Parliaments

and the
Sustainable
Development
Goals
A self-
assessment
toolkit
Copyright ©Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2016.

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ISBN 978-92-9142-666-9

Design and layout Ludovica Cavallari

Printing ICA, France
Contents
Introduction 3
What are the SDGs? 5
A new framework for action 6
Localizing the SDGs 9
Parliamentary engagement with the SDGs 10
An inclusive process 10
Assessing parliamentary preparedness – where to begin? 13
When should you run an SDG self-assessment? 13
Who is involved in a self-assessment? 13
How is a self-assessment organized? 14
Self-assessment questions 17
Questions 1: Building understanding of the SDGs in parliament 17
Questions 2: Bringing the SDGs from the global to the local level 19
Questions 3: Mainstreaming the SDGs within parliamentary mechanisms 21
Questions 4: Making laws in support of the SDGs 24
Questions 5: Financing the SDGs 26
Questions 6: Monitoring SDG implementation 28
Questions 7: Engaging with the public 30
Questions 8: Ensuring the SDGs serve the most vulnerable 32
Resources 34
Acknowledgements 36

1
2
Introduction
We acknowledge also the essential role of national parliaments
through their enactment of legislation and adoption of budgets and
their role in ensuring accountability for the effective implementation
of our commitments. … “We the peoples” are the celebrated
opening words of the Charter of the United Nations. It is “we
the peoples” who are embarking today on the road to 2030. Our
journey will involve governments as well as parliaments, the United
Nations system and other international institutions, local authorities,
indigenous peoples, civil society, business and the private sector, the
scientific and academic community – and all people.

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

New York, 25 September 2015

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a ground-breaking

global commitment to end poverty and set the world on a sustainable
path to inclusive development. It was endorsed by government
leaders at a United Nations summit in September 2015. A set of 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 actionable targets
lies at the core of this ambitious agenda.

The SDGs are intended to focus and coordinate national policies

towards a common vision for humanity. The SDGs build on past
efforts to implement the poverty reduction agenda known as the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They aspire to realize
the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the
empowerment of all women and girls. They include the three pillars
of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.
While the SDGs are not legally binding, governments have assumed
a moral commitment to implement them to the best of their
capacities and in accordance with national priorities.

The 2030 Agenda and its SDGs are the outcome of an extended
consultation and negotiation over several years. IPU, UNDP, national
parliaments and hundreds of parliamentarians played a very active
role throughout the process and advocated strongly for the inclusion
of goals related to democratic governance.

The purpose of this self-assessment toolkit is to assist parliaments

and their members to:
• assess their preparedness to engage with the SDGs;
• identify additional strategies, mechanisms and partnerships to
support implementation of the SDGs more effectively.

3
 The toolkit is designed to enable parliamentarians to identify good
practices, gaps, opportunities and lessons learned. That will equip
parliamentarians to effectively institutionalize the new agenda and
mainstream the various goals into the legislative process. The toolkit is
not prescriptive. It has been designed to be relevant to all parliaments,
whatever their political system and stage of development.

Self-assessment is a method that parliaments can use to start their

own process of internal benchmarking and to assess their state of
preparedness for engagement with the SDGs. The conclusions of the
self-assessment should allow parliaments to set priorities for reform
in order to strengthen their response to the SDGs. The ultimate
objective is to ensure that parliaments are fit for purpose to play a full
role in realizing the 2030 Agenda.

4
What are the SDGs?
We welcome the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
that has emerged with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). Poverty eradication is the overarching objective of this
new agenda, alongside the promotion of economic, social and
environmental development. ... We applaud the ambition of this
agenda to be transformative and leave no one behind, including
the most disadvantaged and vulnerable. Indeed, to be successful,
sustainable development has to place human beings at the centre
of decisions. It has to aim at achieving their well-being with full
respect for environmental limitations. It needs to be owned by the
people and it requires their full participation. People are individuals
endowed with rights and responsibilities towards each other and
towards the environment. We must all invest in them as our most
important resource.

Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development:

Building the world the people want Declaration of the Fourth World Conference
of Speakers of Parliament
2 September 2015

The 17 SDGs and their 169 targets were designed to encapsulate

all three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and
environmental. They have a comprehensive policy framework, which
applies to both developed and developing countries. The goals range
from eradicating absolute poverty to reversing climate change,
and from achieving gender equality to changing consumption and
production patterns (see graphic). A number of global indicators have
been designed to help track progress towards the goals.

The 2030 Agenda places people at the centre of the development

process. It calls on governments, parliaments and other stakeholders
to design and deliver laws and programmes that meet the needs of
the people, break down policy silos, uphold human rights, and leave
no one behind.

5
 A new framework for action
Not only do the SDGs identify sectoral priorities and set ambitious
new targets; they also break new ground. It is the first time that
an international compact has recognized the centrality of effective,
inclusive and accountable institutions in the development process.
Goal 16, also known as the governance goal, reflects IPU’s and UNDP’s
long-held view that democratic governance is not only an end in itself,
but also a means to sustainable development, peace and justice.
As important legislative, oversight and representative institutions,
parliaments have a direct interest in this goal (see box, page 7).

Goal 10 is another important SDG breakthrough. It recognizes that

growing inequalities are a threat to the economy and social fabric,
and so aims to reduce inequality within and among countries.
Goal 5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls)
complements the SDGs’ vision of a discrimination-free society. It
emphasises empowerment and a life without violence. Goal 5 in
particular coincides with one of the IPU’s and UNDP’s core priorities.

