ORGANISATIONAL SESSION OF THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE OF THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SIDS
30 May 2023
Statement by H.E. The Hon Mitch Fifield, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Australian Mission to the United Nations
I’d like to begin by congratulating Ambassador Hussain of Maldives and Ambassador Schwalger of New Zealand, on their election as co-chairs of the Preparatory Meeting for the Fourth International Conference on SIDS. I also congratulate the representatives of the bureau on their election.
I commend Under Secretary-General Li and Under Secretary-General Rabab, and their offices, for their tireless efforts to support SIDS. We note the importance of coordination between the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS) and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) to ensure the preparatory work is coherent and complementary.
The Fourth SIDS Conference will occur at an important juncture. Taking place in 2024, one year after the mid-way point of the 2030 Agenda, Member States must seize the opportunity to take stock and reimagine a stronger, more inclusive, and more sustainable future for SIDS.
It is well understood that SIDS are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to external shocks, and can lose development gains rapidly when shocks occur. Rising sea levels, increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and changing weather patterns exacerbate the vulnerability of SIDS, and Pacific Island nations in particular.
Disasters can and do disproportionately affect SIDS, owing to their unique and particular vulnerabilities. We were pleased the political declaration of the High-Level Meeting on the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction recognised this, and we are committed to ensuring the outcomes of the Sendai Mid-Term Review are implemented in ways that amplify support for SIDS to reduce disaster risk and build resilience.
SIDS have long called for changes to the international development system to better reflect their vulnerability. In this regard, we commend the High-level Panel to Develop a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, which is working to finally bed down a shared understanding of what vulnerability and resilience mean, based on the best available academic and practical evidence. We look forward to finalisation of the Panel’s work, and hope the international community will consider multidimensional vulnerability and the disproportionate impact on SIDS more broadly.
However, we know that data and statistics is a key challenge – for all developing countries but particularly for SIDS. Collectively, SIDS are missing data for key development indicators, due to barriers such as the high costs of data collection in small populations, often spread across remote islands. We look forward to working with member states to address this crucial issue at the Fourth SIDS Conference.