WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/COMTD/32
8 August 2001
(01-3943)
Committee on Trade and Development
THIRD UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE
LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, 14-20 MAY 2001
The following text reproduces the Plan of Action adopted at the Third UN Conference on the
Least Developed Countries which took place in Brussels from 14-20 May 2001 and has been received
from the European Commission, as Conference host, with the request that it be circulated.
_______________
PROGRAME OF ACTION FOR THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
FOR THE DECADE 2001-2010
Contents
Chapter Page1
Introduction  2
I. Objectives  2
II. A Framework for Partnership  4
Commitment 1:  Fostering a people-centred policy framework  6
Commitment 2:  Good governance at national and international levels  7
Commitment 3:  Building human and institutional capacities  9Commitment 4:  Building productive capacities to make
globalization work for LDCs 16
Commitment 5:  Enhancing the role of trade in development 26
Commitment 6:  Reducing vulnerability and protecting the environment 33
Commitment 7:  Mobilizing financial resources 35
III. Arrangements for implementation, follow-up and monitoring and review 41
                                                     
1 The page nos. refer to this document and not the document A/CONF.191/L.18 of 20 May 2001.WT/COMTD/32
Page 2
INTRODUCTION
1. The least developed countries (LDCs) represent the poorest and weakest segment of the
international community. The economic and social development of these countries represents a major
challenge for LDCs themselves, as well as for their development partners. Extreme poverty, thestructural weakness of their economies and the lack of capacities related to growth and development,
often compounded by geographical handicaps, hamper efforts by these countries to improve
effectively the quality of life of their peoples. These countries are characterized by their exposure to a
series of vulnerabilities and constraints such as limited human, institutional and productive capacity;
acute susceptibility to external economic shocks, natural and man-made  disasters and communicable
diseases; limited access to education, health and other social services and to natural resources; poor
infrastructure; and lack of access to information and communication technologies. In the context ofthese vulnerabilities and constraints, needed international support has been inadequate. More
commitment to provide increased and more effectiv e international support for LDCs is required to
overcome these conditions. To be effective, sustainable development strategies concerning LDCs
should seek to address these vulnerabilities, taking into account the special needs, problems and
potentials of each country. This Pr ogramme of Action aims to do so.
2. Ten years after the adoption of the Paris Programme of Action by the Second United Nations
Conference on LDCs in 1990, the objectives and goal s set therein have not been achieved. LDCs are
being bypassed by the process of globalization, leading to their further marginalization. For their part,
most LDCs have pursued economic reform programmes set out in the previous Programmes of
Action, including eliminating or substantially reducing tariffs and other trade barriers, liberalizingcurrency regimes, privatizing public enterprises, establishing and strengthening institutional and
regulatory frameworks and adopting liberal investme nt policies. The results of these reform efforts
have been below expectations. Declining availability of financial resources, domestic and external,
including ODA, a heavy and unsustainable debt burden, falling or volatile commodity prices, complex
trade barriers, lack of economic and export diversification and market access for key products whichLDCs benefit from, as well as supply-side constraints, have seriously affected the growth and
development prospects of LDCs.
3. This Programme of Action articulates policies and measures by LDCs on the one hand and
their development partners on the other to reverse these trends and to promote sustained economic
growth and sustainable development of LDCs and th eir beneficial integration into the world economy.
It also builds on the outcomes of recent major UN Conferences and summits in the specific context of
LDCs and adopts ways and means of their application to address the particular problems facing thosecountries. Effective mechanisms and arrangemen ts for implementation, follow-up, review and
monitoring of these policies and measures are critical to the success of the Programme. It is
recognized that only by absorbing the previous experiences and lessons can a new, realistic and
action-oriented programme be produced.
I. OBJECTIVES
4. This Programme of Action aims to significantly improve  the human conditions of more than
600 million people in 49  LDCs during the present decade. Against the backdrop of lack of progress in
socio-economic development in the LDCs and in the implementation of the Programme of Action for
the 1990s, it provides a framework for a strong global partnership to accelerate sustained  economic
growth and sustainable development in LDCs , to end marginalization by eradicating  poverty,
inequality  and deprivation in these countries, and to enable them to integrate beneficially into the
global economy.WT/COMTD/32
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5. This Programme of Action is based on the international development targets, actions by LDCs
and commensurate support measures by their development partners, and on the values, principles and
objectives of the Millennium Declaration. These political, economic and social objectives and, as
appropriate, other UN targets are incorporated into the commitments of the Programme of Action.
6. The overarching goal of the Programme of Action is to make substantial progress toward
halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and suffering from hunger by 2015 and
promote the sustainable development of the LDCs. This will require, among other things, significant
and steady increases in  GDP  growth rates in LDCs.  To that end, LDCs, with the support of their
development partners, will strive to attain a GDP growth rate of at least 7 per cent per annum and
increase the ratio of investment to GDP to 25 per cent per annum. In this regard, civil society,
including the private sector, is an important participant.
7. National policies of LDCs and external support measures by their partners during the decade
will focus inter alia  on the following priorities:
A significant reduction in extreme poverty;
Developing human and institutional resources to support sustained growth and sustainable
development;
Removing supply-side constraints and enhancing productive capacity and promoting the
expansion of domestic markets to accelerate growth, income  and employment generation;
Accelerating LDCs’ growth with the aim of enhancing their share  in world trade and global
financial and investment flows.
Environmental protection, accepting that LDCs and industrialized countries have common but
differentiated responsibility;
Attaining food security and reducing malnutrition.
8. The Programme of Action recognizes the followi ng as cross-cutting priority issues: poverty
eradication, gender equality, employment, governance at national and international levels, capacity-
building, sustainable development, special problems of landlocked and small island LDCs, and
challenges faced by LDCs affected by conflict.
9. Poverty eradication requires a broad approach, taking into account not only the sheer
economic aspects, but also the social, human and environmental dimension. This implies an increased
focus on issues like good governance at national and international levels and the fight against
corruption, respect for all internationally recognized  human rights, gender issues, capacity and
institutional building, social services supply and environmental concerns. The majority of the poor
live in rural areas. Increasing the sustainable productive capacity of agriculture and fisheries and theincome of people working in these sectors in LDCs is therefore a key priority. Women remain the vast
majority of the poor in both economic and non-economic terms.
10. A comprehensive policy of confidence building and conflict prevention is an important
element of a sustainable development strategy.
11. There are important linkages between development, poverty reduction and gender equality.
Gender equality and gender mainstreaming are therefore essential strategic components for poverty
reduction.WT/COMTD/32
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12. The implementation of this Programme of Action shall be guided by the principles and
purposes of the United Nations Charter. The Programme of Action seeks, with particular reference to
national programmes of action, concrete ways and means to effectively arrest and reverse the
continued socio-economic marginalization of LDCs, im prove their share in international trade, foreign
direct investment and other financial flows and create  an enabling environment for them to be able to
benefit from globalization and minimize adverse consequences thereof. It is an ethical imperative for
the international community to adopt international support measures to help LDCs to arrest and
reverse their marginalization and to promote their expeditious integration into the world economy and
fight social exclusion. Implementation of the Programme will also restore confidence and enhance the
new form of partnership and cooperation between the LDCs and their development partners. The
success of this Programme of Action will be judged, in the end, by its contribution to the overall
socio-economic progress of LDCs, especially towards achieving international development targets.
13. Another important objective of the Programme of Action is to contribute to the renovation
and invigoration of partnership between the LDCs and their development partners by promoting
mutual and shared responsibility, as well as greater opportunity and integration of the LDCs into the
global economy. The Programme of Action, among other things, should create conditions necessary
for the implementation of policies and strategies based on the new development paradigm whereeconomic growth and development are prerequisites for the eradication of poverty. It should also
contribute to the growth and expansion of the private sector, entrepreneurship and innovation by
facilitating access to technology, private capital flows and other related resources.
II. A FRAMEWORK FOR PARTNERSHIP
14. This partnership is based on mutual commitments by LDCs and their development partners to
undertake concrete actions in a number of interlinked areas set out in the Programme of Action. It is
entered into in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and with full respect for national
sovereignty. This partnership will be nurtured and strengthened by mutual collaboration of partners
through relevant international forums and pro cesses. While LDCs should assume ownership of
designing and formulating appropriate national policies of their own will and choice to create
conditions conducive to development and continue to have the primary responsibility for effective
implementation of those policies and measures, the full implementation of the Programme of Action
is the shared responsibility of these countries and their development partners. The strengthened
partnership for development necessitates adequate external support from the LDCs’ development
partners.
15. Each LDC will translate national policies and measures in the Programme of Action into
concrete measures within the framework of its national programme of action, taking into account its
particular circumstances and priorities. LDCs should accomplish this with the full involvement of
domestic stakeholders and the collaboration of its public and private development partners to
implement the agreed commitments. In this respect,  it is important to take fully into account the
specific geographical constraints and vulnerabilities of each LDC, including small island andlandlocked LDCs.
16. The development partners will assist in the implementation of the Programme of Action
through the commitments undertaken herein in a spirit of genuine solidarity and shared responsibility.
An important function of the Programme of Action will be to serve as a common framework for
development cooperation with LDCs. Its commitments should be translated into actions in theirnational development frameworks.
17. There is a need to create a coherence of agendas and actions relating to national development
in each LDC. Agendas and processes in support of  LDCs already in place in different multilateralWT/COMTD/32
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entities, in particular the United Nations, WTO and the Bretton Woods institutions, within their
mandates and tasks, can draw from this Programme of Action and the national programmes of action
with identification of points of convergence and action. Regular and systematic exchanges of
information and coordination and synchronization between stakeholders and actors can assist in
implementation of development strategies.
18. South-South cooperation, as well as subregio nal and regional cooperation, has an important
role for LDCs’ development in areas such as human and productive capacity-building, technical
assistance and exchange of best practices, particularly in issues relating to health, education,
professional training, environment, science and technology, trade, investment and transit transport
cooperation. Such cooperation, including inter alia triangular approaches, should be supported by the
international community. Deepened GSTP measures in favour of LDCs are also useful in this regard.
South-South cooperation should be viewed not as a substitute for but rather as a complement to
North-South cooperation.
19. A new spirit of international cooperation must prevail, based on the principle of getting
common benefits, but also on the common, but differentiated responsibilities of developing and
developed countries. Developing countries will promote initiatives in favour of LDCs in the context
of South-South cooperation, among others, making the best use of the possibilities provided by thetriangular mechanisms, through which successful South-South cooperation may be attained using
financial contributions from one or more donors, and taking advantage of economic
complementarities among developing countries.
20. The Programme of Action recognizes the important role that Governments, as well as civil
society and the private sector, have to play in the implementation and follow-up, inter alia throughstronger public-private partnerships.
21. The LDCs and their partners will be guided by the following considerations in the
implementation of the Programme of Action:
An integrated approach :  The development process should be viewed in a comprehensive,
coherent and long-term manner by LDCs and their partners, including the multilateral agencies withinand outside the United Nations system.  When addressing economic development and poverty
eradication, above all there should be a balance between economic and other objectives of
development.  The implementation of the programme of action should be integrated into all
international processes of concern to the LDCs.
Genuine partnership :  With greater alignment between national policies and strategies in
LDCs and the external assistance strategies of their partners, the scope for more effective dialogue
between them has expanded.  Open and transparent development cooperation, underpinned by strongpolitical will, can help bring about rapid transformations in LDCs.
Country ownership :  All efforts should be made by LDCs and their partners to ensure
genuinely country-led development. This will be aided by the joint identification of development
priorities by LDCs and their development partners. Also, LDCs will need to be effectively involved in
areas such as aid coordination and debt relief.
Market considerations :  While acknowledging the importance of market forces in the
sustained process of economic growth and poverty re duction there is a need to ensure an appropriate
mix of public-private participation.  However, this cannot be achieved without adequate attention to
market weaknesses as well as government weaknesses, and consideration of the preparedness of the
private sector.  It is necessary to work towards a good balance between public action and privateWT/COMTD/32
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initiative.  To be fully productive, however, a market must operate within a stable legal and economic
framework.
Result orientation :  Only positive concrete processes and outcomes can sustain public
confidence in the development partnership betwee n LDCs and their development partners.  The
process of identifying, assessing and monitoring progress on processes and concrete outcomes will bea key aspect of the implementation of the Programme of Action and its success will be judged by its
contribution to progress of LDCs towards achieving international development targets, as well as their
graduation from the list of LDCs.
