Organizations gathered around the “SDG for All” Platform remind, in the fourth monitoring report, that the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda itself are very complex and that it is necessary to adapt them to national circumstances. This involves defining development priorities and relevant sub-goals that reflect the priorities of Serbia, after which follows the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals, i.e., their integration into local planning documents. The entire process should be carried out with as broad societal consultations as possible and the improvement of partnerships between different sectors. This is by no means simple, considering that there are only six years left to implement the 2030 Agenda.

Steps Toward the Goal

To position the 2030 Agenda as one of the priority processes, it is necessary to clearly define the authority for managing, coordinating, and implementing the Agenda and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Law on Ministries, as well as to include these processes in the annual work plan of the Government of Serbia.

The second group of recommendations concerns aligning planning documents and the legal framework with the 2030 Agenda, such as adopting the Development Plan of the Republic of Serbia, the highest hierarchical document for development planning. When adopting it, a broad and transparent social dialogue should be conducted, which involves defining development priorities and adapting the Sustainable Development Goals to the conditions in Serbia.

When it comes to establishing institutional mechanisms and coordination mechanisms, it is necessary to form the “Interministerial Working Group for the Implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030,” which should establish cooperation with stakeholders in various activities and at various levels. Additionally, it is important to consolidate and make visible the information about all institutions, working groups, and other bodies involved in this process.

Finally, regarding mechanisms for monitoring progress and reporting on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the “Progress Report on the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 in the Republic of Serbia” by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia should be supplemented with an assessment of the distance from the target indicator values and the effectiveness of public policy measures linked to them, in cooperation with the relevant institutions, working groups, and other bodies. The report should clearly indicate for which indicators data are unavailable and for which conclusions cannot be drawn.