The establishment of the IACG stems from General Assembly resolution A/RES/59/311, which "Requests the Secretary-General, through the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, to articulate a plan with recommendations for action and proposed activities for the coordinated and coherent implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation by the relevant United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies, regional commissions and other organizations of the United Nations system within their respective mandates”. The Samoa Pathway also notes the potential role for the Inter-Agency Consultative Group on SIDS in the follow up, requesting in paragraph 124 (b) to “…regularly convene the inter-agency consultative group to report on the full implementation of the BPOA, MSI and the SAMOA Pathway…”.
The main activities currently being pursued through the IACG are:
- Coordination of the various activities carried out as part of the implementation of the Samoa Pathway at global, regional, and national levels in a cohesive manner;
- Consultation among UN and non-UN agencies to advance mainstreaming of and promotion of synergies on SIDS issues in the programmes, particularly on SIDS partnerships announced at the conference in Samoa. The IACG provide a platform to help find common ground and areas for collaboration amongst the members;
- Coordination on a Secretary-General report on SIDS and other relevant documents.
IACG meetings are generally held once every one-two months. New York-based organizations participate in person, whereas offices located abroad participate by teleconference.
