Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+
The 2025 Rome Civil Society Declaration is now LIVE!
The Rome Declaration began in 2019, as a formal civil society input into the annual SDG16 Conference, previously held in Rome, Italy. Now taking place in New York at the United Nations Headquarters, civil society continue to produce an annual Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+ issues, featuring the concerns, priorities, and demands of colleagues working at the intersection of peace, justice, civic space, human rights, and accountable institutions.
As we approach 2030, it is imperative to assess the widening gap between rhetoric and reality. The world faces an unprecedented geopolitical storm that further hinders progress towards building a more peaceful, just, and inclusive world order. Because it demands deep, systemic, and transformative change, SDG16 can only be achieved through a renewed and genuine commitment to its full realization in all its dimensions.
Consultation on 2026 Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+
The upcoming annual SDG16 Conference will be held this year in New York on 16-17 June.
Through both a consultative workshop and an online survey, the TAP Network and Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS) will collect inputs, proposals and recommendations from civil society partners working around SDG16 (peace, justice, civic space, human rights, accountable institutions) and its interlinkages across the 2030 agenda. With severe backsliding in peace, democracy, and human rights, and existential threats to civil society on the rise, this Civil Society Declaration comes at a critical time for civil society to speak out collectively against these disturbing downward trends at international and national levels, and call on governments to take action.
This Declaration will serve as an important resource that will be recognized formally as an input to the 2026 SDG16 Conference, to be held in New York on 16-17 June 2026. The drafting of this advocacy resource seeks to build upon the previous five versions of the Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+ (prepared in parallel to the annual SDG16 Conference previously held in Rome, Italy), and will look to identify areas where amplified actions to safeguard commitments are needed to further support for implementation and accountability of SDG16+ in 2026 and beyond.
Register below to join the virtual consultation. Also complete the consultation survey by 31 March here: xx
Join the 2026 Interactive Online Consultation
Thursday 15 April 2026 at 9AM ET / 1PM UTC
More information regarding previous iterations of the Rome Civil Society Declaration:
The 2025 Rome Declaration
The 2025 Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+, titled “A compass for Navigating through the Geopolitical Storm” was launched at a moment in time where we see civil society organizations being stripped of their resources, many of which are being redirected towards military spending at the expense of peacebuilding and conflict prevention. This trend accentuates their exposure to threats, as their capabilities are undermined by a lack of financing that puts them at risk. At the same time, civic space continues to shrink, access to justice is severely eroded, and the vision of peaceful societies — especially in fragile and conflict-affected settings — risks slipping further out of reach. In this context, civil society organizations have come together to draft this Declaration to advocate for the international community to maintain a steadfast commitment to upholding the values and principles that foster peaceful global governance.
The 2021 Rome Declaration
The 2021 Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+, titled “A Renewed Call for Strengthening Commitments, Partnerships, and Accelerated Action for SDG16+,” is an addendum to the original 2019 Rome Declaration and serves as a firm and urgent reminder for the global community that peaceful, just and inclusive societies are at the core of not only sustainable development, but also sustainable recovery, especially at a time like this. In the midst of a protracted global crisis, the Rome Declaration 2.0, presented at the 2021 HLPF, is a renewed call for accelerated action on SDG 16 and the 2030 Agenda.
The first Rome Declaration in 2019, titled “Amplified Commitments and Partnerships for Accelerated Action: Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+,” outlines key messages, recommendations, and a broad call to action around SDG16+. The Declaration aimed to mobilize accelerated action on SDG 16 at the 2019 HLPF and SDG Summit.
Since the adoption of the Rome Declaration over two years ago, the main issues that it brought to the fore have remained valid, while the same structural injustices and inequalities that impacted the lives of vulnerable people before the COVID-19 crisis now determine who suffers most from it.
Both versions are the product of online and in-person consultation promoted among the civil society networks of TAP Network, Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS), Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) and Namati.
The 2019 Rome Declaration
“Amplified Commitments and Partnerships for Accelerated Action: Rome Civil Society Declaration on SDG16+” (Rome Declaration) outlines key messages, recommendations, and a broad call-to-action around SDG16+. This Declaration is envisioned to directly feed into the outcomes of the Rome SDG16 Conference, and will be the central focus of our advocacy to encourage accelerated action on SDG16 at the 2019 HLPF in July and the SDGs Summit in September.
The Rome Declaration is the product of an online consultation promoted amongst the TAP Membership and other civil society networks, as well as deliberations during the Rome Conference Civil Society Day on 26 May 2019, just prior to the Rome SDG16 Conference. The extensive process to draft this resolution was guided by three co-facilitators, including Coco Lammers from Namati, Peter van Sluijs from the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, and Pascal Richard from the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict.
The Rome Declaration was adopted and presented by civil society in a statement to Members States, international organizations, and other SDG16+ stakeholders at the Rome SDG16+ Conference on 28 May 2016.
Available Languages: English|French|Spanish|Portuguese
Coordinated by:
The Rome Declaration is also endorsed by 300+ Civil Society organizations.
Endorse the Updated 2021 Rome Declaration
The Rome Declaration is now open for broad endorsements from civil society partners.
Find Out More
About the Rome Civil Society Day
In advance of the Rome SDG16 Conference 2019, the TAP Network and International Development Law Organization (IDLO) hosted a pre-conference Civil Society Day (26 May 2019), to provide a space for all civil society participants to coordinate and meet before the Conference, and to draft the Rome Declaration.
About the Rome SDG16 Conference
In preparation for the 2019 HLPF, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and IDLO, in partnership with the Government of Italy, organized the Rome SDG16 Conference (27-28 May 2019) to take stock of global progress towards achieving the SDG 16.
