Seychelles gears up for Sids summit in Samoa
A consultation workshop was held on Tuesday to share information about preparations leading to the small islands developing states (Sids) summit which will take place in Apia, Samoa from September 1-4 this year.
It also provided an opportunity for key government, private and non-government organisations to meet and discuss the zero draft put forward for negotiation.
The workshop, held at the Seychelles Trading Company’s (STC) conference centre, was officially opened by the Minister for Environment and Energy, Professor Rolph Payet.
In March this year the co-chairs of the cooperative committee for this third international conference of Sids in Samoa released the zero draft for the conference.
The delegates’ comments and contributions at the workshop on Tuesday will be compiled in the Seychelles submission to be put forward to the conference secretariat.
In his opening remarks Minister Payet said the zero draft is a very important document because it will form the basis upon which the negotiated final outcome document will be produced for the Samoa meeting.
The final document will then be used as a reference over the next 10 years by all donors and partner organisations wishing to help small island developing states.
He said to get to this stage, a national workshop was organised last year, which then fed their issues into the Regional Aims meeting. And in Barbados last year, all contributions from all the Sids regions were then compiled into one document, which has now been used to prepare this zero order draft.
“The government of Seychelles has remained committed to ensuring there are adequate consultations on this important document, and today we are offering yet another opportunity for us to ensure that those issues that are important to us form part of this document. We have invited representatives of the public and private sectors and non-government organisations today and throughout the process to ensure we can all take part actively in the preparatory process,” said Minister Payet.
The minister also referred to the General Assembly, in paragraph 5 of its resolution 67/207, where it was decided that the conference should: assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps; seek a renewed political commitment by all countries to address effectively the special needs and vulnerabilities of small island developing states; identify new and emerging challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of small island developing states and identify priorities for the sustainable development of small islands developing states.
“The zero draft you have before you therefore has remained consistent with the guidance provided by the General Assembly of the United Nations in line with its post-2015 development agenda. It contains input from many countries, many of which are not Sids and therefore have other interests than those of ours,” he said.
He noted that twenty years later after the first Sids summit in Barbados many of the issues discussed then such as climate change, disaster risk management, biodiversity conservation, water and sanitation, food security and waste management, health and non-communicable diseases, youth and women remain relevant today.
He ended his speech by inviting all present to contribute to the final outcome document and to ensure it is a clear and concise document focused on the real issues that matters most to Seychellois as a nation.
There was also a presentation on the history of Sids within the United Nations by Didier Dogley, where he mentioned the various meetings, summits and conferences held in previous years beginning with the first meeting on environment and development in 1992 better known as the Earth Summit to the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development from June 20 to 22, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He also did an overview of the third Sids summit process.
Mr Dogley also urged all present to go through the zero draft to determine whether it reflects the priorities and national needs of Seychelles.
The zero draft of the outcome of the third international conference on Sids has a preamble where responsible local representatives reaffirmed their commitment to the sustainable development of small island developing states and those made at the United Nations conferences.
It also proposed actions that will be undertaken by the international community in support of Sids’ efforts like sustainable development, climate change, sustainable energy, disaster risk reduction, oceans and seas, food security, water, sustainable transport, sustainable consumption and production, management of chemicals and waste including hazardous waste, health and NCDs and social development.
It also provided an opportunity for key government, private and non-government organisations to meet and discuss the zero draft put forward for negotiation.
The workshop, held at the Seychelles Trading Company’s (STC) conference centre, was officially opened by the Minister for Environment and Energy, Professor Rolph Payet.
In March this year the co-chairs of the cooperative committee for this third international conference of Sids in Samoa released the zero draft for the conference.
The delegates’ comments and contributions at the workshop on Tuesday will be compiled in the Seychelles submission to be put forward to the conference secretariat.
In his opening remarks Minister Payet said the zero draft is a very important document because it will form the basis upon which the negotiated final outcome document will be produced for the Samoa meeting.
The final document will then be used as a reference over the next 10 years by all donors and partner organisations wishing to help small island developing states.
He said to get to this stage, a national workshop was organised last year, which then fed their issues into the Regional Aims meeting. And in Barbados last year, all contributions from all the Sids regions were then compiled into one document, which has now been used to prepare this zero order draft.
“The government of Seychelles has remained committed to ensuring there are adequate consultations on this important document, and today we are offering yet another opportunity for us to ensure that those issues that are important to us form part of this document. We have invited representatives of the public and private sectors and non-government organisations today and throughout the process to ensure we can all take part actively in the preparatory process,” said Minister Payet.
The minister also referred to the General Assembly, in paragraph 5 of its resolution 67/207, where it was decided that the conference should: assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps; seek a renewed political commitment by all countries to address effectively the special needs and vulnerabilities of small island developing states; identify new and emerging challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of small island developing states and identify priorities for the sustainable development of small islands developing states.
“The zero draft you have before you therefore has remained consistent with the guidance provided by the General Assembly of the United Nations in line with its post-2015 development agenda. It contains input from many countries, many of which are not Sids and therefore have other interests than those of ours,” he said.
He noted that twenty years later after the first Sids summit in Barbados many of the issues discussed then such as climate change, disaster risk management, biodiversity conservation, water and sanitation, food security and waste management, health and non-communicable diseases, youth and women remain relevant today.
He ended his speech by inviting all present to contribute to the final outcome document and to ensure it is a clear and concise document focused on the real issues that matters most to Seychellois as a nation.
There was also a presentation on the history of Sids within the United Nations by Didier Dogley, where he mentioned the various meetings, summits and conferences held in previous years beginning with the first meeting on environment and development in 1992 better known as the Earth Summit to the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development from June 20 to 22, 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He also did an overview of the third Sids summit process.
Mr Dogley also urged all present to go through the zero draft to determine whether it reflects the priorities and national needs of Seychelles.
The zero draft of the outcome of the third international conference on Sids has a preamble where responsible local representatives reaffirmed their commitment to the sustainable development of small island developing states and those made at the United Nations conferences.
It also proposed actions that will be undertaken by the international community in support of Sids’ efforts like sustainable development, climate change, sustainable energy, disaster risk reduction, oceans and seas, food security, water, sustainable transport, sustainable consumption and production, management of chemicals and waste including hazardous waste, health and NCDs and social development.
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