PROGRAMMES OF ACTION TO HELP LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DISCUSSED BY PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR 2001 CONFERENCE

Press Release
DEV/2255

PROGRAMMES OF ACTION TO HELP LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DISCUSSED BY PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR 2001 CONFERENCE

Future programmes of action to help the least developed countries (LDCs) should be flexible, with clearly spelled out goals, as well as specific resource requirements, the Executive Secretary of the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries told the intergovernmental committee laying the groundwork for the Conference, which will be held in Brussels in May 2001.

Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, who is also an official of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said the quality and effectiveness of the global programme of action in addressing the problems of the least developed countries would depend on the quality of the country programmes of action.

Briefing the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee at its first session on the preparations being made at all levels for the Conference, she said that if the Conference was to succeed, support for the commitments to be negotiated must be secured from different constituencies well before the Conference itself in order to improve the chances for significant breakthrough.

In the discussion that followed her statement, a number of representatives urged donors to contribute more to the preparatory process, including assistance in the preparation of their country action programmes. Sixteen LDCs have submitted their first action programme for final review by the session.

The Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee will consider the substantive preparations for the Conference on the basis of country-level programmes of action, the reports of expert-level preparatory meetings and the reports of the inter-agency consultations. It will also consider reports of the meetings of the consultative forums organized as part of the preparations for the Conference. The preparatory processes for the Conference are embodied in General Assembly resolutions 52/187 and 53/182.

Statements were made by the representative of Belgium, Angola, France (on behalf of the European Union), Bangladesh, Brazil, Central African Republic, Nepal, United Republic of Tanzania and South Africa. Representatives of the European Commission and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also spoke.

The Preparatory Committee will meet in an informal session at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 25 July, to consider the provisional agenda and organization of work for the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries. It will also examine the provisional rules of procedure for the Conference.

Preparatory Committee - 2 - Press Release DEV/2255 2nd Meeting (PM) 24 July 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee for the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) continued its discussions this afternoon on the preparations for the Conference, which will be held in Brussels in 2001.

The Committee had before it a number of reports covering country-level programmes of action, expert-level meetings, and the inter-agency consultations and meetings of the Consultative Forum on the preparatory process. [For details on the session, see Press Release DEV/2253 of 21 July.]

Statements

ANNA KAJUMULO TIBAIJUKA, Executive Secretary of the Conference, made an introductory statement on progress in the preparatory process for the Conference, focusing on the salient points of the outcome of the different meetings convened in the past several months. At the regional level, she referred to reports of three expert-level preparatory meetings held in Addis Ababa for English-speaking African least developed countries (27-29 March), in Kathmandu for the Asian and Pacific Islands least developed countries (3-5 April) and in Niamey for French- speaking African least developed countries and Haiti (18-20 April).

She said participants at those meetings were of the view that the implementation of the Programme of Action of the Second United Nations Conference on LDCs had fallen short of expectations. There was an urgent need for sensitizing regional and subregional bodies, in cooperation with regional organizations, to facilitate their specific input to the preparatory process and to the Conference itself.

If the Conference was to succeed, she said, support for the commitments to be negotiated must be secured with different constituencies well before the Conference itself to improve the chances for a significant breakthrough. A lot of groundwork needed to be done involving all stakeholders with a clearly defined division of labour, she said. Initiatives, however, had to be taken at the national level, in all member countries.

The secretariat was hopeful that preparations to be undertaken through the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector would assist in moving the process forward. A special NGO Forum parallel with the official meeting in Brussels was to be held. The Conference secretariat was responsible for ensuring that NGOs and the private sector participated fully in the preparations and at the Conference itself. The secretariat would work very closely with the Liaison Committee for European NGOs at the European Union to ensure successful civil society participation.

Despite concerted efforts by the Conference secretariat to follow up on appeals for financial support for the Conference, she said few donors had responded. Support had been secured from the European Community, which had, in principle, granted ECU 80,000 per LDC. Other donors who had pledged support included: Belgium $250,000; Finland $350,000; France $100,000, Italy $200,000, the Netherlands $900,000; Norway $1 million; Sweden $500,000 and the Holy See $6,000. A private firm based in Zurich, A & P Partners, had pledged $100,000 for the Conference. The total resource requirements for organizing the preparatory process for the Conference was about $16.9 million, she said, adding that to date only about one-third of the total budget for the preparatory process had been secured. She thanked the donors and appealed to others to assist as soon as possible.

There had been inter-agency consultations whose reports were before the Preparatory Committee. The consultations had discussed a number of issues including the constraints facing LDCs in the preparation of their country programmes of actions. Consultative forums had also been held. The forums were to serve as a medium of interface and consensus building between the United Nations organizations and agencies and other stakeholders. The meetings emphasized the urgent need for adequate resources to finance the preparatory process and the Conference, and accordingly appealed to donors that had not done so, to make contributions.

She said the ultimate requirement for the sustainable development of LDCs and their beneficial integration into the global economy lay in the structural transformation of their economies. Any future programme of action for LDCs would need to be flexible. Most importantly, there was a need to clearly spell out goals and objectives, as well as to set out the specific resource requirements to attain them. The quality and effectiveness of the global programme of action would depend on the quality of the country programmes of action.

