Upholding human rights for all people — without exception — is essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda and ensuring sustainable development that leaves no one behind.

This core message resonated throughout the 2025 High-level Political Forum, held at UN Headquarters in New York from 14 to 23 July.

The Forum is convened by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to discuss progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda and which aspire to create a more equitable and inclusive world.

UN Human Rights made a strong contribution to integrate human rights and define the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs, and since its adoption the Office has helped leverage human rights to advance progress in achieving the SDGs.

This year, the forum focused on five goals: good health and well-being, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, life below water, and partnerships.

Despite a challenging global context for multilateralism, the forum marked a critical moment to renew commitment to international cooperation and advancing human rights to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions – social, environmental, and economic.

Rio Hada, chief of the Equality, Development and Rule of Law Section of UN Human Rights in New York, said the promise of the 2030 Agenda will only be met if human rights of all people are respected and everybody is treated with dignity.

“We cannot achieve the 2030 Agenda — or any global goals — unless we uphold the human rights of all people, without exception,” Hada said at one of the side events. “That means LGBTIQ+ persons must be fully included, protected, and empowered. We must walk the talk of leaving no one behind.”

Hada said LGBTIQ+ people continue to face exclusion, criminalization, and violence and are at risk of being left behind in achieving all SDGs — from health, education and employment to housing, gender equality and social protection — and that discrimination was the norm.

Our work against discrimination

But despite deepening exclusion and growing inequalities, there has been progress. UN Human Rights has worked with partners in over 40 countries under the UN Free & Equal campaign to promote legal and social change, he said.

In Brazil, the Office supported workplace integration for transgender persons; in Bhutan, dialogue with policymakers led to a 60% increase in understanding of human issues faced by LGBITQ+ people; in Liberia, media engagement improved coverage and reduced harmful stereotypes; and in Timor-Leste, inclusive education initiatives have helped foster safer schools.

“OHCHR remains fully committed to this work. But we need sustained political will, resources, and partnerships,” he said.

At a separate event, Hada called for accountability and a renewed commitment to defend civic space, including ending laws that criminalize activism, protecting civic actors, ensuring adequate funding for civil society, creating safe spaces for participation, and leveraging digital tools for increased participation and transparency.

He cited that in 2024 alone, 625 human rights defenders, journalists, and trade unionists were killed or disappeared.

“Gender equality is at the heart of achieving all SDGs. There can be no sustainable development if one half of humanity continues to be denied its full human rights and opportunities.” © OHCHR

Gender equality

UN Human Rights also took part at an event convened by the Special Rapporteur on the right to development, where speakers stressed the need to achieve gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls amidst the backlash against progress made over the years.

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris highlighted the importance of meaningful participation of women and girls at all levels of decision-making, noting: “It is not only a fundamental human right but a game-changing solution to global challenges.”

Under its mandate, UN Human Rights works with States, human rights institutions and civil society to reform discriminatory laws and policies which allow gender-based discrimination.

The Office also works to eliminate gender-based violence, transform discriminatory social norms gender stereotypes, guarantee the enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights by all, protect the civic space of women human rights defenders, and facilitate equal participation of women.

Human rights economy

UN Human Rights also plays a key role in promoting sustainable development through its work to build a human rights economy that prioritizes people’s rights and well-being, and redresses the root causes and structural barriers to equality, justice, and sustainability.

“Without human rights, there is no inclusive economy,” Hada said. “What we need is a human rights economy — one that prioritizes redistribution, accountability, and equality.”

Spearheaded by the Group of Friends on Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda, the Human Rights Council has mandated UN Human Rights to convene a yearly discussion on human rights and the 2030 Agenda ahead of the HLPF.

The latest of these Human Rights Council intersessional meetings was held in February, focusing on the role of human rights in reforming the sovereign debt architecture and going beyond GDP. Reports and recommendations from these meetings highlighting the link between human rights and sustainable development are submitted to the HLPF to inform its deliberations and help bring human rights considerations to the fore.

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Equality among all of us – regardless of gender, race, colour or creed – is foundational to sustainable development, to human rights and to the credibility of our multilateral system.

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Bob Rae, president of the UN Economic and Social Council ECOSOC