Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States

2014 - International Year Of Small Island Developing States

The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States will be held from 1 to 4 September 2014 in Apia, Samoa, to be preceded by activities related to the conference from 28 to 30 August 2014, also in Apia, Samoa. It will focus the world’s attention on a group of countries that remain a special case for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities.

The Conference will seek to achieve the following objectives:

1. assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation;
2. seek a renewed political commitment by focusing on practical and pragmatic actions for further implementation;
3. identify new and emerging challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of SIDS and means of addressing them; and
4. identify priorities for the sustainable development of SIDS to be considered in the elaboration of the post-2015 UN development agenda.

The United Nations General Assembly resolution called for "a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented political document." The small island developing States have also expressed their desire to highlight successful partnerships and areas of innovation.

Preparatory Process

The preparations for this important Conference are currently underway, starting with a robust, SIDS-directed, multi-stakeholder national preparatory process. The national preparations feed into regional meetings in July of 2013, followed by an inter-regional preparatory meeting.

More information on the Preparatory Process

Secretariat

A dedicated Secretariat is responsible for coordinating and facilitating inputs to the preparatory process from all UN bodies. In November 2012, the UN Secretary-General nominated Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, as the Secretary-General for the Third International Conference on SIDS. [Read more]

The Conference Secretariat is housed in the UN DESA, supported by the Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa. As the host country, Samoa is leading the logistical preparations on the ground.

Contact the Secretariat: http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/about.html

 

 

© 2014

Caribbean Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 2014 Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

The Caribbean Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) took place in Kingston, Jamaica, from 2-4 July 2013.

This meeting was the first stop along the road to the Conference in Apia, Samoa in September 2014 and provided an opportunity for the Caribbean SIDS to: assess progress and remaining gaps in implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation; seek a renewed political commitment; identify new and emerging challenges and opportunities for sustainable development of SIDS; and identify priorities for the sustainable development of SIDS to be considered in the elaboration of the post-2015 UN development agenda.

Approximately 100 participants, including representatives of Caribbean governments, UN and regional agencies and organizations, and Major Groups, attended the three-day session. After two days of panel presentations and interactive discussions, government delegates met to identify priorities and draft the outcome document. This document was negotiated in a formal setting on Thursday. After two readings of the document, the twelve remaining delegates began a final round of negotiations at midnight and adopted the 44-paragraph Kingston Outcome of the Caribbean Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States at 4:55 am on Friday, 5 July 2014. The Kingston Outcome will be the basis of the Caribbean regional position at the Inter-regional Preparatory Meeting to be held in Barbados from 26-28 August 2013.

The Summary of this meeting is now available in PDF format http://www.iisd.ca/download/pdf/enb0849e.pdf and in HTML format at http://www.iisd.ca/vol08/enb0849e.html

 

A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF THE MEETING

“As a man sow, shall he reap, and I know that talk is cheap.” – Bob Marley

A year after governments at Rio+20 called for the convening of a third conference on SIDS, substantive preparations are now underway. The Caribbean regional preparatory meeting was the first stop along the road to the Third International Conference on SIDS, in Apia, Samoa in September 2014. It provided an opportunity for the Caribbean SIDS to assess progress and remaining gaps in implementation of the BPOA and MSI, identify new and emerging challenges and opportunities for sustainable development of SIDS, and identify priorities for the sustainable development of SIDS to be considered in the elaboration of the post-2015 UN development agenda.

This brief analysis will examine how the process evolved during the three-day preparatory meeting and how this will feed into the overall preparatory process for the 2014 Apia Conference. More