UN Week Mauritius and Seychelles

The United Nations (UN) Country Teams for the Multi-Country (MCO) of Mauritius and Seychelles celebrated UN Day by organising a week of activities from the 21st – 30th October.

The UN in Seychelles kickstarted UN Week for the MCO with a timely examination of the opportunities and challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.  Held on Friday 21st October in collaboration with the University of Seychelles, the panel discussion was moderated by Emeritus Prof. Dennis Hardy with the panel comprising of academics from the University of Seychelles as well as a UNDP representative. The participants addressed questions pertinent to global issues hampering progress towards the SDGs, the challenges of population growth, whether tourism can actually be sustainable in the future, and the progress made towards agenda 2030.

The decision to focus the event on youth stems from the UN’s pledge to Leave No One Behind which underpins its work and SDGs. This includes our youth who not only directly experience the outcome of the SDGs but will also be the key driver for their successful implementation in the future. For this reason, it is vital to raise awareness about the 17 SDGs among youth and to promote their engagement around these global goals.

UN week continued in Mauritius highlighting activities of different UN agencies working to support the country’s development priorities as per the Strategic Partnership Framework (SPF) agreement and achievement of the SDGs.  The International Labour Organisation (ILO) under the leadership of Coffi Agossou, Director of ILO Country Office for Madagascar, Comoros Mauritius and Seychelles held an awareness-raising session on ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment on 26th October. This initiative contributed to the objective of this year's celebration, which is “Building Back Together for Peace and Prosperity”.

On 27 Thursday October the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) & Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) – in collaboration with The Mauritius Gymkhana Club, and the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) held a Panel Discussion on “Local solutions to secure the next generation” with key stakeholders in the food chain to reflect on challenges of local food systems and avenues for securing food for a healthy population. The discussion addressing the country’s challenges with food security was in support of SDGs 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals.

On Friday a day of activities was held beginning with a dialogue bringing over 50 people representing senior government officials and UN heads of agencies and programme management team for Mauritius together. The UN-Government dialogue provided a unique opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved under the current SPF, extract lessons learned, and to analyze the current country situation. Significantly these discussions will pave the way for the consultative process of the new UN/Government Cooperation Framework 2024-2028. The dialogue underlined the important convening role of the UN in supporting collective action with our partners as we aim to build back better after the recent and ongoing global crisis.

Later that afternoon the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness launched the Sexual and Reproductive Health policy and action plan 2022-2027. The launch during UN Week was particularly meaningful as it marks a critical milestone in ensuring effective and efficient integration of sexual reproductive health services within national primary health care strategies to advance progress towards Universal Health Coverage - contributing to SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being.

The day was rounded off with a Cultural Event and Farewell Reception for the outgoing UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Christine N. Umutoni.  A photo exhibition “Narrating the SDGs Through the Eyes of the Youth” featuring winners from the first UN Mauritius – Business Mauritius national Youth SDG photo competition was on display. The photo competition encouraged youth to explore how the SDGs are relevant to their lives and provided an opportunity for the UN to strengthen partnerships with the private sector in Mauritius. During the evening members of the UN, government, diplomatic corps and other development partners paid tribute to the passion and commitment of the outgoing Resident Coordinator. Speaking on behalf of the UNCT, Celine Lemmel Head of Mission for IOM thanked the Resident Coordinator for her years of service:

“Her leadership embodies the values of the UN as emphasized in the UN charter – with an emphasis on collaboration, partnership, and inclusiveness.”

The week concluded on Sunday 30th October on a high with an outdoor UN Family Fun Day in Seychelles. In support of the UN values of working and communicating together UN employees from the different agencies and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission were brought together for a day of team building and appreciation of the natural world that we are striving to preserve.