22 December 2011: The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted all 42 draft resolutions and four draft decisions submitted to it by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), including key texts on the sustainable development of small island development States (SIDS). The Second Committee’s work during the 66th Session was chaired by the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, Abulkalam Abdul Momen, and it met from 16 September-9 December 2011.

On SIDS, the UNGA adopted draft texts on: follow-up to and implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation (MSI) of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS; and follow-up to the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC IV).

Regarding the latter text, UNGA President Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser said it had requested him to establish an ad hoc working group to further study and strengthen implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA). He announced that he had appointed two Co-Chairs of the Group, Jan Grauls (Belgium) and Brian Bowler (Malawi), and proposed that the working group hold its first meeting in mid-January 2012, in order to conduct its work in time to report back to the UNGA at its 67th Session. He also encouraged groups representing SIDS to participate regularly in the working group. [Highlights of 66th UNGA] [Website of Second Committee] [Summary of UNGA Plenary Meeting]