The sixteenth session was held from 5-7 August 2026 in Conference Room 4, United Nations Headquarters in New York. The session was attended by 282 delegates from 80 Member States. Also present were 62 representatives of organizations of the United Nations system and observers for intergovernmental, non-governmental, and other organizations. Over 340 representatives, delegates, and observers attended the session.
The Assistant-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination of the United Nations, Ms. Bj?rg Sankja?r, provided an opening statement in which she recalled the ambition of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the critical role of geospatial information for informing policies and monitoring progress, she noted:
“Geospatial information, including Earth observations, can help accelerate SDG implementation by strengthening the wider digital and data ecosystem; including through closer integration with statistics, administrative and other data sources; enabling more granular and timely monitoring; and supporting countries to identify where targeted action is most needed.
We see that the pace of digital transformation is accelerating. Artificial intelligence, Earth observations, advanced analytics and new sources of information are contributing to how governments understand our world, design policies, adapt to challenges, and deliver public services.
In this environment, trusted and authoritative geospatial information has never been more important.”
The Assistant-Secretary-General of the Office of Information and Communication Technology, Mr. Bernardo Mariano Jr., noted:
Country by country, geospatial information is already helping governments manage territory, allocate resources, and measure progress with a coherence that no single dataset could offer alone. We also need this at global level. We must monitor better our progress towards our shared goals.
Infrastructure of this kind does not build itself, and it does not sustain itself on goodwill. It requires sustained national investment, legal and institutional frameworks that treat geospatial data as a public asset.
Bridging the digital divide, as the Compact demands, means bridging the geospatial divide first because a country that cannot see itself clearly cannot govern itself well.
The Committee of Experts elected by acclamation a bureau for its sixteenth session. The representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United States of America were elected as co-Chairs, together with the representative of Fiji as rapporteur. The Committee had six meetings for its sixteenth session, and each of the three co-Chairs took turns to preside over the meetings of the session with the rapporteur in attendance. The substantive agenda items were considered and deliberated by the Committee and attracted over 316 statements and interventions from Member States, including collectively as regional committees. Observing entities also participated in the work of the Committee and provided another 86 statements. These statements and interventions enriched the discussions within and considerations of the Committee of Experts.
In its decisions, the Committee of Experts “endorsed the proposal to position geospatial information as a strategic priority and enabler for sustainable development” and further “emphasized that geospatial information, including Earth observations, and its integration with statistical and administrative data, is critical for interoperable, location-based evidence that strengthens public policy, territorial planning, localization and monitoring of national priorities, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and post-2030 priorities.”
