From A/60/488/Add.7 (Report of the Second Committee on Sustainable development: implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa)
December 16, 2005


		International Year of Deserts and Desertification, 2006


	The General Assembly,
	Recalling its resolution 58/211 of 23 December 2003, in which it declared 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification,
	Taking note of the decision of the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, held in Nairobi from 17 to 28 October 2005, on the celebration of the 2006 International Year of Deserts and Desertification, 
	Deeply concerned by the exacerbation of desertification in all regions of the world, particularly in Africa, and its far-reaching implications for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular on poverty eradication,
	Deeply concerned also at the extensive destruction by Israel, the occupying Power, of agricultural land and orchards in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the uprooting of a vast number of fruit-bearing trees,
	Conscious of the need to raise public awareness and to protect the biological diversity of deserts as well as indigenous and local communities and the traditional knowledge of those affected by this phenomenon,
	Welcoming the decision of the Government of Algeria to convene and host an international conference with the participation of Heads of State and Government dedicated to the “Protection of deserts and combating desertification” in October 2006,
	Welcoming also the decision of the Government of Israel to host, in cooperation with other stakeholders, an international conference entitled “Deserts and Desertification: Challenges and Opportunities” in Be’er Sheva, Israel, in November 2006,
	Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the status of preparation of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, 2006, 
	1.	Welcomes the nomination of United Nations honorary spokespersons for the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, and encourages the Secretary-General to nominate additional personalities in that respect so as to promote a successful celebration of the Year worldwide;
	2.	Reiterates its call to Member States and all relevant international organizations to support the activities related to desertification, including land degradation, to be organized by affected countries, in particular African countries and the least developed countries;
	3.	Encourages countries to contribute, as they are able, to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa and to undertake special initiatives in observance of the Year with the goal of enhancing the implementation of the Convention;
	4.	Also encourages Member States to make voluntary contributions to the Special Fund of the Convention in order to achieve the objectives of resolution 58/211 entitled “International Year of Deserts and Desertification 2006”;
	5.	Invites Governments and all relevant stakeholders that have not yet done so to inform the secretariat for the Convention of activities envisaged for the observance of the Year;
	6.	Requests the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to make available to the Parties to the Convention and to observers a consolidated list of all activities reported, including lessons learned and best practices, in order to coordinate information and avoid overlapping of activities;
	7.	Notes with interest the decision of the Global Environment Facility Council to support, within its mandate, activities undertaken by affected developing countries parties to the Convention in the framework of the Year;
	8.	Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session on the celebration of the Year.


	 	See ICCD/COP(7)/13, paras. 4-7.
	 	A/60/169.