Development of our societies and economies hinges on the

enjoyment, by women and men, girls and boys, of full and equal
rights, responsibilities and opportunities. We must rededicate
ourselves to the full realization of gender equality and the
empowerment of women and girls by 2030.1

1 Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development: Building the world the people want. Declaration of the
Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, 2 September 2015.
6
 Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions – an overview
Building on lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals, the
SDGs include a specific goal to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for
sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective,
accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.
Two targets within this goal refer to the role of parliaments:
• Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all
levels.
• Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative
decision-making at all levels.
Other targets refer to key principles of democratic governance such as the rule of
law, justice, access to information and fundamental freedoms.
Parliaments need to engage in the implementation and oversight of the
entire SDG framework. But they also need to pay special attention to their
own institutional development in line with Targets 16.6 and 16.7. For example,
parliaments can work with their national statistics authority to develop indicators
that reflect their own priorities in support of targets 16.6 and 16.7.

The 2030 Agenda reflects a shift in the focus of development thinking

from satisfying basic needs to upholding human rights. The 1986
Declaration on the Right to Development sets out most clearly that the
rights-based approach puts people at the centre of the development
process. It designates States as primary duty-holders and requires
them to contribute to realizing all human rights. The Declaration on
the Right to Development defines people’s right to development “as
an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person
and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy
economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human
rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized”.2

Translating this global framework into actionable national policies

will require a concerted effort. The whole of society will need to take
part, beginning with the people themselves. A core element of the
2030 Agenda is that people must be included at every stage, from
initial policy design to implementation and monitoring. National and
subnational parliaments must work to facilitate this.

2 Declaration on the Right to Development: www.un.org/documents/ga/res/41/a41r128.htm

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 Complementing the 2030 Agenda
The 2030 Agenda sets out a global vision for sustainable
development. It is also complemented by three additional
international agreements on financing for development, climate
change and disaster risk reduction. Read together, they provide
an overarching framework that drives sustainable development
forward:
• Addis Ababa Action Agenda,3 This is the outcome document
of the Third International Conference on Financing for
Development (July 2015). It provides a global framework for
mobilizing resources estimated to be worth trillions of dollars
to finance sustainable development. That can be done through
development cooperation, international taxation, trade, and
a host of regulations and institutional reforms. The Agenda
dovetails with SDG 17 (strengthen means of implementation).
• Paris Agreement on Climate Change,4 Governments adopted
this agreement in December 2015. It aims to limit the global
average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius
compared with pre-industrial levels. A larger rise may lead
to catastrophic and irreversible consequences for human
development. The Agreement requires all countries to take
effective and verifiable action to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, the main culprit in global warming. It also expands
on SDG 13 (combat climate change).
• Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction,5 Leaders
endorsed this agreement in March 2015. It reflects the
experiences gained through regional and national efforts to
address disaster risk reduction. It recognizes that disasters are
a setback to development work, that risks must be reduced and
mitigated, and that reconstruction must follow the build back
better principle. The Framework specifically recognizes a role
for parliamentarians in ensuring accountability and oversight.6
3456

3 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/frameworks/addisababaactionagenda
4 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/frameworks/parisagreement
5 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/frameworks/sendaiframework
6 Ibid, 27(e): “[t]o…promote public scrutiny and encourage institutional debates, including by parliamentarians and other relevant
officials, on progress reports of local and national plans for disaster risk reduction”;
27(i): “to encourage parliamentarians to support the implementation of disaster risk reduction by developing new or amending
relevant legislation and setting budget allocations”;
48(h): “to continue supporting and advocating disaster risk reduction and the strengthening of national legal frameworks”.

8
 Localizing the SDGs
The SDGs were designed within a broad, overarching framework. They
are intended to help focus and coordinate national policies (including
existing ones) towards a common vision for humanity. Each State
therefore needs to identify its own priorities, and localize targets and
indicators to guide its national implementation.

To localize the SDGs, each country should develop or update its own
national development plan. Country-specific goals and targets should
be supported by locally relevant indicators of progress in order to record
results on the ground. Citizens must be closely involved in this process.
Parliaments have a key role in that regard to ensure that national SDGs
reflect specific local needs and the circumstances of specific groups.

Policies to implement the SDGs should look holistically and

synergistically at human development needs, which may be social,
economic, cultural or environmental. For example, policies to combat
poverty (SDG 1) cannot be narrowly reduced to raising income,
important though that is. Instead, anti-poverty policies should address all
dimensions of the problem, such as lack of education, poor health and
hunger. Such comprehensive policies will also need to be tailored to the
most vulnerable and marginalized groups. Those groups may be lagging
behind national averages on measures such as per capita GDP, life
expectancy, educational achievement and political participation. A holistic
and synergistic approach is the essence of the principle of leaving no
one behind that informs the entire 2030 Agenda.

The 2030 Agenda includes guiding principles and milestones for regularly
reviewing progress. Global progress on the SDGs will be assessed
against a set of agreed indicators.7 It is understood that States can adopt
locally appropriate indicators to track their national progress.

The importance of data

In order to ensure laws, budgets and programmes are effectively targeted at
those most in need, parliamentarians must be able to access disaggregated data
on a range of key issues. This is usually done through national statistics offices.
Parliaments can use their budget approval powers to ensure that statistics offices
are adequately resourced for effective data collection and analysis. Parliamentarians
can also support statisticians’ efforts to collect and validate data through their own
understanding of the demographics and needs of their constituents.

7 See the SDGs indicators website of the United Nations Statistics Commission at http://unstats.un.org/sdgs/

9
Parliamentary engagement with the
SDGs
As parliamentarians, we must support efforts to reach the new
goals in ways that respect each country’s national specificities. Our
responsibility is clear: to hold governments accountable for the goals
they have subscribed to, and to make sure that enabling laws are
passed and budgets adopted. … We will seek to overcome the silo
mentality within our own parliaments and national administrations
to reflect the intersectoral nature of the goals. To this end, we will
do our utmost to institutionalize the goals in every parliament, with
sufficient time for discussion and monitoring.

