General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

4 May 1994

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

Agenda item 9 
 
 CONSIDERATION OF PLANS AND PROGRAMMES TO SUPPORT THE SUSTAINABLE 
 DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES AND THE  
UTILIZATION 
 OF THEIR MARINE AND COASTAL RESOURCES, WHICH INCLUDES MEETING 
 ESSENTIAL HUMAN NEEDS, MAINTAINING BIODIVERSITY, AND IMPROVING 
 THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ISLAND PEOPLE, AS WELL AS MEASURES THAT 
 WILL ENABLE SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES TO COPE EFFECTIVELY, 
 CREATIVELY AND IN A SUSTAINABLE MANNER WITH ENVIRONMENTAL  
CHANGES 
 AND TO MITIGATE THE IMPACTS ON AND REDUCE THE THREATS POSED TO 
MARINE AND COASTAL RESOURCES 
 
 Letter dated 4 May 1994 from the Permanent Representative 
 of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations addressed to 
the President of the Conference 
 
I should be grateful if the Communiqu<233> of the Alliance of Small  
Island States at its second summit, held on 4 May 1994, could be  
issued as an official document of the Conference. 
 
(Signed) Annette des ILES   
Ambassador and Permanent  
Representative of Trinidad and Tobago 
to the United Nations  
Chairman of the Alliance of  
Small Island States  

Annex 
 
COMMUNIQU<201> 
OF THE ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATES 
AT THE 
SECOND SUMMIT OF THE ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATES, 
BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS, 
4 MAY 1994 
 
The Heads of State and Government of the Alliance of Small Island  
States (AOSIS), meeting in Barbados on 4 May 1994, expressed  
satisfaction at the holding of the Global Conference in a member  
country of AOSIS. The Conference marked the international  
community's formal recognition of the specificities and  
vulnerabilities of small island developing States and addressed  
issues vital to their sustainable development. They recalled  
their first meeting, held on 12 June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro  
during the United Nations Conference on Environment and  
Development (UNCED), at which they had adopted a declaration that  
called on member States to cooperate and collaborate on  
environmental matters towards the goal of their sustainable  
development. They also recalled that Agenda 21, adopted at UNCED,  
contained a separate programme area for small island developing  
States that had called for the convening of the first Global  
Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island  
Developing States. 
 
The Heads expressed particular satisfaction that the cooperation  
of small island developing States through AOSIS had been pivotal  
to the achievement of their objectives in Agenda 21. In that  
context, they were heartened that the international community, in  
defining small island developing States as a special case for  
both environment and development, had recognized the ecological  
fragility and vulnerability of those States, as well as their  
important contribution to global sustainability, and therefore  
the need to provide a supportive international response to the  
special challenges they faced in planning for sustainable  
development. 
 
The Heads expressed their pleasure that the Global Conference had  
been successfully organized in Barbados and they noted the  
special importance of the Conference in that it provided the  
first opportunity to put into practice the agreements of UNCED in  
the specific context of small island developing States. It also  
presented a vital opportunity for the international community to  
respond proactively in the implementation of sustainable  
development. 
 
The Heads re-emphasized the high priority that small island  
developing States placed on sustainable development, especially  
in the light of their vulnerability to external security threats,  
inequitable economic and trade relations with developed  
countries, natural disasters, and the environmental degradation  
consequent upon limited land mass and heavy dependence on fragile  
marine and terrestrial ecosystems. They reiterated their most  
serious concern at the threatening impacts of global warming and  
sealevel rise, which was already adversely affecting small island  
developing States, some of which were threatened with  
obliteration. Accordingly, they reaffirmed their commitment to  
the decisions of UNCED and their determination to pursue policies  
that promoted sustainable development. In that context, they  
welcomed the programme of action and other outcomes that were  
being developed at the Global Conference and expressed their  
strong commitment to take the necessary steps at the national,  
regional and international levels to ensure their implementation. 
 
They acknowledged the need for all citizens and groups in  
society, in particular women, youth and non-governmental  
organizations, to play an important role in national and regional  
efforts for sustainable development. They were particularly  
pleased with the level of participation of non-governmental  
organizations from small island developing States in the  
Conference and with their expressed commitment to play their part  
in the implementation of the programme of action. In that regard,  
the international community should assist in the enhancement of  
the human resource base in small island developing States. 
 
The Heads stressed that a supportive international environment in  
areas such as trade, debt, the transfer of technology and  
financial resources, was essential. They noted and concurred with  
the assessment made by the Group of Eminent Persons, to the  
effect that the implementation of Agenda 21 had lost momentum,  
and they consequently urged the international community to fulfil  
the commitments it had made at Rio and to adopt a more determined  
attitude and approach in the process of implementing the  
programme of action. 
 
The Heads acknowledged that the programme of action provided a  
good basis for strengthening cooperation among small island  
developing States both within and between regions. In that  
respect, they highlighted the issues of human resource  
development, information exchanges, coastal zones and natural  
resource management as among important areas in which cooperation  
should be strengthened in the near future for the benefit of  
small island developing States. The Heads underscored the  
importance of continuing to build and strengthen the coalition of  
small island developing States working together to pursue their  
common interests. 
 
In that regard, the Heads endorsed the recommendation of the  
Group of Eminent Persons that AOSIS should be strengthened and  
supported appropriately to allow it to continue its important  
negotiating mandate. They called on the international community  
to facilitate the efforts of small island developing States to  
implement those and all other aspects of the programme of action  
in a timely manner. 
 
The Heads emphasized the need for maintaining an intensified  
follow-up action by AOSIS both in the implementation of the  
programme of action and in the context of key international  
consultations in such areas as biological diversity, ozone  
depletion, law of the sea, fisheries, land-based sources of ocean  
pollution and climate change. 
 
The Heads agreed to encourage consultations among AOSIS members  
at all levels and at all available opportunities to review  
progress made in the implementation of the decisions emanating  
from the Global Conference, as well as to exchange information,  
experiences and expertise and to address particular issues of  
interest. 
 
They also agreed that their permanent representatives in New York  
should monitor compliance by the United Nations system and the  
international community generally of the commitments adopted at  
UNCED, at the Global Conference on Small Island Developing States  
and at other forums on matters pertaining to the sustainable  
development of small island developing States. 
 
The Heads expressed satisfaction that the Conference had played a  
catalytic role in bringing the small island developing States  
closer together and providing opportunities for them to deepen  
their collaboration in the collective pursuit of their  
sustainable development objectives. They pledged to further  
strengthen and solidify that cooperation in the wake of the  
Conference. 
 
The Heads expressed their gratitude for the collaboration and  
spirit of cooperation of the full Group of 77 and China, during  
both the preparatory process and the Conference itself. 
 
In conclusion, the Heads expressed their deepest gratitude and  
appreciation to the Government and people of Barbados for their  
substantial contribution to the advancement of the interests of  
small island developing States through the generous hosting of  
the first and historic Global Conference on the Sustainable  
Development of Small Island Developing States, and the provision  
of excellent facilities, which had guaranteed an atmosphere  
favourable to the adoption of critical decisions for the  
attainment of the objectives of the Conference.
 
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