The Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is convening a one-and-a-half day Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting entitled "United Nations LDC IV: Key Development Challenges Facing the LDCs". It will open at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 18 February 2010, and conclude at 6 p.m. on Friday, 19 February 2010.
Background and purpose:
UNCTAD has been mandated both by the Accra Accord and General Assembly resolutions to actively contribute to the preparations for the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC IV) under the lead role of the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and the Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS). The conference is scheduled to take place during the first half of 2011.
Objectives:
- To analyze the economic performance of the LDCs in order to identify discernable structural changes that have taken place since the adoption of the 2001 Brussels Programme of Action; and
- To reflect on a new generation of LDC-specific international support measures with a view to accelerating the graduation process of this group of countries.
The meeting´s discussions will feed into a document that UNCTAD is preparing in the run-up to LDC IV.
Participation
The meeting is open to all member States of UNCTAD. The meeting may be of particular interest to government officials, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups involved with issues related to developmental challenges of LDCs. In addition, experts from international and regional organizations dealing with LDCs and development-related issues will also be invited. Member States, specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies wishing to participate in the meeting, as well as non-governmental organizations in the General Category and those in the Special Category wishing to participate as observers, are requested to inform the UNCTAD secretariat of the names of their representatives by 11 February 2010.
