INTERGOVERNMENTAL PREPARATORY COMMITTEE ON THIRD UN CONFERENCE ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES CONCLUDES FIRST SESSION

Press Release
DEV/2257

INTERGOVERNMENTAL PREPARATORY COMMITTEE ON THIRD UN CONFERENCE ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES CONCLUDES FIRST SESSION

The Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee on the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries concluded its first session this afternoon with a commitment to involve all stakeholders in ensuring that the Conference to be held next year led to achievable and quantifiable results.

The Preparatory Committee, which is laying the groundwork for the Conference to be held in Brussels from 14 to 20 May 2001, said the design and structure of the Conference, as presented by the Conference secretariat, should serve as a “road map” that was flexible and could be modified as circumstances demanded. It endorsed the overall concept to enable the secretariat and the European Union, as the host of the Conference, to plan the logistical and technical aspects. The secretariat was asked to present, in a timely way, a proposal for the final organization and timetable for the Conference, to the second session of the Preparatory Committee to be held in New York in the first week of April 2001.

The Preparatory Committee adopted the draft report on the work of its five- day first session, and agreed to hold the second session in the first week of April 2001. The draft report was introduced by its Rapporteur, Richard T. Dogani of the United Republic of Tanzania.

In other decisions and recommendations, the Conference was asked to approve a provisional agenda and organization of work agreed to by the Preparatory Committee as contained in documents A/CONF.191/IPC/L.1/Corr.1 and Corr.2. The Conference was also to include the 10-member bureau of the Preparatory Committee in its bureau and accept the proposal that the ex-officio members of the Preparatory Committee -- the European Union, Presidency of the European Union, Bangladesh (Coordinator of the Least Developed Countries) and the President of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) Trade and Development Board -- be associated with the work of the bureau of the Conference.

The draft new Programme of Action being prepared for discussion at the Third Conference is expected to cover a range of subjects, and the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee would bring the draft document to the attention of all relevant intergovernmental bodies, it was decided. In

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Preparatory Committee - 2 - Press Release DEV/2257 5th Meeting (PM) 28 July 2000

particular, the Trade and Development Board and the United Nations Development Group would be consulted.

Full account would be taken of the regional and country-level preparations, as well as work done at other forums, including major conferences and their follow-up events. The relevant international organizations, particularly the United Nations agencies, would be appropriately involved in the process. The Preparatory Committee Chairman, Jacques Scavee (Belgium), said he would ensure that the draft led to the best outcome and was substantively and technically sound to enhance international policy coherence.

The Conference is being sponsored by the European Union.

A tentative schedule had been prepared for an assessment of the implementation of the 1990 Programme of Action and the elaboration of the New Programme of Action. The Conference secretariat is to prepare a draft annotated outline of the new programme by 1 October for eventual review by the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee at its second session. The first formal consideration of the draft Programme of Action would be undertaken at the end of January 2001.

Inputs into the revision of the text would include further submissions of the country-level programmes of action and the outcomes of high-level regional events. Those events would be organized jointly by the Conference secretariat and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Dhaka and a meeting of African Ministers of Finance and Planning to be organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, both in November 2000. Another input would be the outcome of the consideration of the Report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly on the status of the preparatory process for the Conference.

Further inputs would also come from final versions of the country-level programmes of action, the outcome of the private sector meeting to be held from 29 to 31 January 2001 in Oslo, Norway, and a meeting on women to be organized during the third week of February 2001. Non-governmental organization preparatory events scheduled around the Conference would provide further inputs as would substantive and advocacy activities in support of the preparation of interactive and parallel events, the Chairman said.

Statements were made by representatives of Benin, Norway, Bangladesh, and France (on behalf of the European Union). A representative of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) also spoke.

Closing statements were also made by the Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD, the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee, and the Executive Secretary of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

Preparatory Committee Work Programme

The Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee for the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries met this afternoon to continue its discussion of the preparatory processes for the Conference to be held in Brussels next May, and to conclude its first session which began last Monday, 24 July.

Statements

OUSSOU EDOUARD AHO-GLELE (Benin) read out a statement from the heads of State and government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at their recent summit in Lomé, Togo, at which they adopted a statement on the forthcoming Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. The heads of State and government noted with concern that the socio-economic situation of the 33 least developed countries (LDCs) had continued to deteriorate, and that their situation had been exacerbated by external debt, inadequate infrastructure, as well as by conflicts in some regions and natural disasters leading to a rising level of poverty.

