Civil society organizations gathered around the „SDGs for All“ Platform have developed a second Monitoring Report on progress of Serbia’s preparedness for the implementation of 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a document that represents an agreement at the global level on how we want the world to be in 2030. It consists of 17 ambitiously set Sustainable Development Goals, such as eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, and taking action to combat climate change. By adopting the 2030 Agenda, Serbia committed itself to their implementation.

The Monitoring Report Serbia 2030: Does Serbia govern its (sustainable) development? represents an extensive analysis of Serbia’s readiness for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and it is intended for state institutions, as a form of support in the work on this extremely important international agreement. Certain progress is noticeable, but even after the passing of almost half of the period for the implementation of the Agenda, the initiation of key processes such as the adoption of the Development Plan of the Republic of Serbia are missing. Its adoption would establish a strategic framework for the implementation of the Agenda, as well as the nationalization of the Sustainable Development Goals based on a society-wide dialogue. The nationalization and integration of Sustainable Development Goals into planning documents is complementary to the process of European integration. In 2016, the European Union confirmed that it will implement the Agenda through its public policies. In addition, the Interdepartmental Working Group for 2030 Agenda, one of the key institutional mechanisms for its implementation, does not exist as of 2020, and its re-establishment is not in sight. Another problem is that competent groups or individuals in the Government and relevant institutions dealing with 2030 Agenda are not known to the public, which further reduces the institutional capacities for its implementation.

Within the framework of the report, changes in readiness for achieving the individual Sustainable Development Goals were analyzed. The focus is on the changes made during the last year, compared to the year 2020, which was covered in the first Monitoring report of the Platform: “Serbia 2030: Preparation for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda”. Attention is focused on changes in the strategic, legislative, institutional framework, as well as mechanisms for monitoring progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The novelty of this year’s report is that, for the same time period, the progress in fulfilling the priority Sustainable Development targets was analyzed. They were defined in last year’s Report “Serbia 2030: development priorities – non-state sector report”, after a consultative process with all significant social actors.

In the observed period, a slight progress was made in the framework for the implementation of more than half of the SDGs. However, it is necessary to invest additional efforts, especially in starting the process of drafting and adopting the Development Plan, in order to bring Serbia even closer to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 Agenda. You can find a detailed analysis of changes in these areas, as well as recommendations, in the Report, which you can access HERE.