UN and Mauritius sign agreement on upcoming small islands conference

The United Nations and the Government of Mauritius have signed an agreement officially paving the way for a conference on the plight of small island developing States next month in the Indian Ocean country.

The accord was endorsed Tuesday in New York by Ambassador Jagdish D. Koonjul and the Secretary-General of the Mauritius International Meeting, UN Under-Secretary-General Anwarul K. Chowdhury.

The Conference, slated to be held from 10 to 14 January, is viewed as critical to the future of the world's small islands nations, which face a host of problems ranging from climate change to economic isolation.

More than 2,000 participants from the islands, their traditional donor partners and other countries, including over two dozen national leaders, are expected to take part in the UN International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. That action plan was adopted a decade ago at a Global Conference in Barbados.

The Mauritius gathering had originally been scheduled to open in August, but delays in the construction of the conference centre forced a postponement.

The vulnerability of small island nations was spotlighted this year when hurricanes and major storms devastated Haiti, Grenada and other Caribbean countries, as well as island States in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

"The Mauritius conference provides a critical window of opportunity for the future of small islands," said Mr. Chowdhury.

He warned that, "If this occasion to extend the international community's support to small island developing States in their development efforts is not successful, it might take decades before such an opportunity arises again."

In a recent report, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called attention to the specific challenges of small island developing States, including their remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters and climate change, fragility of land and marine ecosystems, high transportation costs, limited diversification in production and exports, dependence on international markets, and vulnerability to external economic shocks.

"As a result, their economies, including trade, financial flows and agricultural production, show greater volatility than those of other countries," said Mr. Annan.