UNITED NATIONS

JOURNAL

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

1-5 December 2025
Panama City, Panama
UNCCD
Thursday, 4 December 2025
Content last updated on: 4 Dec 2025 00:07 CET

Programme of Meetings and Agenda

Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention

America 1

CRIC 7th meeting

  1. Effective implementation of the Convention at national, subregional and regional levels (continued) [Item 2]

     

    (a) Update on the implementation of the voluntary land degradation neutrality targets and related implementation efforts (ICCD/CRIC(23)/5)

     

    Interactive dialogue

America 1

CRIC 8th meeting

  1. Effective implementation of the Convention at national, subregional and regional levels (continued) [Item 2] 

     

    (b) Policy frameworks and thematic topics; land tenure (ICCD/CRIC(23)/3)

     

    Introduction of the document 
    General discussion

Forthcoming official meetings

Friday, 5 December 2025

Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention

America 1

CRIC 9th meeting

  1. Preparation of the report of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention

     

  2. Adoption of the report of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (ICCD/CRIC(23)/L.1, ICCD/CRIC(23)/L.2, ICCD/CRIC(23)/L.3, ICCD/CRIC(23)/L.4  and ICCD/CRIC(23)/L.5) [Item 5]

     

Other meetings

The designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
CARIBE 5

CSO Consultation

(closed meeting)
America 2

Meeting of the Regional Implementation Annex for Africa (Annex I)

(closed meeting)
America 3.B

Meeting of the Regional Implementation Annex for Asia (Annex II)

(closed meeting)
America 3.A

Meeting of the Regional Implementation Annex for Latin America and the Caribbean (Annex III)

(closed meeting)
PACIFICO 3

Press Conference - Indigenous Peoples

PACIFICO 3

Press Conference - CSO Panel

PACIFICO 3

Press Conference

PACIFICO 4

Group of Arab States Coordination Meeting

(closed meeting)
America 2

IWG - FSF Informal Consultations

CARIBE 1

Meeting of the Regional Implementation Annex for Northern Mediterranean (Annex IV)

(closed meeting)
America 3B

WOCAT Consultations

(closed meeting)
CARIBE 2

CRIC Bureau Meeting

(closed meeting)

Side events

The information below is reproduced as received and does not imply any opinion or endorsement by the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
CARIBE 3

(Burkina Faso/Both ENDS) Scaling community-led Restoration for LDN in the Sahel

CARIBE 7

35-​​ (FAO) Turning Drought Plans into Investment Plans: From Strategy to Action

CARIBE 4

46-​​ (GWP) Integrated Drought Management: A Decade of Progress and a Roadmap for the Future

CARIBE 7

15- (WBCSD) Accelerating Private Sector Investment in Sustainable Land Management 

CARIBE 4

43- (Panama) The Nature Pledge Journey: Panama’s Experience and a Call for Global Synergies

CARIBE 3

6- (IUCN) Agroecology as a Pathway for Dryland Restoration

CARIBE 4

22- (GIZ/ELD) Rangelands Rising: The Upcoming Flagship Report on the Economics of Rangelands Restoration

America 2

25- (FAO) Consultation for the Development of the Guidance on Decision 19/COP.16 “Avoiding, Reducing and Reversing Land and Soil Degradation of Agriculture Lands”

CARIBE 7

45-​​ (WMO) Advancing Global Drought Impact and Aridity Monitoring

CARIBE 5

51- (Fundación Barranquilla+20) From Care to Justice: Intergenerational Leadership and Care for Sustainable Land Futures 

CARIBE 3

57-​​ (​​DesertNet) Land degradation and Desertification risk monitoring and restoration assessment: Towards innovative science-based approaches​

Summary of meetings

Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention

3 December 2025

5th meeting 

Effective implementation of the Convention at national, subregional and regional levels [Item 2] 

(b) Policy frameworks and thematic topics: sand and dust storms (continued) 

The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Ms. Philippine Dutailly (France).

The Committee continued the general discussion under the agenda item.

Statements were made by the representatives of United Nations agencies: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the UN Coalition on Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

A statement was also delivered by a representative of the civil society.  

A representative of the UNCCD secretariat addressed the questions raised.

The Committee concluded the general discussion under agenda item 2 (b).

Special segment: Gender Caucus [Item 6]

The Committee began its consideration of the agenda item.  

The Facilitator of the first session of the interactive dialogue entitled “Worldviews and leadership of Indigenous women on sustainable land management” outlined the proposed conduct of the first interactive session and introduced the keynote speakers and panelists.

Presentations were made by the keynote speakers and panelists.

In the ensuing interactive discussion, statements were made by the representatives of Peru, Benin, China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Panama, Fiji, Australia, Eswatini, Cook Islands, Armenia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, South Africa and Togo.

The meeting was adjourned. 
 

6th meeting

Special segment: Gender Caucus” (continued) [Item 6]

The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Ms. Philippine Dutailly (France).

The Committee continued the general consideration of the agenda item.  

Statements were made by the representatives of Iran, Djibouti, Belize, Kenya, the European Union, Türkiye, Egypt and Iraq.  

Statements were made by representatives from United Nations agencies and specialized agencies: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and UN Women.

A statement was made by a representative of the civil society organizations and indigenous people.

Panelists responded to questions raised during the discussions.

The UNCCD secretariat also responded to questions raised during the discussions.

The facilitator of the second interactive session, entitled “Gender Dimensions of Sand and Dust Storms” outlined its proposed conduct and introduced the keynote speakers and panelists.

Presentations were made by the keynote speakers and panelists.

In the ensuing interactive discussion, statements were made by representatives of the European Union and the Russian Federation.

Panelists responded to questions raised during the discussions.

The UNCCD secretariat also responded to questions raised during the discussions.

The Committee concluded the general discussion under agenda item 6  

The meeting was adjourned. 

Announcements

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.

Provisional list of registered participants

The provisional list of registered and checked-in participants attending the twenty-third session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 23) to the UNCCD has been generated based on the information entered directly into Indico registration system https://indico.un.org/event/1018740/  by each participant and has been prepared based on the information received by the secretariat as of Wednesday, 3 December 2025. The document can be downloaded here.

Each delegation is requested to send corrections via e-mail to accrediation [at] unccd.int (accrediation[at]unccd[dot]int) until Friday, 5 December 2025, at the latest.

The official document containing the final list of participants will be issued after the closure of the sessions. It will consider any additional information received by the secretariat prior to its issuance.

Funding for Eligible Participants

Formalities relating to funding for eligible participants will be carried out according to the following schedule in the DSA office in ground floor of the Conference Venue. 

5 December 202509:00 - 13:00

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)).

Statements of Delegations

By its latest legislation, namely General Assembly resolution 79/248 on the Pattern of Conferences and the report of the Fifth Committee to the General Assembly (document A/79/643), the General Assembly reiterates its request to ensure the provision of high-quality conference services to member States and other participants in official United Nations meetings. In the interest of the smooth running of the meetings, participants need to maintain a normal speed whenever delivering speeches or making statements and would encourage country Parties to send their statements to estatements-cric23 [at] un.org (estatements-cric23[at]un[dot]org), if possible in advance, so that the provision of the required high-quality simultaneous interpretation services can be achieved to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.

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). 

 

UNCCD Conference App