SECOND COMMITTEE DISCUSSES 2001 LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES CONFERENCE

Press Release
GA/EF/2936

SECOND COMMITTEE DISCUSSES 2001 LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES CONFERENCE

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to consider the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which is scheduled to be held from 14 to 20 May 2001 in Brussels.

During the discussion, the representative of Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the Conference would be a unique opportunity for the international community to take concrete action to reposition the least developed countries on the path of growth and development. The unequivocal support by the Group to forge a global partnership to support 48 of the poorest and most marginalized countries in the world economy was a continuing priority.

The representative of France, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the focus of the Conference must be on achieving real improvement in the living conditions of those in the least developed countries. It was essential that the Conference be based on a global approach to development, not only bearing in mind basic economic aspects, such as the debt burden and foreign direct investment, but also the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

Norway’s representative said that the Conference should address the issue of generating more resources for development, including internal resource mobilization and the creation of a viable domestic financial sector. The unsustainable debt burden must also be dealt with. Although progress had been made during recent years, there was still a need for faster and deeper debt relief for the least developed countries.

Yuji Kumamaru, Vice-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee for the Conference, said that the Preparatory Committee bureau shared the concern expressed in various forums about the increasing marginalization of the least developed countries. The international community must work together with the least developed countries to reverse this trend. He appealed for active and effective participation by all stakeholders at the national level in support of the Conference process.

Also this afternoon, the representative of Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, introduced a draft resolution on the report of the sixth special session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Committee will meet again on Tuesday, 31 October, at 10 a.m. to continue its consideration of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

Second Committee - 2 - Press Release GA/EF/2936 29th Meeting (PM) 27 October 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to consider the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

The Committee had before it the report of the Secretary-General on the state of preparations for the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (A/55/222). At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly decided to convene the Conference in the year 2001. The General Assembly has since welcomed and accepted the offer of the European Union to host the Conference and also decided to designate the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as the Secretary-General of the Conference.

According to the report, it has been agreed, in consultation between the Secretary-General of the Conference and the European Union/Commission, to convene the Conference on the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels from 14 to 20 May 2001. The report provides a broad framework of the state of preparations for the Conference including intergovernmental preparatory committee sessions, expert-level and regional-level preparatory meetings, special meetings of ministers of the least developed countries, and resource mobilization, among others.

The report states that the preparatory process at the country level is a key element in the preparations for the Conference. National preparatory committees have been established and local resource persons designated to provide substantive support to these committees. The Conference secretariat has formulated, in close cooperation with the Department of Public Information, a communication strategy for the Conference. The strategy will focus on increasing awareness and mobilizing greater political support as well as issuing an informative brochure and a special stamp for the Conference.

The Committee was also expected to hear the introduction of a draft resolution on the report of the sixth special session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, sponsored by Nigeria, on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China (document A/C.2/55/L.17). The text would have the Assembly request the Secretary-General to provide the necessary resources from the regular budget of the United Nations to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for the biennium 2002-2003 and to consider other ways to support the strengthening of the Programme in view of the 10-year review of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

Also, the Assembly would underscore the need for sufficient financial resources, on a stable and predictable basis, to ensure the full implementation of the UNEP’s mandate with the necessary resources for its strong involvement in the preparatory process for the ten-year review, and in the implementation of the outcome of the review.

Statements

YUJI KUMAMARU, Vice-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee for the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, said that the Preparatory Committee bureau shared the concern expressed in various forums about the increasing marginalization of the least developed countries. The international community must work together with the least developed countries to reverse this trend. The Conference must come up with concrete and tangible outcomes aimed at accelerating growth, eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development in the least developed countries.

The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee had been held in New York from 24 to 28 July, he said. Participants had considered the substantive and organizational aspects of the preparatory process for the Conference. It had been agreed upon to recommend a draft provisional agenda and the provisional rules of procedure of the Conference. The meeting had endorsed the design and structure of the Conference as presented by the Secretariat. The board had taken note of the preliminary report of the high-level panel on the review of the progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s, and requested the Panel to conclude its work expeditiously.

The final consideration of the draft Programme of Action by the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee would be undertaken in New York at its final session in the first week of April 2001. He appealed for active and effective participation by all stakeholders at the national level in support of the Conference process.

JEAN-DAVID LEVITTE (France), speaking on behalf of the European Union, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, said he hoped the aim of the Conference would be to ensure poverty eradication and sustainable development in the least developed countries by preventing their situation from worsening with respect to the rest of the world. It was essential that the Conference be based on a global approach to development, not only bearing in mind basic economic aspects, such as the debt burden and foreign direct investment, but also the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Focus must be on achieving a real improvement in the living conditions of those in the least developed countries.

Too many of those countries, he said, were still seeing their development efforts hampered by a lack of internal and external stability, due in particular to armed conflicts. The development strategies to be defined should focus on strengthening institutional capacities. For example, strengthening civil society and participatory decision-making processes. The programme of action marking the end of the Conference should include measurable, applicable and operational measures and be adapted to the wide range of situations encountered in the least developed countries. If those measures were to actually be implemented, the least developed countries must be closely involved in the entire preparatory process and the Conference itself.

M.K. IBRAHIM (Nigeria), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said that the Group had played a major role in the preparations for the First and Second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries and had consistently supported the positions of the least developed countries during these negotiations. The Group saw the forthcoming Conference in 2001 as a challenge to the international community to review the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, particularly in the areas of debt, official development assistance, and investment and trade. The hosting of the Conference by the European Union was welcomed and appreciated.

The unequivocal support by the Group to forge a global partnership to support 48 of the poorest and most marginalized countries in the world economy was a continuing priority. In a world profoundly shaped by the phenomenon of globalization propelled by new technologies, including information and communication technology and biotechnology, the least developed countries had continued to be marginalized from the global economy and the international trading system. They had equally been delinked from the flow of foreign direct investment and official development assistance. The debt burden of the least developed countries continued to skyrocket.

These were the issues that had received much attention during the preparatory meetings held in New York in July 2000. The upcoming Conference would be a unique opportunity for the international community to take concrete action. There was a need to ensure full participation of developing countries at the remaining preparatory meeting of the Conference and the Conference itself. The international community stood at the threshold of history to redirect the least developed countries on the path of growth and development for their integration into the world economy. The Group looked forward to concrete action by the Second Committee in meeting that goal.

OLE PETER KOLBY (Norway) said that the main focus of the Programme of Action should be poverty eradication, and the people of the least developed countries should be at the centre. It should address the issue of generating more resources for development, including internal resource mobilization and the creation of a viable domestic financial sector. The unsustainable debt burden must also be dealt with. Although progress had been made over recent years, there was still a need for faster and deeper debt relief for the least developed countries. An important question that must be resolved was the long-term financing requirements of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative framework.

A third major area was trade and market access, he said. To ensure better integration of the least developed countries into the world economy, measures had to be taken to: improve market access for products of export interest to those countries; fully implement special and differential treatment provisions and other trade rules; improve and better coordinate technical assistance for capacity-building; and mainstream trade-related assistance in development cooperation. In preparing for a more substantive new programme of action, the follow-up mechanisms to secure the effective implementation of the programme after Brussels must be examined.

Introduction of Draft Resolution

OSITADINMA ANAEDU (Nigeria), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, introduced the draft resolution on the report of the sixth special session of the Governing Council of the UNEP.

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