22 September 2016: The first annual Global Multi-stakeholder Partnership Dialogue for small island developing States (SIDS) took place on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly (UNGA), to follow up on implementation of commitments made at the Third International Conference on SIDS in Samoa in 2014.
The dialogue, which took place on 22 September 2016, in New York, US, announced new partnerships for SIDS and launched a report reviewing work undertaken so far through 40 SIDS-related partnerships. Over 100 guests attended the high-level breakfast event, which was jointly hosted by Mohamed Asim, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maldives, and Sebastiano Cardi, Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN, in their capacity as co-chairs of the Steering Committee on Partnerships for SIDS, in cooperation with the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs (DESA) and the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and SIDS (OHRLLS).
The Steering Committee is a component of the SIDS Partnership Framework established by the UNGA in 2015 to monitor progress of development commitments.
As part of the dialogue event, Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, launched the first edition of a report series on SIDS partnerships, titled ‘Partnerships for Small Island Developing States 2016.’ The report traces the history of international SIDS conferences, and reviews partnerships addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), clean energy, sexual and reproductive health, and wastewater management, among other issues. Wu noted that implementation of the SAMOA Pathway is monitored by the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which is the platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Governments of Aruba, Bahamas and Japan announced various initiatives, including Japan’s partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to address climate change and environmental issues in the Pacific region. The World Ocean Council announced the Global Young Ocean Leaders programme, which will promote the sustainable development of oceans and islands among young business people. Other initiatives launched at the breakfast include an Expert Group Meeting on legally binding treaties for the protection of biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions (BBNJ), to take place in 2017, at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) liaison office in Brussels, Belgium.
The SIDS Partnership Framework monitors the implementation of development cooperation pledges, and encourages partnerships for the sustainable development of SIDS. In addition to the Steering Committee and the annual Global Multi-stakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue, the Framework also includes a partnership reporting template. The 2014 Conference produced the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, a framework for promoting the sustainable development of SIDS. [Event Webpage] [Wu Hongbo’s Remarks] [Partnerships for Small Island Developing States 2016] [SIDS Partnership Framework Webpage]