Commitment 1: Fostering a people-centred policy framework
22. The objective of the policy framework is to create an overall enabling environment for
national and international actions to eradicate poverty  and overcome the structural bottlenecks in the
LDCs and ultimately to put LDCs on a path of ac celerated growth and sustainable development that
provides opportunities for all, particularly the poorest, and enables these countries to integrate
beneficially into the global economy based on the principle that human beings are at the centre of the
concerns for sustainable development.
23. An effective poverty eradication strategy should aim at strengthening physical, social and
human capacities, including through equal access to production resources and social, health and
education services. Empowering the poor in bringing about this social transformation and articulating
their interests and views is crucial. LDCs, with the help of their development partners, must facilitate
this process by creating an enabling environment in terms of policy, law-making and institutions
while improving the scope and effectiveness of service delivery vis-à-vis the poor.  There is a need to
empower women and redress gender inequality by mainstreaming the gender perspective in policy,
legal and institutional frameworks.  There is a further need to engage the energies of young people
who currently form more than 50 per cent of the population of LDCs.
24. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Supporting initiatives that help empower people living in poverty, especially women,  and
promoting their capacities to enable them to improve their access to and better utilize available
opportunities, basic social and other types of services, as well as productive resources;
Building on successful policy reforms and continuing efforts toward sound economic
management with a view to attaining levels of ec onomic growth necessary for reaching the objectives
of the Programme of Action, including through focusi ng efforts in the areas of fiscal and financial
sector reform and promotion of microcredit;
Promoting an equitable distribution of the benefits of growth and development in favour of
the poor and improving their access to basic social services with a view to increasing theiropportunities for participation in economic activity;
Promoting the efficiency of markets within an effective institutional, regulatory, supervisory
and legal setting;
Improving linkages between different economic activities,  particularly between agriculture
and micro and small enterprises,  and integrating sectoral reforms within broader development
objectives ;WT/COMTD/32
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Promoting a comprehensive and integrated information base, including through strengthening
of national statistical systems;
(ii) Actions by development partners
Facilitating an external environment supportive of full and timely realization of the objectives
of the Programme of Action through the increasing involvement of LDCs in the work relating to their
development strategies in the international financial institutions and other multilateral organizations;
Extending substantial and more effective suppo rt for LDCs’ efforts in areas of empowering
people living in poverty and ensuring their access to basic social services;
Assisting LDCs’ efforts, through providing financial and other resources, in setting up
effective social safety nets to mitigate social exclusion, insecurity and vulnerability of LDCs;
Creating an enabling environment that will help the LDCs derive benefits from globalization,
and supporting them in mitigating its negative consequences;
In the area of human and institutional capacity building, designing and providing donor
support programmes to genuinely strengthen LDCs’ national capacities and not replace them;
Supporting LDCs in gaining access to info rmation and communications technologies,
necessary physical infrastructure and critical capacity-building that would facilitate bridging the
digital divide, bearing in mind the need for diffusion and transfer of technology;
Supporting sectoral policies and programmes in a manner that helps achieve an appropriate
balance between economic objectives, such as strengthening and diversification of the LDCeconomies, and social development goals;
Undertaking public information campaigns, with the participation of relevant stakeholders, to
increase public understanding of the development challenges faced by the LDCs, as well as public
support in favour of the genuine and urgent need for development of the LDCs;
Supporting the efforts of the LDCs in creating  and promoting a comprehensive and integrated
information base, including through strengthening of national statistical systems.
Commitment 2: Good governance at national and international levels
25. Success in meeting the objectives of development and poverty eradication depends, inter alia ,
on good governance within each country. It also depends on good governance at the international
level and on transparency in the financial, monetary and trading systems. We are committed to an
open, equitable, rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading and financial
system. No effort will be spared to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law, as well as
respect for all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rightto development.
26. Good governance at both national and internationa l levels is essential for the implementation
of the commitments embodied in this Programme of Action.
27. Successful implementation of the objectives, policies commitments and measures contained in
the Programme of Action will require, at the national level among other things, that these besupported by good governance through transparent, accountable, and efficient institutions and
practices within the Government, the private sector and civil society. Despite efforts by LDCs in thisWT/COMTD/32
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regard, their governance goals have not yet been achieved. These efforts need to be pursued, with the
support of the international community as an essential factor. In LDCs, many institutions and
processes are inadequately developed, reflecting low overall levels of socio-economic development. It
should be recognized that promoting good governance in these countries needs to be approached with
a long-term view.
28. Governance issues at the international level and international economic decision-making
processes that affect LDCs’ development, including issues of their effective participation, should be
addressed. Multilateral policy and regulatory issues that affect LDCs’ development efforts should also
be addressed. The circumstances and interests of LDCs should be taken fully into account in
multilateral institutions and processes. Adequate attention must be paid to checking unfair business
practices and corruption by multinational companies, domestic firms and any other business entities.
29. Actions by the LDCs and their development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Continuing efforts to establish an effective, fa ir and stable institutional, legal and regulatory
framework in order to strengthen  the rule of law and to foster effective participation of and close
cooperation among all relevant stakeholders at national and local levels in the development process;
Promoting and respecting all internationally recognized human rights, including the right to
development;
Respecting, promoting and realizing the principles contained in the ILO “Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up”;
Fostering just, transparent and well-functioning Governments accountable to the people as
well as promoting an accessible and independent judicial system;
Pursuing national policies and strategies to promote confidence building and conflict
prevention, and in countries affected by conflict , to promote peaceful settlement of disputes,
reconciliation and post-conflict peace building;
Promoting broad-based popular participation in development, inter alia  through
decentralization, where appropriate;
Enabling the poor through promoting social in clusion and empowerment in order to enhance
their effective participation in the governance process, inter alia by strengthening their social
networks;
Striving to fully protect and promote gender equality, non-discrimination and the
empowerment of women as effective means contributing to eradication of poverty, elimination of
hunger, combating disease and stimulating growth and sustainable development;
Promoting effective representation and participation of women in all spheres of decision-
making, including the political process at all levels;
Strengthening policies and measures aimed at social, economic and political inclusion of all
segments of societies;WT/COMTD/32
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Strengthening efforts to fight corruption, bribery, money laundering, illegal transfer of funds
and other illicit activities by strengthening anti-corruption laws and regulations and their effective
application.
Continuing to promote and enhance effective measures, including fiscal and financial sector
reforms for better domestic resource mobilization, and reallocating public resources for investment in
social development, inter alia  through the appropriate reduction of excessive military expenditures,
including global military expenditures;
Strengthening human and institutional capacities for the formulation, application and
evaluation of relevant policies and actions in the above areas.
(ii) Actions by development partners
Ensuring meaningful support for full and  effective participation of LDCs  in international
dialogue and action on development, peace and security, as well as in decision- and rule-making and
standard-setting in all areas affecting their development;
Providing adequate and appropriate response, including financial and technical assistance, to
requests of LDCs for human and institutional capacity building for governance functions;
Providing appropriate assistance in response to a request by an LDC Government, and in
accordance with the UN Charter, to help the prevention and resolution of conflicts, as well as
supporting confidence-building, post-conflict peace-building, re-integration and reconstruction, thus
paving the way for durable peace and sustainable development;
Supporting the efforts of LDCs to strengthen in stitutional capacity and regulatory frameworks
for preventing corruption, bribery and money laundering, illegal transfer of funds and other illicit
activities by both public and private entities;
Working with LDCs to ensure transparen cy of development cooperation programmes,
including tendering for international aid projects;
Assisting LDCs in building partnerships and networks domestically among their institutions
as well as at the international level, including those in the private sector, civil society and relevant
intergovernmental bodies, in order to promote private and public sector dialogue to improve their
capacity to enhance transparency and accountability in economic activities and development.
Commitment 3: Building human and institutional  capacities
30. LDCs’ greatest assets are their women, men and children whose potentials as both agents and
beneficiaries of development must be fully realized. Efforts at development of human capacities in
LDCs have been affected by low school enrolment and low health, nutrition and sanitation status and
by the prevalence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, particularly in Africa, and malaria, tuberculosis andother communicable diseases, as well as by natural and man-made disasters. Making steady progress
in this area will be a major objective during the decade.  An immediate  priority is to focus greater
effort on fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and their social and economic impact. At the
same time, longer-term policies and strategies must be pursued in health, education, employment and
rural development, with due consideration for cross-sectoral synergies.
31. The 20/20 initiative is to be implemented on the basis of mutual agreement and commitment
by donors and LDCs. It is recognized that this initiative is important in mobilizing new and additionalWT/COMTD/32
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resources, both from domestic and external sources, with a view to facilitating universal access to
basic social services.
A. Social infrastructure and social service delivery
32. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Increasing budgetary allocations in favour of social infrastructure and basic social services,
including through intersectoral reallocation and appropriate cost-recovery measures, with due
consideration for the protection of the poor;
Creating an efficient environment for  and enhancing the effectiveness of social sector
investment,  including through greater reliance on a par ticipatory local community approach in the
design, implementation and evaluation of measures relating to the provision of social infrastructures
and basic social services,  particularly to improve the condition of the poor members of the
community, including through building on deeply embedded traditions of voluntary mutual aid and
self-help forms of social capital;
Offering training, including on-the-job training, to social service providers, particularly to
teachers and health-care personnel, taking into account gender equality;
Encouraging private sector involvement to complement public sector provision of social
infrastructure and social services within an appropriate regulatory framework, and seeking lessons
from the past in order to avoid repeating failure;
Giving adequate priority to issues of housing and  sustainable human settlements in rural areas
and in urban locations with a concentration of the poor;
Making efforts towards the establishment and improvement of national health facilities and
statistics.
(ii) Actions by development partnersMaking determined efforts to increase ODA in support of LDCs’ efforts towards provision of
social infrastructure and social services, in order to reach the UN social targets in this Programme of
Action;
Promoting and encouraging  innovative sources of funding and providing technical support
through partnerships among LDC and donor Governme nts, the national and international private
sector, and NGOs and foundations;
Contributing to enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the social sector by reducing
aid-related transaction costs and facilitating government coordination efforts among relevant
stakeholders;
Assisting in improving the collection and dissemination of relevant information, including in
the establishment and improvement of national health facilities and statistics in LDCs;
Assisting LDCs in developing effective safety nets and swift response mechanisms to cope
with natural disasters and socio-economic shocks, including those resulting from economic reform
programmes and fiscal adjustment.WT/COMTD/32
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B. Population
33. The following goals, targets and actions will be pursued during the decade in conformity with
the Programme of Action and Report of the ICPD and the Report of the twenty-first Special Sessionof the General Assembly (ICPD+5).
Goals and targets
34. The following goals and targets will be pursued during the decade:
Making accessible, through the primary health care system, reproductive health to all
individuals of appropriate ages as soon as possible and no later than the year 2015;
Making available the widest achievable range of safe, effective, affordable and acceptable
family planning and contraceptive methods.
35. Action by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Strengthening population policies and strategies consistent with internationally agreed goals
and objectives, as well as with the particular circumstances and demographic trends of LDCs, as an
integral part of development policies;
Strengthening basic health care systems and increasing access to and availability of the widest
range of quality health care, including reproductive and sexual health care and promoting
reproductive rights as defined in the ICPD Programme of Action, in the broader context of health
sector reform, with particular emphasis on maternal/child health;
Addressing effectively, including through appropriate policies, problems and conditions of
labour supply and internal migration.
(ii) Actions by development partnersProviding enhanced and strengthened support to  LDCs in their efforts to build national
capacity for formulating and implementing population and development policies and strategies and toaccess and use appropriate technology and know-how;
Assisting LDCs to redress the severe inadequacies in demographic data that restrict effective
policy regarding population and development;
Providing support, including technical, financial or other forms of support, to LDCs to
improve conditions of labour supply and mitigate problems of migration.
C. Education and training
Goals and targets
36. Policies and measures will be pursued in line with the following goals and targets:WT/COMTD/32
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Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and
those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete, free and compulsory primary
education of good quality;
Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for
women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults;
Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving
gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and
achievement in basic education of good quality.
