Pacific Small Island Developing States

Highlights for Tuesday, 16 July 2019 UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivers an address at the opening of the High-level segment. Posted by IISD Reporting Services on Tuesday, 16 July 2019 The High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Ministerial Segment of HLPF opened with several high-level statements on Tuesday morning. UN Secretary-General (UNSG) António Guterres called for “dramatically scaling up” private and public investments in SDGs and called on governments to “kickstart a decade of delivery and action”. María Fernanda Espinosa, President, UN General Assembly, said the five summit-level meetings at UN Headquarters in September 2019 will be a key opportunity to show that multilateralism works.Mary Robinson, Chair, The Elders, said the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement can no longer be considered voluntary, after the alarming findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Richard Curtis, Screenwriter, Producer, and Film Director, UK, called on governments to seize the “unique opportunity” presented by the SDGs before the window of opportunity begins to close, and an acceptance of failure sets in. Hoesung Lee, IPCC Chair, said achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be made more challenging by the impacts of global warming, but the impacts will be considerably less if global average temperature rise is limited to 1.5°C, instead of 2°C.This opening of the High-level Segment was followed by the presentation of voluntary national reviews (VNRs) by 14 countries through the day: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Pakistan, Palau, UK, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Fiji, and Mongolia.In the afternoon, as part of the High-level Segment, a session took place on "What are regions telling us about implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs?". Chairs of the regional forums on sustainable development, held annually, presented their outcomes. Inequality was a key challenge for most of the regions. A respondent to the presentations, Sarah Zaman from Women’s Action Forum, pointed to the under-utilized potential of regional level-bodies, which she said could address issues such as illicit financial flows, tax avoidance, and trade. She also proposed that interim VNRs should be presented at the regional level, before they are presented at the HLPF.In the session on messages to the HLPF, representatives of the UN Environment Assembly, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Forum on Forests, ECOSOC Youth Forum, and International Labour Organisation presented messages to HLPF, highlighting synergies with the SDGs and 2030 Agenda.The General Debate started with a presentation of key messages from the UNSG’s reports on long term trends and scenarios and on the theme of ECOSOC 2019 session; and from the Committee on Development Policy (CDP) report. Statements by Member States followed.For more details on the day's events and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from HLPF 2019. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting, which is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Opening of the High-Level Segment of ECOSOC and Ministerial Segment of HLPF Delegates gather in the UN General Assembly for the opening of the high-level segment. Creative group 'Gruppo Jobel - Art for Earth' perform a interpretive dance to officially open the session. Five youth deliver key messages about the importance of the SDGs. Inga Rhonda King, President, ECOSOC Mary Robinson, Chair, The Elders UN Secretary-General António Guterres María Fernanda Espinosa, President, UN General Assembly Hoesung Lee, IPCC Chair Richard Curtis, Screenwriter, Producer and Film Director Jean Jacques Elmiger, President of the 108th International Labour Conference (second from right), hands over the International Labour Organization (ILO) Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Voluntary National Reviews Fourteen VNRs were presented throughout the day. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Iceland Kanwal Shauzab, Parliamentary Secretary, Pakistan Lassane Kabore, Minister of Economy, Finance, and Development, Burkina Faso Tlohelang Aumane, Minister of Development Planning, Lesotho Sinton Soalablai, Minister of Education, Palau Khurelbaatar Chimed, Ministry of Finance, Mongolia Rachid Bladehane, Permanent Secretary-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Algeria Zhaslan Madiyev, Vice-Minister of National Economy, Kazakhstan Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Fiji Joseph Seka Seka, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Côte d'Ivoire Rory Stewart, Secretary of State for International Development, UK Josip Brkić, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bosnia and Herzegovina Zdravka Bušić, State Secretary for Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Croatia Yanara Chhieng, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary-General, Cambodia Rehabilitation and Development Board, Council for Development, Cambodia What are Regions Telling Us About Implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? During the session, Chairs of the five regional forums shared their experiences about implementing the SDGs. Moderator Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Rodrigo Malmierca, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Cuba Nezha El Ouafi, Secretary of State to the Minister of Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development, Morocco Fidelis Magalhaes, Minister for Legal Reforms and Parliamentary Affairs, Timor-Leste Ogerta Manastirliu, Minister of Health and Social Protection, Albania Nouri Al-Dulaimi, Minister of Planning, Iraq Messages to the HLPF Ola Elvestuen, President, UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), and Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway Michelle Bachelet Jeria, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Boris Greguška, Chair, UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) 14 Bureau Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO General Debate Delegates gather in the Trusteeship Council for the start of the General Debate. Elliott Harris, Assistant Secretary-General, Economic Development and Chief Economist, UN DESA José Antonio Ocampo, Chair, Committee on Development Policy (CDP) President Thomas Esang Remengesau, Palau, speaking on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Epsy Campbell Barr, Vice-President, Costa Rica, speaking on behalf of the Group of Middle Income Countries Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Around the Venue The UN General Assembly Hall is decorated with the SDGs. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister for National Development Planning, Indonesia Richard Curtis, Screenwriter, Producer and Film Director UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed and Achim Steiner, Administrator, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Hoesung Lee, IPCC Chair Delegates from Pakistan Delegates from Serbia Mary Robinson, Chair, The Elders Seán Canney, Minister of State for Communications, Climate Action, and Environment, Ireland (left) Macharia Kamau, Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya

