11 December 2013: The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), before concluding its 68th session, approved two draft resolutions pertaining to small island developing States (SIDS). The first text, ‘Follow-up to and implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States’ (document A/C.2/68/L.67), outlines the preparatory process for the Third International Conference on SIDS in 2014.

By this text, the UNGA would acknowledge the unique vulnerabilities to SIDS, and their commitment to sustainable development. It would set as the overarching theme of the SIDS Conference “the sustainable development of small island developing States through genuine and durable partnerships.”

The text also sets out details of the UNGA’s preparatory process for the Conference. Two meetings of the Preparatory Committee will take place in New York, US, on: 24-26 February 2014; and 23-27 June 2014. In addition, an Intersessional meeting will take place on 21-25 April 2014.

Following the first PrepCom, the co-chairs are invited to prepare the draft outcome document, to be circulated no later than 14 March 2014.

The text includes a provisional agenda and proposed organization of work for the Conference, and agrees to hold six high-level “multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues” as part of the Conference proceedings.

The second text, ‘Implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development,’ reaffirms the outcome of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), welcoming the decision to host a Third International Conference on SIDS, and encouraging the international community and relevant stakeholders to support the Conference and its preparatory process.

The Third International Conference on SIDS will take place in Apia, Samoa from 1-4 September 2014. [Second Committee Draft Proposals] [SIDS Conference Website]