Heads of state and government leaders from around the globe have descended on the United Nations in New York for the 71st United Nations General Assembly. Their “general debate” on 20 September will focus on the theme: The Sustainable Development Goals: a universal push to transform our world.

To push forward with implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the incoming President of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson of Fiji, has created a special advisory group on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Independent monitoring and rigorous accountability also play a crucial role in the review of progress in implementing the 2030 Agenda and overcoming structural obstacles to achieving the goals. The Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, working with other civil society organizations and networks, has produced the first Spotlight on Sustainable Development Report assessing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the structural obstacles to its realization.

The report puts the spotlight on the policies needed to achieve the 17 goals, with a sharp focus on inequalities, responsibility of the rich and powerful, means of implementation and systemic issues, addressing questions such as:

What are the main obstacles to achieving the SDGs? Are the extraterritorial obligations of all countries adequately and fairly addressed? Who is being held accountable for negative spillover effects?

The report includes analyses of the SDGs, data and indicator challenges in measuring progress towards achieving them and an overview of more than 40 national civil society assessments. Contributions have been received from a diverse range of civil society organizations, networks, trade unions; from journalists, activists, scientists and experts on human rights, gender, economic and environmental issues.

Download the full report and single chapters at http://www.2030spotlight.org/