Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020

E/RES/2012/26View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 6b Review and coordination of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020, published in 2012.

What other versions does this mandate have?

14 versions · 2003–2022

This is an older version — the most recent is E/RES/2022/19

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2022	E/RES/2022/19	Programme of action for the least developed countries for the decade 2022-2031	2,050	37%Compare
2021	E/RES/2021/19	Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020	1,025	40%Compare
2020	E/RES/2020/16	Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020	2,185	55%Compare
2019	E/RES/2019/3	Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020	2,052	66%Compare
2018	E/RES/2018/26	Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020	1,696	49%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

14 reports · 2003–2023

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2023	A/78/112 E/2023/94	Follow-up to the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries report of the Secretary-General	E/RES/2022/19
2022	A/77/73 E/2022/53	Follow-up to the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries report of the Secretary-General	E/RES/2021/19
2021	A/76/71 E/2021/13	Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020 report of the Secretary-General	E/RES/2020/16
2020	A/75/72 E/2020/14	Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020 report of the Secretary-General	E/RES/2019/3
2019	A/74/69	Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020 report of the Secretary-General	E/RES/2018/26

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Bretton Woods Institutions Capacity Building Least Developed Countries Programme Implementation Programmes of Action

What’s in this document?

27 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020;⁶

⁶A/67/88-E/2012/75.

Reaffirms the commitment, made by the international community in the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development,Error: Reference source not found to assist the least developed countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable development, and also reaffirms the agreement to effectively implement the Istanbul Programme of ActionError: Reference source not found and to fully integrate its priority areas into the framework for action contained in the outcome document, the broader implementation of which will contribute to the overarching goal of the Programme of Action of enabling half the least developed countries to meet the criteria for graduation by 2020;

Expresses concern that the ongoing impact of the financial and economic crisis demonstrates the need for appropriate regional and international support to be deployed in a timely and targeted manner to complement the efforts of the least developed countries aimed at building resilience in the face of economic shocks and mitigating the effects of such shocks;

Reaffirms that building a critical mass of viable and competitive productive capacity in agriculture, manufacturing and services is essential if the least developed countries are to benefit from greater integration into the global economy, increase their resilience to shocks, sustain inclusive and equitable growth and eradicate poverty, achieve structural transformation and generate full and productive employment and decent work for all;

Notes the efforts made by the least developed countries towards full employment and decent work for all and expresses its concern that, despite considerable efforts, those countries are yet to generate a sufficient number of decent jobs for their growing working-age populations, including because of the structural constraints of their economies, and in this regard encourages further action by the least developed countries to strengthen productive capacities, as outlined in the Istanbul Programme of Action, and recalls the commitments made by the development partners in the Programme of Action to provide, inter alia, enhanced financial and technical support to the least developed countries to develop productive capacities, in order to support the efforts of the least developed countries to achieve structural transformation and generate full and productive employment and decent work for all;

Stresses the importance of undertaking policy measures on social protection in the least developed countries in order to achieve the goal of enhancing social protection systems to improve the resilience of all, including poor and disadvantaged groups, as set out in the Istanbul Programme of Action, and in this regard reiterates the commitments made by the least developed countries and their development partners in the Programme of Action;

Welcomes the progress made by many least developed countries in implementing the Istanbul Programme of Action, including by mainstreaming it into relevant planning documents and development strategies, and calls upon the least developed countries, with the support of their development partners, to fulfil their commitments and to promote implementation of the Programme of Action, including by integrating its provisions into their national policies and development frameworks and conducting regular reviews with the full involvement of all key stakeholders, and in this regard invites the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, the subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council, including United Nations regional and functional commissions, the United Nations resident coordinator system and the United Nations country teams to actively support the integration and the implementation of the Programme of Action;

Also welcomes the progress in mainstreaming the Istanbul Programme of Action into the development cooperation frameworks of development partners, and calls upon the development partners to further integrate the Programme of Action into their respective national cooperation policy frameworks, programmes and activities, as appropriate, to ensure enhanced, predictable and targeted support to the least developed countries, as set out in the Programme of Action, and the delivery of their commitments, and to consider appropriate measures to overcome shortfalls or shortcomings, if any;