37. Actions by LDCs and the development partners in pursuing the above targets will be along the
following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Assigning high priority to education, particularly basic education and vocational training, in
development budgets, to improve access to and quality of education;
Mobilizing national and international political will for Education for All and developing or
strengthening existing National Action Plans on Education, as agreed at the Education for All
Conference in Dakar, integrated into a wider poverty reduction and development framework, to
ensure that all girls and boys and women and men gain the core skills they need to take advantage ofeconomic opportunities;
Redressing pro-urban and pro-male bias in educ ational policies, where it exists, by actions on
both the demand and supply sides, improving curriculum and teacher training so that they are gender-
sensitive, and improving  girls’ enrolment at primary and secondary levels in both urban and rural
areas;
Developing and strengthening instruction and technical and vocational training  on science and
technology, particularly information and communications technologies (ICTs), and exploiting the
potential contribution of ICTs to learning, including through the use of distance learning;
Taking measures to reduce drop-out rates of children, especially girls, particularly to retain in
school children who are poor, vulnerable, disadvantaged and socially marginalized;
Promoting partnership with the private sector in an integrated system that links education,
training and employment,  including self-employment;
Enhancing non-formal education in order to promote adult literacy among women and men;
Developing an incentive system to attract highly qualified nationals working abroad to take
advantage of their skills and make good use of their experience for facilitation of networking between
the institutions in which they were working and LDCs’ institutions;
Implementing education programmes and actions, including public awareness programmes, to
address the HIV/AIDS pandemic, tuberculosis , malaria, and other communicable diseases;
Promoting a culture of peace, particularly through education, and strengthening efforts
towards peaceful resolution of conflicts;WT/COMTD/32
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Strengthening health education programmes, complemented by immunization programmes,
nutrition, safe water and sanitation and the creation of healthier environments, in recognition that
healthy well-nourished children are better learners.
(ii) Actions by development partnersProviding enhanced support, including strengthened ODA, from both bilateral and
multilateral sources, to reach the above targets on education and literacy;
Helping LDCs develop or strengthen national plans of action for education, with provision of
special technical support to countries facing significant challenges, such as complex crises and natural
disasters;
Providing support to institutional capacity-bu ilding for the formulation and implementation of
human resources and institutional development policies  and intensifying efforts to transfer knowledge
and improve the capacity for local knowledge creation in LDCs;
Supporting systemic reform activities in the education sector;
Encouraging and assisting LDCs in building capacities for pre-school, primary, secondary and
tertiary education and technical and vocational training;
Strengthening local stakeholders working in ed ucation, largely through local communities and
locally based schooling initiatives;
Supporting LDC Governments in expanding and strengthening education programmes related
to HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other co mmunicable diseases, in partnership with NGOs and
other national stakeholders;
Supporting initiatives to overcome barriers to girls’ education, and achieving expanded and
improved learning for girls;
Assisting with efforts, includ ing through technical or other forms of support, to introduce
innovative education and training methods, including distance learning;
Encouraging and facilitating networking among educational and training institutions in
developed countries and those in LDCs, including pr ovision of voluntary services in educational and
training fields;
Providing financial and non-financial resources for research and development activities
carried out in LDCs, including facilitating partners hips between researchers in LDCs and researchers
in development partner countries granting incentives  to international researchers to participate in
R&D activities in LDCs in such areas as health and sanitation, nutrition, education, and other social
services;
Supporting LDCs’ efforts in developing an incentive system to attract highly qualified
nationals working abroad.
D. Health, nutrition and sanitation
Goals and targets
38. Policies and measures will be pursued in line with the following goals and targets:WT/COMTD/32
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Reducing the infant mortality rate below 35 per 1,000 live births by 2015;
Reducing the under 5 mortality rate below 45 per 1,000 live births by 2015;
Reducing the maternal mortality rate by threequarters of the current rate by 2015;
Reducing the number of undernourished people by half by the year 2015;
Reducing by half by 2015 the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe
drinking water;
Reducing HIV infection rates in persons 15-24 years of age by 2005 in all countries, and by
25 per cent in the most affected countries;
Increasing the percentage of women receiving maternal and prenatal care by 60 per cent;Halving malnutrition among pregnant wome n and among pre-school children in LDCs
by 2015;
Substantially reducing infection rates from malaria, tuberculosis and other killer diseases in
LDCs by the end of the decade; reducing tuberculosis (TB) deaths and prevalence of the disease by 50
per cent by 2010; and reducing the burden of disease associated with malaria by 50 per cent by 2010;
Promoting child health and survival and reducing disparities between and within developed
and developing countries as quickly as possible, with particular attention to eliminating the pattern of
excess and preventable mortality among girl infants and children;
Improving the health and nutritional status of infants and children;Promoting breast feeding as a child survival strategy.
39. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Developing health systems in which special attention is given to the poorest sectors of society
by promoting community participation, including, when possible, useful and proven traditional
structures, in planning and managing basic health services, including health promotion and disease
prevention, bearing in mind the gender aspect;
Increasing public expenditure and encouraging greater private and community  investment to
achieve international goals and targets in the area of health, nutrition  and sanitation consistent with
public policy objectives related to equitable access;
Implementing policies to improve physical and economic access by all to sufficient,
nutritionally adequate and safe foods.
Embarking on prioritized and verifiable programmes for the prevention, treatment and control
of communicable disease, particularly HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhoeal disease and
respiratory disease, including the enhancement of public health infrastructures;
Giving priority to strengthening the provision of social services related to health care,
including nutrition, disease prevention, immunization, education, clean water and safe sanitation;WT/COMTD/32
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Embracing programmes geared toward providing care for people living with and affected by
HIV/AIDS and for children orphaned by AIDS;
Encouraging domestic research capacity-building and fully exploiting traditional knowledge
systems in the areas of health, as well as adopting best practices elsewhere;
Developing and implementing prophylactic programmes for preventable childhood diseases
and conditions;
Increasing the availability and accessibility of safe drinking water, particularly for rural
populations;
(ii) Actions by development partners
Enhancing ODA and other forms of support, including technical support, for  health, safe
water and sanitation and supporting LDCs in ensuring access to and availability of safe drinking water
by the year 2005;
Assisting the LDCs to develop sustainable capabilities to provide their people with access to
sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe food;
Assisting LDCs to set up effective health infrastructures and to increase access to necessary
medicines and vaccines, including urging the pharmaceutical industry  to make drugs related to
communicable diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, more widely available and
affordable, particularly for the LDCs, while reaffirm ing the need for strict compliance with safety and
quality assurance and other relevant laws and regulations;
Recognizing and protecting traditional knowledg e while continuing discussions on the subject
in the appropriate fora;
Supporting LDC Governments in expanding and strengthening programmes related to
HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis  and other communicable diseases, in partnership with NGOs, the
private sector  and other national stakeholders;
Supporting research and analysis on the effects of environmental pollution on human health
as a factor limiting economic growth and development;
Supporting LDCs’ Governments in strengthenin g programmes for control of epidemics,
including quarantine processes and infrastructure.
E. Social integration
40. People living in extreme poverty suffer not only  from lack of income but also from lack of
access to basic social infrastructure.  Poverty fosters social exclusion and exposure to shocks, man-
made or natural; it also severely limits the capacity to withstand such shocks, which can increase the
number of people living in poverty. Actions by LDCs and their partners should include promoting
greater social integration and strengthening, where appropriate, mechanisms for the participation and
protection of all people, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and persons. Measures should
be taken to ensure respect for and protection of the human rights of migrants, migrant workers andtheir families, to eliminate the increasing acts of racism and xenophobia in many societies and to
promote greater harmony and tolerance in all societies.
41. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:WT/COMTD/32
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(i) Actions by LDCs
Supporting civil society, including traditiona l and community organizations, in efforts to
invest in building social capital and social netw orks, particularly for the poor and marginalized;
Promoting appropriate legislation for greater social integration and social inclusion, paying
special attention to minorities and other vulnerable groups;
Promoting education programmes that emphasize tolerance based on race, religion, sex, age
or ethnicity;
Promoting diversification of income sources and  crop and plot utilization, with the full
participation of those involved at the community level;
Establishing and strengthening microcredit institutions in view of their capacity to make
available credit, mobilize savings and provide related financial and business services for an increasing
number of people living in poverty, particularly women.
Actions by development partnersStrengthening support for policies and measures in LDCs that enhance social integration and
social safety nets, including those which encourage voluntary actions, as well as organizations andmechanisms in the governmental and non-governmental sectors promoting such policies;
Strengthening the capability and encouraging the cooperation of relevant UN agencies to
promote social integration and social safety nets, particularly in complex emergencies and in post-
conflict and disaster management strategies;
Supporting the strengthening of existing and emerging microcredit institutions in LDCs;Providing a greater financial response to United Nations consolidated humanitarian appeals in
respect of LDCs.
Commitment 4: Building productive capacities to make globalization work for
LDCs
42. The capacity of LDCs to accelerate growth and sustainable development is impeded by
various structural and supply-side constraints. Among these constraints are low productivity;
insufficient financial resources; inadequate physical and social infrastructure; lack of skilled humanresources; degradation of the environment; weak  institutional capacities, including trade support
services, in both public and private sectors; low technological capacity; lack of an enabling
environment to support entrepreneurship and prom ote public and private partnership; and lack of
access of the poor, particularly women, to productive resources and services. Geographical handicaps
faced by landlocked and island LDCs aggravate the impact of these impediments. Critical factors tostimulate productive capacity include: stable macro-economic conditions, a conducive legal and
regulatory framework, adequate institutional, physical and social infrastructure and a vibrant private
sector. An effective dialogue between government and the private sector, as well as policy
consistency within trade, investment and enterprise development, is needed to underpin an enabling
environment for economic development. It is also important to encourage and promote good corporatepractices.  Concrete support should be based upon the national programmes of action or poverty
eradication strategies of LDCs.WT/COMTD/32
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43. The following goals and targets may be pursued, in accordance with national development
policies and strategies:
Increasing  road networks or connections in LDCs to the current level of other developing
countries and urban road capacities, including sewerage and other related facilities by 2010;
Modernizing and expanding ports and airports and their ancillary facilities to enhance their
capacities by 2010;
Modernizing and expanding railway connections and facilities, increasing their capacities to
the level of those in other developing countries by the end of the decade;
Increasing LDCs’ communication networks, including telecommunication and postal
services, and improving access of the poor to such services in urban and rural areas to reach the
current levels in other developing countries;
Increasing computer literacy among students in higher institutions and universities by 50 per
cent and in junior and high schools by 25 per cent by 2015;
Increasing average telephone density to 5 main lines per 100 inhabitants and Internet
connections to ten users per 100 inhabitants by the year 2010 (World Telecommunications
Development Conference, Valletta, Malta, 1998);
44. A paramount objective of the actions by LDCs and their development partners should be to
continue to strengthen productive capacities by overcoming structural constraints. Access to finance
by way of domestic resource mobilization, foreign direct investment and increased ODA resources
will be critical in this regard. LDCs should be treated with flexibility in the application of relevant
multilateral disciplines, without compromising those disciplines, so as to allow them a degree offreedom in providing appropriate incentives with a view to improving productive capacity,
diversification, and export capability and raising competitiveness.
45. In the LDCs, national development programmes can be effective only if they attempt to
address the supply capacity weaknesses of this group of countries.
46. The ongoing process of globalization and interdependence is potentially a powerful and
dynamic force that can contribute to growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development for
LDCs. However, the LDCs have not been able to take full advantage of these opportunities, owing to
supply and demand side constraints facing them. St rong actions are therefore required to help LDCs
to integrate beneficially into the world economy, reversing their marginalization in global trade,
finance, investment and technology flows. In this  respect, addressing supply capacity weaknesses by
building productive capacity will be crucial.
A. Physical infrastructure
47. The objective of actions by LDCs and their development partners is to provide a reliable
physical infrastructure, which is essential for efficient operation of existing productive assets and
enterprises, attracting new investment, and assuring meaningful economic development. The specific
geographical constraints and problems of land-locked and small island LDCs deserve particularattention.WT/COMTD/32
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48. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Providing support to the development and strengthening of critical areas of physical
infrastructure, including rural infrastructure, tran sportation, energy, telecommunications, information
and communications technologies, and water, including through the encouragement of more private
investment;
Promoting a bilateral, subregional and regional  approach to economic infrastructure
rehabilitation and development in order to gain economies of scale and attract both FDI and donor
funding.
