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Putting the CEPA principles into practice: In support of the 2024 ECOSOC cycle of work, the CEPA working group provided policy recommendations on the application of the principles of effective governance for sustainable development for the achievement of the SDGs with a particular focus on the principle of leaving no one behind.
Background
The Committee noted early on that the SDGs would call for specific governance improvements in a variety of contexts. It accordingly defined a set of voluntary principles and practices of effective governance for sustainable development grounded in the 2030 Agenda and other United Nations agreements. The 11 principles of effective governance for sustainable development were endorsed by ECOSOC in July 2018. They are linked to 62 commonly used strategies for operationalizing responsive and effective governance, many of which have been recognized and endorsed over the years in various UN forums, resolutions, and treaties. Over the years, the Committee has discussed different ways of putting these governance principles into practice.
CEPA observations and insights
- Promoting the principle of leaving no one behind
At its 23rd session (2024), continuing its work on the application of the principles of effective governance, the Committee noted that implementing the principle of leaving no one behind required a deep understanding of its significance in any given context, the identification and mapping of vulnerable groups and the development of integrated, people-centred strategies that take into account the needs and aspirations of all segments of society as a matter of priority. This further called for inclusive, targeted interventions that engage all relevant stakeholders in addition to equity-based, responsive laws and policies that address systemic inequalities, discrimination and exclusion, based on existing good practices.
- Promoting the principle of participation
At its 22nd session (2023), in relation to the application of the principles of effective governance, the Committee emphasized that inclusiveness was a cornerstone of sustainable development and intrinsic to the common vision of the 2030 Agenda. The Committee stressed that countries should build on efforts to implement their own models of participation that left no one behind, while strengthening the enabling environment for civic engagement.
- Indicators of effective governance for sustainable development
At its 22nd session (2023), turning to governance indicators, the Committee agreed that multidimensional coverage of each of the 11 principles could provide a useful way to enhance policy analysis related to SDG 16 and that indicators should be detailed enough to capture the quality of a government’s response to the SDGs while addressing important analytical gaps in review processes.
- Implementing the principles at the subnational level
At its 21st session (2022), the Committee discussed the application of the principles at the subnational level. Bearing in mind that subnational governments were very diverse in terms of capacities, access to resources and engagement with other actors, the Committee explored the preparedness of subnational governments to implement each of the 11 principles, as well as general strengths and shortcomings of governance and public administration at the subnational level. The Committee concluded that, as an analytical framework, the principles had been helpful in drawing attention to questions of effectiveness, accountability and inclusiveness, as well as good practices, while highlighting areas where governance improvements could be pursued, considering the context, needs and priorities of each country.
- Strengthening the analytical basis for reform policies based on principles
At its 20th session (2021), the Committee focused on ways to strengthen the analytical basis for reform policies based on the governance principles. Apart from underscoring the need for ownership of the principles to accelerate action on building strong institutions and action on the SDGs, the Committee concluded that more in-depth consideration of regional studies could be useful, as could further discussion of the public sector situation and trends in specific practice areas, such as strategic foresight, building on the work of past sessions and using CEPA strategy guidance notes as a point of reference where applicable.
What action does ECOSOC recommend?
ECOSOC encourages Governments at all levels to apply the principles of effective governance for sustainable development, endorsed by the Council in its resolution 2018/12 of 2 July 2018, to all public institutions and in support of the implementation of all Sustainable Development Goals, taking into account different governance structures, national and subnational realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities (ECOSOC resolution 2023/28, para. 12)
ECOSOC encourages the Committee to continue to identify and review related technical guidelines and experiences to operationalize the principles at the national and subnational levels, including from sectoral perspectives, and to further engage the relevant United Nations organizations, regional organizations and professional and academic communities in this regard, in an inclusive manner, together with all relevant stakeholders (ECOSOC resolution 2023/28, para. 13).
ECOSOC welcomes the ongoing initiative of the African Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union to promote the application of the principles among its member States in collaboration with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, and encourages other regional mechanisms, such as those associated with the United Nations regional commissions, to develop and implement similar initiatives in alignment with their own mandates and processes (ECOSOC resolution 2023/28, para. 14).
ECOSOC notes the renewed efforts of the Committee to associate a set of agreed global Sustainable Development Goal indicators with each of the principles with a view to contributing to strengthening the analytical basis for assessing the impact of reform policies on building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels (ECOSOC resolution 2023/28, para. 15).
- Technical guidance for government officials
UN DESA's work is supported by a growing series of strategy guidance notes on the many facets of effective governance for sustainable development which embody the knowledge and experience of hundreds of committed expert practitioners and academics from around the world.
- Expert papers on this topic (2016-present)
Building inclusive institutions that leave no one behind at the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (E/C.16/2024/4, 29 January 2024)
Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | SpanishPromoting the governance principle of participation in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (E/C.16/2023/4, 23 January 2023)
Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | SpanishThe use of governance indicators on Voluntary National Review and Voluntary Local Review processes and what it may mean for building strong institutions (conference room paper, 20 January 2023)
Knowing better where countries stand on their way to 2030 (conference room paper, 20 December 2022) Application of the principles of effective governance for sustainable development at the subnational level (E/C.16/2022/5, 24 January 2022)
Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | SpanishImplementation of principles of effective public administration in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (conference room paper, 7 April 2021) The status of implementation of the principles of effective governance for sustainable development in Kenya (conference room paper, 25 November 2020) Effective governance for sustainable development: putting principles into practice and reviewing outcomes (E/C.16/2020/3, 20 January 2020)
Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | SpanishRelating the principles of effective governance for sustainable development to practices and results (E/C.16/2019/4) (23 January 2019)
Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | SpanishElaborating principles of effective governance for sustainable development (E/C.16/2018/5, 14 February 2018)
Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | SpanishTowards a set of internationally recognized principles of responsible and effective governance (E/C.16/2017/6, 3 February 2017)
Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | SpanishPossible development of a set of internationally-recognized principles of governance by CEPA (background note, 15 April 2016) See also:
APRM baseline study on the implementation of CEPA principles in Africa (Executive summary, March 2021) Praia City Group Handbook on Governance Statistics (February 2020)
- Related meetings
