​​​​​​​DOHA, 8 March — Efforts to mobilize domestic resources, increase Government revenues, promote investment and fight illicit financial flows are required to offset the challenges that least developed countries face in accessing concessional financing and insufficient external development aid, speakers stressed today as the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries held its last full day of high-level thematic round tables.

​​​​​​​DOHA, 8 March — International solidarity is the first line of defence for transitioning from a pandemic-prone world to a pandemic-proof one, speakers at the sixth high-level thematic round table agreed as the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries began its penultimate day.

Given the diverse nature of least developed countries, accurately identifying the specific interests of each and supporting them in a tailored manner is a pressing task, speakers stressed today as the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries held its fourth and final day of debates, which also featured States and intergovernmental organizations detailing initiatives to help least developed countries overcome pressing challenges and move towards smooth graduation.

From freedoms vanishing under Afghanistan’s Taliban regime to sexual violence committed against the backdrop of war in Ukraine, the rights of women around the globe remain under threat more than two decades after the Security Council first decided to crystalize the issue on its agenda, delegates heard today, during a ministerial-level debate on women, peace and security.

The Secretary-General travelled to Geneva on Monday, 27 February, to deliver remarks at the high-level segment of the fifty-second session of the Human Rights Council.

The Secretary-General arrived in Addis Ababa from New York on Thursday, 16 February, where he would attend the thirty-sixth session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.

In Mongolia, the United Nations and humanitarian partners are appealing for an additional $3.5 million for a humanitarian response plan to reach 53,000 people in communities affected by Dzud — a severe winter weather event that follows a summer drought, freezing or starving large numbers of livestock to death.

The General Assembly today adopted by consensus two decisions, one on the 2024 session of the Economic and Social Council and its high-level political forum on sustainable development and the other on the upcoming 2023 United Nations Water Conference.

DOHA, 7 March — Stressing that there is no vaccine against climate change and disaster, speakers called for urgent action today to assist vulnerable States because “the ‘now’ is long overdue”, as the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries concluded its third day of high-level thematic round tables.

DOHA, 7 March — Despite the massive expansion of trade and investment over the past decades, least developed countries still face considerable challenges in effectively integrating into the global trading system and benefiting from the opportunities afforded by international trade and global value chains, speakers stressed today during the fourth of a series of high-level thematic round tables of the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.