Hanoi Declaration – The Sustainable Development Goals: Turning words into action
132nd IPU Assembly, Hanoi, 1 April 2015

The SDGs are an opportunity for parliamentarians to demonstrate

their commitment to improving people’s lives and the health of the
planet on which all human existence depends. More immediately,
the SDGs are a robust framework around which parliaments can
base their strategic plans and pursue their own oversight and
accountability work.

An inclusive process
In many countries, a national SDG working group or similar body
will be established to coordinate and guide SDG implementation.
Parliamentary representatives should be included in any such high-
level body, so that they can contribute their constituents’ views
and provide institutional support. Parliaments should demand that
the governments draw up or update a national SDG plan (or other
relevant sectorial plans). This will ensure that national policies and
plans will be developed or reviewed so that their part in achieving
the SDGs becomes more effective. Parliaments should be able to
contribute to this plan through a wide-ranging, public consultation
process. Parliament should formally adopt the national SDG plan
after a comprehensive review and formal debate. Finally, parliaments
should ask governments for a regular progress report on the
implementation of the national plan.8

8 The role of parliaments in national progress reviews is specifically mentioned in paragraph 79 of the 2030 Agenda, which states:
We also encourage member states to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels
which are country-led and country-driven. … National parliaments as well as other institutions can also support these processes.

10
 Parliaments’ participation in global progress monitoring
National governments are in the driving seat for implementing
the SDGs. But the process is also supported internationally
through information-sharing and monitoring mechanisms. One
of the most important is the United Nations High Level Political
Forum. Each July, national leaders gather at the Forum to take
stock of progress and recalibrate global efforts. A number of
countries undergo voluntary national reviews every year. The
reviews should be a participatory process that is open to all
stakeholders, including parliaments. To facilitate parliamentary
engagement, IPU holds a special session of its Committee on
United Nations Affairs at the first IPU Assembly of each year.

The core parliamentary roles of law-making, budgeting, oversight

and representation of constituency interests are all critical to the
full implementation of the
SDGs.
National/
sectoral
• Law-making, To planning
implement the SDGs,
it is crucial to ensure Facilitating Enabling
participation environment
a pro-poor, gender (eg. by NGOs, civil (budgets, laws,
sensitive, human society, SDGs
policies)
rights-based enabling academia) implementation
environment. Ensuring
national ownership of
the SDGs also requires Activies/
Monitoring,
programmes
legislation that promotes evaluation and
(design and
public accountability, recalibration
delivery)
participatory
decision-making
and inclusiveness. To that end, parliamentarians must review
legislation proposed by their government to ensure that it reflects
human rights principles and contributes to achieving both the
national SDG plan and the wider 2030 Agenda.
• Budgeting, Successfully implementing the SDGs means
maximizing all available domestic resources to achieve the best
possible results. During the budget approval process, parliaments
must engage on how government funds are being allocated to
their nationally defined SDGs, including whether sufficient funds
are reaching the most vulnerable and excluded. On the revenue
side, parliaments must ensure that fiscal and other economic
policies set through the budget process are aligned to the

11
 national SDG plan. Parliamentary oversight of budget expenditure
is also crucial. It is the moment when parliaments can analyse the
effectiveness of government expenditure on SDG achievement.
• Oversight, Monitoring results is a critical element of
SDG implementation. Parliaments must make sure that
implementation is on track and can be recalibrated in light
of evidence and public feedback. Parliamentary oversight
mechanisms such as Question Time, written questions to
government, and parliamentary committee hearings can be
very effective in identifying obstacles or assessing progress.
Parliamentary committees should have the power to call on
government officials to provide information on the impact of
government policies and programmes. Committees should also
be able to call public hearings to garner citizens’ views on SDG
implementation. The knowledge collected can be fed back into
government planning and delivery mechanisms through a national
SDG working group or equivalent body in which parliamentarians
participate.
• Representation, To ensure meaningful national ownership of
the SDGs, all citizens and stakeholders should be involved in
setting policies and priorities. As elected representatives of the
people, parliamentarians have an obligation to reach out to their
constituents throughout their term of office, not just at election
time. By going directly to the people, parliamentarians can
identify gaps and weaknesses in SDG implementation that may
not be caught in general government reports or national statistics.
Parliamentarians should be aware of their constituents’ wider
concerns: consultations with civil society organizations, academic
institutions, the private sector, and others can help to identify
those concerns.

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Assessing parliamentary preparedness –
where to begin?
Self-assessment is by definition a voluntary practice. It works best
when parliament, especially its highest authorities, sees it as a way of
strengthening itself as an institution. Self-assessment, as opposed to
an external expert evaluation, helps ensure that parliament assumes
ownership of the exercise’s findings. Self-assessments are not and
should not be used to rank parliaments. Instead, they provide useful
information to help improve the performance of key parliamentary
functions, including legislation, to representation and oversight. The
aim is to agree a shared vision of the current situation, priorities for
future action and recommendations on how best to move forward.

When should you run an SDG self-

assessment?
The SDGs came into effect on 1 January 2016 and implementation
is already under way. It would be useful therefore to assess your
institutional processes and capacities to deliver on the SDGs as soon
as possible. That will ensure that parliament is at the forefront of
efforts to implement the SDGs.

The 2030 Agenda and SDG framework must be realized in a relatively

short period of 15 years. Regular self-assessments of capacities and
needs will enable parliamentarians to ensure that their parliaments
actively contribute to SDG implementation processes on an ongoing
basis. An initial self-assessment as soon as possible would establish
a baseline. Future self-assessments could be run every three to five
years. They could focus on what had been achieved and what was
still to be done, as well as good practices and lessons learned.

Who is involved in a self-assessment?

Doing a self-assessment brings together different actors to discuss
preparedness and capacity. Parliamentarians are the principal
stakeholders and assessors of their own preparedness.

