UN-OHRLLS plays a leading role in raising awareness of the special case of small island developing States at the national, regional and global levels.
Since UN-OHRLLS was established in 2001, it has been working through a dedicated Small Island Developing States Unit to mobilize and coordinate the United Nations system and other stakeholders towards supporting implementation, coherent follow-up and monitoring of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation (MSI) at the country, regional and global levels.
With the adoption of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action, or SAMOA Pathway, for the decade 2014 - 2024, UN-OHRLLS has focused on supporting the SIDS to achieve the goals of the SAMOA Pathway. This includes building synergies and coherence with other internationally agreed development goals, including the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
UN-OHRLLS plays a leading role in convening the UN system through the Inter-Agency Consultative Group for SIDS to ensure coherent and coordinated support to SIDS and collaborates with UN agencies and other partners on joint events, publications and thematic initiatives to support SIDS.
Increasing global awareness and debate on development issues of relevance to SIDS is a major area of focus for UN-OHRLLS. This includes work on enhancing international support to SIDS in implementing the Samoa Pathway and in adapting to and mitigating climate change.
The Office also supports the SIDS Steering Committee on Partnerships, established to monitor the implementation of the more than 300 partnerships announced at the Third International Conference on SIDS. In addition, UN-OHRLLS operates the SIDS Global Business Network, focusing the attention of the business community on partnerships with SIDS.
Aside from SIDS governments and their development partners, UN-OHRLLS also engages with civil society, media, academia, and foundations to raise awareness of and support the sustainable development aspirations of the SIDS. This work also includes supporting journalists from SIDS to build their capacity in reporting on development issues pertaining to SIDS.
Through a system of SIDS National Focal Points established by UN-OHRLLS in 2018, the Office engages directly with representatives from SIDS to ensure coherence in the implementation of the SAMOA Pathway and the 2030 Agenda at the national, regional and global levels. National Focal Points meetings are convened annually.
At UN Headquarters, UN-OHRLLS works with the Permanent Missions of SIDS to facilitate group consultations and provide support in relation to SIDS’ engagement in intergovernmental processes. UN-OHRLLS also works in this context to collaborate on focused events around thematic development issues.
Latest news on the Small Island Developing States
Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Acting High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing States and Small Island Developing States.
13 April, Koror, Palau - As the saying goes, we know more about the surface of the moon than the seafloor of our own ocean. But perhaps not for too much longer.
NEW YORK, 28 July 2021 – Reforms to both financing instruments and debt mechanisms for SIDS are necessary to adapt to the growing threat of climate change and encourage sustainable development.
NEW YORK/ABU DHABI- 30 & 31 March 2021 - The SIDS Global Business Network (GBN) Forum, an initiative of the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), took place virtually from 30-31 March 2021.
