On the sidelines of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly |30 September 2019
President Faure delivering his keynote address
President Faure delivers keynote address at Sids Samoa Pathway mid-term review
On the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Danny Faure on Friday delivered the keynote address at the High-Level Plenary Meeting on Small Island Developing States (Sids) Accelerated Modalities of Action (Samoa) Pathway mid-term review.
The high-level multi-stakeholder roundtable meeting was to review progress made in addressing the priorities of Sids through the implementation of the Samoa pathway under the guided theme: ‘Samoa mid-term review: progress, gaps and challenges’. Through this theme for the roundtable, participants were invited to give insights on the implementation of the Samoa Pathway thus far, and the hindrances that they are faced with.
Delivering his keynote address, President Faure joined member states and fellow island nations to take stock of where they are with the implementation of the Samoa Pathway that was adopted in Apia in September 2014 as well as highlight possible areas where greater commitment and action are required.
“Some progress has been achieved, but we are not satisfied with the slow pace of implementation and with the resources that are made available. We support the view that there is a need to strengthen the capacity in developing, monitoring and reviewing durable partnerships for small island developing states,” President Faure said.
“Over the next 5 years, there is a need for increased international support for capacity building, data collection and monitoring and evaluation to implement the Samoa Pathway. We share the view that all the priority areas identified in 2014 remain relevant,” he added.
President Faure made reference to the climate change mitigation, disaster relief reduction and sustainable management of oceans for example the devastating effect of hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas as evidence that two things urgently need to happen:
- Irrespective of GDP per capita, Sids need to be globally and officially recognised as specially classified for official development assistance;
- There is a critical need to invest in building the economic resilience of Sids, as every dollar spent in resilience saves four dollars in recovery and reconstruction.
“Seychelles would like to thank the entire UN System for assisting Sids to implement the Samoa pathway. Unesco has been among the pioneers in the UN system in supporting Sids. Unesco Sids Action Plan provides transdisciplinary approaches to the preservation of biodiversity and resilience to climate change. Seychelles calls upon Unesco to continue its commitment towards the Sids,” said President Faure.
He also spoke of several initiatives that have been developed locally in line with international policies and best practice, including implementation of a user pay policy, ban on non re-useable plastic bags, utensils and plastic straws; and increased waste recycling and waste diversion from landfill sites.
“Seychelles continues to be proactive in the conservation of our marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangrove swamps and sea grass areas. Moreover, as from February 2020, we would have designated 30% of our EEZ as protected.
Other topics of discussion focused on areas such as climate change, access to finance, and United Nations Development System Reform.