While there are important improvements and positive developments in the VNRs over time, there remains a significant gap between the ambitions of the 2030 agenda and the policies, strategies and actions reported in the VNRs. The deep transformative change that is envisioned in the agenda and required to meet the SDGs is not evident in the VNRs.
SDG progress has been set back, and the outlook faces uncertainty given the cumulative and amplified impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change. The crises impact all countries, albeit unequally.
The promotion of non-discrimination needs to be formally mainstreamed throughout public administration. This brief examines a limited selection: citizens? charters, public procurement, positive duties, institutional culture, artificial intelligence, workforce diversity, schools of public administration, and public audits.
Developing countries will need reliable access to affordable financing, and also need to manage and use these resources well to translate financing into SDG progress, enhanced productivity and fiscal capacity to service debt.
While they have been touted for their potential to increase the efficiency of financial transactions and to support financial inclusion, their high volatility and largely unregulated and quasi-anonymous nature has raised concerns over investor protection and financial integrity, and increasingly also financial stability and international spillovers.
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