High-Level Political Forum 2025

New York City

Empowered women, inclusive economies: Catalyzing sustainable futures at the HLPF 2025

A moment of opportunity: Special address on climate action by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

United States of America

As the 2025 HLPF undertakes in-depth reviews of SDGs 3 (health and well-being), 8 (decent work and economic growth), and 17 (partnerships for the Goals), the high-level side event explores how these reviews can help shape the ambition and substance of the upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), to be held in Doha 4-6 November 2025.The high-level side event serves as a critical bridge between global review and renewed commitment—highlighting the interlinkages between health, employment, and partnerships in advancing inclusive development, social justice, and SDG implementation.

On the Road to Doha: From HLPF 2025 to the Second World Summit for Social Development

UN headquarters

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.

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

This session will highlight concrete solutions with local impact, fostering enabling environments, innovative financing, and partnerships advancing global milestones toward 2030.The Local2030 Coalition Special Event at the 2025 HLPF will spotlight how local action is accelerating progress on the six SDG transitions of the 2030 Agenda. Reporting on the High Impact Initiative (HII) on Localization, the session will showcase localization as a driver of systemic transformation through multilevel collaboration, policy alignment, and inclusive participation. It will highlight concrete solutions with local impact, fostering enabling environments, innovative financing, and partnerships advancing global milestones toward 2030.

Scaling up local innovation for systemic SDG impact

This official 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.

Delivering the 2030 Agenda: Aligning global processes through inclusive multilateralism

The Secretary-General’s special address,&nbsp;"A&nbsp;moment of opportunity: Supercharging the new energy era" will be accompanied by the release of a special technical&nbsp;report prepared by the Secretary-General’s Climate Action Team with the support of UN agencies - including the ILO, funds and programmes as well as leading international institutions, synthesizing the latest available science and evidence on the progress, opportunities, and benefits of the emerging clean energy economy.

This side-event aims to address barriers faced by women and youth in all their diversity in accessing and equally benefitting from labour markets and entrepreneurial avenues.

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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