Monday, 5 December 2011 New York; Maldives-led resolution on the “Review of United Nations support for small island developing States” was adopted today by consensus at the resumed session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN, with the support of over 40 co-sponsors.
The resolution, which had been originally tabled during the Council’s substantive session held in July in Geneva, had been deferred at the request of Maldives due to differences of opinion arising on its budgetary implications.
The Permanent Representative of Maldives, H.E. Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, in a statement delivered following the adoption of today’s resolution noted that the consensual nature of this resolution reaffirms the importance we place on addressing the development issues that SIDS face due to their unique and particular vulnerabilities. In order to properly address these issues in the most effective and efficient fashion, the independent views and perspectives of development experts are essential. In his statement, he also encouraged the Secretariat of the Committee on Development Policy (CDP), the body entrusted with the task of preparing the report to “use innovative and cost-saving methods in the preparation of this report” for the Council prior to its substantive session of 2013.
The Maldives, and other SIDS have been arguing for an independent review of what improved and additional measures might be needed to address the unique and particular vulnerabilities of SIDS. Negotiations have been ongoing for months and have been led by the Maldives delegations, supported by a number of other SIDS and donor partner countries, in both New York and in Geneva during 2011. The adoption of this resolution today by consensus marks the culmination of the government’s efforts to make the UN system more responsive to the needs of SIDS.
As one of the most active voices in the international arena on promoting the environmental, economic and social vulnerabilities faced by SIDS, the Maldives has been calling for a thorough study of how the UN system supports and interacts with small island states. The resolution would have the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) to undertake the study and submit its findings on the effective implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy – the two principal tools used by the UN system to provide support to SIDS in their socio-economic development.
The resolution was co-sponsored by the following countries: Cape Verde, Cote D’Ivoire, Denmark, Finland, Fiji, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Morocco, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Tuvalu., Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and Vanuatu.
The following countries aligned themselves with the Maldives statement delivered after the adoption of the resolution: Denmark, Finland, Fiji, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Samoa, Seychelles, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Sweden, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Kingdom and Vanuatu.