Experience shows that parliamentary self-assessments are most

useful when run by a group under the leadership of the speaker, a
committee chair or other senior parliamentary authority. High-level
leadership of the process and the inclusion of a cross-section of

13
 parliamentarians increase the likelihood of the outcomes being
broadly owned by the entire parliament.

A self-assessment is not a check-box exercise. It is specifically meant

to bring together parliamentarians with different perspectives and
competences so that they can reflect on a parliament’s preparedness to
engage with the SDGs. Bringing together a mixed group increases the
legitimacy of the self-assessment process as an institutional exercise. The
group should ideally represent the diversity of the national parliament and
the country. It should include male and female parliamentarians from the
government and opposition, as well as members from under-represented
groups, such as young parliamentarians, minorities and people from a
balance of geographical areas. If the group includes a variety of views
from parliament, including parliamentary staff, it will be able to usefully
reflect on internal processes and preparedness, which is essential to
achieving a constructive outcome.

Parliaments may also want to invite other stakeholders to participate

in the self-assessment, such as civil society or women’s groups,
youth representatives, trade unions, academics or the media.
Each is likely to bring different data and feedback from their own
constituencies which can often help inform and enrich the process.
Each parliament will choose for itself whether to include external
participants and how to interact with them.

How is a self-assessment organized?

The SDGs cover a wide range of development issues and involve a
complex range of implementation approaches. It is therefore highly
recommended that any self-assessment exercise is preceded by an
SDG information seminar. The seminar should walk parliamentarians
through the key elements of the 2030 Agenda, the 17 SDGs
and the accompanying frameworks. Ideally, the seminar could
be jointly organized with the government (for example, through
a national SDGs unit or working group, if one exists). This could
enable parliamentarians to begin building partnerships, including
with government officials with whom they will work as SDG
implementation moves forward.

An SDG information seminar could also be used to launch the self-

assessment process. It could serve to introduce parliamentarians
to the process and start the period of reflection that is critical to the
success of any self-assessment. A seminar is also a good chance to
identify parliamentarians who would be interested in organizing or
participating in the exercise.

14
Where there is a bicameral parliament, both houses can run a self-
assessment, either separately or together. The choice will depend
on the level of cooperation and collaboration between the two
houses, and their level of shared resources. A joint self-assessment
will allow a bicameral parliament to identify common strategies and
complementary actions. That said, in some countries, one or both
houses may not be composed or organized along party lines (such
as those that represent traditional leaders or appointed elders).
Different approaches might therefore be required to ensure inclusive
representation of different community perspectives.

Preparing for a parliamentary self-assessment exercise

Support from Has the presiding officer and/or parliamentary
leadership leadership group endorsed the self-assessment?
Who will initiate and organize the exercise?

Is there a cross-party leadership group to provide

strategic guidance?

In a non-partisan parliament, is there an inclusive

Organization/ leadership group that can provide strategic
logistics guidance?

Is there a group within the secretariat that can

organize logistics?

Are there sufficient resources to conduct the

self-assessment exercise?
What are the objectives of the exercise?

How is a common understanding to be

Objectives
developed amongst parliamentarians and other
participants on the usefulness and objectives of
the exercise?
Who will participate in the exercise?
How will parliamentarians be chosen to
participate? Will all interested parliamentarians
be invited, or only a smaller representative
Participation group?

Will non-parliamentarians participate, either as

active contributors or as subject-matter experts?
How will those people be chosen?

15
 How will the exercise be facilitated? Will there be
a single facilitator for the overall exercise?

How will the facilitator be identified and agreed

Facilitators upon? What kind of support will they need?

Will funding be required for a facilitator, or can

a partner organization be identified that could
contribute a good facilitator?
What data are available to inform the self-
assessment? Are there existing government
reports that can be used? Are there existing
parliamentary reports, including from sectoral
committees? Are there relevant reports from
Data sources international or regional bodies (including human
rights treaty bodies)?

Who will be responsible for collecting and

collating information that the parliamentarians
use?
What are the expected outcomes of the
exercise? A report? A Plan of Action for
Parliament? Both? A new/stronger network of
stakeholders focused on SDG implementation
(e.g.: parliamentarians, NGOs, independent
Assessment
institutions)? Identification of key stakeholders?
outcome
Development of partnerships?

Who will be responsible for producing these

outcomes (e.g.: parliamentary secretariat,
committees)?
What follow-up is expected? By when?

Follow-up Who will be responsible for following up?

How will follow-up be monitored?

16
Self-assessment questions
A self-assessment process should start with a set of questions that
can be used to systematically consider the different issues that need
to be discussed. This tends to help parliamentarians most effectively
to reflect on preparedness and identify their priorities for future
action. However, there is no one solution or one set of questions that
will fit all national contexts.

The questions proposed below are therefore indicative. They are

based on self-assessment exercises that parliaments have already
conducted. Questions in Part A are mainly intended to elicit factual
information and to provide background for the discussions in Part B,
where the questions are more subjective and should lead participants
to identify priorities for further action.

Parliaments may wish to tailor some of the questions below to

their own national context. They need not discuss all the proposed
questions and can also add questions of their own.

Questions 1: Building understanding of

the SDGs in parliament
Each parliament should consider organizing information seminars
and capacity development activities. This will ensure that all
parliamentarians have the same baseline understanding of the 2030
Agenda, the SDGs and their supporting targets. For the longer term,
some parliaments have found it useful to develop strong partnerships
with government ministries and expert bodies (such as civil society
organizations, international development partners or academics).
Those partnerships enable parliamentarians to access technical
advice, wider sources of information and training opportunities.

Part A: identifying your baseline

• Is information about the SDGs included in briefing materials and

induction programmes for new parliamentarians after elections
have been held?
• Do parliamentarians receive updates on national and international
SDG implementation issues? How systematic are these updates?
• Have parliamentarians taken part in international and regional
events on SDGs aimed at building understanding?