(ii) Actions by development partners
Supporting, inter alia  through ODA, LDC efforts to upgrade and develop physical
infrastructures, by augmenting public investment in maintaining, upgrading and developing such
infrastructure;
Providing technical support and private sector guarantees to support infrastructural
programmes in order to facilitate bilateral, subregional and regional complementarities, including
between land-locked LDCs and their transit partners;
Supporting infrastructure development through inter alia  public investment and by facilitating
private investment  in order to enhance trade, at the national, regional, and international levels;
Supporting LDCs’ efforts to attract private investment and facilitate the transfer of the
relevant technology, in accordance with relevant multilateral agreements,  for the development of
physical infrastructure.
B. Technology
49. Enterprises in LDCs are characterized by employment of low-level technologies, lack of
resources to acquire new technologies, and low capability for upgrading old technologies or adapting
and utilizing new ones when they are available. Transfer and diffusion of technology by transnationalcorporations could be promoted by conducive  policies, regulatory transparency, market liberalization
and improved absorptive capacity of local enterprises and by addressing the problems of high cost of
technology and financial constraints. The very low level of technology in  LDCs, including in the areas
of new technologies such as ICTs, biotechnology and environmentally sound technologies, will need
to be addressed through concerted actions by LDCs and their development partners. LDCs are facingthe danger of increased marginalization as access to global networks, new information technologies
and advanced services become driving forces of integration into the world economy. In this context,
research and development, including, inter alia through the private sector, has a strategic role to play
in strengthening know-how and building the necessary special knowledge base in LDCs to prevent a
widening digital divide.
50. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Articulating policies and  measures to foster an enabling environment to facilitate the
acquisition and development of technology and to enhance innovation capacity;WT/COMTD/32
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Attracting FDI that is conducive to transfer of  technology, and building up supply capabilities
and promoting inter-firm, as well as horizontal and vertical  linkages in order to foster the diffusion of
new technologies within the economy while promoting its integration;
Promoting appropriate and sustainable technologies by investing in local research and
development and capacity-building programmes and by utilizing new and emerging technologies,
including the Internet.
(ii) Actions by development partnersThrough financial, technical and/or other assistance, supporting LDCs’ efforts to achieve
levels of investment in infrastructure for education and training that are consistent with building localtechnological capabilities,  including through innovative private partnerships;
Assisting LDC firms to link up with firms in de veloped countries in ways that would play a
catalytic role in LDC technological development;
Considering innovative mechanisms with a vi ew to according LDCs  special treatment in
facilitating acquisition, transfer and development of technology  to help LDCs gain access to
technology;
Fostering concerted  international partnership to bring the benefits of ICT to LDCs  so as  to
improve  connectivity and reduce the “digital divide”;
Promoting linkages between research and development institutions in the LDCs and their
development partners;
Complying fully with already existing multilateral commitments in the area of technology
transfer, particularly by providing incentives as provided for and agreed in article 66(2) of the TRIPS
Agreement ;
Taking concrete measures to facilitate access to or provide technology and equipment
inter alia  as part of ODA.
Enterprise development
51. Production in most LDCs, particularly in the private sector, is dominated by smallholder
farmers, small  enterprises  and the  informal sector, including industrial  and service enterprises  which
supply most basic goods and services and generate the greater part of employment and incomes.However, the majority of these enterprises have difficulties in expanding into medium and large-size
firms,  and usually lack sufficient  skills and financial and non-financial business development services,
access to finance, technology and managerial and  entrepreneurial skills.
52. The private sector can play a crucial role in poverty eradication by contributing to economic
growth and creating employment. Specific attention should be given to the needs of micro, small andmedium-sized enterprises, including enterprise s owned by female entrepreneurs, and to the
development of a sustainable financial sector.
53. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i)  Actions by LDCsWT/COMTD/32
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Creating an enabling environment for the development of entrepreneurship including by
providing access to finance, including  new and innovative forms of financing, as well as targeted
business support services to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in rural and urban areas,
including female entrepreneurs;
Promoting the informal sector through an appropriate legal and institutional framework,
including property rights, that facilitates their graduation to the formal sector and improves access to
energy, land, water and credit;
Creating mechanisms for public/private sector dialogue and partnership in order to enhance
coherence between trade, investment and enterprise pol icies and in this regard assist capacity-building
of representative business associations.
(ii) Actions by development partnersComplementing the domestic efforts of LDCs by supporting programmes to improve access
of informal, small and medium-sized enterprises to financial and business services, inter alia  through
public and private venture capital funds and partnerships as well as micro-credit mechanisms, and to
build the capacity of local sectoral trade support institutions in both the private and public sectors, as a
means of transferring and diffusing technology;
Providing support to strengthen managerial and technical skills and other business support
services, including access to information;
Encouraging public-private dialogue and partne rships with LDC enterprises to facilitate
foreign direct investment flows, including technology and other intangible assets;
Providing support for capacity-building programmes that provide training, business-
development services, networking and partnering, and the institutional framework to foster
entrepreneurial  capabilities, managerial and technical skills, as well as the growth of internationally
competitive small and medium -sized enterprises (SMEs).
D. Energy
54. The levels of production and consumption of energy in the majority of LDCs are inadequate
and unstable. The majority of people, especially in rural areas,  have to rely heavily on traditional
sources of energy which are injurious to health and the environment. Efficient energy systems are a
key element of economic growth, productivity increa ses, investment in improved technology, lower
costs, and a higher level of national welfare. Energy also plays a key role in enhancingcompetitiveness and in attracting private investment. A strong, efficient, competitive energy sector
can support technologies that promote a mix of cost-effective, clean fossil and renewable energy
sources for growth and sustainable development.
55. Access to energy, transport and communication systems at affordable prices is important to
sustainable development and poverty eradication. This will require, over the next few years, large-scale investments and the mobilization of an important amount of domestic and external resources.
While domestic public investments have a positive role to play, in view of scarcities of domestic
resources in LDCs, it will also be important to mobilize external capital, including official
development assistance and foreign direct investment.WT/COMTD/32
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56. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Facilitating the availability of affordable energy, including through the introduction and
promotion of innovative financing schemes  in rural areas, such as micro-financing and cooperative
arrangements for credit and licensing agreements, in order to encourage the involvement of the private
sector in providing energy services;
Enhancing capacities in energy production, trade, and distribution;Promoting renewable energy development by putting in place an enabling policy
environment, with appropriate institutional arrangements;
Promoting policies that address energy requirements and, in this context, giving as
appropriate preference to cost-effective energy sources, including fossil and renewable energy
development;
Encouraging regional, subregional and bilateral  cooperation in research and development, as
well as investment to increase the production and consumption of both renewable and clean fossil
fuels and to encourage the interconnection of energy grids;
Attracting domestic and foreign investments to increase energy infrastructure by creating a
predictable and transparent framework of rules and regulations.
(ii) Actions by development partnersSupporting the LDCs in their development of energy resources, including renewable energy,
natural gas and other clean energy sources, inter alia  through financial assistance and by facilitating
private sector investment;
Facilitating the transfer of technology for th e development of clean energy technologies in
accordance with relevant international agreements;
Promoting capacity building in the energy sector, including through national and regional
centres of excellence;
Addressing LDCs’ concerns in coping with increases in prices of energy imports, inter alia  by
supporting LDC efforts to diversify sources of energy, where feasible, in order to reduce dependence
on any one source,  and to take measures that energy policies are supportive to LDCs’ efforts to
eradicate poverty;
Supporting LDC efforts to diversify sources of energy, where feasible, in order to reduce
dependence on any one source.
E. Agriculture and agro-industries
57. Agriculture is the pivotal sector in the LDCs, as it underpins food security, foreign exchange
earnings, industrial and rural development, and employment generation. LDCs  and their partners
should pursue further reforms,  taking into account the developmental concerns of LDCs,  to improve
the productive capacity of agriculture and fisheries, enhance productivity and competitiveness,
diversify exports and move up the value chain in the processing and export of agricultural products.
Increasing the productive capacity of agriculture and fisheries and the income of people working inWT/COMTD/32
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these sectors in LDCs is therefore a key priority. It requires new investments in regional and national
agricultural and fishery research and rural infrastructure, extension of better farming and fishing
practices and innovative and sustainable technologies, as well as marketing advice, structured and
effective finance and greater tenure security, including access to and control over land by female
farmers irrespective of their marital status.
58. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Increasing public and private investments in agriculture and programmes for rural economic
and social infrastructure, including improving access to rural credit facilities, providing improved
investment incentives in accordance with their in ternational commitments as well as supporting
institutions involved in research and development and extension services;
Strengthening and supporting national, subregional and regional institutions for agriculture
and rural development and facilitating their adaptation to changing conditions;
Increasing access of the poor, particularly women, to support services and productive
resources, particularly land, water, credit and extension services;
Encouraging structural adaptations in production, processing and marketing systems so as to
respond to evolving consumption patterns and to reduce costs and build on complementarities
between production of cash and food crops and livestock, fisheries and forestry;
Taking appropriate measures to implement national programmes of action derived from the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, in particular measures to  conserve soil fertility
and forestry and rehabilitate marginal lands;
Facilitating access of farmers to appropriate high-yield varieties of seeds for both food staples
and cash crops;
Facilitating access of products to domestic and external markets;Promoting agro-based industries as a means to improve agricultural technology, raise rural
incomes and foster stronger linkages between agriculture and industry;
Diversifying production and exports from low value-added to high value-added products;
Strengthening farmers’ capacities so as to improve crop intensity, land cultivation,
production, harvesting and storage systems;
Developing agricultural marketing systems and storage and other related facilities and
services;
(ii) Actions by development partnersProviding support for LDCs’ undertakings to improve agricultural productivity and increase
competitiveness, inter alia  through ODA and increased foreign direct investment;
Facilitating access of LDCs to appropriate agricultural technologies and practices;WT/COMTD/32
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Supporting LDCs’ actions for the implementation of the national programmes of action
deriving from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, in particular measures to
conserve soil, fertility and forestry and rehabilitate marginal lands;
Supporting the mechanization of agriculture for higher productivity;Supporting LDCs in developing irrigation infrastructure to reduce heavy dependence on
rainfall;
Supporting development and expansion of social services and physical infrastructure to
augment agricultural production;
Providing support for LDC R&D policies and actions by, among others, improving access to
advanced scientific and technological breakthroughs in the field of agriculture, including
biotechnologies.
F. Manufacturing and mining
59. Manufacturing is critical to the pursuit of sustained growth in the LDCs because of their
potential to enhance technological capacities, advance the diversification of production and exports,
add value to exports, and foster intersectoral and inter-industry linkages. For a number of LDCs,
mining is an important actual or potential source of foreign exchange earnings. Recent reforms, whichlead to modernization  of manufacturing and mining industry, have enhanced prospects of private
foreign and domestic investment in mining.
60. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Enhancing public investment with a view to supporting rehabilitation and  sustainable
development of the manufacturing sector and fostering domestic and foreign private investment;
Employing selective, performance-related and time-bound protection of infant industries
while seeking to end infant industry protection as  soon as possible. Such protection should be used
strictly as a transitional provision to address market failures such as public and private monopolies
and promote learning and capacity-building for future competitiveness;
Creating a framework, including by removing barriers discouraging private sector initiatives,
that fosters horizontal and vertical ties among manufacturing firms and promotes collective efficiency,
stimulates learning, and facilitates their access to infrastructure, training, information and financial
intermediation;
Developing capacity, including through public/private partnerships, to  undertake geological
mapping, maintain an updated data bank on mineral resources, and provide physical infrastructure in
known mineral-rich  areas with a view to stimulating private-sector involvement  in mining;
Encouraging local processing and value adding, including through diversification, and
assisting informal, small-scale artisanal mining entities to upgrade into organized, formal small-scale
mining units.WT/COMTD/32
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(ii) Actions by development partners
Supporting LDCs’ efforts to increase public and private investment, and the transfer of
environmentally sound technologies on favourable terms, including concessional and preferential
terms  as mutually agreed and in accordance with relevant international agreements,  in the
manufacturing and processing sector;
Providing technical support for geological mapping and compilation of basic data on local
mineral potential, product adaptation and market studies for small and medium-scale mines, as well as
acquisition of new technologies, skills and modern methods of management by small-scale mining
entities, including facilitating LDC partnerships with private investors.
