24 May 2016: Draft modalities for the UN Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 (conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) have been circulated by the Co-Facilitators on the conference modalities, Jagdish Koonjul (Mauritius) and Magnus Lennartsson (Sweden). The text will be considered at the next informal consultation, on 1 June 2016.

The Conference will convene from 5-9 June 2017, in Nadi, Fiji. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) decided to convene the UN Conference to Support Implementation of SDG 14 in a December 2015 resolution (A/RES/70/226).

The draft addresses the Conference’s objectives, theme, organization, preparatory process, participation, Secretariat and Trust Fund. It welcomes the offer by the Governments of Fiji and Sweden to co-host the Conference and assume the costs.

The draft proposes that the Conference meet on the theme, ‘Protect our oceans, protect our future: partnering for the implementation of SDG 14.’ The proposed objectives include: identifying ways and means to strengthen cooperation for the implementation of SDG 14 and related targets, taking into account their interlinkages with other goals and targets; building on existing successful partnerships, and launching innovative new ones to advance implementation; involving all relevant stakeholders to assess progress and identifying implementation gaps; sharing experience gained through regional and national strategies/institutions; and contributing to the follow-up and review process of SDG 14 by reporting its outcomes to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

According to the draft modalities, the Conference will include: eight plenary meetings; seven Partnership Dialogues, which are expected to be interactive and multistakeholder in nature; and a special event commemorating World Oceans Day on 8 June. The text also: details the organizational arrangements for the Partnership Dialogues; requests the UNGA President to appoint two co-facilitators to oversee informal intergovernmental consultations on issues relating to the Conference and its preparatory process; requests the UNGA President to convene a two-day preparatory meeting in February 2017, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, in order to consider the themes for the Partnership Dialogues and elements for a draft political declaration; requests the UN Secretary-General to submit a report to the UNGA, by the end of January 2017, outlining challenges and opportunities, gaps and constraints for implementing SDG 14; requests the co-facilitators to present a draft political declaration no later than March 2017; and requests the UNGA President, in consultation with governments, to finalize the organizational arrangements for the Conference no later than April 2017.

The outcome of the Conference is expected to be a political declaration and a report with summaries of the Partnership Dialogues focusing on concrete and action-oriented recommendations, as well voluntary commitments for implementing SDG 14.

The resolution requests the UN Secretary-General to appoint a Secretary-General of the Conference, and invites international and bilateral donors, as well as the private sector, financial institutions, foundations and other donors in a position to do so, to support the Conference preparations through voluntary contributions to a trust fund. [Draft Modalities] [IISD RS Story on Co-Facilitators] [Conference Website]