The statement said that, despite the drastic structural adjustment and policy reforms carried out by their countries, the number of African LDCs had not decreased. The international community, including the institutions within the United Nations system, had demonstrated its support to the LDCs through special initiatives targeted at LDCs. They welcomed the opportunity provided by the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries as a forum for the international community to go beyond general declarations of intent and commitments, and embark on concrete implementable actions directed at ameliorating the socio-economic situation in the LDCs, with a view to attaining the internationally agreed target of reducing the level of poverty by half by the year 2015.

The African leaders reaffirmed that the development of African LDCs was primarily the responsibility of their governments and peoples. They consequently committed themselves, individually and collectively, to support the effort of the LDCs in Africa through programmes for promoting regional economic cooperation. They believed that was the way forward for Africa as a whole to integrate into the global economy equitably.

They called upon the international community to redouble its effort in the critical areas of debt cancellation, resource flows, capacity building and infrastructural development, with concrete programmes to be worked out in close consultation and cooperation with their continental and regional organizations.

They called upon the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries to launch a programme for the accelerated transformation of the economies of those countries, with emphasis on expanding and diversifying the production and export base. While commending the decision to improve market access for products from LDCs, the statement said they believed that those opportunities could be exploited advantageously only when the required production and export capacities had been established and strengthened in the LDCs.

On the debt problem of the LDCs, the statement said the African heads of State and government welcomed the announcement concerning the enhancement of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative and called on the international community to provide adequate resources for the effective operation of the programme.

They also called on their creditor countries and multilateral financial institutions to provide real debt relief, including debt cancellation in favour of all LDCs, complemented by increased capital flows, particularly official development assistance (ODA), to meet the internationally agreed target, and foreign direct investment. They undertook to commit the sums released for eradication of poverty and pledged to support African LDCs in preparing for the Conference and to ensure their effective participation.

KIFLE SHENKORU, of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), said that knowledge was the most fundamental resource in the current economic development climate. In that context, the issue of intellectual property protection was also seen as very important, as it dealt with transfer of knowledge, which was a necessary part of the integration of LDCs into the world economy and the growth of their capacities.

The WIPO, he said, had been working with LDCs to strengthen the service infrastructure in the area of intellectual property. The organization believed in setting goals, in precise, quantifiable terms, to track progress and make sure that goals were achieved. The preparations for the Conference also should be measurable and implementable. With that in mind, WIPO had distributed materials on intellectual property to delegations.

JACQUES SCAVEE (Belgium), Chairman of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee, summarized the four interactive debates that were held during the session. The first dealt with the domestic policy framework and international support measures, that is, the promotion of sound national policies in order to derive the maximum benefit from external support. Some progress, it was noted in this debate, had been achieved by domestic policies of the LDCs, in the areas of governance, access to debt relief, local participation, and the role of women.

But domestic resource mobilization could not be achieved without macro- economic stability, reduced structural handicaps, institutional efficiency, and financial policies that contained incentive mechanisms, he said. Sound domestic policies were also needed to generate foreign exchange and to benefit from ODA funds. The Third Conference on Least Developed Countries, most participants had agreed, provided an important opportunity to determine a desirable level of external financial support.

The second interactive debate, he said, had concerned development and strengthening of productive capacities in LDCs. Participants had agreed that, to reach this end, the Conference needed to focus on domestic policy framework, human capital development, trade-related capacity-building, and improved physical infrastructure. They supported the proposed establishment of a trust fund for the integrated framework on trade-related technical assistance to the LDCs.

The third interactive debate had covered social development, he said. An improved social sector enhanced labour productivity and economic growth, participants had pointed out. However, any investment in that sector should not be traded off against investment in the economic sectors.

Health had been noted as an essential component of human capital development, with HIV/AIDS and malaria taking a heavy toll on the development of African LDCs, in particular. Gender issues, particularly those related to women entrepreneurs, were also important and should be clearly defined in all programmes of action. The issues of rapid population growth and refugees and displaced persons had great impact in both social and economic realms and needed to be properly addressed.

The final interactive debate had discussed implementation and follow-up mechanisms for the outcome of the Third LDC Conference, he said. Participants had raised concerns about the lack of awareness of the Programme of Action for the 1990s, and that the Programme lacked clearly defined benchmarks and targets and was not linked to national planning. In addition, county-level coordination mechanisms were inadequately formulated, with a proliferation of initiatives and the role of civil society not clearly defined

They had recommended, he said, that existing coordination mechanisms for monitoring and follow-up should be kept in place but improved. Awareness should be promoted to reverse the decline of ODA and other external support measures. Aid should, furthermore, be coordinated and country-led. Clear benchmarks and targets should be established in the new Programme of Action, and UNCTAD should play its role in monitoring, follow-up and implementation of that new Programme.