17
 In the past 12 months:
▪▪ Have parliamentarians received any training sessions on the
SDGs? If so how many sessions have been run and for how
many parliamentarians (men and women)?
▪▪ Have training sessions or awareness-raising activities for
parliamentary staff been organized? If so, how many and for
how many staff (men and women)? Which departments were
they from?

Part B: reflecting on the impact of your efforts

• Do parliamentarians have access to national and international

information about SDG implementation?
▪▪ How effective is the parliamentary library at providing
parliamentarians with briefings and analysis on SDG issues?
▪▪ Would parliamentarians be open to receiving briefings from
civil society organizations, think tanks, academic institutions,
development partners or other SDG experts?
▪▪ Has parliament reached out to the national focal point
for sustainable development (e.g.: a national sustainable
development council) or any other government body to
provide a briefing or training session to parliamentarians on
the SDGs?

• Are there any mechanisms or structures in place to enable

parliamentarians to discuss SDG issues (e.g.: a parliamentary
working group, caucus or task force on the SDGs)? How
effective are they?

• Have any evaluations been undertaken of strengths and

weaknesses of previous efforts to implement the MDGs
(or more general poverty-reduction programmes)? Could
parliament use these to identify good practice and lessons
learned?
▪▪ Have any evaluations been done of parliamentary mechanisms
used to engage with the MDGs, and of their effectiveness?

18
Questions 2: Bringing the SDGs from the
global to the local level
The 2030 Agenda and SDGs have been endorsed as a global
framework. But their implementation will need to be tailored to
national priorities, and to build on existing national plans and efforts.
Not all SDGs will be of equal importance in every country or region
of a country. There are 8–10 “targets” that support each SDG.
The targets provide more detail on the key issues that should be
addressed if the Goal is to be achieved nationally. Likewise, these
targets may not all be accorded the same priority for implementation.
To localize the SDGs, national planning agencies will need to
review and revise existing national and sectoral development plans.
Countries may also need to develop new SDG implementation plans.
Parliamentarians should be involved in these processes, including by
feeding in their knowledge of their constituents’ priorities.

Part A: identifying your baseline

• Is there a national plan for the implementation of the SDGs?

If so, have links been drawn between that plan and existing
sectoral plans (climate, education, health, etc.)?

• Has parliament formally endorsed the national plan?

• Has parliament organized any debates (either in plenary or in

relevant sectoral committees) on SDG implementation within
the country in order to discuss national priorities?

In the past 12 months, has the government:

▪▪ submitted reports to parliament about the implementation of
the SDGs?
▪▪ made ministerial statements to parliament about SDG
implementation?
▪▪ provided data on progress towards the targets and indicators
for the SDGs? Are the data disaggregated by sex, age,
geographical distribution and other relevant characteristics?

Part B: reflecting on the impact of your efforts

• To what extent has parliament been involved in the

preparation of the national plan for the SDGs?
▪▪ If there is no national SDG plan, are there any ongoing
or future SDG or sectoral planning processes, in which
parliament should seek to be involved?

19
 ▪▪ What support and information will parliamentarians need in
order to effectively engage in any such planning processes?

• How effectively are parliament and the government working

together on the SDGs?
▪▪ Is there a government body (a ministry, task force, working
group, unit or other) responsible for SDG coordination or
planning, with which parliament is working?
▪▪ To what extent does the government seek to engage
parliament in implementing the SDGs?
▪▪ Are there any precedents for parliament engaging in
government task forces on sustainable development issues
from which parliament can learn lessons?

20
 Questions 3: Mainstreaming the SDGs
within parliamentary mechanisms
The SDGs are a multisectoral, comprehensive sustainable
development framework. The breadth of the 2030 Agenda, which the
SDGs serve to realize, will require parliamentarians to take action on
a range of policy issues across sectors, and to overcome institutional
silos. These silos often exist within government and tend to be
replicated when parliament oversees the government. Individual
parliamentary committees are sometimes given sole responsibility
for oversight of SDG issues, rather than mainstreaming SDG
implementation and oversight across the entirety of parliament’s
processes and mechanisms. It is useful to systematically review
parliament’s existing mechanisms. This enables parliamentarians to
identify whether those mechanisms can be used to support SDG
implementation and oversight, and then to consider whether there
would be value in creating any new processes or mechanisms.9

Part A: identifying your baseline

• Has parliament formally endorsed the 2030 Agenda and its

SDGs (perhaps through a motion or resolution)?10

• Does parliament have an institutional plan that adequately

identifies its priorities in relation to supporting SDG
implementation and monitoring?

• Has parliament clearly assigned responsibility for the SDGs

within its own structures?
▪▪ Has parliament given responsibility to an already existing
parliamentary body or structure for coordinating work on the
SDGs? If so, which one?
▪▪ Have the SDGs been included in the formal mandate of one or
more committees? If so, which ones?
▪▪ Has parliament created a committee dedicated to the SDGs?
▪▪ Are there informal cross-party mechanisms that focus on the
SDGs (e.g.: caucuses, interest groups)?

9 Examples of such mechanisms include creating an SDG (sub-)committee; mainstreaming the SDGs in all committees; creating a
working group of all committee chairs to ensure that SDG issues are mainstreamed within and across committees; creating a more
informal mechanism to facilitate regular information exchange on SDG implementation between the committees; and running
committee hearings for experts.
10 A model resolution, adopted by the IPU Executive Committee at the 133rd IPU Assembly, can be found at http://www.ipu.org/un-e/
model_SDG.pdf

21
 In the past 12 months:
▪▪ How many plenary debates has parliament held on the SDGs?
▪▪ Which committees have discussed the SDGs?
▪▪ How many committee reports have been published on the
SDGs?

