On July 11,  during the 2018 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), the city of New York (NYC) presented its Voluntary Local Review (VLR), becoming the first municipality in the world to submit a review directly to the United Nations (UN). The document was shaped after the Voluntary National Reviews (VNR), a report the Member States are invited to submit every year to the HLPF, in order to share experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Developed by NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs (IA) in partnership with the Offices of Operations, Climate Policy and Programs, the review describes the achievements attained since the launch of the 2015 One NYC strategy and focuses on the five priority SDGs of the 2018 HLPF. Through this process, the City of New York has been actively linking local sustainability to the 2030 Agenda, thus confirming the key role of local governments in localizing the SDGs.

The VLR provides additional opportunities for a deeper engagement with UN agencies, Member States, cities, and other stakeholders. By building on these partnerships, the City of New York is at the forefront of local sustainable development and will encourage other municipalities to submit a VLR for the next HLPF.

Click here to read the city of New York Voluntary Local Review. 

*Further information can be found at the City of New Yotk webpage where this information was originally published. To access it, please click here.