FRANCISCO GRANELL, of the European Commission, commented on the logistical arrangements for the Conference. Details pertaining to the different premises required for the Conference were now being worked out. In addition, travel expenses for representatives of LDCs and NGOs had been budgeted. European Development Fund money was being allocated for many items. He requested that the representatives of Belgium be asked to fill in some other logistical concerns.

HERMAN PORTOCARERO (Belgium) said that Belgium wanted the Conference to be innovative both in form and function. There were certain complexities due to the triangular relationship between UNCTAD, Europe and Belgium itself, in planning the conference. Belgium would be responsible for access to its territories, the welcoming of delegates, protocol, security outside conference buildings, as well as the welcoming of heads of State. Besides the official delegations, NGOs and the press would also be welcomed, the latter so that the conference could be heard about widely. He pledged the best possible facilities for the Conference, and Belgium’s contribution to the event had already been deposited. He welcomed any further questions.

JOAO LUSEVIKUENO (Angola) said he had not seen what efforts were being made to convince donor countries to increase their contributions towards the preparations for the Conference and for the Conference itself. What was the secretariat planning to do about that? he asked.

JACQUES SCAVEE, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, said the preparatory process had been estimated at $16 million and that only one-third had been received from donors.

Ms. TIBAIJUKA, Executive Secretary of the Conference, said the secretariat would continue to solicit contributions from donors. The secretariat had not given up hope. It was in the middle of a campaign to seek more contributions.

The Chairman, noting that a private company in Switzerland had contributed to the preparatory process, urged others to do so.

CATHERINE GRAS (France), for the European Union, said the logistical arrangements were moving forward. The Union would work constructively for the success of the Conference. It placed great hopes on operational results and effectiveness. Themes should be selected to guide the Conference, and they should reflect the new partnership between LDCs and their development partners. In terms of evaluation of the various programmes of action, the LDCs should be fully associated with the work of the Conference.

She called for the participation of civil society and NGOs in the preparatory process and the Conference itself. Documentation for the Conference should not be too complex. The work of the Conference should be made more transparent.

IFTEKHAR CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said the challenge was to match the outcome of Conference with its design. He thanked donors for contributions made so far.

MARIA RIBERRO VIOTTI (Brazil) said the international community was facing the challenge to break the vicious circle the LDCs found themselves in. The question was how they could be assured of a successful Conference. The involvement of civil society and NGOs was needed for the mobilization of support for the Conference. She asked what was being done to promote South-South cooperation in support of the objectives of the Conference.

CYRIAQUE SAMBA PANZA (Central African Republic) said his delegation had taken note of the positive proposals made by the European Union and Belgium concerning arrangements for the Conference. He nonetheless drew attention to the needs of LDCs with regard to other logistical arrangements including assistance for the preparation of country programmes.

RUBENS RICUPERO, Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and of the Conference, said developing countries had been asked to play leading roles in South-South cooperation. It was true that in the previous conferences, the dialogue had been between LDCs and their development partners. Many innovative ideas were being explored, he said. He drew attention to multilateral agreements which now covered LDCs as well. There Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) could help their LDC members. Another example was the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with members at different levels of development. He noted that some developing countries were investing in African LDCs.

There was much that could be done in South-South cooperation in terms of promotion of investment, trade and technical cooperation, he said. The Secretariat intended to try to reflect all the complexities of international cooperation. Funds were needed for that purpose. The UNCTAD Secretariat officials had visited 46 LDCs to help with the preparation of their national action programmes, and 16 had so far presented the first evaluation of their needs. Financial support would be required for officials to continue the assistance. The LDCs must be helped to help themselves.

SHAMBHU RAM SIMKHADA (Nepal) said that his delegation’s views had been well stated by the representatives of Bangladesh and of the “Group of 77” developing

countries and China. If this was to be a conference with a difference, a “Global New Deal”, it was important, first, to focus on creating the political will to reverse the marginalization of LDCs, and second, to turn that political will into action. He questioned whether it was important to focus attention on deliverables or to have a large cluster of teams during the Conference. He noted that only one-third of funds required had been delivered thus far, and that it was important to plan the institutional arrangement of post-Conference monitoring mechanisms.

C.K. MUTALEMWA (United Republic of Tanzania) wanted to register his satisfaction with the participatory nature of the preparatory process, which laid a foundation for the potential success of the Conference itself, involving, as it did, civil society in an early stage. In addition, he suggested that results of assessments of the past decade be used to drum up support for the Conference’s activities. He supported involvement of all stakeholders, as long as it was in a way that furthered the agenda.

XOLISA MABHONGO(South Africa) addressed concerns that globalization would not stem the marginalization of the LDCs. South Africa had been working on an important trade document with other southern African countries, some of which were LDCs.

A. HAMAD, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), supported France’s proposal to target debate on specific themes as the only way for the preparatory work to avoid conference fatigue and achieve its objectives.

* *** *