High-level Review Meeting - New York, 24 - 25 September, 2010

Inputs to the High-level Review
Secretary-General's Report A/65/115	"Five-year review of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States."
	"Trends in Sustainable Development: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Publication by the SIDS Unit of UN DESA
	"SIDS-SIDS Success Stories" Joint publication by the SIDS Unit of UN DESA, UNDP and the South-South Cooperation Unit

Work Programme

The high-level review was structured around an opening plenary meeting, followed by two multi-stakeholder round-table sessions, an interactive dialogue on cross-regional perspectives and a closing plenary meeting, as mandated by Resolution A/64/L.71, which outlines the modalities of the event.

The multistakeholder roundtables were guided by questions designed to focus the interventions from the floor. A list of speakers was established for both roundtables and managed by the GA Affairs to ensure balanced speaking time for all requested countries.

The roundtables were followed by an interactive dialogue on cross-regional perspectives led by panelists invited by the President of the General Assembly to ensure cross-regional representation.

Programme of Work of the High-Level Review Meeting (download)

Opening Session - General Assembly Plenary

The President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Joseph Deiss, opened the plenary meeting. Opening remarks were delivered by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon. High-level speakers from a pre-established list were given the floor to make statements.

Statements
Secretary-General's Opening Remarks to High-Level Meeting on Small Island Developing States
Nauru	H.E. Mr. Marcus Stephen, President of the Republic of Nauru, on behalf of Pacific SIDS
Grenada	H.E. Mr. Tillman Thomas, Prime Minister of Grenada, on behalf of AOSIS
Vanuatu	H.E. Mr. Edward Natapei, Prime Minister of Vanuatu, on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum
Saint Lucia	H.E. Mr. Stephenson King, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, on behalf of the Caribbean Region
Yemen	H.E. Mr. Abdullah Al-Saidi, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Yemen, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China
Austria	H.E. Mr. Heinz Fischer, Federal President of Austria
Seychelles	H.E. Danny Faure, Vice President of Seychelles, as a representative from the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIMS) region
Japan	H.E. Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan
Canada	H.E. Mr. Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Italy	H.E. Mrs. Stefania Prestigiacomo, Minister for the Environment, Land and Sea of Italy
Mexico	H.E. Mr. Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico
Commonwealth of Nations	H.E. Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General, Commonwealth of Nations
Jamaica	H.E. Dr. Kenneth Baugh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica on behalf of CARICOM
European Union	H.E. Ms. Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
USA	H.E. Ambassador Rick Barton, Representative of the United States of America to ECOSOC
Statements are listed in the order they were presented by the speakers.

Roundtable I: "Reducing Vulnerabilities and Strengthening Resilience of SIDS"

The roundtable was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and H.E. Mr. Kevin Rudd, Foreign Minister and Former Prime Minister of Australia. Opening remarks were given by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under Secretary-General of DESA.

Roundtable I: "Reducing Vulnerabilities and Strengthening Resilience of SIDS" Background Note (download)

Co-Chairs Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Kevin Rudd, Foreign Minister, Australia; and Sha Zukang, Under Secretary-General, UN DESA
Photo credit: IISD Reporting Services

Statements
Co-chair's opening statement by H.E. Mr. Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Co-chair's opening statement by H.E. Mr. Kevin Rudd, Foreign Minister and Former Prime Minister of Australia
Opening remarks by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under Secretary-General of DESA
Vanuatu	H.E. Mr. Edward Natapei, Prime Minister of Vanuatu, on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum
Slovenia	H.E. Mr. Borut Pahor, Prime Minister of Slovenia
Solomon Islands	H.E. Mr. Peter Shanel Agovaka, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of the Solomon Islands
United Kingdom	H.E. Mr. Alan Duncan, Minister of State for International Development of the United Kingdom
Cayman Islands	H.E. Mr. McGyver Bush, Premier of the Cayman Islands
New Zealand	H.E. Mr. Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand
Trinidad and Tobago	H.E. Mr. Roodal Moonilal, Minister of Housing and the Environment of Trinidad and Tobago
Marshall Islands	H.E. Mr. John Silk, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Marshall Islands
Barbados	H.E. Mr. Denis S. Lowe, Minister of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage of Barbados
Germany	H.E. Mr. Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz, Secretary of State for Development Cooperation of Germany
Bahamas	H.E. Mr. T. Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas
Indonesia	H.E. Mrs. Masnellyarti Hilman, Vice Minister of Environment of Indonesia
Republic of Korea	H.E. Mr. Shin Yeon-sung, Ambassador for Climate Change in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea
USA	Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs of the United States of America
France	Mr. Philippe Thiebaud, Director of Global Public Goods, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of France
Norway	H.E. Ms. Ingrid Fiskaa, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway
Brazil	H.E. Mr. Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, Director of the Department of Environment and Special Themes, Ministry of External Relations of Brazil
Bangladesh	H.E. Dr. Dipu Moni, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh
Venezuela	H.E. Mrs. Claudia Salerno, Director of the Office of International Cooperation of the Ministry of the Environment and Special Envoy for Climate Change of Venezuela
Nigeria	H.E. Ms. Ngeri S. Benebo, Director General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Federal Ministry of the Environment of Nigeria
Croatia	H.E. Mr. Davor Božinović, State Secretary for Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Croatia
Turkey	H.E. Mr. Hakki Akil, Deputy Undersecretary for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey
Guatemala	H.E. Mr. Haroldo Rodas Melgar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala
Samoa	Ms. Noumea Simi, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Finance of Samoa
Grenada	H.E. Ambassador Dessima Williams, Permanent Representative of Grenada, on behalf of AOSIS
Chile	H.E. Ambassador Octavio Errazuriz, Chair of the Delegation of Chile, on behalf of the Rio Group — Additional Statement of Chile
Australia	H.E. Ambassador Gary Quinlan, Chair of the Delegation of Australia
Suriname	H.E. Ambassador Henry Leonard Mac-Donald, Chair of the Delegation of Suriname
China	Ms. Dong Zhihua, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of China
Switzerland	H.E. Mr. Martin Dahinden, Vice-Minister and Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Statements are listed in the order they were presented by the speakers.

