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Poverty fight in least developed countries

Summary: May 11, 2001: Commission calls for a renewed effort to fight poverty on eve of UN Conference to help least developed countries (Brussels)

The European Commission has called on all developed countries to renew their efforts to help least developed countries in the fight against poverty, as the European Union gets ready to host the 3rd United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs), taking place in Brussels from 14 to 20 May.

On the eve of this important event, President Romano Prodi stated: "Collective global solutions to global problems of under-development are needed now, more than ever. This UN conference is an appeal to fight unilateralism. It is an attack on protectionism and on short-term national calculations. It is a time to assess our relations with the poorest countries on this planet. It is a call on all developed countries to do more, to do better, and to think about the long-term global consequences of our policies." The European Union (EU) will reaffirm its strong commitment to poverty reduction and to addressing the specific problems of the LDCs. It sees the Conference as an opportunity to define common solutions requiring action by all partners. The Commission, in particular, is convinced that the Conference should focus on some concrete and operational outcomes that will make a real difference to people's lives in the LDCs.

Hosting the Conference, the EU intends to give a strong political signal about the significance it attaches to the problems of the 48 countries currently defined as "least developed" by the UN. The EU has therefore a special commitment to the successful outcome of the Conference that will bring together all the UN member states, as well as partners and actors in the public, private and civil sector. The Conference is expected to adopt a Global Programme of Action outlining the strategy that the LDCs and the international community commit themselves to pursue in order to address the problems of these countries over the coming years.

According to the EU, the central focus and overall objective of the Conference must be the reduction of poverty. European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson, said, "Our LDC partners have made it clear that they expect much more than charity. They want opportunities. They ask for and deserve decency. The developed world has a duty to help them develop under what are adverse national and global conditions. This is why Europe's offer to the LDCs goes far beyond development co-operation. We're offering a comprehensive response to the main problems identified by the LDCs themselves in the areas of trade, debt relief, disease and poverty. Our overall aim should be to achieve the target set by the UN to reduce by half the number of people living in extreme poverty and who suffer from hunger by 2015."

In a move intended to create positive momentum in view of the Conference and to be in a position to ask other donors to follow suit in taking similar initiatives, the Commission adopted on 11 April (include reference to IP) a package of measures setting out a European contribution for concrete and practical outcomes of the Conference. The package includes the following elements:

Mr. Nielson stated, "For the EU, a successful outcome of the Conference will finally depend on the acceptance by the international community of the fact that the complexity of the problems faced by the LDCs requires a common effort by all partners and by both developed and developing countries."


Background

In 1997 the UN General Assembly decided to convene the 3rd UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to reverse the deterioration in their socio-economic situation and to revitalize their growth and development. The EU has offered to host the Conference in Brussels from 14 to 20 May 2001 in the premises of the European Parliament. This will be the first time that the European Union hosts a major UN Conference.

Preparations for the Conference have taken place at country, regional, and global level. The country meetings have led to the formulation of country-specific programmes of action for each LDC. The Commission participates actively in all the preparatory activities. Furthermore, EC delegations in LDCs have contributed to the formulation of country-specific programmes of action for each LDC as a basis for establishing the global programme of action to be adopted at the Conference. EC delegations in ACP countries have supported financially the national preparation processes.

The Commission is also financing the bulk of the additional costs arising from holding the Conference in Brussels. This includes funding the organization of an NGO Forum. Accordingly, the Commission has allocated € 6 Million on the general budget for 2001 to fund these costs. On this basis, an agreement was signed with the UN for a subvention of € 4,5 Million to support the UN Conference secretariat in logistical, financial and administrative matters.

Negotiations on the Programme of Action are conducted in a Preparatory Committee holding its sessions at UN Headquarters in New York. The third session was concluded on 6 April 2001 and it is expected that this will lead to the adoption of the Programme of Action at the Conference, providing the framework for actions to fight LDC poverty.


Further information can be found on the following websites:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/world/ldciii/ldciii.htm

http://www.un.org/events/ldc3/conference/


  • Ref: EC01-042EN
  • EU source: European Commission
  • UN forum: 
  • Date: 11/5/2001


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