Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this briefing on the organization of the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, in my capacities as the Conference Secretary-General and Head of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
I would like to welcome His Excellency Mr. Aubrey Webson, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda, the host country of the Conference, who will later brief on the host country¡¯s logistical preparation. Thank you for joining us today, ambassador.
I am also pleased to be joined today by UN colleagues representing the other key servicing departments- Conference Services, Global Communications, Security, and OHRLLS. They will each introduce the relevant sections in the Information Note, which was released last week.
After the presentations, the floor will be open for questions and comments.
Dear Colleagues,
The fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States will be held from 27 to 30 May 2024, in Antigua and Barbuda on the campus of the American University of Antigua College of Medicine (AUA).
Following the decision of the Second Preparatory Committee meeting, held earlier this month, the Programme of the Conference is now finalized and posted on the Conference website.
The Conference will feature eight plenary sessions including an opening and a closing segment and five interactive dialogues that will be multi-stakeholder in nature.
Each interactive dialogue will be have two co-chairs, one from a developing country and one from a developed country, and the outcomes will be reported to the closing plenary.
As decided by the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee, each dialogue will feature a twenty-minute fireside chat, statements by two experts and interventions by participants from a pre-established list of speakers.
Each dialogue will also be informed by concise background notes prepared in collaboration with the UN system.
UN DESA is currently updating the Conference website to reflect the latest information about the programme and the details of the interactive dialogues. These updates will be made available soon.
In addition, in connection with the Conference and in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 77/245 and 78/232, the Secretary-General will convene a high-level meeting with international financial institutions, development banks and major donors to discuss and identify decisive actions to facilitate the mobilization of resources for SIDS. This invitation-only meeting will be held on Tuesday morning, 28 May, at the AUA campus.
Also, as proposed by the host government, there will be five informal special events. They are organized in connection with the Conference, to create additional spaces for in-depth and broader discussions, with diverse stakeholders. These include the SIDS Children and Youth Action Summit, the SIDS Gender Equality Forum, the 2024 SIDS Global Business Network Forum, the SIDS4 Private Sector Roundtable, and the SIDS4 Civil Society Forum.
Details about these special events are also available on the Conference website.
Following an open call that concluded in March, the Secretariat received over 300 applications for side events. After careful review and evaluation, 190 side events have been approved and will take place in a designated area of the conference facility - the Blue Zone - running in parallel to the official sessions of the Conference.
In addition, more than 40 side events will be organized in Antigua outside the Conference premises or virtually. A complete side event programme will be made available on the Conference website shortly.
The Secretariat has invited all organizers of onsite side events to a virtual briefing tomorrow, to provide further guidance and answer questions on their logistical preparations.
Due to limited space and resources, there will be no exhibitions inside the Blue Zone. However, there will be a cultural village next to the UN Registration Centre, featuring local cultural presenters and vendors from the region. Further information will be provided in Ambassador Webson¡¯s presentation.
Excellencies,
Allow me now to turn to the logistical preparations for the Conference.
In consultation with the host country, the Secretariat has issued a detailed information note to participants covering all logistical aspects of the Conference, which is now available, in English, on the Conference website. Translation in all UN languages is currently underway and we expect these versions will be posted on the website in early May.
This note includes information on registration and credentials of delegations, seating arrangements, how to inscribe on the list of speakers for the plenary and interactive dialogues, how to arrange bilateral meetings, the participation of non-government actors, security arrangements, media access and services, travel related information, medical information and other services available onsite.
Colleagues from all relevant departments present at this briefing are ready to answer your questions and provide any clarification that you may need.
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
On 11 April, under the leadership of the Co-chairs, Ambassador Carolyn Schwalger of New Zealand and Ambassador Ali Naseer Mohamed of the Maldives, the Preparatory Committee reached agreement on the outcome document for SIDS4, The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) ¨C a Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity.
I would like to once again thank the Co-Chairs for their leadership and congratulate all delegations for your tireless efforts throughout the negotiations. The consensus achieved here in New York has paved the path to a successful Conference in Antigua and Barbuda in May.
As the Conference Secretary-General, I assure you that the Secretariat and the Inter-Departmental Task Force stand ready to support the host country, delegations and other stakeholders, in the final sprint towards a successful Conference.
Thank you.