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AOSIS:

The emergence of AOSIS as a force on all aspects of issues affecting SIDS has the potential to influence other ongoing and future UN conferences and negotiations. These include, in particular, the Commission on Sustainable Development, the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit on Social Development, the Convention to Combat Desertification, the Biological Diversity Convention, the Climate Change Convention, the entry into force of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and other marine- and waste-related conventions and negotiations. AOSIS can give the islands greater political leverage in these processes in several ways. First, as an alliance, AOSIS can have greater influence on the issues that affect its members and it can ensure that these interests are reflected adequately in the resulting agreements. Second, they have the potential for trade-offs with other regional and interest groups on a variety of issues. For example, the presence of a significant number of Sudano-Sahelian countries suffering from desertification at this Conference is a precursor of the support they will expect from SIDS at the forthcoming conclusion of the INCD negotiations. SIDS can also offer their support to other regional and interest groups in exchange for political support for the follow-up of this Conference.