Nairobi Outcome Document of the High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation

A/RES/64/222View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 58b South-South cooperation for development, published in 2009.

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1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 18	Economic and social development in latin america and the caribbean	234

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 18	Economic and social development in latin america and the caribbean	234	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What’s in this document?

2 operative paragraphs

Expresses its deep appreciation to Kenya for hosting the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation;

Decides to endorse the Nairobi outcome document of the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, which is annexed to the present resolution.

Nairobi outcome document of the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation

We, heads of delegations and high representatives of Governments, gathered in Nairobi, from 1 to 3 December 2009 at the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the 1978 United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, held in Buenos Aires, which produced the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.²

²Report of the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, Buenos Aires, 30 August–12 September 1978 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.78.II.A.11 and corrigendum), chap. I.

We recognize and contribute to the goal of the Conference to strengthen and further invigorate South-South cooperation.

We recall and renew our commitment to the full implementation of the outcomes of all major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, and all General Assembly resolutions relevant to South-South and triangular cooperation.

We note the outcomes of the South Summits of the Group of 77³ and other relevant South meetings.

³See A/55/74 and A/60/111.

We recognize the role of the Non-Aligned Movement in promoting South-South cooperation.

We take note of relevant processes and dialogues related to enhancing South-South cooperation.

Since the Buenos Aires meeting, the increasing economic dynamism of some developing countries in recent years has imparted greater energy to South-South cooperation, including through regional integration initiatives across the developing world, seen in, among other things, the creation of regional common markets, customs unions, cooperation in political fields, institutional and regulatory frameworks, and inter-State transport and communications networks. In this regard, we recognize the solidarity of middle-income countries with other developing countries with a view to supporting their development efforts, including in the context of South-South and triangular cooperation.

At the same time, we duly note that many developing countries continue to face serious development challenges and that many of them are not on track to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.

We stress that South-South cooperation, as an important element of international cooperation for development, offers viable opportunities for developing countries in their individual and collective pursuit of sustained economic growth and sustainable development.

We reaffirm the key role of the United Nations, including its funds, programmes, specialized agencies and regional commissions, in supporting and promoting cooperation among developing countries, while reiterating that every country has the primary responsibility for its own development. We reaffirm resolution 33/134 of 19 December 1978, endorsing the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, which constitutes a major milestone in the evolution of South-South and triangular cooperation.

We recognize the importance and different history and particularities of South-South cooperation, and we reaffirm our view of South-South cooperation as a manifestation of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributes to their national well-being, their national and collective self-reliance and the attainment of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. South-South cooperation and its agenda have to be set by countries of the South and should continue to be guided by the principles of respect for national sovereignty, national ownership and independence, equality, non-conditionality, non-interference in domestic affairs and mutual benefit.

We recognize that South-South cooperation takes different and evolving forms, including the sharing of knowledge and experience, training, technology transfer, financial and monetary cooperation and in-kind contributions.

We recognize the need to enhance local capacity in developing countries by supporting local capabilities, institutions, expertise and human resources and national systems, where appropriate, in contribution to national development priorities, at the request of developing countries.

We stress that South-South cooperation is not a substitute for, but rather a complement to, North-South cooperation.

We recognize the value of the increasing support provided by developed countries, international organizations and civil society to developing countries, upon their request, in improving their expertise and national capacities through triangular cooperation mechanisms, including direct support or cost-sharing arrangements, joint research and development projects, third-country training programmes and support for South-South centres, as well as by providing the necessary knowledge, experience and resources, so as to assist other developing countries, in accordance with their national development priorities and strategies.

We welcome efforts by multilateral, regional and bilateral financial and development institutions to increase financial resources to promote South-South cooperation, where appropriate, including for the least developed countries and countries with economies in transition.

We recognize that developing countries tend to share common views on national development strategies and priorities when faced with similar development challenges. The proximity of experience is therefore a key catalyst in promoting capacity development in developing countries and, in this regard, accentuates the principles of South-South cooperation. It is important to enhance South-South cooperation in order to fulfil its full development potential.

We reaffirm that South-South cooperation is a common endeavour of peoples and countries of the South, born out of shared experiences and sympathies, based on their common objectives and solidarity, and guided by, inter alia, the principles of respect for national sovereignty and ownership, free from any conditionalities. South-South cooperation should not be seen as official development assistance. It is a partnership among equals based on solidarity. In that regard, we acknowledge the need to enhance the development effectiveness of South-South cooperation by continuing to increase its mutual accountability and transparency, as well as coordinating its initiatives with other development projects and programmes on the ground, in accordance with national development plans and priorities. We also recognize that the impact of South-South cooperation should be assessed with a view to improving, as appropriate, its quality in a results-oriented manner.

