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During its Sixth Advisory Board meeting on 13-14 July 2024, HLAB had an engaging and thought-provoking discussion on the global socioeconomic outlook and the path for the United Nations Member States to accelerate SDG progress. The meeting also delved into the issues of financing social protection, energy transition and use of critical minerals, as well as building capacities to cope with complex challenges and achieve transformation, looking ahead to the Summit of the Future, as well as the  (FFD4) and the in 2025. In addition, the HLAB members had an engaging conversation with the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed as well as the Permanent Representatives of Member States from the FFD4 Bureau, which laid important foundation for the discussion at the HLAB meeting and the series of high-level events during the HLPF.

 

On the margin of the , the HLAB also participated in the special edition of the UN DESA Global Policy Dialogues on 15 July 2024, for an interactive exchange to share their latest recommendations in addressing global challenges and accelerating

SDG implementation. A particular emphasis was placed on the SDGs in focus during the HLPF 2024, while also considering the role of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs in the lead up to the Summit of the Future in September. The event was organized as one of the held during the HLPF. It was also broadcasted on Zoom, , and on and received a wide attendance globally.

 

In addition to the official HLAB events, several Board members actively engaged and supported Member States led processes during the July HLPF, including participation by Mr. Ibrahim Elbadawi at the HLPF official programme ¡°¡± and a keynote address at the HLPF Special Event ¡°¡±, as well as Ms. Mariana Mazzucato's keynote address for the UN Economist Network¡¯s virtual HLPF side-event "How can economists in UN system address the most pressing challenges of the day?". 

 

 

 

The United Nations High-level Advisory Board (HLAB) on Economic and Social Affairs was established  in the context of United Nations development system reform, as a key part of efforts to enhance support to Member States of the United Nations in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is made possible through the United Nations ¹ú²úAV and Development Trust Fund. 

The Board, convened by Li Junhua, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, has provided advice to the United Nations on broad economic and social issues, including near-term prospects and risks for the world economy, frontier technologies, inequality, migration, issues associated with countries in special situations.

In addition, the HLAB has provided guidance to the research and policy analysis work of UN DESA, and Board members have played an active role in strengthening the linkage between UN DESA and the global economic and social policy research community, and have promoted UN DESA publications and reports at national and global levels. The HLAB members also participate in the Department's Global Policy Dialogue Series, sharing their expertise with a wide online audience.

Since it was launched in 2018, the HLAB deliberations on many contemporary and cross-cutting issues and challenges have expanded our understanding of complex economic and social issues and inspired the United Nations to break new ground in policy research. In July 2020, the first HLAB produced the compilation "Recover Better"  with early reflections on leveraging the recovery from COVID-19 into a transformative period for attaining sustainable development.

The Board entered its second term in January 2021 with 20 globally renowned experts in the economic and social policy fields, including former Heads of State, a Nobel Laureate, former Senior Government Officials and intellectual leaders serving in their personal capacity. In May 2022, the second HLAB launched the "Six Big Questions for the global economic recovery: The UN High-level Advisory Board Q&A Compendium", which draws on the Board¡¯s key messages and policy recommendations to recover from the crises and make progress towards sustainable development.

The second term (2021-2024)

Building on the accomplishments of the first HLAB, the second term of the Board (HLAB-II) will continue to strengthen, for the next two years, the United Nations thought leadership on sustainable development and to reinforce its impact at the forefront of sustainable development policy at global, regional and local levels.

Following the Secretary-General¡¯s invitation to reinvigorate multilateralism, HLAB-II aims to provide focused guidance and recommendations to respond to current and future challenges in the post-COVID-19 world, including in the areas of leaving no one behind, building trust by addressing inequalities, improve digital cooperation, ensuring sustainable financing and boosting partnerships.

Board members 

The following experts have been appointed to serve on the UN High-level Advisory Board (HLAB-II) on Economic and Social Affairs (2021-2024) in their personal capacity:

•     ´¡±ô¾±³¦¾±²¹&²Ô²ú²õ±è;µþ¨¢°ù³¦±ð²Ô²¹, former Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
•     Giancarlo Corsetti, FBA, Pierre Werner Chair and Professor of Economics at the European University Institute
•     Diane Coyle, Inaugural Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
•     Ibrahim Elbadawi, Managing Director, Economic Research Forum for the Arab World, Iran & Turkey
•     Alex Ezeh, Dornsife Professor of Global Health at the Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University
•     Marcel Fratzscher, President of DIW Berlin
•     Anastasia J. Gage, Professor at the Department of International Health and Sustainable Development, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University
•     Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
•     Nargis Kassenova, Senior Fellow and Director of the Program on Central Asia at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University
•     Ricardo Lagos, Honorary Chairman of the Inter-American Dialogue; former President of Chile (2000-2006)
•     Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London (UCL)
•     Jos¨¦ Antonio Ocampo, Professor, Columbia University, and Chair of the Committee for Development Policy of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
•     Dani Rodrik, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy, Harvard Kennedy School
•     Jeffrey D. Sachs, University Professor, Columbia University
•     Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive of the South African Institute of International Affairs
•     Joseph E. Stiglitz, University Professor, Columbia University
•     Heizo Takenaka, Professor Emeritus, Keio University, and Professor, Toyo University
•     Izabella M?nica Vieira Teixeira, former Minister of Environment (2010-2016), Brazil
•     Kori Udovi?ki, Head of the Center for Advanced Economic Studies (CEVES)
•     Ernesto Zedillo, Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization; former President of Mexico (1994-2000)
•     Min Zhu, Chairman, National Institute of Financial Research, Tsinghua University

Click here for short bios of the Board Members of the HLAB-II.

Previous HLAB news and stories coverage

• Launch of "Six Big Questions for the global economic recovery: The UN High-level Advisory Board Q&A Compendium" (25 May 2022)
• Breakdown or breakthrough - top global thinkers weigh in on the UN plan to reboot multilateralism (11 October 2021)
• Top economists warn COVID-19 impacts will be severe and long-lasting for developing countries (23 April 2021)
• Launch of "Recover Better: Economic and Social Challenges and Opportunities" (20 July 2020)
• UN High-Level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs meets to deepen discussions on global development challenges (11 March 2019)
• UN High-level Advisory Board calls for new multilateralism for sustainable development (22 October 2018)
• Strengthening Multilateralism key aim for UN High-Level Advisory Board (15 October 2018)
• First Meeting of HLAB on 9-10 July 2018 in New York renews hope for globalization (12 July 2018)