G. Rural development and food security
61. Lack of food security is the most typical face of poverty for both urban and rural people in
LDCs. Some 70 per cent of the poor and food-insecu re are rural dwellers, many of whom are small
farmers who produce on the brink of survival, or landless people trying to sell their labour. Povertyeradication is critical in improving access to food. Food and nutritional security must be part of a
larger framework of sustainable rural development and of poverty eradication. In many countries,
women are responsible for the bulk of food production, but they need the right to own land and to
inherit land,  inter alia  in order to obtain credit and training, as well as tools, and to increase the
productivity of the land and to be able to better feed themselves and their families. All efforts will bemade towards advanced implementation of the target of the World Food Summit to reduce by half the
number of undernourished people by 2015. The high rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the rural areas is
having devastating effects on agricultural productivity and food security and needs to be addressed.
62. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Reviewing and revising, as appropriate, their national plans, programmes and strategies with a
view to achieving food security and rural development;
Strengthening local institutions and enacting policies and legislation that provide for more
equitable and secure access to ownership and control of natural resources, particularly land, water,
fisheries and forests, by both women and men;
Strengthening agriculture and rural development support institutions and facilitating their
adaptation to changing conditions, in consultation with users and giving due importance to gender-
based and other inequalities in access to services;
Promoting rural industries as a means to improve agricultural technology and raise rural
incomes;
Supporting and encouraging grassroots development activities, rural cooperatives and
peasants’ initiatives;
Providing facilities for rural credit;Continuing the process of liberalizing trade, expanding the sources of food supply and
encouraging efficiencies in agricultural production, which will expand economic growth and foodsecurity;WT/COMTD/32
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Improving transport infrastructure and free flow of information with a view to more effective
movement of food from surplus to deficit regions;
Developing integrated nutrition projects for vulnerable sections of LDCs’ population;
Undertaking legislative and administrative reforms to give women full and equal access to
economic resources, including the right to inheritance and ownership of land and other property,
credit, natural resources and appropriate technology.
(ii) Actions by development partners:Assisting countries in reviewing and formulating national plans for achieving food security
and rural development;
Providing technical and other forms of  assistance to LDCs to attain food security and
implement rural development programmes;
Providing support to programmes and initiatives in LDCs, inter alia  through ODA to improve
rural credit facilities, and enhance investment in rural economic and social infrastructure;
Facilitating food security through bilateral, regional and multilateral approaches, including
purchase in regional markets in LDCs;
Fully and effectively implementing  the “Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible
Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net-Food-Importing Developing
Countries" adopted in Marrakech in 1994 and endorsed by the World Food Summit in 1996;
Considering to helping LDCs to cope with rising food requirements, including through
market-based mechanisms providing insurance for small-scale farmers against sudden terms-of-trade
losses on agricultural export markets;
Assisting LDCs efforts to boost food production productivity to the benefit of the poor;Providing adequate food aid to LDCs facing severe food shortages, including food
emergencies, and extending assistance to early warning systems, while seeking to avoid disruption of
domestic food production.
63. International tourism is one of the few economic sectors through which LDCs have managed
to increase their participation in the global economy. It can be an engine of employment creation,poverty  eradication, ensuring  gender equality, and protection of the natural and cultural heritage.
These facts principally result from the existence, in most LDCs, of significant comparative advantages
that are conducive to viable tourism specialization. Yet, tourism is not among priority sectors for
socio-economic development in many LDCs.
64. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(a) Promoting a climate conducive to tourism;
(b) Recognizing the potential of the tourism sector in national development strategies, and
ensuring effective participation of domestic tourism authorities in the national decision-
making process;WT/COMTD/32
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(c) Determining the most desirable tourism pr oduct specialization in order to guide potential
investors in their decisions;
(d) Promoting domestic and foreign investment in the tourism industry and related sectors with
full respect for natural and cultural heritage;
(e) Taking measures to facilitate local tourism operators’ access to, and participation in global
information and distribution systems;
(f) Formulating strategies to achieve the most beneficial linkages between tourism and land, sea
and, particularly, air transport;
(ii) Action by development partners:
(a) Supporting LDCs’ efforts to encourage investment in the tourism industry and enterprise
development in the wider tourism economy, in particular through increased access to finance
and the development of local human resources;
(b) Assisting LDCs in their efforts to enhance th eir economic efficiency, competitiveness and the
sustainability of tourism operations, in particular by assisting their efforts to access and
participate in global distribution systems and use appropriate technology;
(c) Assisting LDCs in their efforts to promote synergy between transport and tourism, with
particular reference to air transport;
(d) Considering providing financial, technical and/or other forms of assistance to support LDCs’
efforts to strengthen their national capacities in the field of tourism.
Commitment 5: Enhancing the role of trade in development
65. Trade will increasingly continue to be relied upon by LDCs to generate the resources for
financing growth and development to complement those from ODA and private capital flows. The
share of trade in GDP remains relatively high in most LDCs compared with other developing
countries. However, the participation of LDCs in international trade is severely limited by a numberof factors, in particular demand and supply-side constraints, as well as unfavourable market access
conditions in markets affecting the products of greatest export interest to them, which largely explain
their marginal share of 0.4 per cent of world trade in 1998. Coping with increased global market
competitiveness also presents an important and gr eat policy challenge to LDCs, and how they respond
to it will be decisive in their success in regional and global integration strategies. Concrete action bythe LDCs themselves, as well as their development partners, will therefore be required in order to
overcome these constraints and transform trade into a powerful engine for growth and poverty
eradication, as well as an effective instrument for drawing benefits from globalization and trade
liberalization. Coherent actions by the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World
Trade Organization along with the actions of Governments remain an essential element of overallpolicy reform. Integration into the world economy is an insufficient but necessary precondition for
long-term sustainability of poverty eradication. In tegration of LDCs into the global economy can only
be achieved through an integrated approach, including trade and macroeconomic policy, private sector
development, finance, infrastructure, education and other supply-side measures. Regional integration,
compatible with multilateral trade rules, can be an important stepping stone for LDCs to integrate
themselves into the world economy and can help make liberalization work by enhancing the
credibility and transparency of policy reforms. Regional integration can contribute to increasing the
size of markets and thus make them more attractive to FDI.WT/COMTD/32
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A. Trade, commodities and regional trading arrangements
66. The actions below relate to external trade and related areas, commodities and regional trading
arrangements, and should be read in conjunction with policies and actions under other commitments.
(i) Actions by LDCs
67. Actions by LDCs will include:
Strengthening efforts to integrate trade policies into national development policies towards
poverty eradication;
Capacity-building in trade policy and related areas such as tariffs, customs, competition,
investment and technology, including through the us e of the Integrated Framework for Trade-related
Technical Assistance for LDCs (IF);
Improving economic openness and policy predictability, as well as sound macro-economic
policy;
Developing human and institutional capacities for effective and informed  participation in the
multilateral trading system and for effective negotiations on trade, finance, technology transfer and
related areas;
Removing procedural and institutional bottlenecks that increase transaction costs, including
through efforts to improve efficiency, efficacy and transparency by the implementation of trade
facilitation measures and improving standards and quality control;
Taking advantage of market access opportunities through the identification and strengthening
of lead subsectors in order to exploit actual and potential supply capacity;
Promoting trade and the competitiveness of exports in order to facilitate the integration of
domestic enterprises into the international economy;
Intensifying horizontal and vertical diversification, including local processing of primary
commodities;
Promoting subregional and regional cooperation, including for export promotion, and
improving transport infrastructure to reduce costs and increase trade flows, taking into account the
needs of landlocked LDCs and transit neighbours;
Implementing measures to enable women in LDCs, especially women entrepreneurs, to
exploit the opportunities created by trade policy reforms and to mitigate any negative effects on them
of these reforms;
Ensuring that food, agricultural trade, and overall trade policies are conducive to fostering
food security for all through fair and market oriented agricultural trading system.
(ii) Actions by development partners
68. Development partners will aim, including  through actions within relevant multilateral fora, at:WT/COMTD/32
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(a) Assisting LDCs in capacity-building in trade policy and related areas such as tariffs, customs,
competition, investment and technology, particularly  through the use of the Integrated
Framework for Trade-related Technical Assistance for LDCs (IF);
(b) Assisting LDCs in developing human and institutional capacities for effective negotiations
and informed participation in the multilater al trading system in order that LDCs reap
maximum benefits from it;
(c) Assisting LDCs in removing procedural and institutional bottlenecks that increase transaction
costs, including through efforts to improve efficiency, efficacy and transparency by the
implementation of trade facilitation measures and improving standards and quality control;
(d) Assisting LDCs in intensifying horizontal and vertical diversification, including local
processing of primary commodities;
(e) Providing financial, technical and/or other forms of assistance in support of LDCs’ efforts to
improve their transport infrastructure, particularly the efforts of island and landlocked LDCs,
so as to reduce costs and increased trade flows;
(f) Supporting, inter alia  through financial, technical and/or other forms of assistance, LDCs’
efforts to promote subregional and regional cooperation, including for export promotion;
(g) Assisting LDCs in their efforts to implement measures to enable women in LDCs, especially
women entrepreneurs, to exploit the opportunities created by trade policy reforms and to
mitigate any negative effects on them of these reforms;
Market access
Improving preferential market access for LDCs by working towards the objective of duty-free
and quota-free market access for all LDCs’ products. This will apply in the markets of developed
countries. Improvements in market access for LDCs should be granted on a secure and predictable
basis. They should be combined with simplified  rules of origin that provide transparency and
predictability so as to help ensure that LDCs benefit from the market access granted, and multi-donor
programmes, such as the Integrated Framework for Trade-related Technical Assistance (IF), to
upgrade LDCs production and export capacities and capabilities. Consideration should also be givento proposals for developing countries to contribute to improved market access for LDCs’ exports;
Special and differential treatmentImplementing in full and as a matter of priority the special and differential measures in favour
of LDCs as contained in the Final Act of the Ur uguay Round. New measures for LDCs should also be
considered as part of future multilateral trade negotiations;
Continuing to improve the generalized system of preferences (GSP) for LDCs, inter alia  by
reducing administrative and procedural complexities and by making it more predictable;
In any appropriate negotiations, examining the possibility of strengthening the effectiveness
of non-actionable categories of subsidies in order to take into account the needs of LDCs;
Increasing support to enhance agricultural production and productivity;Strengthening, as required, technical assistance for the implementation of multilateral trade
agreements and considering making such technical assistance an integral part of commitments to beWT/COMTD/32
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taken in future trade agreements. Technical coop eration in areas related to the implementation of
existing or possible new WTO agreements should complement LDCs’ trade policy reforms;
Providing technical assistance for the implementation of the WTO Agreements on Technical
Barriers to Trade and on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures with a view to responding to thespecial problems faced by the LDCs;
Accession to WTOAs some developing countries, including a considerable number of LDCs, are not members of
WTO, facilitating the accession process on the basis of terms that take into account their stage of
development and the basic principles of special and differential treatment. In the meantime,supporting efforts of LDCs already seeking to accede, which will include:
(i) Ensuring that the accession process is more effective and less onerous and tailored to their
specific economic conditions, inter alia  by streamlining WTO procedural requirements;
(ii) Providing for automatic eligibility of all acceding LDCs for all provisions on special and
differential treatment in existing WTO agreements;
(iii) In view of LDCs’ special economic situati on and their development, financial and trade
needs, WTO members should exercise restraint, where appropriate, in seeking concessions inthe negotiations on market access for goods and services in keeping with the letter and spirit
of the provisions of the Ministerial Decision on Measures in favour of Least Developed
Countries;
(iv) Seeking from LDCs in the accession stage only commitments that are commensurate with
their level of development;
(v) Continuing to provide adequate and predictable assistance to LDCs for their accession
process, including technical, financial or other forms of assistance;
(vi) Accelerating the accession process for LDCs that are in the process of accession to WTO.
