Towards the Sustainable Development of the Caribbean Sea for Present and Future Generations

A/RES/79/204View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 18bFollow-up to and implementation of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, published in 2024.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 2007–2024

2024A/RES/79/204Towards the sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea for present and future generationsLatestCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/163Towards the sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea for present and future generationsCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/75/214Towards the sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea for present and future generationsCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/229Towards the sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea for present and future generationsCompare with previous version
2017A/RES/71/224Towards the sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea for present and future generationsCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

3 entities

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 topics

Caribbean Region Caribbean Sea Disaster Prevention Environmental Protection Marine Environment Marine Resources Conservation Maritime Safety Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

32 operative paragraphs

Recognizes that the Caribbean Sea is an area of unique biodiversity and a highly fragile ecosystem that requires relevant regional and international development partners to work together to develop and implement regional initiatives to promote the sustainable conservation and management of coastal and marine resources, including the consideration of the concept of the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development, including its designation as such without prejudice to international law;

Underlines the need to address the economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change, and emphasizes the need for regional and international action to enhance efforts at the national and subnational levels, as appropriate, to build resilience;

Stresses the need to support and invest in adaptation and action at all levels to build resilience through, inter alia, disaster risk reduction, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, the sustainable management of ecosystems and the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity, and in this regard urges Member States to adopt a climate- and environment-responsive approach to COVID-19 recovery efforts;

Notes the efforts of the Caribbean States and the work undertaken by the Caribbean Sea Commission of the Association of Caribbean States, including the development of their concept of the designation of the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development, and invites the international community to support such efforts;

Reaffirms its support for the plan of action adopted by the Caribbean Sea Commission, including its scientific and technical components and its governance and outreach components, and invites the international community and the United Nations system to enhance their support, including financial, technical and capacity-building assistance, as appropriate, to Caribbean countries and their regional organizations in their efforts to implement the plan of action;

Welcomes the resources provided by some donors to support the work of the Caribbean Sea Commission, and invites the international community to continue and to enhance its support, as appropriate, to the Commission, including through the provision of financial resources, capacity-building and technical support, the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms and the sharing of experience in the areas of work of the Commission;

Also welcomes the convening of the eighth International Cooperation Conference of the Association of Caribbean States, held in Paramaribo on 7 May 2024, which further strengthened cooperation to address new strategies and the implementation of projects and initiatives in support of the sustainable development of the Greater Caribbean;

Acknowledges the need to scale up the efforts of the Caribbean Sea Commission for the delivery of its programme of work, in particular in promoting the designation of the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development, alongside plans to advance new initiatives at the eighth International Cooperation Conference of the Association of Caribbean States, and invites the international community to support these next steps;

Looks forward to the convening of the tenth Summit of the Association of Caribbean States, to be held in Colombia in May 2025, on the theme “United for life: towards a more sustainable Greater Caribbean”;

Recognizes the efforts of Caribbean countries to create conditions leading to sustainable development aimed at combating poverty and inequality, and in this regard notes with interest the initiatives of the Association of Caribbean States in the focal areas of sustainable tourism, trade, transport and natural disasters;

Calls upon the United Nations system and the international community to assist Caribbean countries and their regional organizations, as appropriate, in their efforts to ensure the protection of the Caribbean Sea from degradation as a result of pollution from ships, in particular through the illegal release of oil and other harmful substances, and pollution from the illegal dumping or accidental release of hazardous waste, including radioactive materials, nuclear waste and dangerous chemicals, in violation of relevant international rules and standards, as well as pollution from land-based activities;

Also calls upon the United Nations system and the international community to assist Caribbean countries in developing and implementing policies and strategies for the sustainable use and conservation of marine genetic resources within their jurisdiction, and calls upon the international community to support scientific research and technological cooperation in this field with a view to realizing the full potential of these resources for sustainable development;

Invites the Association of Caribbean States to submit to the Secretary-General a report on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution, for consideration by the General Assembly at its eighty-first session;