South-South cooperation embraces a multi-stakeholder approach, including non-governmental organizations, the private sector, civil society, academia and other actors that contribute to meeting development challenges and objectives in line with national development strategies and plans.

In order to realize the potential of South-South cooperation in accordance with its principles and to attain the objectives of supporting national and regional development efforts, strengthening institutional and technical capacities, improving the exchange of experience and know-how among developing countries, responding to their specific development challenges and increasing the impact of international cooperation, we:

Welcome the achievements made by developing countries towards promoting South-South cooperation initiatives and invite them to continue to intensify their efforts in this regard;

Invite developed countries to support South-South cooperation through triangular cooperation, including for capacity development;

Encourage developing countries to develop country-led systems to evaluate and assess the quality and impact of South-South and triangular cooperation programmes and improve data collection at the national level to promote cooperation in the development of methodologies and statistics to this end, as appropriate, while bearing in mind the specific principles and unique characteristics of South-South cooperation, and encourage all actors to support initiatives for information and data collection, coordination, dissemination and evaluation of South-South cooperation, upon the request of developing countries;

Also encourage developing countries to enhance their national coordination mechanisms, as appropriate, in order to improve South-South and triangular cooperation through the dissemination of results, the sharing of lessons and good practices, and replication, including through the voluntary exchange of experience for the benefit of developing countries, and according to their policies and priorities for development;

Recognize that interrelated global crises, in particular the financial and economic crisis, volatile energy prices, the food crisis, poverty and the challenges posed by climate change, as well as other challenges, including communicable and non-communicable diseases, are already reversing the gains achieved in developing countries and hence require action at all levels. In this regard, we invite developed countries and multilateral institutions to enhance their support for South-South cooperation to contribute to addressing these challenges;

Emphasize the need to promote, including through South-South cooperation, access to and the transfer of technology. In this regard, we welcome efforts made by developing countries in improving technology cooperation arrangements, such as the Consortium on Science, Technology and Innovation for the South. We also emphasize the need to promote, through South-South cooperation, broader technological developments such as technological management capabilities and information networks that are demand-oriented and involve participation by users of technology or by those involved in the process of technological development and infrastructure and human resources development;

Call for the strengthening of various interregional dialogues and the exchange of experience among subregional and regional economic groupings for the purpose of expanding South-South cooperation by integrating the various approaches to economic and technical cooperation among developing countries;

Acknowledge the various national, regional and subregional initiatives to enhance South-South cooperation in the social (particularly health and education), economic, environmental, technical and political fields;⁴

⁴For example, Cuba’s “Operation Miracle” and “Yes, I can do it” initiatives; the programmes of the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa; the programmes of the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with the Commonwealth of Independent States, European Islamic Countries and Newly Independent Countries; the Horizontal Cooperation Programme of the International Cooperation Agency of Chile; the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme; India’s Pan-African e-Network Project; the Bank of the South; the Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation; the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran; the Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme; the Petrocaribe Energy Cooperation Agreement; Proyecto Mesoamérica; the Mexico-Chile Joint Cooperation Fund; the initiative “Oil and Gas Development: Sharing Experiences and Lessons Learned within the Framework of South-South Cooperation”; Qatar’s South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance; Brazil’s Strategic Programme in the Areas of Agriculture and Food Security with Haiti; The Brazil-International Labour Organization triangular programme to fight child labour; the initiative of the United Arab Emirates in the field of renewable and alternative energy and clean technology; the Uruguayan Fund for International Cooperation; the Mexico-Uruguay Joint Cooperation Fund; Nigeria’s South-South Health Care Delivery Programme; the Nigeria Trust Fund; the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps scheme; the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership; the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation; the Africa-India Partnership; the Africa-South America Summit; the New Partnership for Africa’s Development; the India, Brazil and South Africa Facility Fund for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation; the Ibero-American Programme for the Strengthening of South-South Horizontal Cooperation; the Argentine Fund for Horizontal Cooperation; the Kenya-Africa-Japan Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education project; the Regional Cooperation Meeting of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; and the Brazil-Japan agricultural development project in Mozambique.