IFTEKHAR CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) noted with satisfaction the escalating participation in preparatory process. He felt it was imperative that all LDCs attend all future parts of the process and that resources be made available for that purpose.

BJORN SKOGMO (Norway) said he felt that some progress had been made, but that there were some formulations that needed to be reworked, and that the whole process needed to be more rooted in an intergovernmental discussion. For future work, he proposed a discussion on the efforts of individual developed countries in implementing the Programme of Action of the Paris Conference. He suggested that those developed countries that wished to do so be permitted to circulate papers on their national programmes. There also needed to be more focus on a strategy for public information to generate awareness and support for what the Conference was trying to achieve.

Mr. SCAVEE (Belgium), Committee Chairman, replied that the evaluatory process was still ongoing. Any papers, including those from the donor nations, were welcomed.

CATHERINE GRAS (France), on behalf of the European Union, said the Union committed itself to work as partners in the process. Inter-sessional work should be carried out and should be transparent. Momentum built during the first session should not be lost. She thanked participants for their constructive work and the UNCTAD secretariat officials for their major contributions.

Mr. AHO-GLELE (Benin) associated his delegation with the comments made by the representative of Bangladesh, Coordinator of LDCs, and thanked the European Union for its assistance to the LDCs.

RICHARD T. DOGANI (United Republic of Tanzania), Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee, introduced the Committee's draft report contained in document A/CONF.191/IPC/L.3/Addenda 1 to 3. He said the report, which contained proceedings of the five-day first session of the Preparatory Committee, would include today's final plenary.

CARLOS FORTIN, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD, speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General of the Conference, Rubens Ricupero, who is also UNCTAD Secretary-General, said the Third Conference would be something of a make or break occasion. The challenge was enormous. The UNCTAD (mandated by the General

Assembly to organize the Conference) was prepared to continue to play its part to ensure the success of the Conference.

He envisaged that the Conference would focus on achievable results. It would be a major challenge, one that would entail mobilization of the entire United Nations system. The first session of the Preparatory Committee had shown what could be done.

He said the Conference would entail the mobilization of all stakeholders. The High-Level Panel reviewing implementation of the 1990 Programme of Action had reported a lack of national ownership of the Programme. It had also reported that account had not been taken of the role of other stakeholders.

He said UNCTAD was grateful for the financial contributions received from donors. He again confirmed the total commitment of UNCTAD to the success of all the preparatory processes and the Conference itself.

ANNA KAJUMULO TIBAJUKA, Executive Secretary of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, said the session had enabled delegates to get a clear vision of the road to Brussels. She looked forward to a conference that would be a beacon of hope for the LDCs. She appealed to the LDCs to intensify their own efforts to ensure the success of the preparatory processes.

Mr. SCAVEE (Belgium), Committee Chairman, underlined the importance of the role of agencies within the United Nations system in the preparatory processes and the Conference itself. He called for a strategy that would continue to include all actors in the preparatory process, especially those from the LDCs themselves, as well as civil society organizations. He hoped for a conference that would result in the adoption of an action-oriented programme of action.

Background

The international community in 1971 recognized the existence of the category of "Least Developed Countries”. Their distinctness lies not only in the profound poverty of their people, but also in the weakness of their economic, institutional and human resources. The UNCTAD says these countries are particularly ill-equipped to develop their domestic economies and to ensure an adequate standard of living for their populations. At present, there are 48 least developed countries – 33 in Africa, nine in Asia, one in the Caribbean, and five in the Pacific region.

Rubens Ricupero, the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, is the Secretary-General of the Conference. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka is the Executive Secretary. The Preparatory Committee elected the 10 members of its bureau, headed by Jacques Scavee (Belgium). The following eight Vice-Chairmen were also elected: Oussou Edouard Aho-Glele (Benin), Bjorn Skogmo (Norway), Pierre Lelong (Haiti), Sandor Mozes (Hungary), Yuji Kumamaru (Japan), Alounkeo Kittikhoun (Lao People’s Democratic Republic), Subhas Chandra Mungra (Suriname), and Richard T. Dogani (United Republic of Tanzania) who also acted as the Rapporteur.

The preparatory processes for the Conference are embodied in General Assembly resolution 53/182.

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