Part B: reflecting upon the impact of your efforts

• Have parliamentary committees of each house discussed

how to effectively engage with implementing the SDGs?11
▪▪ Has each parliamentary committee had a discussion on the
SDGs under its purview?12
▪▪ Has each parliamentary committee identified which Goals and
targets they should engage with and how? If so, what needs
to be done to empower that committee(s) to take on an SDG
oversight role?
▪▪ Have the different committees in both houses discussed
whether and how they can work together on SDG oversight?
▪▪ Do committees have a work plan which reflects SDG
activities?

• How effectively are parliamentary committees engaging the

government about implementing the SDGs?
▪▪ Do parliamentary committees ask the relevant minister(s) to
attend committee hearings and to provide updates on the
progress of the national SDG strategy or plan?
▪▪ Can parliamentary committees initiate any inquiries into how
successfully the Goals are being achieved?

• How effectively do parliamentary committees engage

with civil society organizations, academia, international
development partners or other key stakeholders in support of
SDG implementation?
▪▪ Do parliamentary committees invite these groups to
participate in public hearings and/or to give evidence about
their involvement in SDG implementation?
▪▪ Do parliamentary committees and/or their staff draw on such
groups to provide committees with briefings and/or technical
advice on SDG issues?

11 This should include consideration of whether and how parliamentary committees can oversee the implementation of any national
sustainable development plan and relevant sectoral plans.
12 For example, many parliaments have a social welfare committee which could be used to oversee implementation of the SDGs
related to health, education and poverty reduction; or a law and justice committee which could be used to track progress against
SDG 16 on inclusive institutions, peace and access to justice.

22
• To what extent have the SDGs been successfully
mainstreamed in parliament? What adjustments, if any, are
necessary to parliament’s structures and working methods to
enable it to work more effectively on the SDGs?

• Is the parliamentary secretariat adequately staffed and

resourced to provide support services to parliamentarians
and committees in relation to their SDG activities?

23
 Questions 4: Making laws in support of
the SDGs
Parliament will play a key role in supporting the implementation of
the SDGs by building a legal framework that enables the goals to
be achieved. This will mean enacting pro-poor, gender-sensitive,
human rights-based legislation. It is crucial that parliament reviews all
proposed legislation through a human rights-based and sustainable
development lens. It will then be able to identify whether and how
a law promotes, or can be amended to promote, more effective
SDG implementation. In so doing, parliament should be proactive in
facilitating public participation in the law-making process. The public’s
input should include holding public hearings on draft laws and inviting
civil society and members of the public to make submissions.

Part A: identifying your baseline

• Has any review been undertaken to identify the legislative

reforms required to support the SDGs?
▪▪ Is draft legislation accompanied by an assessment of the
impact that it would have on implementing the SDGs?
▪▪ Are laws tabled with an explanatory memorandum that
sets out the impact of the proposed law on relevant SDGs?
Does the ministerial speech introducing a law usually explain
whether and how the proposed law will progress the SDGs?

In the past 12 months:

• How many laws have contained a specific reference to the SDGs?
• How many proposed amendments have contained a specific
reference to the SDGs? How many of these amendments have
been adopted?

Part B: reflecting on the impact of your efforts

• How effectively do committees review draft laws through

participatory and open committee processes in order to
ensure that they support SDG implementation?
▪▪ Do parliamentary committees engage the public to make use
of their feedback on real-life SDG implementation issues?
▪▪ Do parliamentary committees invite submissions from outside
experts on SDGs implementation (including what is and is not
working)?

24
 • To what extent can committees or similar bodies perform
an “impact assessment”13 of draft laws from an SDG
standpoint?
▪▪ Is there a process to undertake a gender impact assessment
of proposed laws?
▪▪ Is there a process for assessing the human rights impact of
proposed laws and ensuring their conformity with both ratified
human rights conventions and relevant recommendations
made by United Nations human rights mechanisms?

• How effective is support provided to parliament?

▪▪ Can current staffing levels provide parliamentarians and
committees with the legislative research, SDG impact analysis
and other support that they need?
▪▪ What tools or information would parliament need to be able to
take the SDGs into account more effectively when legislating?

13 A socioeconomic impact assessment tool is designed to enable a parliament to assess the social, cultural, gender, environmental,
human rights, poverty and economic impact of a proposed law. It is usually undertaken by parliamentary secretariat staff, who then
share it with parliamentarians as an information paper for consideration.

25
 Questions 5: Financing the SDGs
Parliament adopts national budgets and oversees expenditure to
ensure public funds have been used properly and effectively. In this
role, parliaments can use their law-making and oversight powers to
focus the government on establishing pro-poor, gender-sensitive,
human rights-based budgets that support SDG implementation.

Part A: identifying your baseline

• Did the most recent budget proposal describe how it

takes the SDGs into account? Does parliament require the
government to do so?

• Does the budget allocate specific funds for the

implementation of the SDGs? If so, what percentage of the
budget is allocated, and for what purpose?

• Does the country receive or provide international

development funding to support the SDGs?

• Do the terms of reference of budget and finance committees

require them to consider SDG implementation as part of their
oversight activities?

• Is there a budget office or unit in the parliamentary

secretariat with the capacity to support parliamentary
committees to assess proposed and actual budget
expenditure against the SDGs?

In the past 12 months:

▪▪ How many reports on the SDGs has the country’s supreme
audit institution or similar body submitted to parliament?
▪▪ How many reports from the relevant committee have
contained specific reference to allocating funds or expenditure
related to the SDGs?

Part B: reflecting on the impact of your efforts

• To what extent does parliament consider the SDGs when

discussing and adopting the budget?
▪▪ Does parliament have effective powers to recommend
amendments to the government or to directly amend the
budget in light of its conclusions?

