New York, 31 October 2016; The forty-four members and observers of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) today confirmed the re-appointment of Maldives as the Chair of the Group for two more years. The decision was taken at an Ambassadorial Meeting of the Group held in New York.
The Maldives took up the chairmanship of the Group in January 2015. And subsequently led the Group through a year filled with milestones, beginning with the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in March, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third Conference on Financing for Development in July, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in December. Through all these agreements, SIDS, led by Maldives, were able to carve out special recognition for the specific and unique challenges SIDS face in achieving sustainable development
and combatting the adverse impacts of climate change. In particular, during the climate change negotiations, AOSIS led by Maldives, were able to cement in the global agreement, the recognition of the need to work towards keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees, as well as the concept of loss and damage – flagship positions of the Group.
Through 2015 and 2016, the Maldives led the charge at the United Nations for effective implementation and follow up of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities for Action (SAMOA) Pathway – the Programme of Action for the sustainable development of SIDS. Of note, as a direct follow-up to the commitments made in the SAMOA Pathway, the General Assembly established the Partnership Framework to follow-up on the partnerships announced at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, as well as attract new partnerships. The Maldives, along with Italy, were tasked to facilitate the Steering Committee as co-chairs that also oversees the Partnership Framework.
At the United Nations, the Maldives has also worked, in its capacity as Chair of AOSIS, as well as in its national capacity, to advocate for the importance of representation of SIDS in decision-making at the UN and elsewhere. Advocacy efforts have also concentrated on raising awareness on the special case of SIDS for sustainable development, and how to orient institutional approaches towards these specific challenges.
The Maldives will continue to advocate, lead and champion the issue of Small Island Developing States through this renewed confidence placed by the members of AOSIS in the coming years.
The Alliance of Small Island States was born in 1990 from an initiative of the Government of Maldives that hosted the first ever Conference on Small Island States on Sea Level Rise in 1989.
ENDS
