In Focus: the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region

Date:

RFSD2022

Events  | Stories | Key Highlights | Social media

This year, the 2022 Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, UN's key platform for policy debate, exchange of good practices and peer learning on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region, is taking place between 6 - 7 April 2022 in a hybrid format under the "Building Back Better from COVID-19" theme.

The Regional Forum brings together all actors to promote policy action, practical solutions and peer learning to achieve sustainability transformation in the UNECE region. The event will host a series of high-level plenary sessions, SDG roundtables, pre-meetings and side events and bring together key actors to exchange experiences, discuss best-practices, get new impulses for national policy-making, and create spaces and platforms for building on a common vision for the future.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant setback regarding the implementation of the SDGs - including SDG 5 on gender equality. Progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment remains uneven across the region while the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and widened gender gaps across various spheres. More than ever, building “forward” better requires acceleration of efforts that bring clear measurable results across all SDGs. In the face of the ongoing need to reconcile SDG acceleration and COVID-19 recovery, the Regional Forum will focus on building back better from COVID-19 while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the region.

Events

Follow the discussions at #RFSD2022 where UN Women is leading a series of sessions and side events on gender equality and women's empowerment. Read the report on "Gender perspectives for the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022".

Stories

Key highlights

Civil Society Forum

At the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, civil society organizations across the region have come together in-person in Geneva and virtually to share their experiences, strengthen coordination and build solidarity for concrete action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The outcomes of the forum will feed into the agreed statements and positions to be presented to UN Member States.

Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
Civil Society Pre-Meeting at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women

SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”

Representatives of governments, civil society, the private sector, and the international community from across Europe and Central Asia gathered at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development 2022 roundtable on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality. The peer-learning session under the theme “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic” aimed to discuss how governments can promote gender equality and women’s empowerment as part of the COVID-19 recovery process, considering gender-differentiated impacts of the pandemic. The event was held in a hybrid in-person and online format at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and live-streamed on the UN TV. Read the report on the SDG 5 roundtable and learn more.

SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women
SDG 5 round table: “Accelerators of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Photo: Antoine Tardy / UN Women

Side event: “One femicide watch in every country to end the shadow pandemic”

Government and civil society representatives, women's rights advocates, feminists, and academia across the UNECE region joined the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development side event “One femicide watch in every country to end the shadow pandemic,” organized by the Government of Spain and UN Women, to shed light on experiences and best practices on the establishment of femicide watches. The event, which took place virtually on the 7th of April, evoked the United Nations Femicide Watch Initiative that urges states and encourages human rights institutions and civil society to analyze and share data for investigating and prosecuting cases of femicide. Watch the event live-streamed on UN Women Europe and Central Asia Facebook page here and read more.

StopFemicide

Social media

Whether you are joining the discussion online or offline, share how you are participating by using #RFSD2022.

Find more social media content around #RFSD2022 on our UN Women Europe and Central Asia accounts: @unwomeneca and @unwomenctrlasia (Russian) on Twitter; UN Women Europe and Central Asia (English) and UN Women Central Asia (Russian) on Facebook; @unwomeneca and @unwomen.russian (Russian) on Instagram; UN Women on OK and VKontakte; and on Trello.