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SDGs CONFERENCE 2023

IN THE MARGINS OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 78TH SESSION

20 September 2023, Wednesday (10:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST)
NEW YORK | HYBRID

John Jay College of Criminal Justice 524 West 59 Street New York, NY 10019

PANEL 1
BUILDING A NEW MOMENTUM TOWARDS THE 2030 DEADLINE FOR THE SDGS

Panel 1: 10:30 AM – 12: 00 PM

The long-term social, economic, and well-being challenges posed by COVID-19 Pandemic are still ongoing. Thereupon this unprecedented global crisis, 2022-2023 has been a year of deterioration on various grounds. Positive peace, freedom of expression, fundamental civil and political rights have been declining, while transnational crimes, the influx of forcibly displaced people, and authoritarian regimes across the globe have been on the rise. Day-to-day implications of the climate crisis are now in action in many Global South countries enforcing people to leave their homeland due to food insecurity, violence and political instability responding to this utmost urgent environmental call. 

The largest setbacks were recorded in political terror scales and internal conflicts. War in Ukraine, Taliban`s take-over in Afghanistan, and the internal conflict that erupted in Sudan have created inevitable regressions in many of the Sustainable Development Goals. Besides these armed conflicts and internal political instabilities, democratic States fell behind in the progress track as well. Given this critical momentum, Secretary-General calls for an urgent renewal of commitments meaningfully involving all development stakeholders to break through for a better future for all and deliver the promise of Global Goals. 

In order to work on effective and transformative action-oriented policy making for the second half of the implementation timeline, our global community must acknowledge the following critical assessment: “Only about %12 [of the SDGs] are on track; close to half, though showing progress, are moderately or severely off track and some %30 have either seen no movement or regressed below the 2015 baseline”. Another striking unfolded truth is the absence of accountable, up-to-date, gender-disaggregated data. The recently released SDG Progress Report indicates that about 8% of latest available data are from 2023, 21% from 2022, and 54% are from 2020 – 2021. Goal 16: Peaceful, just, strong institutions, Goal 13: Climate change and Goal 5: Gender equality are among the targets with the least current available data. Academic institutions` innovative research methodologies to close the data gap is crucial to scale up the delivery of peace and development promises.

Panel Session 1 – Building a New Momentum Towards the 2030 Deadline for the SDGs will discuss: 

  • The latest progress of the Sustainable Development Goals halfway through the 2030 deadline: Emerging challenges 
  • Strengthening institutions and political commitment in timely achievement of the SDGs: local, and regional governments aligning with the private sector
  • Sounding an alarm for urgent action on increasing internationally comparable, gender-disaggregated, available data collection
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals as a pivotal actor to break through a sustainable, peaceful future 
  • The New Agenda for Peace: A Pack for a transitioning era of geopolitical complexities

PANEL 2
PRESS FREEDOM AS AN INSTRUMENT TO DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL

Panel 2: 12:15 PM – 01:45 PM

Freedom of the press is a prerequisite and catalyst for all human rights. Despite the fundamental role of the media and journalists in enabling a free and independent flow of information to foster peaceful and inclusive societies, there is a constant decline in press freedom recorded over the last decade. Misinformation, disinformation, technology and oppressive governance trends are bonded together fueling undemocratic state actions. Committee to Protect Journalists indicates that “the number of journalists jailed around the world set yet another record in 2022 as authoritarian leaders doubled down on their efforts to silence dissenting voices and stifle press freedom”.

We are, therefore, at a crossroads to better defend press freedom and rebuild independent journalism to combat the rise of tyranny and uphold human rights for all. Polarized political discourses majorly fueled by government authorities over heavily controlled media outlets further manipulate and marginalize different ends of society resulting in widespread hate speeches. The 2023 World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders indicates that 69 countries are in problematic situations, while 38 are in difficulty and 20 are in extreme situations. Silencing critical voices of diverse media outlets jeopardizes pluralism in society. This year`s index particularly reflects on the challenges brought into light by the “digital ecosystem`s fake content industry”. Despite this fact, there is also a virtual reality that social media platforms provide democratized platforms for dissident journalists and human rights defenders, whose space has been shrunk by respective illiberal governments.

Rapidly evolving information environments, digital platforms and technological advancements create contemporary challenges to ensure the safety of journalists, foster systemic attacks on dissident media outlets and increase online harassment on social media platforms. Women journalists continue to be on the frontline facing various forms of gender-based violence. Even though digital harassment and online aggressiveness pose serious threats to journalists` physical and mental well-being, these venues serve as a new way to raise global awareness of the recent humanitarian crisis and mobilized civil society members calling on state actors and intergovernmental organizations to uphold international human rights law.

