Opening - Small Island Developing States Conference (SIDS4) | United Nations

The fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) is held from 27 to 30 May 2024 in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. Under the overarching theme of “Charting the course toward resilient prosperity", the Conference aims at assessing the ability of SIDS to achieve sustainable development, including the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

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The opening segment includes the election of the President of the Conference. Following the election, remarks will be made by the President of the Conference, the President of the General Assembly, the President of the Economic and Social Council, the Special Adviser of the Fourth United Nations Conference of the SIDS,  the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, the Secretary-General of the Conference, and a youth representative.

Subsequent to these statements, the meeting will address various procedural and organizational matters. These will encompass:

Adoption of the rules of procedure and the agenda 
Election of other officers
Potential establishment of a Main Committee if required 
Appointment of the Credentials Committee members 
Planning for the preparation of the Conference report among other pertinent issues.

Official Programme: https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/sids2024/programme
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Officially opening the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), today (27 May) in Antigua, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said SIDS are a test case for climate justice and financial justice.

He continued, “The world is fast approaching the 1.5-degree limit that would avoid the worst impacts of global heating. Exceeding this limit could trigger multiple climate tipping points with abrupt, irreversible, and dangerous impacts for humanity – posing an existential threat to some SIDS.”

He stated, “We cannot accept the disappearance of any country or culture under the rising waves.”

He concluded, “At times of crisis, it may be tempting to turn inward, to lower expectations, and to dim hopes. But that is not the SIDS way. Collaboration and mutual support and help have allowed SIDS to be acle to face the consequences of geopolitical storms and physical storms. And when you speak together, SIDS can make an almighty noise. And I urge you to do so at this critical time for our planet and our future.”

Also talking at the opening, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and President of the SIDS4 Conference, said, “This year has been the hottest in history in practically every corner of the globe, foretelling severe impacts in our ecosystems and starkly underscoring the urgency of our predicaments. To ignore this is to gamble with our collective future. Continuing with business as usual is not just negligence, it is an active choice that invites disaster.”

Afioga Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, Prime Minister of Samoa and Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, said, “The seas rise. Our debts mushroom. Our people struggle. And we are told to keep hats to bear up.”

More than 20 world leaders and senior ministers from over 100 nations have gathered along with close to 4,000 other participants – together with representatives from the private sector, civil society, academia and youth – to tackle a raft of issues of existential importance to the 39 SIDS, under the theme Charting the course toward resilient prosperity.

The conference taking place at the American University of Antigua through Thursday already has a clear port of call – The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), which sets out the sustainable development aspirations of vulnerable small islands over the next decade and the support required to get them into a safe harbour – well beyond the 2030 deadline of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).