26
• How effectively can parliament scrutinize budget
expenditure and assess how this has served to advance SDG
implementation?
▪▪ In the event of poor budget support for SDGs, does
parliament or its committees have the power to act or demand
government action to correct the situation?

• How effectively is parliament engaged in overseeing

international development financing in support of the SDGs?
▪▪ Is foreign aid from both public and private sources (NGOs,
foundations, etc.) properly accounted for in the national
budget? How is oversight of these funds exercised?
▪▪ Is there a national development cooperation plan
(also commonly referred to as an “aid policy”)? Does
the government report to parliament on the plan’s
implementation?
▪▪ Do international loans or agreements with international
development partners require approval by parliament or
tabling in the house?

• Does the budget office or parliamentary secretariat have

the capacity to produce a gender audit of the budget or an
analysis of the budget from a human rights perspective?
▪▪ If not, what additional support is needed to enable the
production of such audits or analyses?
▪▪ Are there any civil society organizations with which parliament
can partner to produce those audits or analyses?

27
 Questions 6: Monitoring SDG
implementation
The SDGs will need to be carefully monitored both nationally and
globally. Regular reports will be submitted at the global level to
track progress across countries. Nationally, monitoring will be linked
to accountability for the implementation of national policies and
programmes aligned to the SDG framework. The adoption of a rights-
based approach in the SDGs has led to a greater emphasis on quality
outcomes and distributional issues. Monitoring challenges related
to those new measures should therefore be addressed as a priority.
Data collection and analysis will be critical. It will require strong
national capacities for data collection and disaggregation, including by
gender, age, minority group and health status.

Part A: identifying your baseline

• Has the country prepared a national report on its progress in

the implementation of the SDGs?

• Has the country taken part in the High-level Political Forum

(HLPF) review mechanisms and received international
recommendations about further action on implementing the
SDGs?

In the past 12 months:

▪▪ How many committee hearings have been devoted to the SDGs?
▪▪ How many parliamentary questions have contained a specific
reference to the SDGs?
▪▪ How many inquiries have been carried out related to the SDGs?

Part B: reflecting on the impact of your efforts

• To what extent does parliament review, debate and take

action on progress reports or other relevant documents
produced by the government about the implementation of
the SDGs and/or national sustainable development plans?
▪▪ Did parliament participate in the preparation of any progress
reports?
▪▪ Are these reports referred to a parliamentary committee for
more discussion?
▪▪ How are parliamentary recommendations on sustainable
development and/or SDG-related issues fed back into
government policy processes?

28
 • To what extent is parliament able to ensure follow-up on
recommendations about SDG implementation from global
bodies, namely the High-level Political Forum?14
▪▪ Are reports to international monitoring mechanisms tabled
and debated in plenary sessions of parliament?
▪▪ Are these reports referred to a parliamentary committee
for more detailed consideration (e.g.: the foreign affairs or
relevant sectoral committee)?
▪▪ When international bodies make recommendations to
government on SDG implementation, are they tabled in
parliament for review, debate and/or action?

• To what extent can parliament initiate and run its own

inquiries into issues related to SDG implementation?
▪▪ Is the authority to initiate inquiries actually used to examine
issues around the government’s implementation of SDG-
related programmes or policies?
▪▪ Do such parliamentary inquiries engage openly with the public
or outside experts to make use of their feedback on real-life
SDG implementation issues?
▪▪ Are official reports produced when such inquiries conclude? If
so, is there a requirement to make the reports public? Are the
reports made public in reality (e.g.: in the parliamentary library
or on the parliamentary website)?
▪▪ How effectively is parliament able to pressure the government
and/or SDG focal points to take account of these inquiries’
recommendations?

• How effective is parliamentary monitoring of the

government’s development policy, whether as a “donor” or
“recipient” of overseas development assistance?
▪▪ Are annual reports on disbursements or receipts of overseas
development assistance submitted to parliament for
consideration in plenary or in committee?

• How effective is parliamentary monitoring of the government’s

interactions with international development partners (i.e.:
bilateral donors, regional bodies and multilateral organizations)?
▪▪ Is the government required to table information in parliament
on programmes, projects and activities supported by
international development partners?
▪▪ Are international development partners invited to brief
parliament or its committees on SDG-related issues?

14 Governments will be required to report regularly to the United Nations High-level Political Forum of ECOSOC, which is responsible
for overall SDG implementation oversight. See https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf

29
 Questions 7: Engaging with the public
Making the SDGs people-centred means that people from all walks
of life should have a say in the legal and policy processes that affect
them. It also means that they should be able to demand corrective
action from decision-makers in both government and parliament. The
exponential growth of information technologies is leading to new
ways for people to participate in development planning, budgeting,
implementation and monitoring processes. At the same time, there
is still considerable scope for strengthening conventional methods
of including citizens’ contributions in parliamentary processes. It
is important for parliament to proactively engage with the public
both to find out the public’s SDG priorities and to assess SDG
implementation on the ground.

Part A: identifying your baseline

• Is there a nationwide public campaign on the SDGs? Is

parliament part of it?

• Does parliament hold regular public consultations on the

SDGs? Does it have an open-access online platform to
engage with the public on the SDGs?

In the past 12 months:

▪▪ How many public events on SDGs have been organized in
parliament or by parliament?
▪▪ How many outreach or constituency visits have focused on
the SDGs?

Part B: reflecting on the impact of your efforts

• How effectively does parliament communicate to the public

about its work in support of SDG implementation?
▪▪ Does parliament have a communications strategy that
includes efforts to reach out to the public on SDG issues?
▪▪ Is parliament’s website designed to easily identify the
legislature’s SDG-related activities?
▪▪ Does parliament use social media to communicate about its
SDG-related work?

