THIRD UN CONFERENCE ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN BRUSSELS, 14 - 20 MAY;
TO CONFRONT ECONOMIC ISOLATION OF 'POOREST OF THE POOR'

Background Release
Global policy-makers will confront the economic isolation and severe poverty of the world's 49 poorest countries at the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which will be convened in Brussels, Belgium, from 14 to 20 May.

In a message issued for the Conference, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has called for a "Global New Deal" to help disadvantaged regions catch up with the developed world, says, "At stake, quite simply, in the future of these poorest of the poor, is the well-being of the entire human community."

The Conference, which is being hosted by the European Union, is expected to be results-oriented and to reach agreement on concrete steps that will allow least developed countries (LDCs) to reverse their slide into marginalization and extreme poverty.

This determination was emphasized by the world leaders who gathered in New York last September for the United Nations Millennium Summit. Adopting the Millennium Declaration, they recognized their collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity, and placed poverty eradication high on their agenda, vowing to address the special needs of the LDCs. In a first test of that commitment, the Conference will offer the international community an opportunity to deal comprehensively with debt relief, trade, market access and sustainable development.

In addition to elaborating a programme of action for the decade 2001-2010, Conference participants will hold a special event on "The Challenge of Eradicating Poverty" following the inaugural ceremony, and engage in a series of interactive thematic sessions throughout the week.

The subjects of these events are: Governance, Peace and Social Stability; Enhancing Productive Capacities -- the Agricultural Sector and Food Security; Intellectual Property and Development -- an instrument for wealth creation; Enhancing Productive Capacities -- the Role of Health; Education; International Trade, Commodities and Services/Tourism; Energy; Enhancing Productive Capacities -- The Role of Investment and Enterprise Development; Human Resources Development and Employment; Infrastructure Development; Transport; and Financing Growth and Development.

The discussion on agriculture, for its part, will examine ways to increase food production, diversify crops, ensure a more reliable food supply and create jobs in rural areas, with a view to breaking the vicious circle of poverty and food insecurity in LDCs. The session on energy will look at ways to: improve access to energy; develop international cooperation on trade in energy; and help populations to use cleaner sources of energy.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) -- the principal organ of the General Assembly dealing with trade, investment and development -- is the United Nations focal point for LDCs and has played a key role in organizing the current Conference, as well as the previous two conferences.

The Conference has a mandate covering the following areas: to assess the results of the Programme of Action during the 1990s at the country level; to review the implementation of international support measures, particularly in the areas of official development assistance, debt, investment and trade; and to consider the adoption of policies for the sustainable development of the least developed countries and their progressive integration into the world economy.

Draft Programme of Action
The Conference draft programme of action (document A/CONF.191/6) is still under negotiation, although it has been issued, with areas subject to negotiation highlighted. In its 69 pages, the draft sets out a framework for partnership, seven specific commitments, and a means for follow-up. The draft text characterizes the implementation of the previous programmes of action as a complete failure, with targets set 10 years ago not yet achieved. The LDCs, it states, have not been able to take full advantage of the ongoing process of globalization, which, in some cases, has also led to a further marginalization.

The task of the Third Conference, according to the draft, is to agree on actions to promote the sustainable development of LDCs and their progressive integration into the world economy. The partnership framework is intended to: accelerate sustained economic growth and sustainable development in LDCs; end marginalization by eradicating poverty, inequality and deprivation in these countries; and enable them to be beneficially integrated into the global economy.

Least Developed Countries
The LDCs are officially designated as such by the United Nations General Assembly on the basis of a number of criteria, including: low national income (per capita gross domestic product (GDP) under $900 for countries now joining the list); low levels of human development (a combined health, nutrition and education index); and economic vulnerability (a composite index based on indicators of instability, inadequate diversification and the handicap of small size). The population of countries that meet all the other criteria for admission to the category must not exceed 75 million inhabitants.

The average per capita GDP in the LDCs was $235 in 1997, compared to $24,522 in developed countries. People in the LDCs can expect to live for only 51 years and only one in four births is attended by trained health personnel. One child in 10 in the LDCs dies before his or her first birthday, and half the population is illiterate.

The 49 LDCs are as follows: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Yemen and Zambia.