AOSIS Statement delivered by
Ms Farzana Zahir, Deputy Permanent Representative
on Towards Global Partnerships
23 October 2018
Mr Chair,
It is an honour for me to deliver this statement on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (aosis).
We appreciate the efforts of the Secretary General and the Secretariat for the Report on this issue. Partnerships, of different types and shapes, hold significant potential to help advance our achievement of sustainable development. Yet, as we will highlight, there remains much work to be done to effectively scale up partnerships and to ensure they achieve positive impacts. This will require more work from across the international community and we look forward to having the Second Committee help lead in these efforts.
Partnerships are important to mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, financial resources, and more. Successful realization of this objective will require partnerships among States, the un system, as well as other relevant stakeholders, including civil society, and the private sector. Partnerships are one important component of achieving the sdgs as outlined in sdg17. It serves as a complement to, not replacement for, Official Development Assistance, which should remain the core mechanism for development funding.
The programme of action for small islands-developing States, which is the samoa Pathway, prioritizes partnerships as an important aspect of means of implementation as it launched the sids Partnership Framework and accompanying website, the sids Action Platform, as a space for registering and sharing information on sids partnerships. The sids Partnership Steering Committee, continues to provide a space for engagement on sids partnerships in New York, this year under the very able leadership of Belize and Ireland. The Steering Committee monitors partnerships, identifies new opportunities, and ensures full implementation of the commitments. In advance of the 2019 mid-term review of the samoa Pathway, there is an ongoing review by Secretariat of these sids Partnerships. We look forward to learning more about their best practices for success, and to provide opportunity to discuss on how to fill gaps that exist in such partnerships.
Initial findings were made available through the Secretary General’s Report on the Samoa Pathway and while it found that over 50 percent are on track, a significant number remain unfulfilled and facing potential obstacles. These challenges are wide ranging, but most begin with inadequate financial viability. Other concerns include the adverse effects of political and policy nuances, impacts of climate change, and financial debt burdens of sids.
The Report provides several recommendations on how to improve the quality, impact and progress of partnerships. First, to increase community involvement in decision-making and project design. Second, greater youth engagement, knowledge transfer, and increasing use of traditional knowledge. Third, recognizing the need to design sustainable energy projects that recognize threats from limited energy security in addition to mitigation and adaptation. These solutions can help make further strides forward, yet will not necessarily overcome the core financial setbacks.
sids urge continued support for partnership initiatives, and close engagement to ensure that partnerships are meaningful opportunities to push for tangible improvements on the ground, as mandated by the 2030 Agenda. We also encourage new partnerships as there is always more work to be done to ensure that no one is left behind.
I thank you.