Calls upon all States to become parties to the relevant international agreements to enhance maritime safety and to promote the protection of the marine environment of the Caribbean Sea from pollution, damage and degradation from ships and ship-generated waste;

Reaffirms, in this regard, its support for the Special Area designation for the wider Caribbean region under annex V to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, which entered into force in May 2011;

Supports the efforts of Caribbean countries to implement sustainable fisheries management programmes and to meet the principles of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

Calls upon States, taking into consideration the Convention on Biological Diversity, to develop national, regional and international programmes to halt the loss of marine biodiversity in the Caribbean Sea, in particular fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves;

Invites the international community to actively support efforts of Caribbean countries to implement regional strategies and action plans on marine pollution and marine biodiversity to further promote the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14, to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development;

Notes with deep concern that invasive alien species, such as Pterois miles and P. volitans, known as lionfish, constitute an acute threat to biodiversity in the wider Caribbean region, and urges the United Nations system and the international community to continue to provide assistance and support in addressing this issue in the region;

Also notes with deep concern the sargassum seaweed influx and its negative impact on Caribbean coastlines, particularly the impacts on coastal communities, public health, tourism and fisheries, as well as the deterioration of the coral reefs;

Encourages continued collaboration and resource mobilization by the international community and all other sources, including public and private, bilateral and multilateral, to support capacity-building mechanisms and strengthen sargassum seaweed management for the Caribbean;

Also encourages initiatives that can contribute to solutions to address and sustainably manage challenges presented by sargassum seaweed, while also recognizing the potential for economic opportunities;

Invites Member States and intergovernmental organizations of the United Nations system to continue their efforts to assist Caribbean countries in becoming parties to the relevant conventions and protocols concerning the management, protection and sustainable utilization of Caribbean Sea resources and in implementing those conventions and protocols effectively;

Calls upon the international community, the United Nations system and the multilateral financial institutions, and invites the Global Environment Facility, within its mandate, to actively support the national and regional activities of the Caribbean States for the promotion of the sustainable management of coastal and marine resources;

Expresses deep concern about the severe destruction and devastation caused to several countries by heightened hurricane activity in the wider Caribbean region in recent years, in particular the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season;

Notes with appreciation the ongoing activities of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and invites Member States and other partners to support early warning systems in the region;

Urges the United Nations system and the international community to continue to provide aid and assistance to the countries of the Caribbean region in the implementation of their long-term programmes of disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, management, relief and recovery, on the basis of their development priorities, through the integration of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction into a comprehensive approach to sustainable development;

Acknowledges the pivotal role of the Association of Caribbean States in regional dialogue and in the consolidation of a wider Caribbean cooperation zone in the field of disaster risk reduction, as well as the importance of the international community in deepening existing cooperation and consolidating new initiatives with that regional mechanism in the context of the outcomes of the High-level Conference on Disaster Reduction of the Association of Caribbean States, held in Saint-Marc, Haiti, from 14 to 16 November 2007, and the plan of action approved by the Ministerial Council of the Association upon the recommendation of the Conference;

Invites Member States, international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders to consider training programmes for the development of human resources capacity at different levels and to develop research aimed at enhancing the food security of Caribbean countries, as well as the sustainable management of renewable marine and coastal resources;

Calls upon Member States to improve, as a matter of priority, their emergency response capabilities and the containment of environmental damage, particularly in the Caribbean Sea, in the event of natural disasters or an accident or incident relating to maritime navigation;

Encourages the international community and the United Nations system, in line with their programming priorities, to support initiatives aimed at addressing mitigation of and adaptation to climate change in the wider Caribbean region included in the plan of action of the Association of Caribbean States for the period 2022–2028;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, under a sub-item entitled “Follow-up to and implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States: A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity” of the item entitled “Sustainable development”, emphasizing the three dimensions of sustainable development, including a section on the possible legal and financial implications of the concept of the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development, including its designation as such, without prejudice to relevant international law, taking into account the views expressed by Member States and relevant regional organizations, unless otherwise agreed.

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