Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

In progress at UNHQ

Meetings Coverage

DEV/2883

Support for Informal Sector in Least Developed Nations Crucial to Growing National Economies, Thematic Debate Hears at Istanbul Conference

ISTANBUL, 9 May — While the private sector was the main force behind diversifying national economies and spurring integration into the global economy, in least developed countries, it was dominated by small and informal enterprises, making the creation of an enabling business environment essential for their advancement over the next decade, said participants in the first of six high-level thematic debates to be held during the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

DEV/2882

Least Developed Nations Declare They Lived Up to Their End of Bargain, Say Donors Must Live Up to Theirs, as Istanbul Conference Continues

ISTANBUL, 9 May — Declaring that they had lived up to their end of the development partnership bargain, leaders from developing nations called for renewed political will from donors to help them stimulate economic activity, create jobs, participate as equals in global trade and turn back the ravages of poverty, as talks on a new 10-year development programme for the world’s poorest countries got under way in Istanbul this afternoon.

DEV/2880

As Istanbul Conference Opens, Secretary-General Urges Recognition of Least Developed Countries as ‘Vast Reservoirs of Untapped Potential’

ISTANBUL, 9 May — As the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries opened this morning, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, other senior international officials and Heads of State and Government called for a new vision to reverse the profound poverty of the people living in the world’s 48 poorest countries and lay a firm foundation for their integration into the world economy.

ENV/DEV/1207

Commission on Sustainable Development Briefed on Working Group Negotiations

Meeting briefly at the end of the first week of its annual two-week session, the Commission on Sustainable Development was urged by its Chair to do its utmost — and perhaps go even further — to reach the goal of shaping critical global policies on transport; chemicals; waste management; mining; and a 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns.
SC/10241

Chief Prosecutor of International Criminal Court Tells Security Council He Will Seek Arrest Warrants Soon against Three Individuals in First Libya Case

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court told the Security Council today that he planned to seek arrest warrants in the coming weeks against three Libyans who appeared to bear “the greatest criminal responsibility” for crimes against humanity committed during Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi’s brutal, months-long crackdown against the anti-Government uprising in the North African country.
SC/10240

Libyan Authorities, Opposition Forces ‘Ready and Willing’ to Implement Ceasefire, But on Different Terms, Special Envoy Tells Security Council

Libyan authorities and opposition forces were “ready and willing” to implement a ceasefire but on different terms, the Secretary-General’s Envoy to Libya told the Security Council today, with the Government insisting that a ceasefire must be accompanied by a halt to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) aerialattacks and the Transitional National Council asserting that any ceasefire would not end the conflict if not directly linked to the departure of Muammar Al-Qadhafi.