AIMS and Caribbean Regional Meeting on Mauritius Strategy of Implementation +5 will be held on 9-10 March in Male, Maldives and on 16-17 March in St. George, Grenada respectively

After the first regional meeting, held in Vanuatu on 8-9 February, two more meetings will be held in preparation for the two-day high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), to be conducted at the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly.

The purpose of these meetings will be to provide a forum for SIDS in the Caribbean and AIMS (African, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Seas) regions to evaluate continuing national and regional challenges in implementing the Mauritius Strategy as outlined in the respective national assessment reports. The meetings will also assess recent trends and discuss common priorities for action and prepare a regional synthesis report. This report will outline priorities, emerging issues and future areas for further addressing the vulnerabilities of SIDS.

The AIMS and Caribbean regional review meetings will be attended by representatives of SIDS governments in the respective regions, UN agencies active in the regions, representatives of relevant non-UN regional and international organizations, and representatives of relevant Major Groups.

The Caribbean review meeting will be characterized by a one-day technical meeting followed by a ministerial segment on the second day. Following the completion of the Mauritius +5 meeting, ECLAC will host the Twenty-Third Session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC). The CDCC will undertake an assessment of current development trends for the Caribbean and define ECLAC’s strategic role in support of regional integration and national development aspirations.

The regional synthesis reports of these two meetings, as well as the report from the Pacific review meeting that was held in Vanuatu in February, will serve as inputs to the SIDS interregional meeting that will take place on 8 May 2010.

The purpose of the interregional meeting will be to review the outcomes of the three MSI regional meetings, prior to these being presented during ‘SIDS Day’ at the 18th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. SIDS Day will act as the preparatory committee for the high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy in September 2010.

More information on the Mauritius Strategy.

12th session of the Committee for Development Policy will be held in New York from 22-26 March to discuss the 2010 Annual Ministerial Review and review the status of LDCs

The Committee for Development Policy (CDP) is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. CDP provides inputs and independent advice to the Council on emerging cross-sectoral development issues and on international cooperation for development, focusing on medium- and long-term aspects. The Committee is also responsible for reviewing the status of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and for monitoring their progress after graduation from the category.

The 24 members of the Committee are nominated by the United Nations Secretary-General in their personal capacity, and are appointed by the Council for a period of three years. Membership is geared to reflect a wide range of development experience as well as geographical and gender balance.

The twelfth session this year will discuss the 2010 Annual Ministerial Review on implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Committee will also focus on LDC-specific support measures, which will be used as an input to the ongoing preparations for the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries.

The Committee will address the Council’s request to consider the findings of the Secretary General’s report (A/64/278) on the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy and submit its independent views and perspectives on the United Nations’ support for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

In addition, the Committee will monitor the recent socio-economic development progress of those countries earmarked for graduation from the list of LDCs (Maldives and Samoa).

The CDP will also examine the financial aspects of addressing climate change, focusing on the coherence and consistency of the financing architecture for adaptation to climate change as an input to the 2010 Development Cooperation Forum on Policy coherence and financial architecture for climate change.

More information on the 12th session of the Committee for Development Policy

Thematic Seminar Series from January to April will help to prepare for the upcoming Commission on Sustainable Development in May 2010

The CSD Secretariat has launched a new and innovative Thematic Seminar Series to present scientific and technical information on the current issues under consideration this year at the CSD – transport, chemicals, waste management, mining, and the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production.

The CSD Thematic Seminar Series features presentations by technical experts, video documentaries highlighting challenges and successes, and interactive discussions. It is designed to inform all CSD participants on the latest research, data, and case studies that will underpin the discussions during the upcoming Review Session this spring.

The briefings are taking place from January through April, from 10 am until 1 pm. The remaining themes, dates and locations are about Sustainable Consumption and Production on 23 March, Transportation on 13 April and Mining later in April.

More information on Thematic Seminar Series

The Committee will meet on the theme “Challenges to and Opportunities for Public Administration in the Context of Financial and Economic Crisis” in the following month

The preparations for the 2010 CEPA meeting (19-23 April in New York) are well underway. In consultation with CEPA members, since the last CEPA session in 2009, DESA’s Division for Public Administration & Development Management (DPADM) has now identified key topics for discussion during the upcoming session.

The topics will include enhanced public governance for fast and coordinated policy response, citizen-centered public service delivery, transparency and responsive accountability as well as social and financial protection for priority vulnerable groups.

DPADM is also undertaking preparatory work for the establishment of the new bureau of the Committee, as well as working on the statement for the Under-Secretary-General, the President of ECOSOC and the Chair of CEPA.

More information on the Committee of Experts on Public Administration

On 8 February, Mr. Sha Zukang, USG of DESA and Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) met with the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, to discuss GAID’s progress and the path ahead.

The Secretary-General thanked Mr. Sha Zukang for his continued support as well as the current and former leadership of GAID for their tireless commitment. The agenda included the development of a Matrix of ICT Solutions for MDGs Advancement that GAID committed to present next September in the context of the United Nations Summit on MDGs, and initial ideas of the Chairman and Co-Chairs on normative matters on rights in Information Societies and uses of ICT for the protection of life and property. The Secretary-General gave his full support to the continuing efforts of GAID, in particular to the Matrix project. The Secretary-General accepted the role of a “Honorary Chair” of GAID.

On the same day, DESA hosted the 7th meeting of the Steering Committee of GAID at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Participants included the Minister for the Information Society of Macedonia, Mr. Ivo Ivanovski, members from the private sector and civil society, and United Nations staff.

Mr. Sha Zukang acknowledged the success of the Alliance in advocacy for ICT for development and reiterated the need to be more results-oriented. The Committee welcomed the appointment by DESA of the new Executive Coordinator of the Secretariat of GAID, Mr. Sergei Kambalov, as well as the designation by the Chairman of Mr. Sarbuland Khan as his Honorary Advisor.

The Committee determined that the main output of GAID in 2010 will be the Matrix of ICT Solutions for MDGs Advancement to be delivered next September in the context of the United Nations Summit on MDGs. The Committee discussed ways to secure the successful implementation of the 2010 Action Plan. Attention was given to the need of effective fund raising to support the GAID budget for 2010.

More information on UN-GAID