JOURNAL

4 December 2025

7th meeting 

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

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

The Committee began its consideration of the agenda item.  

A representative of the UNCCD Global Mechanism introduced the document.  

The Chair outlined the proposed conduct of the first interactive panel namely: “Advancing Cost-Effective and Scalable Approaches for LDN Target Setting and Reporting”.

A representative of the UNCCD Global Mechanism moderated the first panel.

Presentations were made by panelists.

In the ensuing interactive discussion, statements were made by representatives of the Philippines (on behalf of Asia Pacific Group), Saint Lucia, Panama, Morocco (on behalf of the African Group), South Africa, Brazil, Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Peru, Türkiye, Sri Lanka, the Syrian Arab Republic, Argentina and Pakistan.

The meeting was adjourned. 

8th meeting

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 (continued)

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 representatives of Zimbabwe, Namibia, Guyana, Saudi Arabia, the Dominican Republic, Somalia, Togo, Antigua and Barbuda, Samoa, Uganda, China, the Republic of Korea, Bangladesh, Armenia, Bahamas, Libya, Qatar, Haiti, Lesotho, Algeria and the European Union.

Statements were also made by the representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Further statements were delivered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Observatory of the Sahara and the Sahel (OSS) and the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM).

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

The panelists and representatives of the UNCCD Global Mechanism addressed the questions raised.

The Chair welcomed the panel members of the second interactive panel entitled: “Addressing Financing Gaps for Land Degradation and Drought Resilience”.

A representative of the UNCCD Global Mechanism made a presentation and moderated the second interactive panel.

Presentations were made by the panelists.

In the ensuing interactive discussion, statements were made by the representatives of Ecuador and Micronesia.

A statement was also made by a representative of United Nations agencies.

A further statement was made by the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM).

Statements were made by representatives of the civil society organizations and indigenous peoples.

A representative of the UNCCD Global Mechanism addressed the questions raised.

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

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

(b) Policy frameworks and thematic topics- land tenure

The Committee began its consideration of the agenda item.

A representative of the UNCCD secretariat introduced the document.  

In the ensuing interactive discussion, statements were made by representatives of Madagascar (on behalf of the African Group), Senegal, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Panama, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, China and Guyana.  

A statement was also made by the European Union.

A further statement was made by the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Statements were delivered by representatives of civil society organizations and the indigenous peoples' caucus.

A representative of the UNCCD secretariat responded to the comments and questions raised.

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

A representative of the UNCCD secretariat made an announcement.

The meeting was adjourned. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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)).

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 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).