The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-27

The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) outlines the UN development system’s contributions to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an integrated manner, with a commitment to Leave No One Behind (LNOB). In the Pacific, the UN system together with the 14 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) resolved to develop an overarching Cooperation Framework in line with regional strategies, and in particular with the most recent 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

This framework captures high-level results to which the UN will contribute in the period 2023-2027. Such results will be further contextualised at the country level through Country Implementation Plans (CIPs), which will define UN actions and deliverables on the ground in order to progress towards these outcomes.

This framework has been developed during uncertain times. The world is still striving to recover from the tremendous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been eroding multilateralism and democratic governance and hit the Pacific hard in socio-economic terms. The triple planetary crisis (pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss) is posing existential threats to the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and changes are, to a certain extent, beyond adaptation capacities. The Ukraine - Russia war is triggering a global tri-dimensional threat to food, energy and finance, which exacerbates outstanding vulnerabilities for the region. At the same time striving to economically recover from the pandemic, there is a concrete risk of undermining environmental gains and protection. Against this background the UN together with national and regional partners, has developed change pathways towards the fulfilment of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda articulated around its main pillars, i.e. People, Prosperity, Planet, Peace, and Partnership (featuring as enablers and means of implementation of programmes to be developed under each of the other thematic areas). Such pathways start with taking into consideration the structural vulnerabilities of the Pacific countries as SIDS and passes through some key transformative actions with regards to the food systems, resilience to climate change, digitalization, innovative financing, and gender equality.

The Theory of Change underpinning this CF also recognizes that PICTs progress towards the SDGs cannot happen unless global, regional and national efforts converge towards overcoming the impact of the pandemic, enhancing resilience to shocks and adapting to climate change for which restructuring of global debt, access to vaccination and adequate healthcare, halving emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zeroemissionsby2050arekeyprerequisites.More specifically, this CF aspires to contribute to a Pacific region where “All people, leaving no place behind, are equal and free to exercise their fundamental rights, 

enjoying gender equality and peace, resilient to the existential threats and living in harmony with the blue continent.”