30
• To what extent does parliament meet with citizens, civil
society organizations and academia to discuss the SDGs or
development issues?
▪▪ If parliamentarians would like to meet with the public to
discuss SDG issues, what support should the parliamentary
secretariat provide to make that happen?
▪▪ Could such an approach be systematized across parliament? If
so, how?
▪▪ Are specific efforts made to reach out to younger generations?

• To what extent do parliamentary committees conduct field

visits to oversee SDG implementation and the impact of
SDG-related programmes on regions and communities?
▪▪ Do parliamentary committees have sufficient powers and/or
resources to run field visits?
▪▪ If/when parliamentary committees run field visits, are
specific efforts made to meet with marginalized or vulnerable
communities (e.g.: women, young people or poor people)?

31
 Questions 8: Ensuring the SDGs serve the
most vulnerable
The 2030 Agenda specifically states that “no one will be left
behind”. Goal 5 explicitly targets gender inequality and Goal 10
calls for governments to reduce inequality more broadly. The 2030
Agenda makes it very clear that to achieve those aims, countries
need to directly tackle gender inequality and make every effort to
engage marginalized and vulnerable groups. This will require tailored
approaches according to geography (e.g.: some rural communities
may have less access to services), demographics (e.g.: special efforts
may be needed to support young people’s access to justice systems)
or other population indicators. Parliament can actively use its powers
to ensure that the needs of vulnerable groups are taken into account.

Part A: identifying your baseline

• Have marginalized and vulnerable groups clearly been

identified by your country?
▪▪ If so, how many marginalized/vulnerable groups are there?
What proportion of the total population do they represent?
What criteria were used to identify them?

• Do national targets and indicators take account of

underrepresented, marginalized and vulnerable groups?
▪▪ Are disaggregated data about the impact of the SDGs on
these groups available to parliament?

• How are these groups represented in parliament (e.g.:

women, young people, indigenous people, people with
disabilities, ethnic or cultural minorities)?

• Has there been any analysis of the special legal, policy or

programme needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups
when the national SDG implementation priorities were being
identified?

• Does parliament make any special efforts to include

underrepresented and marginalized groups in consultations
on SDG-related issues (e.g.: through parliamentary
committees or during field visits)?

In the past 12 months:

▪▪ How many parliamentary debates focused on the rights and
needs of vulnerable and marginalized groups?

32
 ▪▪ How many hearings were held with representatives of
vulnerable or marginalized groups?

Part B: reflecting on the impact of your efforts

• What steps has parliament taken to ensure that “no one is

left behind” in the implementation of the SDGs?
▪▪ To what extent do parliamentarians have access to information
on the economic and social conditions of vulnerable groups
compared with the rest of the population; the main claims and
demands of vulnerable groups in the country; and the main
challenges preventing the rights of vulnerable groups from
being fully realized (e.g.: political, economic, cultural)?
▪▪ To what extent do parliamentarians make use of this
information when developing legislation, adopting budgets
and reviewing implementation of the SDGs?

• What strategies, if any, has parliament introduced to promote

diversity in parliament? Which parliamentary mechanisms15
have been successful in promoting diversity and why? What
factors can encourage people from diverse backgrounds to
work in parliament, or discourage them from doing so?
▪▪ Does parliament monitor representation of underrepresented
and marginalized groups within its own membership,
including the numbers of people from such groups who hold
parliamentary positions of responsibility or decision-making
posts?

• What other approaches could be implemented to bring the

voices and perspectives of underrepresented or marginalized
groups into parliamentary processes regarding SDG issues
(e.g.: appointing non-parliamentarians to parliamentary
committees, and recruiting members of marginalized groups
as committee advisors)?

15 For example, rules or procedures within parliament, rules of political parties, specific parliamentary committees dedicated to the
rights of vulnerable groups, and training sessions for parliamentarians on human rights and/or the rights of specific marginalized
groups.

33
Resources
Understanding the SDGs
• A/RES/70/1. Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.
asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E
• A/RES/69/313. Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third
International Conference on Financing for Development.
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/
RES/69/313&Lang=E
• United Nations Development Group (2015). Mainstreaming the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Interim reference
guide to UN Country Teams. http://www.undp.org/content/dam/
undp/library/MDG/Post2015-SDG/UNDP-SDG-UNDG-Reference-
Guide-UNCTs-2015.pdf
• Sustainable Development Solutions Network (2015).
Getting started with the Sustainable Development Goals,
A guide for stakeholders. http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/
uploads/2015/12/151211-getting-started-guide-FINAL-PDF-.pdf

Parliaments and the SDGs

• Hanoi Declaration. The Sustainable Development Goals: Turning
words into action. Adopted by the 132nd IPU Assembly, Hanoi, 1
April 2015. http://www.ipu.org/conf-e/132/rpt-gendebate.htm
• Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable
development: Building the world the people want.
Declaration adopted at the Fourth World Conference of Speakers
of Parliament, New York, 2 September 2015. http://www.ipu.org/
splz-e/speakers15/declaration.pdf

Useful SDG-related websites

• United Nations Sustainable Development Knowledge Portal.-
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/frameworks
• High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Goals.
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf
• Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals.
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/owg.html
• United Nations Global Compact SDGs Briefs.
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/1401
• WorldWeWant.
https://www.worldwewant2030.org/

34
Useful parliaments and SDGs websites
• Inter-Parliamentary Union.
www.ipu.org
• Agora Parliamentary Portal SDGs pages.
http://www.agora-parl.org/resources/aoe/sustainable-
development-goals-sdgs-post-2015-agenda

35
Acknowledgements
IPU is grateful to Charmaine Rodriguez for drafting the original text of
the toolkit. The text also benefited from comments, suggestions and
input from parliaments and parliamentarians from many countries
and regions, to whom IPU owes a debt of gratitude. Special thanks
go to UNDP for their comments, and support in testing the different
drafts of the toolkit at country level. 

IPU gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the National

People’s Congress of China in the production of this publication.

36
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