Panel Session 2 – Press Freedom as an Instrument to Defend Human Rights for All will discuss:

  • A decade of decline for the global press freedom
  • Digital transformation and technological advancements creating new media outlets: Freedom on the Internet and social media
  • Rising threats for journalists: politicized judiciaries and online harassment
  • Disinformation campaigns and state`s use of media as a venue of propaganda
  • Gender-based violence and violations against women journalists

PANEL 3
WIDENING GAP BETWEEN EROSION OF DEMOCRACY AND RISE OF AUTOCRACY

Panel 3: 02:00 PM – 03: 30 PM

The intermediate distance between democracies and autocracies is increasing as 2023 remarked the 19th consecutive year of decline in democratic governance worldwide. There is a formidable increase in the number of transitional/hybrid regimes particularly in Central Europe and Asia in the last decade. With the rise of various state-led crimes and conflicts, many formerly democratic nations are trapped in the cycle of autocracy prioritizing political interests over human rights norms, oppression of citizens` right to peaceful protests, increasing forms of violence, consolidating power at the expense of ruling out checks and balances systems. 

Populist leaders continue to abuse the will of the voters, polarize societies, induce hatred within communities and limit political pluralism. In 2022 – 2023, there were many critical elections that the global citizens, journalists, and intergovernmental observatories closely monitored. Many polls took place in electoral autocracies where multiparty candidates existed but only in the sphere of limited freedom of expression and insufficient components of free and fair election processes. In many of the elections that took place under the shadow of oppressive regimes, civic activism still strived to protect their fundamental civil and political rights despite the high cost of imprisonment or forced displacement. 

Under these circumstances, responsibility on the shoulders of democratic states and intergovernmental organizations increases as decisive actions must be taken through multilateral diplomacy to support democratic governance and uphold human rights for all. Supporting civil society which operates under high risks of reprisals in hybrid regimes and global advocacy for the release of political prisoners and human rights defenders are vital actions. 

The Widening gap between democracies and autocracies is not only an impediment to local governance but the oppressive regimes pose a global threat to the rule of law and human rights as transnational repression are reportedly on the rise. Direct attacks on dissidents living in exile, co-opting other countries to act against international human rights law, mobility impediments, online intimidation and surveillance remains among the primary methods of repression. The security of human rights defenders, journalists, academics, and civil society members who sought protection in another state remains in a dilemma as the extra-judicial acts of autocratic leaders continue their coordinated mobilities in host countries.

Panel Session 3 – Widening Gap between Erosion of Democracy and Rise of Autocracy will discuss: 

  • Elections under electoral autocracies: Recent analysis from country cases
  • Civil society resilience and solidarity against the authoritarianism  
  • Keeping a spotlight on human rights defenders in distress and advocating for the release of political prisoners
  • The proliferation of transnational crimes for global peace and security
  • Rising trends of populism

PROGRAM

SDGs CONFERENCE 2023

IN THE MARGINS OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 78TH SESSION

20 September 2023, Wednesday (10:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST)
NEW YORK | HYBRID

Date/Time
Details
18 September 2023, Monday
(6:30 PM – 8:30 PM EST)
JWF High-Level Reception 2023 In-person, New York
19 September 2023, Tuesday
(10:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST)
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION In-person, New York
20 September 2023, Wednesday
(10:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST)

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
10:30 AM – 12: 00 PM
12:15 PM – 01:45 PM
02:00 PM – 03: 30 PM
03:30 PM – 04:00 PM
SDGs CONFERENCE 2023
In the Margins of the UNGA78 In-person & Online, New York

Opening Session
Panel Session 1: Building a New Momentum Towards the 2030 Deadline for the SDGs
Panel Session 2: Press Freedom as an Instrument to Defend Human Rights for All
Panel Session 3: Widening Gap between Erosion of Democracy and Rise of Autocracy
Closing Session
27 September 2023, Wednesday
(11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST)
PIONEERS IN SDGs Awards Ceremony Online, via Zoom

[1] 2022 Global Peace Index – Key Results, Institute for Economic and Peace, https://www.visionofhumanity.org/peacefulness-declines-to-lowest-level-in-15-years/#:~:text=The%2016th%20edition%20of%20the%20annual%20Global%20Peace%20Index%20(GPI,deteriorated%20by%200.3%25%20in%202021.

[2] lbid (1).

[3] Attacks on the Press, Committee to Protect Journalists, https://cpj.org/2022/12/attacks-on-the-press-in-2022/ 

[4] 2023 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders, https://rsf.org/en/2023-world-press-freedom-index-journalism-threatened-fake-content-industry?year=2023&data_type=general

[5] World Press Freedom Day 2023, Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights, UNESCO, https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384177 

[6] Freedom House, Nations in Transit 2023, https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/NIT_2023_Digital.pdf 

[7] Transnational Repression as a Growing Threat to the Rule of Law and Human Rights, Council of Europe, https://rm.coe.int/transnational-repression-as-a-growing-threat-to-the-rule-of-law-and-hu/1680ab5b07