4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States

About

In its resolution 77/245, the General Assembly reaffirmed its call to convene in 2024, the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States which will be aimed at assessing the ability of small island developing States to achieve sustainable development, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.

The fourth International Conference on SIDS will be hosted by Antigua & Barbuda and it will bring world leaders together to agree on a bold new programme of action for SIDS. This new ten-year plan will focus on practical and impactful solutions to keep SIDS afloat and give their citizens a sustainable and safe future.

Over four days, leaders from SIDS and beyond, will gather in a spirit of solidarity and solutions with the private sector, civil society, and young people to advance new ideas, raise new pledges of support, and spur delivery on agreed commitments.

The conference will seek to deliver specific initiatives and concrete deliverables to address SIDS-specific challenges including the climate crisis, biodiversity and spiraling debt.

SIDS4 timeline

Stakeholders

In accordance with paragraph 42 of A/RES/77/245, which “stresses the need for the effective participation of civil society, including non-governmental organizations, and other major groups, particularly from small island developing States,” the United Nations Secretariat is organizing a variety of opportunities for multi-stakeholder engagement to facilitate the meaningful participation of stakeholders in the Conference and its preparatory processes.

Future opportunities for stakeholder’s participation in the preparations for and during the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States will be posted on this webpage.

Stakeholders at SIDS4

Participation of representatives from non-governmental organizations, major groups and other relevant stakeholders at the SIDS4 Conference is guided by resolution A/RES/77/245 as well as by A/CONF.223/2024.PC.L1.

Who can participate in SIDS4?

Organizations that fall under the following categories will be able to request registration to attend the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4):

Non-governmental organizations, in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (Special, General or Roster consultative status). You can check if your organization has consultative status here.
Organizations that were accredited to any of the following past United Nations conferences on the sustainable development of small island developing states (please click on the links for details):
Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, 26 April-6 May 1994, Bridgetown, Barbados;
International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, 10-14 January 2005, Port Louis, Mauritius; and/or
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, 1-4 September 2014, Apia, Samoa.
Organizations that have received special accreditation, in accordance with the provisions contained in part VII of Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31, subject to the approval of the Preparatory Committee or the General Assembly. Please see additional information on the special accreditation process below.

ECOSOC accredited organizations whose statuses have been suspended by the UN NGO Committee will not be allowed to request registration to the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States irrespective of previous accreditation to past UN Conferences.

Special Accreditation Process

“As guided by resolution A/CONF.223/2024.PC.L1 (Annex II, Section III), other relevant stakeholders, including the non-governmental organizations not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, wishing to attend and contribute to the Conference, and whose work is relevant to the subject of the International Conference, may participate as observers in the International Conference, as well as in the preparatory meetings, in accordance with the provisions contained in part VII of Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31, subject to the approval of the Preparatory Committee or the General Assembly.

The secretariat of the Conference will review the relevance of the work of the applicants on the basis of their background and involvement in sustainable development issues, in particular in the process of follow-up to the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation and the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway.

More information about the Special Accreditation process will be posted on this page soon.

Global Online Stakeholder Consultation

To create a space for stakeholders, especially those in SIDS countries, to engage with the substantive preparations for the Conference, UN DESA, in collaboration with OHRLLS, has organized a global online stakeholder consultation to solicit inputs from stakeholders from different sectors to contribute to the substantive preparatory process, including the regional and inter-regional preparatory meetings.

The goal was to ask stakeholders to identify key challenges that SIDS face in achieving their sustainable development priorities and to solicit policy recommendations and examples of game-changing actions that can accelerate progress towards sustainable development in SIDS.

The online consultation was open to all stakeholders from 13 June to 7 July 2023. Please view all received answers here: bit.ly/SIDSOnlineConsultationPublic.

The Conference Secretariat is currently preparing region-specific papers and a comprehensive global input summary to facilitate informed decision-making. Please find the regional snapshots below: