Welcome to the United Nations
Main Message of the Voluntary National Review Report
of the Republic of Mauritius 2024
The second Voluntary National Review (VNR) of Mauritius is underpinned by our resolute commitment to accelerating the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is rooted in the principles of good governance, respect for human rights, and the imperative of reducing inequalities.
In 2019, Mauritius highlighted in its first VNR report good overall progress in the implementation of the SDGs. However, the COVID-19 pandemic eroded years of hard-won development gains as national resources were used to safeguard jobs, sustain livelihoods, and enable a steady socio-economic recovery.
Climate change, geopolitical tensions, food insecurity, the energy crisis, and the increasing difficulty to integrate global value chains, are among our most daunting challenges. Such strenuous constraints have dire consequences on SIDS like Mauritius, due to our inherent vulnerabilities.
Despite the exogenous shocks and stressors, Mauritius’ second VNR report 2024 highlights the enhanced resilience of the Mauritian economy while recognising our limitations and challenges. The aspiration of Mauritius is to become an Inclusive, High Income and Green Economy.
In 2023, the Mauritian economy grew by 7.1% and unemployment rate fell to 6.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The ratio of public debt to GDP has decreased in September 2023, after a peak in 2021.
The robust regulatory frameworks as well as institutional reforms implemented foster trust and confidence among national stakeholders and international partners.
Mauritius continues to consolidate its Welfare State and has enhanced its strategies to strengthen national resilience in key sectors. Despite overwhelming pressures on public finances following multiple crises, Mauritius is investing heavily in social protection, health, and education. Gender mainstreaming has also progressed notably.
Bold reforms initiated in the national pension system in 2020 and our transition to a more progressive tax regime in 2023 have resulted in more equity and fairness.
Under the Paris Agreement, Mauritius submitted its revised NDCs in 2021 and is committed to reducing its GHG emissions by 40% by 2030. The national commitments also include an increase of 60% of energy needs from green sources and the phasing out of coal in electricity generation by 2030.
Marine pollution and microplastics are also serious concerns as Mauritius has a vast EEZ.
The cost of implementation of the NDCs, external debt levels and fiscal balance all play pivotal roles in determining the financial health of the economy.
As an adaptation strategy, Mauritius has adopted nature-based solutions such as mangrove plantation, coral farming, as well as seagrass mapping and blue carbon evaluation.
Mauritius is witnessing extreme weather events which are more intense and frequent. Although the absolute financial losses might seem small compared to larger countries, the relative effects are immense.
The 2024 VNR report mirrors the aspirations of Mauritius for a new programme of action for SIDS to be adopted at the forthcoming 4 th UN International Conference on SIDS.
The VNR process also highlighted the need for Mauritius to enhance stakeholder coordination and engagement, improve the monitoring and evaluation framework, and strengthen statistical process and data collection capability.
The multi-stakeholder consultations that took place during the VNR process crystalized into a Stakeholder Engagement Plan that fosters dialogue between and among the public and private sectors, academia, and civil society. Such institutional arrangements are being consolidated further to accelerate SDG implementation.
Likewise, whereas a monitoring and evaluation framework already exists, it should be capacitated enough to ensure that the actions on the ground are adequately monitored and that challenges are appropriately reported for remedial measures to be taken.
Mauritius has data availability for 75% of the SDG indicators. Measures are under way to upgrade the capacity requirements of the statistical process to bridge the data gap.
Mauritius firmly supports the strengthening of the multilateral system that fosters international cooperation and effective financing for development which delivers urgent solutions to fulfill the 2030 Agenda.
By adopting a Whole-of-Society approach, Mauritius seeks to achieve inclusive and sustainable development, through national and international transformative partnerships and innovation, in our unwavering pursuit of equity.