Roundtable II: "Enhancing International Support for the SIDS"

The roundtable was co-chaired by H.E. João Gomes Cravinho, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal, and H.E. Mohamed Aslam, Minister of Environment of Maldives. Opening remarks were given by Mr. Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under Secretary-General of OHRLLS.

Roundtable II: "Enhancing International Support for the SIDS" Background Note (download)


Co-Chairs Mohamed Aslam, Minister of Environment of Maldives, João Gomes Cravinho, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal, and Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under Secretary-General of OHRLLS. Photo credit: IISD Reporting Services

Statements
Co-chair's opening statement by H.E. Mohamed Aslam, Minister of Environment of Maldives
Co-chair's opening statement by H.E. João Gomes Cravinho, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal
Opening remarks by Mr. Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under Secretary-General of OHRLLS
Egypt	H.E. Mr. Mohamed el Orabi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Relations and International Cooperation of Egypt
Australia	H.E. Mr. Robin Davies, Deputy Director General, Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)
India	H.E. Mr. S.M. Krishna, Minister of External Affairs of India
Morocco	H.E. Mr. Taib Fassi Fihri, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco
Solomon Islands	Mr. George Hiele, Alternate Head of Delegation of the Solomon Islands
Tuvalu	H.E. Mr. Minute Alapati Taupo, Deputy Permanent Representative of Tuvalu
Barbados	H.E. Mr. Denis S. Lowe, Minister of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage of Barbados
Japan	H.E. Ambassador Shigeki Sumi, Permanent Representative of Japan
Luxembourg	H.E. Ambassador Sylvie Lucas, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg
Canada	H.E. Mr. Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS)	H.E. Mr. Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary-General of PIFS
European Union	Mr. Peter Schwaiger, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union
The Climate Institute	Mr. Nasir Khattak, Director of Global Environmental Programs, The Climate Institute
MACOSS	Mr. Denis Grandport, Chairman, The Mauritius Council of Social Service (MACOSS)
The Nature Conservancy	Mr. Gerald Miles, External Affairs Regional Director for the Asia Pacific Region, The Nature Conservancy
Statements are listed in the order they were presented by the speakers.

Interactive Dialogue on Cross-regional Perspectives

The interactive dialogue was chaired and moderated by H.E. Mr. Peter David, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Grenada. Following presentations by the three invited panelists, the interactive dialogue focused on common cross-regional issues and priorities for the way forward, taking into account the outcomes of regional reviews, regional perspectives and lessons learned.

Interactive Dialogue on Cross-regional Perspectives Background Note (download)


Chair Peter David, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Grenada; Panelist Arvin Boolell, Chair of the Council of Ministers of the IOC; Panelist Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary General of PIFS; Panelist Len Ishmael, Director General of OECS. Photo credit: IISD Reporting Services

Statements
Chair's opening statement by H.E. Mr. Peter David, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Grenada
Presentation: "Interactive Dialogue on Regional Perspectives" by H.E. Mr. Arvin Boolell, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mauritus, Chair of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Commission, on behalf of the AIMS region
Presentation: "A Pacific regional perspective on implementing the priorities articulated in the Mauritius Strategy and MSI+5" by H.E. Mr. Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
Presentation: "Interactive Dialogue on Regional Perspectives" by Dr. Len Ishmael, Director General of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
UNESCO	H.E. Dr. Davidson L. Hepburn, President of the General Conference, UNESCO
Algeria
Comoros	H.E. Mr. Oussein Said Mohamed, Deputy Permanent Representative of Comoros
Interventions by Venezuela, Mauritius, Dominica, Tuvalu, Jamaica, Cuba and Maldives
IFRC	Mr. Marwan Jilani, Permanent Observer of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
PLAC 21	Dr. Mohamed Benkhalifa, CAO, Platform for the Sustainable Development of the Caribbean

Closing session - General Assembly Plenary

The meeting concluded with a closing session, during which H.E. Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, gave closing remarks, summarizing the highlights of the discussions at the roundtables and interactive dialogue. The President of the General Assembly then presented the Political Declaration for adoption.

Closing remarks by H.E. Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations

Resolution A/RES/65/2 (download), the Outcome Document of the High-level Review Meeting, including the Political Declaration.

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