High-Level Political Forum 2025

New York City

SDG 8 and interlinkages with other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – Decent work and economic growth

Empowering youth to be agents of change through digital and AI skills

Delivering the 2030 Agenda: Aligning global processes through inclusive multilateralism

United States of America

With just five years left to meet the 2030 Agenda, SDG 8 - promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all - remains one of the most off-track goals. Although modest gains have been made, including increased access to financial services, progress has stagnated or regressed across critical areas such as youth employment, informality, labour rights, and child labour. The erosion of decent work is symptomatic of broader global structural challenges, including macroeconomic volatility, inequality, climate shocks, geopolitical fragmentation, and digital transformation. The <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/HLPF/2025/ThematicReviewEGMs/SDG8">UN Expert Group Meeting on SDG 8 (New York, 6-7 February 2025)</a> highlighted how the SDG 8 agenda is not only central to the economy but foundational to the 2030 Agenda. Decent work underpins poverty reduction, gender equality, education, and climate resilience. Achieving it requires addressing both the quantity and quality of employment — with equal attention to rights, social protection, productivity, and inclusion.This session will explore critical pathways to accelerate progress on SDG 8 by identifying priority areas in need of urgent action and examining how national policies can be realigned to place decent work at the center of economic planning. Participants will discuss practical strategies for formalizing informal work, financing social protection, embedding labour standards in green and digital transitions, and strengthening data systems to monitor labour rights and non-standard forms of work. The session presents an opportunity to re-commit to the vision of SDG 8 — one where growth benefits all, where work is safe and dignified, and where no one is left behind in transitions shaping the future of work.

UN headquarters

This official MGoS thematic session will bring together diverse stakeholders to explore how multilateralism can be renewed and strengthened to deliver on the promises of the 2030 Agenda. The session will center the role of civil society and other stakeholders in defending human rights, countering the growing backlash against inclusive development, and driving practical action—especially around SDG 5 (Gender Equality) SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), which are under in-depth review.

2025 marks the United Nations’ 80th anniversary, a milestone amid pressing global challenges such as inequality, poverty, climate change, and conflicts. This moment calls for reflection on the future of multilateralism and solidarity. In March 2025, the Secretary-General launched the UN80 Initiative to evaluate the Organization’s fitness for purpose. With the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline approaching, efforts to modernize the UN are accelerating to address increasingly complex global challenges.

UN at 80: the role of ECOSOC in leading action for a stronger and more effective multilateral system

Japan

Join the ILO and UNDRR live from the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) as workers, employers, governments, UN agencies and civil society come together to explore how decent work and social justice can be powerful tools for disaster risk reduction and crisis recovery in Africa.

Live events schedule

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