MULTILATERAL SYSTEMS OF COOPERATION FOR SMALL STATES
MULTILATERAL SYSTEMS OF COOPERATION ARE ESSENTIAL FOR SMALL ISLAND STATES TO DEVELOP FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS To mark the 40th anniversary of the CPA Small Branches network, the United Nations High Representative for Small Island Developing States outlines how building SIDS strategies and increasing cooperation between states can secure key outcomes for small jurisdictions. Being a small state does by no means imply that you face small problems. It is quite the opposite. Small states face complex and intricate challenges but have more limited human and financial resources to meet them. Their very geographies and demographics force them to manage evolving and ever-more interlinked challenges. Just as elsewhere, Parliaments in small states have a key role in delivering on a sustainable and inclusive development for all, grounded in the hopes of their citizens. Parliaments’ primary role is to directly represent people. They are critical actors if we, as a global community, are to hold true to our promises for an inclusive and sustainable development for all. For that, Parliaments need to be equipped with access to the latest and best in knowledge, expertise and experience. Strengthening parliamentary capacity must be at the core of meeting current and future challenges. What are some of the most salient and pressing challenges small states are confronted with and what does this mean for the work of Parliaments? My Office, UN-OHRLLS was established in 2001 and is a global advocate for three groups of vulnerable states that represent well over one billion people. These are the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Our role is to respond to the needs and issues of these member states. For example, we work closely with SIDS delegations and catalyse support through an Inter-Agency Consultative Group that spans the UN system. The goal is to facilitate responsive, coherent and effective support to SIDS within the frameworks of the SAMOA Pathway (Small
Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action – a development plan agreed by SIDS and their development partners in 2014), the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The SAMOA pathway places democracy and human rights at its centre of action. It affirms the “importance of freedom, peace and security, respect for all human rights, including the right to development and the right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to food, the rule of law, gender equality, women’s empowerment, reducing inequalities and the overall commitment to just and democratic societies for development.” At a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly in 2017, SIDS governments re-asserted their commitment to action on “sustainable human development and climate change at local, national, regional and global levels while remaining committed to human rights and better governance with more effective, democratic and accountable institutions.” In this framework, the challenge is to deliver on the right policy mix to tackle climate change while building human capital and strengthening the economic and financial fabric of small states. The strong political will to move forward on this agenda already exists. The general frameworks for policy and action are agreed upon and in place - the pressing issue is how best to deliver both from the policy and the operational perspectives. Needless to say, the advent of a pandemic few of us saw coming further complicates this already difficult task. SIDS have been alerting us to the effects of climate change impacts on their land and vast ocean resources for decades. The
Ms Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu
is the United Nations UnderSecretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS). She assumed her role in May 2017. Prior to joining the United Nations, she held senior roles in the Ministry of Tourism of Tonga, the University of the South Pacific, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community as well as diplomatic roles representing the Kingdom of Tonga in the USA, Cuba, Venezuela and Canada.
20 | The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue One | 100 years of publishing
