VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEWS (VNRS)
at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
(HLPF)
FEBRUARY 2026
PRESENTED BY: TONYA VATURI
VATURI@UN.ORG
PRINCIPLES OF the VNRs
Voluntary
Encourage reporting and include developed and developing countries
State-led
Country driven reviews of progress at national and sub-national levels
Platform for partnerships
Including through the participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders
Learning experience
Facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, part of a process
National circumstances
Reviews in accordance with national circumstances, policies and priorities, together with relevant partners
Open, inclusive, transparent
Facilitates communication with all stakeholders
BASICS OF THE 2026 HLPF
10 years of VNR
reporting
2016 - 2025
402 VNR reports
Almost 150 countries
Have reported more than once
Nearing universal reporting
36 VNRs at the 2026 HLPF
Number of Times Presenting/Region | 2nd time (12) | 3rd time (20) | 4th time (2) | 5th time (2) |
Africa (19) | Algeria, Burundi, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Somalia | Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia, United Republic of Tanzania | Egypt | Togo |
Asia Pacific (7) | Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Tonga | Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates | | |
Latin America and the Caribbean (4) | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Brazil, Jamaica | | Uruguay |
Eastern Europe (3) | Albania, Republic of Moldova | Estonia | | |
Western Europe and Others Group (3) | | Italy, Norway | Switzerland | |
5
MODALITIES FOR PRESENTATIONS
•Countries presenting a VNR will have 10 minutes for their virtual presentation in a panel format, including audio-visual material.
•Presentations are followed by 15 minutes of questions from other countries and stakeholders, with responses by the country.
•One MGoS representative is selected to ask a question to each of the countries presenting a VNR, once the presentations of the panel are complete.
•The MGoS VNR Task Group will outline the nomination process in further detail.
UN DESA RESOURCES: https://hlpf.un.org/vnrs
RESOURCE | DESCRIPTION |
VNR Handbook 2026 | The Handbook includes recommendations on how to initiate a VNR and on how to communicate the intention of conducting one. |
The Guidelines help countries prepare inclusive, evidence-based reviews, highlighting progress, challenges, and priorities. They are included in the Handbook. | |
Tools to support the VNR process | This page allows users to identify a selected set of such tools, applying search filters to obtain tailored results aligned to specific users' needs. |
The documents and VNR reports submitted by member States over the past ten years are all available on this website. | |
UN DESA and UNDP created a framework to improve stakeholder engagement in the 2030 Agenda, including COVID-19 impacts. | |
Synthesized key experiences and trends in SDG implementation from the 35 countries that presented VNRs at the 2025 HLPF. |
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IN THE VNR PROCESS
2026
FEBRUARY 2026
PRESENTED BY: DR.NELYA RAKHIMOVA
VNR.MGOS@GMAIL.COM
WHO IS ENGAGED in the VNRs?
LED BY THE GOVERNMENT
NATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY SELF ORGANIZED
MAJOR GROUPS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
PATHS OF ENGAGEMENT
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IN VNR PROCESS BY GOVERNMENTS
Inputs
Numerous countries have requested inputs from stakeholders and organized consultations to collect them.
Review
Governments have shared draft VNR reports with stakeholders for their feedback and comments.
Represent
Some included stakeholder representatives in their official delegation sitting on the podium during the VNR presentation at the HLPF, ready to answer potential question.
Present
Several countries have included presentations and comments from different stakeholders in their 10 minute presentations or in their official reports.
LED BY THE GOVERNMENT
Civil society plays an important role in international monitoring processes through the production of independent “civil society reports”, which can also be referred to as “shadow reports,” “spotlight reports,” or “parallel reports”.
These reports are produced through a collaborative process within civil society to paint a more holistic and honest picture of the 2030 Agenda implementation.
These reports are vital to ensuring an independent, robust, and accurate assessment of progress within countries, and provide a direct means to promote government accountability to its citizens.
WWW.MGOS.ORG/PARALLEL-REPORTS/
PARALLEL REPORTS
NATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY SELF ORGANIZED
MAJOR GROUPS & other Stakeholders
A network of volunteers, recognised by the UN, mobilising civil society’s and other stakeholders’ meaningful engagement and active involvement on sustainable development advocacy. Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS) is the catchphrase for civil society engaging with the 2030 Agenda.
