At the Second Committee debate on sustainable development, the Maldives emphasized the importance of implementing the 2030 Agenda, Addis Ababa Agenda and the Samoa Pathway, the Programme of Action created specifically to assist small island developing states (SIDS). As a follow-up to the SAMOA Pathway, the Maldives welcomed the launch of the SIDS Partnership Framework, a new mechanism designed to enable durable and genuine partnerships between SIDS and other countries - a program of particular value to the Maldives.
Of all the different topics at hand, climate change remains an existential threat for SIDS, and for the Maldives, “there can be no lasting sustainable development without equal commitment to addressing climate change.” The Maldives called for fast and ambition action that includes a strong legally binding climate agreement at COP21 in Paris under the UNFCCC. This is of particular importance for SIDS including the Maldives as small islands face extreme vulnerability to disasters, as exemplified by recent destruction in the Commonwealths of Dominica and the Bahamas, as well as previous disasters in Vanuatu, Micronesia and many more. As such, the Maldives argued that there is a critical need to build resilience by addressing both climate change adaptation and mitigation, strengthening monitoring, prevention and preparedness to respond to and recover from disasters.
In its statement, the Maldives further expressed its commitment to making real progress on sustainable development. This requires accurate and transparent information and the Maldives urged UN agencies and partners to help enhance the technical capacity of developing countries to have access data collection and analysis.
The statement was delivered by Midhfa Naeem, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Maldives to the United Nations.
