UNITED NATIONS
JOURNAL
1-5 December 2025
Panama City, Panama
UNCCD
Programme of Meetings and Agenda
Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention
CRIC 23 Opening Ceremony
CRIC 1st meeting
Opening of the twenty-third session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention
Opening remarks by the Chair of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention, Philippine Dutailly (France)
Statement by His Excellency, Dr. Osama Ibrahim Faqeeha, Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Statement by His Excellency Mr. Batmunkh Dondovdorj, Chairman of the Office and Executive Secretary of the COP17 National Committee of Mongolia
Statement by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Statement by His Excellency, Mr. Juan Carlos Navarro, the Minister of Environment of Panama
Statements by the representatives of the Regional Implementation Annexes
Statements by regional and interest groups
African Group Opening Statement
Asia Pacific Group Opening Statement
European Union Opening Statement
Interregional Group CA-Russia Opening Statement
Statements by the representatives of the United Nations and its specialized agencies
Statement by the representative of civil society
Organizational matters (ICCD/CRIC(23)/1) [Item 1]
(a) Adoption of the agenda and organization of work
(b) Appointment of the rapporteur of the CommitteeConsideration of priorities for science–policy guidance (ICCD/CRIC(23)/7) [Item 5]
Interactive dialogue
CRIC 2nd meeting
Effective implementation of the Convention at national, subregional and regional levels [Item 2]
(c) Development and promotion of activities for targeted capacity-building to further the implementation of the Convention (ICCD/CRIC(23)/6)Introduction of the document
General discussion
Forthcoming official meetings
Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention
CRIC 3rd meeting
Improving the procedures for communication of information as well as the quality and formats of reports to be submitted to the Conference of the Parties (ICCD/CRIC(23)/2) [Item 3]
Interactive dialogue
CRIC 4th meeting
Improving the procedures for communication of information as well as the quality and formats of reports to be submitted to the Conference of the Parties (continued) (ICCD/CRIC(23)/2) [Item 3]
Interactive dialogue
Effective implementation of the Convention at national, subregional and regional levels (continued) [Item 2]
(a) Policy frameworks and thematic topics; sand and dust storms (ICCD/CRIC(23)/3)
Introduction of the document
General discussion
Contact groups
Contact Group
Other meetings
RGDRP Steering Committee Meeting
CSO Consultation
CRIC23 Opening Press Conference
Group of Arab States Coordination Meeting
IWG-FSF
Meetings will be held on 1st, 2nd and 3rd December. The purpose is to gather input and promote discussions among stakeholders of the Convention. It is an open meeting, and all interested Parties and stakeholders are welcome to join.
Side events
24- (FAO) UNCCD – FAO Initiative on Land Tenure for Land Restoration
32- (WOCAT-CDE) Innovations for UNCCD Reporting 2026: Highlights from the SDG 15.3.1 Good Practice Guidance Addendum
34- (FAO) Bridging the Implementation Gap: Policy Alignment for Effective Drought Management
52- (International Livestock Research Institute) Sustainable Livestock Systems: What Role for Private Sector?
18- (Luxembourg) Blended Finance for Drought Resilience: Introducing DRIF
29-(GWP) Money Meets Resilience: Innovative Investment Pathways for Drought Action
3- (IUCN) Scaling Integrated Approaches for Drylands and Rangeland Resilience
41- (Future Leaders Network) Youth Engagement in Action
Announcements
Invitation by the Host Country to the opening ceremony
Delegates are kindly invited to attend the opening ceremony organized by the host country on 1 December as of 10 am in the Plenary Hall (America 1). The official opening of the CRIC 23 session will follow immediately after.
Registration for CRIC 23
Registration
- Country Parties to the Convention, United Nations Secretariat units and bodies, specialized agencies and related organizations, Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) admitted as observers by the COP, Side Event Participants and Media may register to attend the sessions of UNCCD. The registration link for CRIC23 can be found here.
- In order to facilitate verification of requests for registration at the conference, all participants are required to upload a copy of their national passport and an official nomination letter confirming their capacity to attend the session.
- Participants are also required to upload a standard passport photo to accelerate on-site registration and badge collection.
- Please be reminded that multiple registrations for the conference are not permitted (e. g. registration as a Country Party and/or an observer organization and/or media representative). Only one registration with the corresponding conference badge can be issued to an individual at any given time.
Conference badge collection
- Conference badge is only issued to duly registered and approved participants.
- Upon first arrival to the venue, participants are requested to proceed to the registration desk and present their passport (or nationally approved photo identification card) and their pre-registration QR code (printed or electronic), for badge issuance.
- Participants with valid conference badges can directly access the venue through the security and badge control, where their badges will be scanned. There is no need to stop by the registration desk unless there are any registration or badge issues.
- Participants are requested to the wear their issued conference badges at all times in order to gain access to the conference centre.
- Kindly be aware that misuse of conference badge at all UNCCD conferences is prohibited and may lead to permanent suspension of your registration.
Registration desk opening hours
- Friday 5 December from 8:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Electronic Information Service
Delegations are advised that wireless internet access is available throughout the venue. The network name is UNCCD-Public, and the password is: unccd1706.
A Computer Center is located in first floor of Panama Convention Centre, providing 20 workstations and printing facilities. An ICT Helpdesk counter is also available in the same area to assist with technical support.
A link to the stream of the meetings of the CRIC 23 session can be found on https://www.cric23.org/ and on the UNCCD website.
Meeting Rooms for Regional and Interest Groups
Requests for inclusion in the schedule of meetings of regional and interest groups should be communicated to:
Kayhan UI (kul [at] unccd.int (kul[at]unccd[dot]int)) or Mahamadou Tari Bako (mbako [at] unccd.int (mbako[at]unccd[dot]int)).
The UNCCD Conference App
The UNCCD Conference App is an easy tool for participants of official UNCCD events to have access to the latest conference schedules, all official documents and other relevant information related to the UNCCD process and conference logistics. It also provides information on the latest up-to-date schedule of events.
It is relevant for all delegates and other participants of all sessions of the UNCCD Conference of Parties (COP), the Committee of Science and Technology (CST) and the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC).