Recognize regional mechanisms and initiatives for infrastructure cooperation and integration, including in the energy field, based on solidarity and complementarity, to overcome asymmetries with regard to access to energy resources;

Recognize that international support for South-South cooperation in trade, investment and other areas can be catalytic in strengthening and consolidating regional and subregional economic integration and take note of the São Paulo round of negotiations relating to the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries in order to reinvigorate and strengthen the agreement in general, promote greater interregional trade, diversify export markets and enhance investment flows among them.

We acknowledge the need to reinvigorate the United Nations development system in supporting and promoting South-South cooperation. To this effect, we:

Urge the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to take concrete measures to mainstream support for South-South and triangular cooperation to help developing countries, at their request and with their ownership and leadership, to develop capacities to maximize the benefits and impact of South-South and triangular cooperation in order to achieve their national development goals and internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals;

Call upon the United Nations funds and programmes and invite the specialized agencies to continue to enhance the capacities of developing countries to develop and formulate development cooperation programmes, strengthen the capacities of regional and subregional organizations and conduct research to identify areas where support for South-South cooperation will have the greatest impact;

Call upon the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to continue to focus and coordinate their operational activities in support of South-South cooperation, in accordance with national development plans and their respective mandates, and to produce practical results, taking into account South-South characteristics and approaches;

Call furthermore upon United Nations regional commissions to play a catalytic role in promoting South-South and triangular cooperation and in strengthening their technical, policy and research support for countries of their regions;

Welcome the recent initiatives by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other United Nations specialized agencies to establish, within their respective mandates, new units and work programmes to support and promote South-South cooperation, and request United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies, as well as regional commissions, to help developing countries to establish or strengthen existing South-South centres of excellence, within their respective areas of competence, and to enhance closer cooperation among such centres of excellence, especially at the regional and interregional levels, with a view to improving South-South knowledge-sharing, networking, mutual capacity-building, information and best practices exchanges, policy analysis and coordinated action among developing countries on major issues of common concern;

Encourage such institutions and centres of excellence, as well as regional and subregional economic groupings, to establish closer links among themselves, with the support of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, including through its Global South-South Development Academy, Global South-South Development Expo and South-South Global Assets and Technology Exchange;

Reaffirm the mandate of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, hosted by the United Nations Development Programme, as a separate entity and coordinator for promoting and facilitating South-South and triangular cooperation for development on a global and United Nations system-wide basis;

Call for the effective implementation of the United Nations Development Programme fourth cooperation framework for South-South cooperation and, in this regard, encourage Member States in a position to do so to support the United Nations Development Programme and the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation in fully implementing this framework;

Invite the Secretary-General, in consultation with States Members of the United Nations, to take measures to further strengthen the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, as reaffirmed by the General Assembly in its resolutions 58/220 of 23 December 2003, 60/212 of 22 December 2005 and 62/209 of 19 December 2007, so as to enable it to carry out its full responsibilities, in particular through the mobilization of resources for the advancement of South-South cooperation, including triangular cooperation;

Reaffirm the relevance of the previously established Guidelines for the Review of Policies and Procedures concerning Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries in conducting and managing South-South cooperation. We therefore call for their full implementation and recognize the need for their continued improvement, in particular in strengthening the capacity of the United Nations Development Programme and United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to promote and support South-South cooperation, as well as to further develop the specific framework of operational guidelines to facilitate the use of technical cooperation among developing countries in their programmes and projects;

Emphasize that South-South cooperation needs adequate support from the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies, including through triangular cooperation, and call upon all relevant United Nations organizations to consider increasing allocations of human, technical and financial resources for South-South cooperation, as appropriate;

Recognize the need to mobilize adequate resources for enhancing South-South cooperation and, in this context, invite all countries in a position to do so to contribute in support of such cooperation through, inter alia, the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund for Economic and Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries and the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation. In this context, we encourage the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation to undertake additional resource mobilization initiatives to attract more financial and in-kind resources, while avoiding the proliferation and fragmentation of financing arrangements. In this regard, we reaffirm that regular resources will continue to fund the activities of the Special Unit, and invite the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme to consider measures to allocate adequate resources for the Special Unit.

We convey our appreciation and gratitude to the Republic of Kenya and its people for the excellent organization and hosting of the High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation and the warm hospitality extended to us in the city of Nairobi.

Nairobi Outcome Document of the High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation

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