Notes that official development assistance continues to be the largest source of external financing for the development of least developed countries and plays an important role in their development, also notes that progress has been made during the past decade in increasing the flow of official development assistance to least developed countries, underlines the fact that the fulfilment of all official development assistance commitments is crucial, including the commitments by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance to developing countries by 2015, as well as the target of 0.15 per cent to 0.20 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance to the least developed countries, and urges developed countries that have not yet done so to fulfil their commitments for official development assistance to least developed countries;

Welcomes steps to improve the effectiveness and quality of aid in least developed countries, and underlines the need for enhancing the quality of aid by strengthening national ownership, alignment, harmonization, predictability, mutual accountability and transparency, and results orientation;

Calls upon the least developed countries, their development partners, the United Nations system and all other actors to fully and effectively implement the commitments that have been made in the Istanbul Programme of Action in its eight priority areas, namely, (a) productive capacity, (b) agriculture, food security and rural development, (c) trade, (d) commodities, (e) human and social development, (f) multiple crises and other emerging challenges, (g) mobilizing financial resources for development and capacity-building, and (h) good governance at all levels, in a coordinated, coherent and expeditious manner;

Calls upon the least developed countries, in cooperation with their development partners, to broaden their existing country review mechanisms, including those for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the implementation of poverty reduction strategy papers, common country assessments and United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks, and the existing consultative mechanisms to cover the review of the Istanbul Programme of Action;

Invites all organizations of the United Nations system and other multilateral organizations, including the Bretton Woods institutions and international and regional financial institutions, to contribute to the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action and to integrate it into their programmes of work, as appropriate and in accordance with their respective mandates, and to participate fully in its review at the national, subregional, regional and global levels;

Calls upon the developing countries, guided by the spirit of solidarity and consistent with their capabilities, to provide support for the effective implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action in mutually agreed areas of cooperation within the framework of South-South cooperation, which is a complement to, but not a substitute for, North-South cooperation;

Invites the private sector, civil society and foundations to contribute to the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action in their respective areas of competence in line with the national priorities of the least developed countries;

Welcomes with appreciation the decisions taken by various entities of the United Nations system, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Office for Project Services, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), the World Food Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency, to mainstream the Istanbul Programme of Action and integrate its relevant provisions into their programmes of work, and in this regard invites the governing bodies of all other United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies to do the same in an expeditious manner, as appropriate and in accordance with their respective mandates;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to include the issues of concern to the least developed countries in all relevant reports in the economic, social, environmental and related fields in order to support the implementation of the goals set out in the Istanbul Programme of Action;

Underlines the need to give particular attention to the issues and concerns of the least developed countries in all major United Nations conferences and processes;

Notes the work done by the ad hoc working group to further study and strengthen the smooth transition process for countries graduating from the least developed country category;

Recalls the request made by the General Assembly to the Secretary-General to take the steps necessary to undertake a joint gap and capacity analysis on a priority basis by 2013, with the aim of establishing a technology bank and science, technology and innovation supporting mechanism dedicated to the least developed countries, building on existing international initiatives;

Underlines the need to take the steps necessary to ensure the mutual accountability of the least developed countries and their development partners for delivering the commitments undertaken under the Istanbul Programme of Action;

Reaffirms its decision to include in its annual ministerial review, in 2015, a review of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action;

Reiterates that the Development Cooperation Forum should continue to take into consideration the Istanbul Programme of Action when it reviews the trends in international development cooperation, as well as policy coherence for development;

Strongly encourages giving appropriate consideration to the special needs and development priorities of the least developed countries, including those contained in the Istanbul Programme of Action, in the processes devoted to the definition of the post-2015 development agenda;

Invites the relevant United Nations regional commissions and agencies to undertake biennial reviews of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action, the first one of which should be undertaken in 2013, in close coordination with the global-level and country-level follow-up processes and in cooperation with subregional and regional development banks and intergovernmental organizations;

Encourages Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, major groups and other donors to contribute in a timely manner to the Trust Fund in support of the activities undertaken by the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States to support the implementation, follow-up and monitoring of the Istanbul Programme of Action as well as the participation of the representatives from the least developed countries in the annual review meeting on the implementation of the Programme of Action by the Council as well as in other relevant forums, and in this regard expresses its appreciation to those countries that have made voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Council at its substantive session of 2013, under the sub-item entitled “Review and coordination of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020”, a progress report on the implementation of the Programme of Action.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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