1 August 2011: The UN General Assembly has issued an advance, unedited copy of the Report of the Secretary-General on “Review of United Nations system support to Small Island Developing States.”

The report was requested by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the General Assembly in September 2010, at the five-year high-level review of the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation (MSI) of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (BPoA). The outcome of that review called on the Secretary-General to conduct a comprehensive review of, and examine ways to enhance, coherence and coordination of UN support for small island developing States (SIDS), and to make concrete recommendations in this regard.

As in the advance, unedited copy of the Secretary-General’s report to ECOSOC, circulated in May 2011 ahead of ECOSOC’s 2011 substantive session, the report concludes that there are gaps and room for improvement in the provision of support to SIDS, including in the delivery of coordinated and coherent programmes for the implementation of the MSI. It also notes that UN agencies collectively are committed to providing normative, analytical and capacity-building support to SIDS, to enhance international recognition of their special case and to help strengthen their resilience to challenges. [Publication: Report of Secretary-General] [UN General Assembly Resolution 65/2] [SIDS Policy & Practice Story on Release of Report for ECOSOC]