The twenty-first session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 21) to the UNCCD will take place at the Silk Road Samarkand Congress Center, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from 13 to 17 November 2023.  

Consultations of affected country Parties of the Convention’s regional implementation annexes for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern Mediterranean and Central and Eastern Europe in preparation for CRIC 21 will be convened on 12 November 2023, at the Silk Road Samarkand Congress Center.

At CRIC 21 Parties will review the assessment of implementation of the UNCCD along the Strategic Objectives of the 2018 – 2030 UNCCD Strategic Framework and its implementation framework with a view of providing targeted recommendations on strategic objectives. Updates on specific activities supporting Parties in their voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target-setting efforts and on how they advance action towards implementation with the support of the Global Mechanism and relevant Partners, including the LDN Fund will be also presented.

Furthermore, the Intergovernmental Working Group on effective policy and implementation measures for addressing drought under the UNCCD will present its progress report for consideration by Parties at CRIC21. Also, in line with decision 7/COP15 (Annex I), participatory consultations on the conclusions and recommendations of the independent assessment will be conducted to identify possible future action to further enhance the implementation of the UNCCD 2018–2030 Strategic Framework.

In accordance with requests made by Parties, the session will facilitate interactive exchanges among Parties and their development partners on topics selected by the Bureau of the CRIC.

A high- level event on Sand and Dust Storms will be organized by the Government of Uzbekistan under the aegis of the CRIC 21.

The provisional agenda (ICCD/CRIC(21)/1) and the pre-session documentation are being made available on the CRIC21 official documents page

In order to assist delegations in preparing for the conference, a document entitled “Information for participants” (ICCD/CRIC(21)/INF.1) will also be made available shortly on the same CRIC21 webpage.

Online registration will be available from 11 September 2023 at the following link: www.unccd.int/cric-21-online-registration