Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General at the 2021 HLPF

Voluntary National Review (VNR) is a process through which countries assess and present national progress made in implementing the 2030 Agenda, including achieving its 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the pledge to leave no one behind. The purpose of VNRs is to present a snapshot of where the country stands in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, with a view to help accelerate progress through experience sharing, peer-learning, identifying gaps and good practices, and mobilizing partnerships.

VNRs are a soft accountability and progress monitoring mechanism of the 2030 Agenda, and as the Agenda is grounded in human rights, important links can be made between the implementation of the country’s human rights obligations and assessing progress in achieving a just and transformative sustainable development that leaves no one behind.

OHCHR works with Member States, the RCOs and UN Country Teams, NHRIs, civil society and other stakeholders to strengthen their capacity to integrate a human rights lens in the VNR process. The Office has developed tools and approaches that can help incorporate existing human rights information and analysis in the VNRs. These tools can help guide national progress monitoring and identifying relevant acceleration points and help the national voluntary reporting process take account of issues such as inequality, discrimination, accountability, rule of law, participation, and inclusion.

Human rights analysis can strengthen reporting on SDGs that have corresponding human rights (e.g. water, health, housing). It can guide data collection and analysis efforts and help identify groups at risk of being left behind, those furthest behind, and ways of effectively addressing their situation. Systematically linking the 2030 Agenda reporting and follow up with reporting to international human rights mechanisms and with the implementation of the national human rights agenda also helps reduce reporting burdens and accelerate progress under both agendas.

With over 375 reviews conducted or planned since 2016, this process has gained much traction, visibility, and national buy-in, and offers a valuable opportunity for human rights work at the country level. National VNR reports are published in the global VNR database, while the civil society parallel reports are gathered by Action 4 Sustainable Development and published here.

Resources

Human Rights and Voluntary National Reviews Operational Common Approach Guidance Note (English | Français | Español)

Country-Specific Documents: Human Rights and VNRs

Since 2020, OHCHR has been preparing country-specific documents to assist countries that have signed up for a Voluntary National Review integrate human rights data, analysis, and approaches in the reviews (PDF format). This was done for all 2020 and 2021 VNR presenting countries. Going forward, OHCHR will be preparing similar documents upon request by Member States or as part of own advocacy efforts.

2021

In 2021, 44 countries signed up to conduct a VNR review. To assist them integrate human rights data, analysis and approaches in the VNRs, OHCHR prepared the below country-specific documents (PDF format).

2020

In 2020, 47 countries conducted a VNR review. To assist them in integrating human rights data, analysis and approaches in the VNRs, OHCHR prepared the below country-specific documents (PDF format).