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"The international community, equipped with the lessons of the last ten years, needs to come together to support, in real terms, the genuine aspirations of the SIDS and their determined efforts for a new resurgence in Mauritius to bring true benefit and progress for the women, men and children of this most vulnerable segment of the humanity."
-- Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Secretary-General of the Mauritius International Meeting
>>Biographical note

Background to the International Meeting


The idea of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA) emerged at the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED) - the Earth Summit - held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (3-14 June 1992).

The Earth Summit was convened to address urgent problems relating to the world's environment and the socio-economic development of countries. The leaders at the Summit signed the Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on
Biological Diversity, endorsed the Rio Declaration and the Forest Principles, and adopted Agenda 21, for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century.

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created to monitor and report on implementation of the Earth Summit agreements.

In order to promote the well being of people living in island countries, the Earth Summit called for the United Nations to convene a Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. The Conference was held in Barbados in May 1994 and produced a Programme of Action designed to assist these environmentally and economically vulnerable countries.

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