ENB @ SIDS Preparatory Meeting for the 10-year Review of BPOA

SIDS Preparatory Meeting for the 10-Year Review of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA)
United Nations Headquarters, New York | 14-16 April 2004

ENB (English)

Editions:	Audio& Photos	HTM	PDF	TXT
Curtain Raiser
14 April
15 April
16 April & SUMMARY

BNT (Français)

Éditions:	Audio - Photos	HTM	PDF	TXT
Levée de Rideau
14 avril
15 avril
16 avril - Compte rendu

Highlights from Friday, 16 April 2004

On Friday, 17 April, delegates concluded their reading of sections on: trade: globalization and trade liberalization; sustainable capacity development and education for sustainable development; sustainable production and consumption; national enabling environments; health; knowledge management and information for decision making; culture; implementation; access to financial resources; and monitoring and evaluation. Following the conclusion of the initial exchange on the Strategy Document on Friday afternoon, delegates considered the way forward. Facilitator MacKay noted that while agreement can be reached quickly in some areas, there are many others where more discussion is required. He proposed to convene two to three days of informal “informals” in New York to begin negotiations on a compilation text, based on the Strategy Document and proposals that have been tabled during the informal consultations. In light of the number of outstanding issues, Facilitator MacKay recommended, and delegates agreed, that informal consultations should be held on 28 and 29 August 2004 in Mauritius to facilitate preparations for the IM. Photo: Anwarul Chowdhury, Secretary-General of the Mauritius International Meeting, and Facilitator Don MacKay

Listen to Facilitator Don MacKay's report back to the Preparatory Meeting

AGENDA FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING: On Friday morning, a draft Provisional Agenda was circulated. The G-77/China proposed, and delegates agreed, to amend the agenda, by removing a sub-item on “Special Events” under the General Debate, and by replacing agenda items on the draft Strategy and Political Documents with an agenda item on the adoption of the final outcomes of the IM.

CSD-12 PLENARY: CSD-12 Chair Børge Brende opened the CSD Plenary on Friday afternoon, inviting the Commission to resume consideration of the preparations for the review of the implementation of the BPOA. Following a report from Facilitator MacKay on the informal consultations that took place over the three days, the Commission:
*adopted the Agenda for the International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS (E/CN.17/2004/L.2);
*agreed to designate MacKay as the facilitator of the informal “informals” to be held in New York in the middle of May; and
*decided to hold informal consultations on 28 and 29 August in Mauritius prior to the IM.

IM Secretary-General Chowdhury said his office plans to work closely with the host country and consult with delegations on organizational issues concerning the IM agenda. On the Civil Society Forum scheduled for 27-29 August 2004, he highlighted the decision taken on NGO accreditation and noted that only eight new NGOs have been accredited thus far. He urged delegates to consider how to best allow for additional NGOs, who have not met the deadline for submission of accreditation applications, to participate in the IM. He called on the international community to contribute to the voluntary funds to allow for SIDS participation in the informal consultations prior to the IM. He praised delegates for their engagement and MacKay for his able leadership in facilitating the informal consultations, and thanked delegates for their spirit of cooperation.

Noting that the SIDS agenda has expanded since the Barbados Conference, CSD-12 Chair Brende said the IM offers the international community an opportunity to review challenges and emerging issues, and called for finding practical solutions for SIDS. He closed consideration of the CSD-12 agenda item on the preparations for the IM at 5:40 pm.

Informal Consultations

Members of the G-77/China during the informal consultations

The US delegation during the informal consultations

Diane Quarless and Kenza Kaoukib-Robinson, SIDS Unit (left) and Espen Ronneberg, SIDS Unit (right)

Delegates from the EU during the informal consultations

The Canadian delegation consults on the Document (left) and Secretary-General Chowdhury, Jagdish Koonjul, Spokesperson for the G-77/China, and Facilitator MacKay (right)

Diane Quarless, SIDS Unit, with John Ashe, Antigua and Barbuda (left)

Members of the EU, US and the G-77/China consult on the agenda for the Mauritius International Meeting (left) and Sateeaved Seebaluck with members of the G-77/China

Sateeaved Seebaluck, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mauritius, with Veerle Vandeweerd, Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land Based Activities, UNEP (left)

CSD-12 Plenary

Anwarul Chowdhury, Secretary-General of the Mauritius International Meeting, JoAnne DiSano, Division for Sustainable Development, CSD-12 Chair and Norway's Environment Minister Børge Brende, and Antonio DeBaros

Side Event: A Programme of Work on Island Biodiversity in Response to the World Summit on Sustainable Development--organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity