UN CONFERENCE TO TACKLE CONCERNS OF SMALL ISLAND NATIONS : QC IMC

Called “Small Islands, Big Stakes: International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States,” this is the first UN conference to focus on the implementation aspect of the outcome document, said Anwarul K. Chowdhury, the Meeting’s Secretary-General. Chowdhury is also the Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the Secretary-General for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States of the UN.

More than 2,000 participants from the islands, including about 25 heads of state and government, their donor partners and other countries are expected to attend the event. These countries belong to the category of small island developing states (SIDS) from regions such as Africa (e.g. Cape Verde, Mauritius), Asia and the Pacific (e.g. Cook Islands, Timor Leste), and Latin America and the Caribbean (e.g. Bahamas, Jamaica). Preparations for this gathering began with regional meetings in 2003, culminating in an inter-regional ministerial session in the Bahamas in January 2004, where island governments adopted a strategy document as the basis for future talks. Further negotiations with the international community on the texts to be adopted in the Mauritius Meeting began in March 2004 and continued in April, May and October in New York, USA.

At the Meeting, SIDS are expected to present their respective cases to the international community as well as to seek partnerships and innovative ways to improve their general situation. SIDS generally face serious threats and continually seek ways to boost and support their efforts to achieve sustainable development and improve their citizen’s lives. Among the issues they face are: the adverse impact of climate change, protection for fragile ecosystems, development of renewable energy, more sustainable tourism, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, security challenges, better market access, trade losses, enhancement of information technology, and the promotion of island cultures, to name a few. Most of these issues were tackled and agreements were reached in the run-up events to the Mauritius Meeting except for the contentious ones such as climate change, trade, market access, proposals for new financing mechanisms and modalities of implementation. Thus, informal negotiations will resume on 07 and 08 January in Mauritius right before the conference.

In addition to the main conference and the informal negotiations, several parallel events will be held such as: the Civil Society Forum (06-09 January); the youth gathering “Youth Visioning for Island Living” (07-12 January); a large event to promote exchanges among small islands called the “Community Vilaj” (06-14 January); and “Island Market,” a showcase of the islands’ diversity of goods and products.

“The Mauritius conference provides a critical window of opportunity for the future of small islands. If this occasion to extend the international community's support to small island developing states in their development efforts is not successful, it might take decades before such an opportunity arises again,” Chowdhury said.