Standard-setting and quality control
Continuing to provide support for effective par ticipation by LDCs in international standard-
setting organizations in order to address their concerns;
Providing assistance to LDCs in developing infrastructure to ensure quality control and
conformity to international standards of their products;
Adhering to international standards, guidelin es and recommendations when applying sanitary
and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and other technical  standards as laid out in the SPS Agreement, and
avoiding taking unilateral actions  in a manner inconsistent with the Agreement;
Taking measures, where appropriate, to compensate for trade losses incurred by the LDCs as
a result of unilateral SPS trade measures found to be inconsistent with the SPS Agreement, or, in the
case of disputes among non-WTO members, measures inconsistent with agreed internationalstandards and guidelines;WT/COMTD/32
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Commodities
LDCs are particularly vulnerable to high fluctuations in resource flows through their exposure
to external terms of trade shocks. The recent downward swing in the prices of primary commodities
and the upward swing in petroleum prices are only the latest examples of the effect of volatility ofcommodity prices on the poorest countries. Diversification of the export base would therefore help
LDCs to overcome one of the most important weaknesses of their development. Furthermore,
economic development in LDCs would benefit from policies aimed at developing the informal sector
and the small and medium-size enterprises in LDCs;
Supporting capacity building in the areas of research and development, production,
processing and marketing of commodities, including addition of non-traditional commodities wheremarket niches offer fresh opportunities;
Supporting diversification programmes in LDCs, including by strengthening  activities
covered by the Second Account of the Common Fund for Commodities and adaptive research and
development (R&D) on production and processing aimed particularly at smallholders and small andmedium-sized enterprises in these countries;
Continuing to provide technical and financial support to enhance the productive capacities of
LDCs through stimulating investment, human resources development and enhancing technological
capacities with a view to increasin g the commodity exports of LDCs;
Providing assistance, including financial, technical and/or other forms of assistance to LDCs
in their efforts to create  essential infrastructure to facilitate the functioning of liberalized domestic and
regional markets;
Encouraging private sector initiatives and supporting the establishment of partnerships with
foreign companies as inter alia a vehicle for the transfer of production and marketing skills;
Supporting LDCs’ efforts in building institutiona l and technical capacities to gain access to
and make use of modern risk management techniques and tools;
Continuing to provide compensatory financing in order to mitigate adverse consequences of
commodity price volatility on LDC economies;
Supporting LDCs’ efforts to develop and take advantage of niche markets for goods such as
horticultural, meat, fish and organic products and handicrafts, as well as cultural products;
Regional trading arrangements
Taking appropriate account in regional integration arrangements of particular constraints that
LDCs face as a result of their different level of  development and supporting them to enhance their
production, supply and trading capacities, as well as their capacity to attract investment; providingsupport to the process of trade and investment liberalization and macro-economic and structural
policy reform, as well as programmes at the regional level intended to enhance the benefits of
integration for LDCs, and providing support to concrete joint subregional projects involving LDCs
and non-LDCs participating in a subregional trade arrangement and intended to enhance the benefits
of integration for LDCs;
Making use of the flexibilities provided for in mu ltilateral trade rules relating to regional trade
arrangements involving LDCs with the aim of fostering their smooth and beneficial integration into
the world economy;WT/COMTD/32
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Integrated Framework (IF) and other trade-related technical cooperation
Integrating trade and trade-related technical assistance in country specific strategies;
Implementing expeditiously and effectively the Integrated Framework for Trade-related
Technical Assistance for LDCs, taking account of the pilot scheme;
Encouraging new and additional contributions to the IF Trust Fund, as well as providing
stable and predictable funding for the implementation of the Integrated Framework, including where
appropriate, considering an increase from the regular budgets of the core agencies, as well as through
bilateral programmes;
Continuing to implement existing programm es for coordinated trade-related technical
assistance such as the Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme (JITAP) by providing
systematic and sustained assistance to the Programme and considering to expand it to cover other
African LDCs;
Providing technical and financial assistance to help LDCs create institutional and human
capacities in production, processing and increasing domestic value-added, marketing and management
know-how in the field of international trade.
B. Services
69. Services such as tourism, transport and business services are increasingly important to  LDCs,
both as a direct source of foreign exchange earnings and for the expansion of the production base and
diversification of exports. Tradable services are important to all LDCs, in particular to small islandLDCs, which have a limited capacity for merchandise production. The development  of niche markets
for goods or services in which LDCs may have a comparative advantage represents an opportunity for
LDCs to diversify their exports.
70. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Encouraging the strengthening and development of domestic and  international services,
including the new and emerging ones such as those that rely on telecommunications and ICTs, e.g.
data processing services;
Improving the availability and efficiency of infrastructure facilities to support services trade;
Establishing appropriate institutional and legal frameworks to promote development of the
domestic supply capacity in services and to ensure the creation of a competitive environment;
Promoting regional trade in services among developing countries through harmonized
legislation in selected services sectors for regional liberalization;
(ii) Actions by development partnersSupporting, through financial, technical and/or other forms of assistance, individual LDC
efforts  to develop the infrastructure for tradable services in which they have a comparative advantage;
Assisting LDCs’ efforts to improve export promotion and marketing;WT/COMTD/32
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Supporting LDCs’ efforts in modernizing facilities and equipment, as well as upgrading skills
in information technology, including through transfer of technology to service sectors in accordance
with relevant WTO Agreements;
Providing support for LDCs in their strengthening of local banking systems and other
financial services to make them competitive;
Assisting LDCs through financial, technical and/ or other forms of assistance to enhance their
supply-capacity in tradable services, especially in tourism, air transport and other sectors of interest to
LDCs;
Removing restrictions and enhancing market access opportunities for service exports from
LDCs, as provided for in relevant WTO Agreements in areas of export interest to them;
C. Reducing the impact of external economic shocks
71. The LDCs are structurally more exposed than most other developing countries to external
economic shocks. LDCs also suffer the consequences of major global and regional economic and
financial disturbances and increases in the prices of critical imports such as energy  products. The
typical export dominance of a single commodity or service sector makes their economies particularly
vulnerable to adverse physical or economic shocks.
72. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Pursuing balanced policies that seek to limit transmission of external shocks into the domestic
economy while promoting gradual  liberalization;
Developing safety nets  to protect the poor and vulnerable segments of the population against
the consequences of external shocks;
Intensifying efforts to improve international competitiveness, including through  trade
facilitation measures and  the use of electronic commerce and other facilities based on modern
technology;
Encouraging diversification in economic activities that are less prone to adverse external
economic shocks, based on local competitive advantages. Diversification efforts should take place
within a broader and integrated approach;
Strengthening domestic financial systems through the implementation of an appropriate
framework of rules and regulations, including through adequate prudential and supervisory
mechanisms.
(ii) Actions by development partners
Pursuing policies  that aim at minimizing the risks of adverse external economic shocks and
promoting a more predictable and stable international economic environment;
Continuing to provide contingency and short-term emergency financial assistance, including
balance-of-payments support through appropriate institutions, with a view to assisting LDCs to copewith the consequences of serious external shocks;WT/COMTD/32
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Assisting LDCs in their efforts to strengthen their financial systems.
Commitment 6: Reducing vulnerability and protecting the environment
73. Long-term threats to the global environment are a common concern of all countries, and there
is an urgent need to address this issue on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated
responsibility. The LDCs are acutely vulnerable to a variety of natural shocks, including natural
disasters, and severe structural handicaps, and are susceptible to global environmental phenomena
such as the loss of biological diversity and adverse effects of climate change which inter alia
exacerbates drought, desertification and sea level rise. LDCs are at present contributing the least to the
emission of greenhouse gases, while they are the most vulnerable and have the least capacity to adapt
to the adverse effects of climate change. Such vulnerabilities generate considerable uncertainties andimpair the development prospects of these countries, and they tend to affect the poor most, in
particular women and children. Environmental degradation in LDCs also results from poverty that
deprives households, village communities or enterprises of the means and technology required to
preserve the environment. Economic Growth, social development and poverty eradication are the first
and overriding priorities in LDCs and are themselves essential to meeting national and globalsustainability objectives. Eradicating poverty is an indispensable requirement for sustainable
development and has to be addressed in an integrated and comprehensive manner, taking fully into
account the legitimate priority needs of LDCs.
A. Protecting the environment
74. LDC-specific objectives defined in Agenda 21 and Rio + 5, as well as commitments from
multilateral environmental agreements, must be the basis for actions.
75. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Actions by LDCs
Developing and implementing national strategies for sustainable development, with the
assistance of development partners, so as to reverse trends in the loss of national environmental
resources;
Increasing efforts to ensure integrated responses to environmental and economic constraints,
in the light of country-specific environmental and economic constraints and profiles of poverty and
vulnerability;
Strengthening the institutional and technological capacity to promote sustained economic
growth and sustainable development by increasing the ability of policy makers to formulate and
implement relevant legislation and environmental management plans ;
Strengthening  the important role of women in land and forest management and in the choice
and dissemination of appropriate technology;
Encouraging sensitization and advocacy activities through greater reliance on local
communities and their traditional knowledge and practices, civil society and educational institutions;
Building their capacity in order to be able to respond adequately to existing and new
environmental challenges;
Identifying the special vulnerabilities and possible adaptation measures that need to be fully
integrated into the country’s development strategies, including development cooperation programmes.WT/COMTD/32
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(ii) Actions by development partners
Continuing to make available financial resources from all sources, including new and
additional resources on an adequate and predictable basis, technical or other resources and facilitatingand financing access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies on favourable terms,
including concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, and supporting LDCs’ efforts in
environmental protection in the context of sustainable development;
Bringing to fruition the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
by, inter alia , and where appropriate , granting special priority to LDCs in international support, as
well as facilitating relevant actions as recommended in the Programme for the Further Implementationof Agenda 21 and implementing multilateral environmental agreements  to which they are parties,
inter alia  the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.  This involves, among other
elements, financial transfers and capacity-build ing efforts, including for the development and
dissemination of modern and non-polluting energy resources, as well as improved technology for
traditional energy resources, including fuel wood, especially in rural areas;
Renewing the international community’s comm itment towards LDCs to continue to support
the formulation of national environmental policies, development of human resources and institutional
capacities, and environmental data bases;
Supporting the strengthening of the capacity of the LDCs to participate in international
environmental negotiations;
Providing assistance, through financial, technica l and/or other forms of assistance, to LDCs’
efforts to develop and implement national strategies for sustainable development in every country soas to reverse the current trends in the loss of national environmental resources;
Supporting the LDCs in their efforts to integr ate the environmental component into national
development policies and strategies;
Assisting LDCs in establishing public-private sector partnerships to address environmental
challenges.
B. Alleviating vulnerability to natural shocks
76. Post-emergency action, using effective and flexible mechanisms, must ease the transition
from the emergency phase to the development phase, promote the socio-economic reintegration of theparts of population affected, remove as far as possible the causes of the crisis and strengthen
institutions and ownership by local and national actors of their role in formulating a sustainable
development policy. Both LDCs and development partners should encourage the involvement of the
private sector, inter alia in the areas of disaster mitigation and disaster preparedness.
77. Actions by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
Pursuing or intensifying efforts to strengthen national early-warning and forecasting
mechanisms, implementing preventive measures and sensitizing relevant parts of the population to the
benefits of disaster preparedness and prevention;
Developing and implementing comprehensive disaster mitigation and preparedness, policies
and actions. Such policies should also respond to prolonged disasters with a slow onset such as
drought, which often has very severe economic, environmental and social impacts;WT/COMTD/32
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Considering the creation of innovative financia l instruments, such as special insurance
schemes, to facilitate post-disaster reconstruction with a view to maintaining standards of living and
productive capacities in the LDCs.
(ii) Actions by development partners
Giving priority attention to the LDCs in the substantive programme and institutional
arrangements for implementing the new Inte rnational Strategy for Disaster Reduction;
Providing assistance for disaster mitigation, at the request of affected countries, as well as for
improving the capacity of LDCs to identify mitigation scenarios and establishing protective measuresand contingency plans;
Supporting LDCs’ enhancement of capacity to ef fectively participate in and benefit from
regional and international early-warning and disaster mitigation and response networks, including
through satellite-driven technologies;
Sharing operationally useful disaster information, including satellite data, as widely as
possible within the international disaster relief community, through appropriate programmes such as
the UN web site ReliefWeb.
