Small island developing States

71. The international community reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. The Commission on Sustainable Development carried out a mid-term review of selected programme areas of the Programme of Action at its fourth session, in 1996. In 1998, at its sixth session, the Commission will undertake a review of all the outstanding chapters and issues of the Programme of Action. A full and comprehensive review of the Programme of Action, consistent with the review of other United Nations global conferences is scheduled for 1999. The Commission, at its fifth session, adopted a decision on modalities for the full review of the Programme of Action, including the holding of a two-day special session of the General Assembly immediately preceding the fifty-fourth session of the Assembly for an in-depth assessment and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action. The full implementation of the decision would represent a significant contribution to achieving the objectives of the Global Conference for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.

72. Considerable efforts are being made at the national and regional levels to implement the Programme of Action. These efforts need to be supplemented by effective financial support from the international community. External assistance for building the requisite infrastructure and for national capacity-building, including human and institutional capacity, and for facilitating access to information on sustainable development practices and transfer of environmentally sound technologies in accordance with paragraph 34.14 (b) of Agenda 21 is crucial for small island developing States to effectively attain the goals of the Programme of Action. To assist national capacity building, the small island developing States information network and small island developing States technical assistance programme should be operationalized as soon as possible, with support to existing regional and subregional institutions.