UN General Assembly
1999

assembled in Barbados in 1994 for the first United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. Barbados is proud, as is the entire region, of the progress made by the small island developing States in fulfilling their commitments under the Barbados Programme of Action. At the national level, our Government has successfully forged greater links with civil society, including the private sector and labour, in the preparation of our environmental policies and action plans. The just-concluded special session to review and appraise the Barbados Programme of Action drew attention once more to the serious way in which the small island developing States have accepted their responsibility to integrate sustainable development practices into all aspects of their economic and social activity. We trust that the outcomes of this review will be fully implemented by the international community. The Caribbean Basin States will shortly be addressing in this forum their interest in working towards the international designation of the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development. While we