Statement
Madam President of the General Assembly,
Secretary-General,
Distinguished Co-Facilitators,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
At the outset, AOSIS congratulates both of you on your appointment as co-facilitators of this important intergovernmental process and we look forward to working with you and your respective teams throughout the negotiations.
Our group also wishes to extend our appreciation to the UN Secretary-General for his leadership, and also to the Co-Chairs of the High-level Expert Group for their presentation of the Group’s final report. We look forward to reviewing in detail the findings and recommendations of the final report.
Distinguished Co-Facilitators,
This process comes at a critical juncture, as we collectively seek to redefine how progress is measured in a world facing compounding crises.
For decades, AOSIS has maintained that income measures have never captured the full measure of the SIDS reality. As such, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) makes clear that achieving resilient prosperity requires redefining progress, recognizing that the pathway to development is not linear for everyone. In this way, we are confronted by a simple truth: what we measure continues to shape what we prioritize, and ultimately, what we deliver.
In other words, if we are serious about achieving sustainable development for all, then we must be equally serious in how we measure it more holistically. In this regard, we wish to highlight three key considerations for this particular process.
First, AOSIS wishes to underscore that, as a central principle, the intergovernmental process must not duplicate, relitigate or rewrite existing work, particularly the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index.
The MVI represents a significant, technically sound, Member State-driven tool. It provides an inter-governmentally established framework for capturing vulnerability and resilience and is already gaining traction in informing international discussions on development cooperation.
As such, reopening or replicating this work under a different label would risk fragmentation and dilute political momentum.
Instead, we should use this intergovernmental process to complement what already exists.
Therefore, and secondly, the intergovernmental process on Beyond GDP ought to focus on coherence and complementarity by defining a clear delineation of scope. This means reaching agreement on a concise set of policy-relevant indicators that adds value by capturing dimensions not already addressed or covered elsewhere.
By doing so, our task in this process is to situate the Beyond GDP dashboard of indicators within the broader ecosystem of development indicators that exist. This will also ensure coherence across existing frameworks, including the SDG indicator framework, and reinforce, rather than compete with, tools like the MVI or the Human Development Index, for example.
Lastly, and perhaps critical to this entire exercise, is feasibility and usability. For SIDS, the proliferation of indicators carries real capacity costs and constraints. Therefore, the process should also include concrete proposals for capacity-building, financing and support for data so that all interested countries can voluntarily apply these indicators, without additional reporting burdens.
With this in mind, Distinguished Co-Facilitators, in terms of next steps, as delegations review the final report, we would encourage further briefings and informal dialogues with the Expert Group and its Co-Chairs, so that any questions and further clarifications can be fully ventilated.
In our view, this will significantly assist delegations in understanding the contents of the final report and will enable us to move forward with collective clarity and purpose.
In closing, AOSIS looks forward to engaging in this process constructively and you can count on our support and cooperation.
I thank you.
