Thematic review: Perspectives of Small Island Developing States including main findings from mid-term review of the SAMOA Pathway

Background

The General Assembly has asked that the HLPF devote adequate time at its future meetings to continue to address the sustainable development challenges facing small island developing States (SIDS). In 2019, the SIDS session of HLPF will examine social development in SIDS, which is losing momentum in terms of efforts to improve human and social development with gender equality.

Progress on people’s well-being and enjoyment of their human rights are fundamental drivers of sustainable development. However, many SIDS, although in general ranked as medium and above on the Human Development Index prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), still face persistent challenges linked to poverty and inequality. These countries still need to improve the quality of, and access to health and education. Those are important goals in themselves, but also vital for building resilient societies. In addition, for some SIDS, youth unemployment is among the highest in the world. This is a serious challenge and limits the full human potential of all men and women and their access to equal opportunities.

Notwithstanding decades of progress on human development, many SIDS face growing poverty and income inequality, exacerbated by weak social protection systems, and patterns of migration that affect labor markets, and which is a principal cause of social exclusion affecting vulnerable and marginalized groups and communities. Social protection is an effective instrument for protecting against shocks, reducing inequality and promoting inclusive development. A final challenge in this area is insecurity and lack of safety: several SIDS are affected by high rates of crime and violence, including gender-based violence. This is both a brake on development and antithetical to building peaceful and prosperous societies.

Building resilience in SIDS will depend on meeting all the foregoing challenges. This will require comprehensive and integrated policies implemented across the three sustainable development pillars and increased support from and collaboration with the international community. In this regard development finance, including climate finance, the strengthening of well-established relationships with traditional partners, and the nurturing of newer and emerging relationships and partnerships in the context of South-South and triangular cooperation, are important vehicles through which development support might be secured.

This session will have an interactive discussion format, features resource persons and country representatives from across the three SIDS regions, who will share their approaches in addressing the social dimension of sustainable development, and high-level lead discussants.

Background note is available here

Proposed guiding questions:

Responding to the social vulnerabilities of SIDS demands an integrative, holistic approach to addressing these interdependent challenges. How can SIDS best respond to these challenges, particularly in light of the ongoing changes in the global community and weakened support from bilateral and multilateral partners?
What types policies and programmes and are needed at national and regional levels and in which priority sectors, to address social exclusion, reducing inequality and promoting inclusive development?
In order to meet the technical and financial requirements for implementing a new generation of integrated regional and national and sector development strategies and frameworks, SIDS will have to strengthen traditional partnerships and develop and consolidate new ones. What role can development partners play in this regard?

Chair:

H. E. Ms. Mona Juul, Vice President of ECOSOC

Keynote speaker:

Hon. Fiame Naomi Mataafa, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Samoa

Moderator:

Ms. Emele Duituturaga, former Executive Director, Pacific Islands Association of Non Governmental Organisations (PIANGO)

Resource persons:

H.E Mr. Pat Breen T.D, Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Ireland
H.E Mr. Douglass Slater,Assistant Secretary Gneral Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat
H.E Ms. Yvonne Hyde, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Economic Development and Petroleum, Belize
Mr. Rakesh Bhuckory, Minister Counsellor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mauritius

Lead discussants:

Ms. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Director, Office of Development, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
Mr. Willy Missack, Pacific Climate Change Collaboration, Influencing and Learning (PACCCIL) project manager and the Vanuatu Climate Action Network (VCAN) and Vanuatu Humanitarian Team (VHT) Coordinator at Oxfam in Vanuatu (MGoS)

Followed by Interactive discussion

Concluding remarks:

Ms. Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs