SIDS: Decisions of the GA
United Nations General Assembly Fifty-sixth session
(A/RES/56/198)
Further implementation of the outcome of the Global
Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
The General Assembly,
Recalling its
resolution 49/122 of 19 December 1994 on the Global Conference on the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States,
Recalling also its
resolutions 51/183 of 16 December 1996, 52/202 of 18 December 1997,
53/189 of 15 December 1998, 54/224 of 22 December 1999 and 55/202 of
20 December 2000,
Recalling further the
Declaration of Barbados
and the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States
adopted by the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States,
Recalling the
Declaration and review document adopted by the General Assembly at its
twenty-second special session,
Recalling also the
report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on its
tenth session,
Recognizing
that, within the context of the challenges of
development, small island developing States can
experience specific problems arising from small
size, remoteness, geographical dispersion,
vulnerability to natural disasters, fragile
ecosystems, constraints on transport and
communication, isolation from markets,
vulnerability to exogenous economic and
financial shocks, limited internal markets, lack
of natural resources, limited freshwater supply,
heavy dependence on imports and limited
commodities, depletion of non-renewable
resources and migration,
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Recognizing also the efforts of small island developing States to
achieve sustainable development and the need to continue to enhance
their capacities to participate effectively in the multilateral trading
system,
Noting the report of the first workshop of the Alliance of Small
Island States on the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,
held in Saint Kitts and Nevis from 4 to 6 December
2000,
and the report of the third workshop of the Alliance of Small Island
States on climate change, energy and preparations for the ninth session
of the Commission on Sustainable Development, held in Cyprus from 15 to
19 January 2001,
Noting also the significant efforts to implement the Programme of
Action at the local, national, regional and international levels and the
need for regional and global institutions to continue to supplement the
efforts being made at the national level, including through necessary
financial support in partnership with the international community,
Acknowledging the efforts of small island developing States to
convene, in cooperation with the Small Island Developing States Unit of
the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, a
series of capacity-building workshops targeted at issues of specific
relevance to small island developing States,
Welcoming the preparatory activities undertaken at the national and
regional levels for the World Summit on Sustainable Development,
Expressing its appreciation
to the Government of Jamaica for hosting the first workshop of the
Alliance of Small Island States on trade, sustainable development and
small island developing States from 12 to 15 December 2001,
Noting the current
efforts of the Alliance of Small Island States to organize an
interregional preparatory meeting of small island developing States for
the World Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in Singapore
from 7 to 11 January 2002, and calls upon all relevant international
organizations actively to support the meeting,
Emphasizing the continuing need for the financing of projects that
were presented within the context of the implementation of the Programme
of Action, inter alia, at the meeting of representatives of donor
countries and small island developing States, held in New York from 24
to 26 February 1999,
Noting with appreciation the contribution
made by some donor countries towards further
implementation of the Programme of Action, and
underlining the need for those efforts to be
intensified and supplemented by other donor
countries and agencies,
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Emphasizing the need to
complete, without delay, the quantitative and analytical work on the
vulnerability index mandated in the review document of the twenty-second
special session of the General Assembly, taking into account Economic
and Social Council resolution 2001/43 of 24 October 2001, in particular
paragraph 6 thereof, and emphasizing the relevance of such work to the
work of the Committee for Development Policy on criteria for the
identification, including designation and graduation, of least developed
countries and its importance to relevant small island developing States,
1.
Takes note of the
report of the Secretary-General;
2.
Reiterates the urgent
need for strong and effective implementation of the Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States2
and of the Declaration and review document adopted by the
General Assembly at its twenty-second special session
3
to assist those
States in their efforts to enhance their capacities to achieve
sustainable development;
3.
Welcomes efforts made
at the national, subregional and regional levels to implement the
Programme of Action;
4.
Invites the relevant
organs and agencies of the United Nations system and the regional
commissions and organizations, within their respective mandates, to
reflect measures for the implementation of the Programme of Action in
their programmes;
5.
Invites
donors, as well as all relevant organs and
agencies of the United Nations and other
regional and international organizations, to
provide appropriate support to the interregional
preparatory meeting of small island developing
States for the World Summit on Sustainable
Development;
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6.
Invites all relevant
stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to
participate fully in the activities identified for the further
implementation of and effective follow-up to the Programme of Action;
7.
Urges all relevant
organizations to finalize, as a matter of urgency, the work on the
development of a vulnerability index, taking into account the particular
circumstances and needs of small island developing States;
8.
Welcomes the
strengthened Small Island Developing States Unit, and requests the
Secretary-General to consider ways to strengthen the Unit further, inter
alia, by establishing the Small Island Developing States Information
Network within the Unit and by assisting small island developing States
with, inter alia, project implementation advice and assistance in the
identification of short- and long-term capacity needs through
coordination with regional and international institutions, and to make
proposals in that regard;
9.
Calls upon the
Secretary-General to consider further cost-effective ways and means of
increasing and improving the United Nations system-wide coordination and
dissemination of information on activities in support of small island
developing States and the Programme of Action, through the Small Island
Developing States Unit, including concrete measures for improving
coordination within the United Nations system;
10.
Welcomes
the contributions of donor countries to the strengthening of the Small
Island Developing States Unit and the Small Island Developing States
Information Network, and encourages other Member States to make
contributions, in particular in support of the Network;
11.
Decides
to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-seventh session, under
the item entitled 摘nvironment and sustainable development・ the sub-item
entitled 擢urther implementation of the Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States・
12.
Requests
the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its
fifty-seventh session a report on the implementation of the present
resolution.
90th plenary meeting
21 December 2001
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