Corporate Capture of the Agenda: How privatization and financialization are hampering efforts to reach those furthest left behind

When? Tuesday 19 September 2023, 11.00 am ET.

Where? Virtual and in-person, Human Rights Watch Offices, New York, USA.

When the Sustainable Development Agenda was being negotiated in 2015, many governments as well as the UN emphasized the need to mobilize private sector actors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As state representatives gather at the UN for the SDG Summit in New York in September 2023 to review progress towards the SDGs, the co-hosts of this side event take the opportunity to discuss with frontline activists whether this engagement with the private sector is helping or preventing marginalized groups from achieving the SDGs.

The side event will explore examples of private sector involvement in the SDGs, both positive and negative. The panellists will focus on key areas of the SDGs, for instance health, education, water, climate and biodiversity. Expected outcomes include concrete proposals for reform at the national and international levels.

Co-organizers are Center for Economic and Social Rights, Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Human Rights Watch and Minority Rights Group International.