MANILA, Philippines – Over 100 civil society organizations (CSOs) from across the Philippines joined the United Nations (UN) on Wednesday in a collaborative effort to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN-Civil Society Engagement Forum provided a platform to address challenges, explore new partnerships, and align priorities under the 2024-2028 UN Cooperation Framework for the country.

“Today’s forum is a critical step to strengthen coalitions with CSOs under our One UN approach. They are an indispensable link between the people and the authorities. By harnessing the insights and expertise of civil society leaders, we can tailor our initiatives to truly address the needs of the most vulnerable," said UN Philippines Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez.

A strong civil space is key for development and the Netherlands will continue to support CSOs and the UN in consolidating their efforts towards common goals, said Ambassador Marielle Geraedts of the Kingdom of Netherlands to the Philippines in her address to the forum.  

“The Netherlands proudly supports the UN’s efforts to institutionalize dialogue and consultation with civil society,” she said “The UN’s work remains essential to all this, as it facilitates these partnerships and ensures the global SDG framework stays aligned with the needs of local communities. Together, we can ensure that the SDGs are truly realized and that no one is left behind.”

The rights-based approach to development requires a strong civil society as distinct from and complementary to the government and business sectors, said Karen Gomez Dumpit of Human Rights and People’s Empowerment Centre during her keynote remarks.  

“CSOs work tirelessly on a myriad of fronts, from climate change and biodiversity, to governance, health, education, agriculture, peace, and human rights. This diversity is our greatest asset,” she said.

During the forum, participants provided inputs on how the concerns and realities of their constituents can be addressed with the help of the UN around the thematic areas of inclusive human development, peace and governance, sustainable economic development and climate action.

“Maganda siya, I think maraming representation yung iba-ibang sectors, (It’s good, I think this event has a lot of representation among different sectors.)” according to Sheila Aggaro of the Lifehaven Center for Independent Living (CIL) – a non-profit organization for persons with disabilities (PWD) advocating for independent living and disability inclusion across the country.

She said that events like the UN-CSO Engagement Forum should be cross-cutting because there are PWDs across all sectors of society.  

“Sana hindi lang meta level yung participation, but more dun sa specific na engagements. (I hope our level of participation is not just on the meta level, but more on the specific engagements),” Aggaro said.

For Rose Trajano, international advocacy officer of In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity, partnerships between the UN and CSOs need to be systematic, programmatic, and strategic.

“We’re expecting that the UN and CSOs will monitor together our obligations when it comes to joint programmes, different programmes, under this [Cooperation] framework. It’s also very critical, as you are making us understand the framework and how it relates to our priorities, on how we follow through – monitoring and evaluation,” she added.  

The UN-Civil Society Engagement Forum represents a commitment to building stronger partnerships with civil society, ensuring that development efforts are inclusive, sustainable, and in tune with the needs of the most vulnerable populations.

“As the role of the UN shifts towards the broader strokes of sustainable development by focusing on knowledge and policy, jointness, and innovative financing, we are looking at a cooperation where the civil society’s contributions are at front and center of multilateralism,” Gonzalez said. 

For inquiries, please contact unic.manila@unic.org