Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries: background and agenda

The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) will be held, in Doha, Qatar, from March 5-9, under the theme “From Potential to Prosperity”.

The LDC comes once every ten years “to accelerate sustainable development in the places where international assistance is needed the most and to tap the full potential of the Least Developed Countries helping them make progress on the road to prosperity.”

It also comes in the middle of the road to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.

In this year’s conference, the attendees will adopt the “Doha Program of Action for the LDC (2022-2031)”, which was approved by the Preparatory Committee for the LDC5 at the third plenary session of its second (resumed) session, which was held in December 2021.

The United Nations General Assembly, in Resolution 76/258 of April 6, 2022, endorsed the Doha Program of Action and called upon all relevant stakeholders to commit themselves to its implementation.

“The Doha Program of Action reminds us that global recovery depends on LDCs getting the support they need. They need bold investments in health, education and social protection systems — all the resources required to fully implement Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Background

Since the late 1960s, the United Nations has been paying attention to the least developed countries, which are the most vulnerable countries among the international community. The International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade of the 1970s included special measures for the least developed countries.

The category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) was formally created in 1971 by the United Nations General Assembly with the aim of providing special international support to these countries. There are currently 46 countries in the least developed category.

The UN Committee for Development Policy uses three criteria to define the status of least developed countries: per capita income, human assets (indicators of nutrition, health, school enrollment and literacy), and economic vulnerability (indicators of natural and trade-related shocks, physical and economic exposure to shocks, and smallness and remoteness).

The first LDC was held in Paris in 1981 with the aim of arousing international interest and reversing the continuing deterioration in the social and economic situation of these most vulnerable nations.

Since then, the conference has been held about every ten years, including in Paris in 1990, and in Brussels in 2001, after which the General Assembly established the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS). In 2008, the fourth edition was held in Istanbul.

Agenda

The LDC5 adopted six key focus areas to discuss:

Investing in people, eradicating poverty and building capacity

• Leveraging the power of science, technology and innovation
• Supporting structural transformation as a driver of prosperity
• Enhancing international trade and regional integration
• Tackling climate change, COVID-19 and building resilience
• Mobilizing international partnerships for sustainable graduation