Highlights for Friday, 5 April 2019 IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, gavelled the meeting to a close at 5:50 pm. Delegates at the second session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) met on Friday, 5 April 2019 for the last day of IGC-2. They finalized their discussions on cross-cutting issues, heard reports from the informal working group facilitators, and discussed the way forward. They shared views on:•    The nature of the text to be discussed at IGC-3, with some favoring treaty text, and others preferring a streamlined document that eliminates options that garnered no agreement at IGC-2; and •    The format of the next meeting, with many underlining the need for parallel meetings, and small group meetings (informal-informals) to further progress.As the meeting drew to a close, the sense of urgency to begin treaty-based negotiations was palpable. During the final plenary, IGC President Rena Lee outlined her plan to develop a concise document containing treaty text to facilitate focused negotiations at IGC-3. She closed the meeting at 5:50 pm.The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of IGC-2 will be available on Monday, 8 April 2019. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from BBNJ IGC 2. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Informal Working Group on Cross-Cutting Issues View of the informal working group on cross-cutting issues Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Jean Didier Ramde, Burkina Faso Gou Haibo, China Asha Challenger, Antigua and Barbuda Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Deborah Manase, Marshall Islands Sunan Rustam, Indonesia Vezua Paiva, Angola L-R: Peggy Kalas and Duncan Currie, High Seas Alliance Susan Whelan, Holy See Lionel Yee, Singapore Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the informal working group on marine genetic resources Alice Revell, New Zealand, Facilitator of the informal working group on area-based management tools Olai Uludong, Palau, Facilitator of the informal working group on capacity building and transfer of marine technology IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, presented the reports for the informal working group on environmental impact assessments and cross-cutting issues on behalf of René Lefebre. L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); and Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS Evan Bloom, US Mohammed Bessedik, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Tetsuya Yoshimoto, Japan Fuad Bateh, Palestine, on behalf of the G-77/China Audrey Abayena, Ghana Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Maria Angela Ponce, the Philippines Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) UNDOALOS Secretariat Delegates from EU with IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore Delegates from the Pacific Small Island Developing States Delegates from Latin America Delegates from the African Group Delegates from CARICOM Participants from the High Seas Alliance Delegates from the IGC-2 Bureau L-R: William Oddo, Belinda Kiilu, and James Waweru, Kenya L-R: Nicholas Ioannides, Cyprus, with Teresa Cruz Sardiñas and Indira Guardia, Cuba Delegates from India L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore (center) with ENB IGC-2 team members Bernard Soubry, Priscila Andrade, Asheline Appleton, Tallash Kantai, Asterios Tsioumanis, and Franz Dejon

Highlights for Thursday, 4 April 2019 L-R: Joan Yang, Nauru; Antoine Misonne, Belgium; Martín Mainero, Argentina; and Wini Broadbelt, the Netherlands Delegates at the second session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) convened in an informal working group on cross-cutting issues on Thursday.They considered: the clearinghouse mechanism; review, including financial resources, compliance and liability; final clauses; definition of key terms; general principles and approaches; scope. During the lunch break, delegates attended the last side-events of the meeting: “30x30: A Blueprint for Ocean Protection - and how the global ocean treaty can deliver that,” presented by Greenpeace; “Measuring progress in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 on the basis of the indicator for target 14.c: UN-Oceans’ proposed methodology,” presented by UN-Oceans.In the corridors, some delegates considered the trek through the labyrinth of options in parts of the document as “a painful, but essential exercise” to further develop mutual understanding. Others were less enthusiastic: at the end of the session, two veterans said that progress felt like “one step forward, two steps back,” or “tap dancing on the spot.”For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from BBNJ IGC 2. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Informal Working Group on Cross-Cutting Issues L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS; and Bart Smit Duijzentkunst, UNDOALOS Diedre Mills, Jamaica, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Alain Tellier, Canada Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of Pacific Small Island Developing States (P-SIDS) Luke Roughton, New Zealand Juan Cuéllar Torres, Colombia, on behalf of the Like-Minded Latin American Countries Sora Lokita, Indonesia Metod Špaček, EU L-R: Kukhyun Ahn and Jung So-Hyun, Republic of Korea Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, International Council of Environmental Law Camille Loth, World Wide Fund for Nature Lionel Yee, Singapore Evan Bloom, US Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Justin Whyatt, Australia L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS Steve Fletcher, UN Environment Programme Mamadou Diallo, Senegal Gillian Shirley Malielegaoi, Samoa Zeynep Gūdūk, Turkey L-R: Martín Mainero, Argentina, consulting with Joan Yang, Nauru L-R: John Fintakpa Lamega, Togo, with Serge Ségura, Ambassador for Oceans, France L-R: Arne Langlet and Alice Vadrot, University of Vienna, Austria Delegates from Australia Delegates from Nigeria