Commitment 7: Mobilizing financial resources
78. An enabling environment with peaceful solution of conflicts and respect for  internationally
recognized human rights, including the right to development, provides the best context for domestic
and international resource mobilization. Equally, it requires the definition of a clear and consistent setof public objectives, sound macroeconomic policies, efficient management of public revenue and
expenditure, better allocation of resources and incentives to prevent capital flight and to  encourage
private savings and tax reforms, and a solid framew ork to implement stabilization or economic reform
programmes.
79. There is an immediate need to mobilize the fina ncial resources that are required to implement
the objectives and priorities as well as the targets that are set out in this Programme of Action aimed
at the sustainable development of the LDCs. However, there is very limited scope, in the foreseeablefuture, to meet the multiple development finance requirements of LDCs with domestic resources
because of sluggish growth or economic stagnation, widespread poverty and a weak domestic
corporate sector. The large investment requirements of LDCs imply a need for new and additional
resources,  and efforts to increase ODA to LDCs supportive of national programmes of action,
including poverty eradication strategies.
A. Domestic resource mobilization
80. The key to increasing domestic resource mobilization and reducing dependence on external
finance lies in achieving a firm structural basis which would sustain  high per capita growth rates.
(i) Action by LDCs
Taking the necessary measures to stimulate domestic savings, with the goal of increasing
domestic savings rates;
Developing efficient and appropriate financial systems, including micro-finance,  and an
appropriate legal and regulatory framework;WT/COMTD/32
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Establishing stronger links between financial sector and  development goals and priorities;
Promoting innovative financial mechanisms such as micro-credit programmes to mobilize
savings and deliver financial services to the poor, including smallholders and the self-employed,particularly women, within an appropriate legal and regulatory framework;
Strengthening  efforts at enforcing  prudential regulations  governing banks and other financial
institutions and providing central banks and other regulatory bodies  with appropriate legal authority
and supervisory and surveillance capacity to enforc e compliance with relevant laws and regulations;
Continuing to improve the performance an d competitiveness of both private and  public sector
banks through recapitalization, expanding private participation,  providing managerial training,
strengthening accounting and audit practices and developing modern management information
systems;
Improving the efficiency and equity of tax collection systems, and whenever possible aiming
at broadening the tax base, and enhancing the effectiveness and transparency of public expenditure,
bearing in mind the interests of the poor;
Enacting policies actively seeking to attract flight capital back from abroad;
Preventing corruption, bribery and money laundering, illegal transfer of funds and other illicit
activities by both public and private entities.
(ii) Actions by development partners
Supporting LDC efforts to ensure that aid and debt relief measures support rather than
undermine domestic resource mobilization efforts. This  implies constant attention to the productivity
and sustainability of investments financed through aid, as well as awareness of the fiscal implications
of aid and debt relief;
Promoting mechanisms through which domestic resource mobilization in LDCs can be
enhanced by making use of aid resources;
Supporting  the efforts of LDCs in the areas of financial sector development and  reform and in
improving access of the poor to credit;
Assisting the efforts of all LDCs to strengthen institutional capacity and regulatory
frameworks for preventing corruption, bribery, money laundering and illegal transfer of funds, as well
as for the repatriation of those funds to the countries of origin.
B. Aid and its effectiveness
81. Despite the positive effects that domestic policies can achieve in mobilization of local
resources, ODA will remain a critical resource for achieving the objectives, goals and targets of this
Programme of Action. It is essential to consider fully both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of
aid and the effective coordination of this aid. An essential condition for achieving this objective and
reducing aid dependency in LDCs is the improvement of aid volumes and aid effectiveness. Also,increasing national ownership through better inte gration of external aid into macroeconomic and
sectoral programmes is crucial, as are relevant auditing, accounting and management practices.
National programmes of action offer possible frameworks for this task.WT/COMTD/32
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(i) Actions by LDCs
82. LDCs will seek to:
Set up, in the context of national development strategies, the necessary public sector auditing
and accounting systems, coherent budgets and medium-term expenditure plans;
Integrate and coordinate aid within national plans and priorities and enhance administrative
capacity;
Design, implement and regularly update national development strategies through dialogue
between government and national stakeholders to enhance national policy ownership;
Identify sectors where ODA can have the most significant catalytic effect on efforts to
eradicate poverty, and foster sustained economic growth and sustainable development;
Establish, with the assistance of development partners, information systems to monitor the
use and effectiveness of external resources, including ODA;
Support institutional arrangements that encourage public-private partnerships.(ii) Actions by development partners
83. Donor countries will implement the following act ions that they committed to at the second
United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries  as soon as possible:
Donor countries providing more than 0.20 per cent of their GNP as ODA to LDCs: continue
to do so and increase their efforts;
Other donor countries which have met the 0.15 per cent target: undertake to reach 0.20 per
cent expeditiously;
All other donor countries which have committed themselves to the 0.15 per cent target:
reaffirm their commitment and undertake either to achieve the target within the next five years or to
make their best efforts to accelerate their endeavours to reach the target;
During the period of the Programme of Action, the other donor countries: exercise individual
best efforts to increase their ODA to LDCs with the effect that collectively their assistance to LDCs
will significantly increase;
Support LDCs’ efforts to develop information systems which record, at the recipient country
level, indicators and other relevant information relating to aid effectiveness, both for individual
donors and for the donor community as a whole, by providing logistical equipment for establishing
such information systems and training and the maintenance of such systems.
84. To better respond to national development programmes, including poverty eradication
strategies, and on a mutually agreed basis, donors have agreed  to:
Implement the OECD-DAC recommendation to untie aid to LDCs, which will significantly
increase the value of aid  in an expeditious manner as agreed in the OECD in May 2001;
Improve aid transparency through internal reviews and OECD-DAC peer reviews. These
reviews may examine indicators to capture the quality as well as the quantity of the assistance;WT/COMTD/32
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Work with LDCs, particularly through close consultations at the national level to better
measure progress towards achieving international development goals, which could play an important
role in strengthening the impact of ODA on the reduction of world poverty;
Encourage greater participation of recipient countries in discussions on international aid
policy in order to strengthen partnerships and enhance the effectiveness of ODA;
Seek to enhance the value of their development assistance by increasing the proportion of
goods and services sourced in the recipient LDC  or from other LDCs or developing countries to help
boost pro-poor economic growth in these countries.
C. External debt
85. The external debt overhang in the majority of LDCs constitutes a serious obstacle to their
development efforts and economic growth. Debt service takes up a large part of scarce budgetary
resources that could be directed to productive and social areas, and the debt overhang harms theinternal and external investment climate. The situ ation is aggravated further by effects of external
financial turbulence, volatility of export earnings, and increases in the prices of essential imports.
Since the Second UN Conference on LDCs, the total amount of LDCs debt has increased.
86. The serious debt problems of LDCs necessitate a comprehensive solution, including the full,
speedy and effective implementation of the enhanced HIPC initiative and other debt relief measures,measures to address structural causes of indebte dness, provision of ODA, debt relief measures, with a
view to ensuring that these countries do not fall back into arrears. The full implementation of these
actions is crucial. Actions taken by multilateral and bilateral creditors to provide faster, deeper and
broader debt relief for HIPCs are useful steps towards solving serious debt problems. The steps taken
by the donor community, particularly by members of the Paris Club and other bilateral creditors, toaddress external debt problems, including a moratorium on debt service payments by LDCs are
welcome. The debtor LDCs will aim at maximizing be nefits from debt relief by creating a conducive
national framework including fiscal reforms, a budgetary framework, sectoral adjustments,
contributing to poverty eradication and faster ec onomic growth, export growth, increased investment,
enhanced productive capacities, employment and productivity, savings and international
competitiveness. Efforts should be continued through transparent procedures  to monitor and review
LDCs’ debt sustainability on the basis of appropriate and objective criteria.
87. Action by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Action by LDCs
Taking measures to enhance a conducive national policy framework that contributes
effectively to poverty eradication and promotes faster economic growth, including fiscal reforms,establishment of a medium-term budgetary framework, s ectoral adjustments, faster export growth and
increasing investment, productive capacities, employment and productivity, savings and international
competitiveness;
Using resources released by debt relief as well as other sources of development finance in a
manner that fully takes into account the interests of the poor and also promotes long-term economic
growth and beneficial integration of LDCs into the global economy;
Designing and implementing nationally-owned development policies and strategies including,
where appropriate, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), with full participation of allstakeholders;WT/COMTD/32
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Initiating  joint action with their development partners on the debt situation, including a
comprehensive assessment of their debt problems and debt sustainability;
Sustaining and intensifying Efforts to improve debt management capability inter alia  by
regularly consulting with creditors and development partners on the debt problem;
(ii) Action by development partnersEffectively implementing the enhanced HIPC Initiative and providing adequate financial
resources expeditiously for the speedy and full implementation of the enhanced HIPC Initiative and
provide new and additional resources necessary to fulfil the future financial requirements of the
enhanced HIPC Initiative, on the basis of fair and equitable burden-sharing;
Encouraging  Non-Paris Club official creditors to  participate in debt relief measures to assist
LDCs;
Making expeditious progress towards full cancellation, in the context of enhanced HIPC, of
outstanding official bilateral debt owed by HIPC LDCs;
Implementing the enhanced programme of debt relief for the heavily indebted poor countries
without further delay and agreeing to cancel all official bilateral debts of those countries in return for
their making demonstrable commitments to poverty eradication;
Writing off multilateral debt in the context of the enhanced HIPC for LDCs that are HIPCs
should be a high priority and mobilizing sufficient resources for this purpose;
Considering on a case by case basis debt relief measures for LDCs which are not HIPCs as an
integral part of development processes;
Providing debt relief to post conflict countries under the enhanced HIPC as soon as possible,
within the flexibility provided under the HIPC framework;
Encouraging creditors in a position to do so to consider a moratorium on debt service
payments for LDCs in exceptional cases;
Reviewing and continuing to monitor LDCs’ debt sustainability in the appropriate fora on the
basis of objective criteria and transparent  analysis;
Actively assisting LDCs to build their capacities in the area of debt management;Assisting LDCs in their efforts to use resources released by debt relief as well as other
sources of development finance in a manner that fully takes into account the interests of the poor and
also promotes long-term economic growth and be neficial integration of LDCs into the global
economy;
Supporting LDCs’ efforts in designing and implementing nationally-owned development
policies and strategies including, where appropriate, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), with
full participation of all stakeholders;
Assisting LDCs in ensuring that the benefits of debt relief are used within nationally owned
development policies and poverty eradication strategies with a view to attaining long-term economic
growth and beneficial integration of LDCs into the global economy;WT/COMTD/32
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Considering  the implementation of mechanisms for debt relief, such as debt swaps and other
relevant debt management and relief tools, with such debt relief fully reflecting priorities of national
poverty eradication strategies;
Assisting LDCs to enhance their capacity to access facilities for commercial debt relief such
as the World Bank’s debt reduction facility.
D. FDI and other private external flows
88. Long-term foreign private capital flows have a complementary and catalytic role to play in
building domestic supply capacity as they lead to tangible and intangible benefits, including export
growth, technology and skills transfer, employment generation and poverty eradication.
89. Policies to attract FDI are essential components of national development strategies. In this
context, a stable economic, legal and institutional fr amework is crucial in order to attract foreign
investment and to promote sustainable development through investment. In this regard a conducive
international financial environment is also crucial.
90. Promoting a conducive macro-economic environment, good governance and democracy, as
well as strengthening structural aspects of the economy and improved institutional and human
capacities are important also in the context of attracting FDI and other private external flows.
Development partners would need to provide a range of support measures, complementing LDCs'
efforts to attract FDI.
91. Action by LDCs and the development partners will be along the following lines:
(i) Action by LDCs
Strengthening the enabling environment for private sector development and foreign
investment flows; of particular importance is a supportive regulatory and legal framework for new
and existing FDI along with the necessary institutio nal infrastructure and capacity to implement and
maintain it;
Designing and implementing policies that reduce risks which deter foreign investment,
including through the negotiation of bilateral and regional investment treaties and accession to
international conventions providing investment guarantees and insurance, as well as dispute
settlement;
Attracting foreign capital, especially FDI, towards the building of supply capacity;
Encouraging linkages between domestic businesses and foreign affiliates with a view towards
helping to disseminate appropriately  tangible and intangible assets, including technology, to domestic
enterprises;
Taking appropriate action  for the avoidance of double taxation;
Improving  the timely availability, as well as reliability, of investment information and
statistics, including those related to investme nt opportunities and the regulatory framework.
