A/HRC/43/33 I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to its resolution 37/24, the Human Rights Council held the second of the two intersessional meetings for dialogue and cooperation on human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on 3 December 2019. Inspired by the political declaration of the high-level political forum on sustainable development (General Assembly resolution 74/4), the theme of the meeting was “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”. The programme of the meeting consisted of four sessions. 1 2. The Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Frank Tressler Zamorano, chaired the meeting. The President of the Human Rights Council, Coly Seck, made brief opening remarks, and the President of the Economic and Social Council, Mona Juul, delivered a video message. The United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, gave her assessment of the promise and challenges of the 2030 Agenda. The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Reform, Jens Wandel, gave an opening statement focusing on the contribution of the reform of the United Nations development system to accelerating implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. 3. The topic of the second session was “Reflections and conversation on human rights and accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”. The opening panel comprised five panellists: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs at The New School and member of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy; Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children; Deprose Muchena, Regional Director for Southern Africa at Amnesty International; Sima Samar, Special Envoy of the President of Afghanistan and State Minister for Human Rights and International Relations; and Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat. Building on the pledge in the political declaration of the high-level political forum, the panel focused on the vision of leaving no one behind and on how promoting and protecting human rights could accelerate the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Director of the SDG Lab at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Nadia Isler, moderated the discussion. Representatives of national Governments, the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations spoke about their experiences and practices. 4. During the lunch break, organizations working on the relationship between human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals presented their work at a knowledge fair. 5. The topic of the third session was human rights and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level. It consisted of an examination of specific human rights policies, practices, mechanisms and commitments at the country level, including at the subnational level, that contributed to accelerating delivery and implementation of the Goals, and the role played by the United Nations as it underwent reform. The panel comprised Brian Williams, Resident Coordinator in Albania; María Victoria González-Román, Ambassador of the 2030 Agenda for the Government of Spain; Eva Grambye, Deputy Executive Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights; Roberto Morales Sáenz, Development Analyst at the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy of Costa Rica; and George Morara, Commissioner and Vice Chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. The panellists described how their respective countries and organizations were building on the synergies between human rights and implementation of the Goals at the national level. The Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Geneva, Monica Ferro, moderated the discussion. Participants shared their national experiences and practices. 6. The topic of the closing session was building on the pledges of the political declaration of the high-level-political forum. The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Reform and Peggy Hicks, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and 1 2 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/2030Agenda/SecondSession/ Programme.pdf.