Open and Self-organized
Self-organized space for stakeholders to engage in HLPF ensuring broad, open, transparent and inclusive participation. Based in human rights, gender equality, non-discrimination
Coordination Mechanism
Elected by each constituency the Organising Partners from each of the MGoS constituencies form the “Coordination Mechanism”. This is an autonomous and self-organising space to coordinate all processes around the 2030 Agenda including its follow-up and review processes.
MGoS Task Groups
To manage the workload, the coordination mechanism is split into several task groups including: overall coordination; advocacy; events, VNR engagement; communication; selection processes and others.
WWW.MGOS.ORG
MAJOR GROUPS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
MAJOR GROUPS (9) | OTHER STAKEHOLDERS (13) | |
Business and Industry Major Group | ||
Farmers Major Group | Africa Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism | |
People of African Descent Stakeholder Group | ||
| ||
MAJOR GROUPS & other Stakeholders
UN GA RESOLUTION 67/290 ENSURES THE RIGHTS OF MGOS
MGOS VNR ENGAGEMENT
Representative of one of the MGoS constituencies delivers 2-minute collectively developed statement with comments and questions on the presented by the government VNR during HLPF.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
Inviting stakeholders to engage in the process of VNR
Regional Forums and discussions
Finalising the statement:
Each group to prepare independent assessment with statement and questions to be presented for each VNR
Start of national consultation for the statement preparation:
Connect active volunteers from each country and support them to work together as a group/country team
Webinars with UN DESA about stakeholder engagement and opportunities
Selection of the speaker to deliver the statement
HLPF
MGOS VNR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS
Statements are collaboratively developed by diverse groups, ensuring respect for human rights, gender equality, and inclusivity. Participants must commit to principles of respect, tolerance, and nonviolence.
The process is organized by the MGoS VNR Task Group, with facilitators guiding the process while remaining neutral.
In case of disagreements, facilitators escalate issues to the VNR Task Group Coordinators, adhering to safety measures throughout.
PRINCIPLES FOR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Statement Preparation
The main goal of this process is to draft the statement to be presented during the VNR Presentations.
PRINCIPLES FOR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Statement Delivery
A national stakeholder and alternate, chosen by MGoS engagement participants, delivers the collective statement on behalf of the group involved in its preparation. The speaker must adhere to agreed content and time limits.
Despite efforts, statement delivery cannot be fully guaranteed, and only one statement per country is allowed per session. Coordination with the VNR Task Group is required to ensure timely preparation and delivery.
Statement Content
Statements bring national issues and achievements highlighted by registered for the MGoS engagement process participants from transversal/cross-cutting and thematic viewpoints reflecting VNR.
Independence
No affiliations with any government.
Must not be part of an official delegation at the HLPF or accredited by the government.
MGoS can assist with accreditation.
Eligibility to Travel
Must be able to enter the USA.
Valid visa required by July 2025 (if applicable).
Support letter for visa can be provided
Funding
Limited funding available.
Potential speakers are encouraged to fundraise independently in advance.
Election Process
Open to registered participants of the MGoS engagement process, after a democratically election.
Reviewed by the MGoS Coordinating Group to ensure inclusivity.
If no selected speaker(s) can attend in person, MGoS will identify an alternative speaker who meets the criteria and is available to participate.
CRITERIA FOR SPEAKER(S) SELECTION
JOIN MGOS VNR ENGAGEMENT
MGOS RESOURCES
RESOURCE | DESCRIPTION |
This form collects contacts for contributions to MGoS statements during the 2025 HLPF VNR sessions. | |
The webpage collects all MGoS VNR statements starting from 2019. | |
The webpage collects various parallel reports on SDG implementation, which stakeholders can submit via a form available on the site. | |
The Padlet, currently under development, will compile all supporting documents from years of MGoS VNR engagement to enhance stakeholder experience. | |
The Special Rapporteur presents recommendations to the Human Rights Council on civil society participation in the 2030 Agenda. |
WWW.MGOS.ORG
THANK YOU!
WE ARE GLAD YOU ARE HERE.
vnr.mgos@gmail.com