(ii) Action by development partnersEncouraging increased non-official flows, including investment flows, to LDCs;WT/COMTD/32
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Supporting LDCs in devising and implementin g appropriate FDI strategies and policy
frameworks and institutions through the  development of a comprehensive approach to FDI and
actions aimed at improving the regulatory framework and the availability of reliable investment
information;
Supporting LDCs efforts to attract foreign busine sses and their affiliates and encouraging the
appropriate dissemination of tangible and intangible assets, including technology, to domestic
enterprises in LDCs;
Assisting LDCs  in human resource development so as to enable them  to attract and benefit
from FDI and to participate effectively in negotiations on international agreements in this regard;
Supporting LDCs’  efforts towards infrastructure development to attract FDI flows;
Identifying and implementing  best practices for encouraging and facilitating FDI to LDCs;
Supporting initiatives in the development of public and private  venture capital funds for
LDCs;
Assisting LDCs in establishing foreign invest ment advisory bodies in their own countries, as
a one-stop shop which would be responsible for providing information, service and administrative
support to potential foreign investors;
Improving coordination among relevant international organizations on advisory services for
investment to the LDCs with possible participation of the private sector inter alia by supporting
global investment advisory  services;
Facilitating FDI flows to  LDCs by underwriting, as appropriate, perceived political and
commercial risks in these countries.
III. ARRANGEMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION, FOLLOW-UP AND MONITORING
AND REVIEW
A. Main orientations for implementation and follow-up
92. Success in attaining the objectives of the Programme of Action will depend critically on the
effective functioning of the arrangements for it s implementation, follow-up, monitoring and review at
the national, regional and global levels. The main thrusts of these three tracks of follow-up will be:
At the national level, each LDC with the support of its development partners will promote
implementation of the actions contained in the programme of Action by translating them into
specific measures within their national development framework and poverty eradication
strategy, including, where they exist, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP), CCA,
UNDAF, and with the involvement of the civil society including the private sector on the
basis of a broad based inclusive dialogue;
Regional follow-up should focus on cooperation between LDCs and other countries at the
regional and subregional levels;
The global-level follow-up should be primarily concerned with assessing the economic and
social performance of LDCs, monitoring the implementation of commitments by LDCs and
their partners, reviewing the functioning of  implementation and follow-up mechanisms atWT/COMTD/32
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country, sub-regional, regional and sectoral levels, and policy developments at the global
level with implications for LDCs.
93. Follow-up, monitoring and review of the Programme of Action along the above tracks should
involve all relevant stakeholders. They should be conducted in a coherent and mutually supportivemanner. Consequently, well-functioning linkages should be built among different levels of follow-up.
Through these processes, the actions identified in the Programme of Action will also be regularly
adapted to new and evolving developments.
94. The goals and targets set out in the Programme of Action will be used to review and evaluate
performance of LDCs and their development part ners in implementing the various commitments.
Besides follow-up mechanisms identified below, such performance reviews could be facilitated by
independent peer reviews of the application of co mmitments by individual LDCs and their partners as
part of the follow-up at national, sectoral, sub-regional, regional and global levels.
95. The follow-up and monitoring of the Programme of Action should contribute to coordinated
follow-up of the implementation of recommendations and commitments of global summits and
conferences, including their major reviews, and the United Nations Millennium Declaration, as well
as of other major agreements and initiatives on development as they relate to LDCs.
Role of the United Nations system
96. As long-time partners in the development proc ess of LDCs, the organizations of the United
Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions, have a special role to play in the
implementation of the Programme of Action. The experience, expertise and resources of the system,including at the field level, should be appropriately utilized for this purpose. The efforts at the country
level by the UN system organizations, in particular within the framework of the Resident Coordinator
system, to help LDCs translate goals and targets of major global conferences and summits into
concrete actions in the light of national priorities, provide an opportunity for the promotion of an
effective follow-up to the commitments of the Programme of Action. This process should bestrengthened.
97. The organizations of the UN system as well as other relevant multilateral organizations are
invited to continue to accord high priority to LD Cs, to integrate the provisions of the Programme of
Action appropriately in their work programmes, a nd to undertake within their respective mandates
multi-year programming of actions in favour of LDCs. Their executive bodies are invited to organize
sectoral appraisals of the Programme of Action at regular intervals in their respective areas of
competence and make available the outcomes of such appraisals to the annual global reviews. Theseorganizations are also invited to participate fully in reviews of the Programme of Action at the
national, sub-regional, regional and global levels.
98. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is requested to ensure at the secretariat level the
full mobilization and coordination of all parts of the United Nations system to facilitate coordinated
implementation as well as coherence in the  follow-up and monitoring of the Programme of Action at
the national, regional, subregional and global levels. The ACC as well as the United Nations
Development Group are invited to consider how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of UN
system-wide follow-up and monitoring of the Programme of Action. The system of focal points in
each United Nations organization, which were set up in the context of preparations for the
Conference, may be kept active in the context of review and follow-up of the implementation of the
Programme of Action during the decade.WT/COMTD/32
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B. National, regional and global level arrangements
National level
99. The implementation and follow-up of the Programme of Action at the national level are of
primary importance. The LDC Governments should undertake this task within their respective
national development framework and poverty eradication strategy, including, where they exist,
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP), CCA, UNDAF, and with the involvement of the civil
society, including the private sector on the basis of a broad based inclusive dialogue. The
development partners should support agreed objectives and policies designed by LDCs on the basis of
the Programme of Action and existing national development and cooperation frameworks. On the
basis of each LDC’s commitment to these long-t erm policy framework and plans, development
partners commit to extend adequate support for their implementation, including financial and
technical support.
100. In some LDCs, national arrangements are already in place for broad-based and inclusive
dialogue on development issues and policies. These forums are critical to ensuring genuine consensus
and national ownership of national programmes of action and need to be fully supported. Other LDCsshould follow this example by developing such national forums. The National Preparatory
Committees, set up for the preparations for the Conference with the participation of representatives
from the public sector and the civil society, including the private sector, should be incorporated into
these forums. The national forums, working in close collaboration with development partners, could
provide a platform for regular and systematic follow-up and monitoring of the implementation ofcommitments by individual LDCs and their development partners at the national level, as well as
providing inputs to follow-up at the global, regional, sub-regional and sectoral levels.
101. Success of LDCs to implement this Programme of Action at the national level will depend
inter alia  on effective human, institutional and technical capacity relating to policy developments,
monitoring of implementation and co-ordination. The UN Resident Coordinator system and thecountry teams, as well country-level representativ es of the Bretton Woods Institutions, and other
bilateral and multilateral donors and other development partners are encouraged to collaborate with
and provide support to the national development forums.
(ii) Country review process
102. The existing country review mechanisms such as the World Bank’s consultative group and
UNDP’s round-table meetings should continue as principal coordination forums for developmentcooperation, as well as for mobilizing external development resources for LDCs, based on national
development frameworks. These mechanisms should be strengthened and organized on a more
systematic basis and should cover all LDCs. They should be broadened so as to encompass all donors.
103. The country review process should also provid e support to strengthen linkages between the
macroeconomic framework and sectoral strategies. Sectoral policies and strategies should be usedmore widely as a tool for aid coordination. There should be strong complementarities between the
country review process and the national forums.
104. Effective aid coordination is a key element for maximizing the efficiency of external support
under the overall leadership of LDC governments. Efforts, including those aimed at harmonization
and simplification of donors procedures should be made to avoid inappropriate or unnecessary parallelsystems of targeting, programming and coordinating the allocation of resources.WT/COMTD/32
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Sub-regional and regional levels
105. The relevant United Nations regional economic commissions should undertake, in close
coordination with the global-level and country-level follow-up processes and in cooperation with sub-
regional and regional development banks and sub-regional and regional intergovernmentalorganizations, periodic sub-regional and regional monitoring and review of progress in the
implementation of the Programme of Action. They should offer an opportunity for LDCs of their
respective regions, together with neighbouring developing countries as well as other countries in the
same region, to exchange experiences and seek solutions to common development problems at the
national, sub-regional, regional and global levels.
106. Sub-regional and regional-level follow-up should also promote sub-regional and regional
policy responses to take better account of the needs of LDCs. It should assist LDCs in meetingdemands of global competition by appropriately adapting existing regional and subregional
frameworks and linkages in the area of trade, finance and investment, while at the same time
improving the quality of their international economic integration.
107. The relevant United Nations regional commissions should continue to ensure that the needs
and problems of the LDCs are addressed as part of their ongoing work, and in this manner shouldcontribute to the follow-up process at the national and global levels. Attention should be given to any
need for strengthening capacities of the regional commissions in undertaking sub-regional and
regional follow-up activities.
108. Regional and where appropriate sub-regional development banks, regional and sub-regional
organizations of developing countries and regional and sub-regional intergovernmental organizationsare invited to give full attention in their economic analysis and monitoring to the problems, needs and
achievements of LDCs and to provide appropriate inputs to the global-level follow-up and review
process.
Global level109. The commitments undertaken in the Programme of Action should be appropriately reflected
in the review of major global summits and conferences and the follow-up to the Millennium
Declaration, as well as in forthcoming conferences and events and in their final outcomes.
Arrangements for monitoring, follow -up and review at the global level are an integral part of the
overall process, being all complementary and supportive to the above-mentioned arrangements at the
country sub-regional and regional levels.
110. As in the case of the past Programmes of Action, the General Assembly should monitor the
implementation of the new Programme of Action under a specific item on its agenda. In this respect,
substantive preparations for, as well as review and monitoring of, the implementation of the
Programme of Action should be carried out by relevant bodies of the UN system and consideration
should be given to strengthening coordination of actions of the UN system for the implementation of
the Programme under the aegis of ECOSOC.
111. ECOSOC is invited to consider for final decision by the General Assembly: (a) the creation of
an annual agenda item on the review and coordination of the implementation of the Programme of
Action for the LDCs, allocated to its coordination se gment; (b) the examination at regular intervals of
this review and coordination at its High-level segment; (c) undertaking effective preparations for this
annual review by ECOSOC, bearing in mind the established procedures of ECOSOC for such
preparation, as well as drawing on the contribu tion of governmental and individual experts.WT/COMTD/32
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112. Consideration of each annual review should include: (a) follow-up, monitoring and
assessment of progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action at national, sub-regional,
regional and global levels through reporting by Governments, as well as by the secretariats and
intergovernmental bodies of the UN system and of other relevant sub-regional, regional and
international organizations and institutions on the implementation of the Programme of Action onLDCs; (b) fostering international cooperation in  support of the POA, including coordination among
donors and among  organizations referred to above; and (c) elaborating  new policies and measures in
light of changing domestic and external circumstances facing LDCs.
113. The governing bodies of the organizations of the UN system, as well as other multilateral
organizations are invited to mainstream the implementation of this Programme of Action within their
programmes of work, as well as in their intergovernmental processes. The existing intergovernmental
processes of these organizations, such as the Sessional Committee of the Trade and DevelopmentBoard and the WTO’s Sub-Committee on LDCs, should continue. In particular, the Trade and
Development Board is invited to consider converting its Sessional Committee on LDCs into a
Standing Committee in order to address, within the mandate of the Board, substantive issues related to
the implementation of the Programme of Action. These governing bodies are also invited to bring to
the attention of ECOSOC progress made by thei r respective organizations in implementing this
Programme of Action.
114. The United Nations General Assembly is invited to consider conducting a comprehensive
review of the Programme of Action at a moment to be decided upon. The General Assembly, towards
the end of the decade, is also invited to consider holding a fourth UN Conference on LDCs in order to
make a comprehensive appraisal of the implementation of this Programme and to decide onsubsequent action.
115. There is a critical need for an effective m echanism to support intergovernmental review and
follow-up of the implementation of the Programme of Action; to mobilize the UN system
organizations, as well as other relevant multilateral organizations; and to facilitate substantive LDC
participation in appropriate multilateral forums.
116. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is requested to submit to the General Assembly
at its fifty-sixth session his recommendations for an  efficient and highly visible follow-up mechanism,
including the possibility to transform the current Office of the Special Coordinator for the Least
Developed, Land-locked and Small Island Developing States into an Office of High Representative
for Least Developed, Land-locked Developing C ountries and Small Island Developing States.
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