Scope, Modalities, Format and Organization of the High-Level Plenary Meeting on Addressing the Existential Threats Posed by Sea Level Rise

A/RES/78/319View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 13 Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields and 117 Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, published in 2024.

What subjects does this mandate have?

2 subjects

Conferences Sea Level

What’s in this document?

28 operative paragraphs

Decides that the overall theme of the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly to be held on 25 September 2024 will be “Addressing the threats posed by sea level rise”;

Also decides that the high-level meeting will focus on building common understanding, mobilizing political leadership and promoting multisectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration and international cooperation towards the objective of addressing the threats posed by sea level rise;

Further decides that the organizational arrangements for the high-level meeting should be as follows;

The high-level meeting will comprise an opening segment, a plenary segment, four multi-stakeholder thematic panel discussions and a brief closing segment;

The opening segment, to be held from 10 to 10.20 a.m., will feature statements by the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session, the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session and a representative of a Member State affected by the adverse effects of sea level rise;

The plenary segment, to be held from 10.20 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 to 5.40 p.m., will comprise statements by Member States and observers of the General Assembly and members of the United Nations specialized agencies; a list of speakers will be established in accordance with the rules of procedure and established practices of the Assembly and the time limits for these statements will be three minutes for individual delegations and five minutes for statements made on behalf of a group of States;

The closing segment, to be held from 5.40 to 6 p.m., will comprise summaries of the multi-stakeholder thematic panel discussions presented by the Co-Chairs of the panels and concluding remarks by the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session;

Decides that the organizational arrangements for the four multi-stakeholder thematic panel discussions will be as follows:

Two multi-stakeholder panels will be held consecutively from 10.30 to 11.45 a.m. and from 11.45 a.m. to 1 p.m. and two multi-stakeholder panels will be held consecutively from 3 to 4.15 p.m. and from 4.15 to 5.30 p.m., in parallel with the plenary meeting;

Each of the four multi-stakeholder panel discussions will be co-chaired by two representatives, one from a developing country and one from a developed country, to be appointed by the President of the General Assembly from among the representatives attending the high-level meeting, in consultation with Member States, taking into account gender balance and geographical representation;

The discussions in and summaries of the Co-Chairs of the four multi-stakeholder panels will be without prejudice to existing processes and the panels will be entitled:

“Knowledge, data and science to inform sea level rise risk assessments and decision-making”;

“Adaptation, finance and resilience in relation to sea level rise”;

iii

“Livelihoods, socioeconomic challenges and culture and heritage in relation to sea level rise”;

“Sea level rise and its legal dimensions”;

The President of the General Assembly should consider inviting the heads or senior representatives of Member States, parliamentarians or local governments of Member States, relevant United Nations entities, development partners, civil society, regional and subregional organizations, non-governmental organizations, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, representatives of local communities, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, academia, the science community, youth-led organizations and community organizations to serve as speakers in the panel discussions, taking into account their relevant expertise, as well as gender balance, level of development and geographical representation;

Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a concise summary of the high-level meeting;

Encourages all Member States and observers of the General Assembly and members of the United Nations specialized agencies to be represented at the level of Head of State or Government or at the highest possible level;

Invites the United Nations system, including funds, programmes, specialized agencies and regional commissions, to participate in the high-level meeting and to support the meeting, including its preparations, particularly with regard to sharing evidence and good practices, challenges and lessons learned, and to demonstrate ambition to accelerate action on the overall theme of the meeting;

Invites representatives of non-governmental organizations that are in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council to participate in the high-level meeting in accordance with relevant rules and procedures of the General Assembly;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to draw up a list of representatives of other relevant non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector who may participate in the high-level meeting, including its panel discussions, taking into account the principles of transparency and equitable geographical representation, with due regard for gender parity, to submit the proposed list to Member States for their consideration on a non-objection basis³ and to bring the list to the attention of the Assembly for a final decision by the Assembly on participation in the high-level meeting;

³The list will include proposed as well as final names. The general basis of any objections, if requested by one or more States Members of the United Nations or States members of the specialized agencies, will be made known to the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the requester.

Invites representatives mentioned in paragraphs 6, 7, 8 and 9 above to participate in the multi-stakeholder thematic panel discussions;

Encourages all Member States and observers of the General Assembly and members of the United Nations specialized agencies to facilitate the participation of youth in the high-level meeting;

Encourages all representatives invited in paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 above to facilitate the participation of youth, of Indigenous Peoples and of local communities in the high-level meeting;

Requests the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General to provide adequate support to the organization and preparation of the high-level meeting;

Recalls rule 52 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, reaffirms multilingualism as a core and fundamental value of the Organization, re-emphasizes the paramount importance of the equality of the six official languages of the United Nations, and requests the Secretary-General to provide interpretation into the six official languages of the United Nations for the high-level meeting;

Encourages States and international donors, as well as the private sector, financial institutions, foundations and other donors, to support the participation of representatives of developing countries in the high-level meeting;

Decides that the proceedings of the high-level meeting will be webcast, and encourages the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General to give the highest visibility to the high-level meeting, including its preparations, through all relevant media platforms and information and communications technologies.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

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