United Nations Conference on the Least Developed
Countries
In 1979, the General Assembly decided to convene a United Nations
Conference on the Least Developed Countries in order to finalize, adopt and support
the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed
Countries.
At that Conference, the
international community unanimously adopted the Substantial New Programme,
containing guidelines for domestic action by the least developed countries,
which were to be complemented by international support measures. However,
despite the major policy reforms initiated by many least developed countries to
carry out a structural transformation of their domestic economies, and the
supportive measures taken by a number of donors in the areas of aid, debt and
trade, the economic situation of these countries as a whole worsened in the
1980s
Factors which contributed to that worsening state of affairs included
domestic policy shortcomings, natural disasters and adverse external
conditions. In addition, external debt servicing emerged as a major problem for
most of the least developed countries in the 1980s.
The Conference was held
from 1 to
Pursuant to a recommendation
made at the seventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), the General Assembly decided, at its forty-second
session, held in 1987, to convene the Second United Nations Conference on the
Least Developed Countries. Attended by representatives of 150 Governments, this
Conference reviewed the socio-economic progress made in the least developed
countries in the 1980s, as well as progress in international support measures
during that decade. It also formulated national and international policies and
measures for accelerating the development process in the least developed
countries for the 1990s. Drawing on the experience and lessons of the 1980s,
the Conference was able to agree on the strategies and development priorities
for those countries for the 1990s.
The outcome of the Conference was embodied in the Paris Declaration and
Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s, wherein
the international community committed itself to urgent and effective action,
based on the principle of shared responsibility and strengthened partnership,
to arrest and reverse the deterioration in the socio-economic situation in the
least developed countries and to revitalize their growth and development. The
various elements of the Programme should be viewed as essential components of
the overall strategy for economic and social progress for the developing world.
The Programme represents a qualitative step forward which goes beyond the
Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed
Countries, adopted in 1981, and contains many novel features.
One notable aspect
concerning actions at the national level relates to the emphasis placed on the
need for development to be human-centred and broadly based. Other elements
highlighted in the Programme include respect for human rights and observance of
the rule of law, the need to improve and expand institutional capabilities and
efficiency, and the importance of decentralization, democratization and transparency
at all levels of decision-making. The Programme sets out detailed policy
provisions for mobilizing and developing human capacities in the least
developed countries as well as for developing their economic base. On the key
issue of external financial support, the international community, particularly
the developed countries, collectively committed itself to a significant and
substantial increase in such support. The Programme provides for a set of
alternative targets, which maps out clearly the different undertakings made by
the donors in this regard.
The second Conference was
held from 3 to
A third Conference was held
from 14 to
Link
UN Office of the High Representative for the Least
Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and
Stamp catalogue - 1981 conference
Bangladesh
Stamp catalogue - 1990 conference
Bangladesh
last
revised: