'Development is not an overnight affair': UN High Representative calls for immediate action; United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states Anwarul K. Chowdhury tells the UN Chronicle of the need for the immediate cancellation of debts for LDCs.

On the major challenges facing the least developed countries today

The least developed countries (LDCs) are the poorest, weakest segment of humanity. Their problems are, in general, the same as those faced by developing countries, but they have some special constraints--of capacity, resources and effective and efficient organization. The criteria for being an LDC are threefold: their per capita income, human development indicators, and ability to withstand external shocks. That is where the vulnerability of LDCs comes in. They are the least prepared and least equipped to face external shocks. The burden of external debt, low official development assistance (ODA), and the constraint of development of capacity in their respective countries are all the factors making their situation extraordinarily difficult. Still, I believe that LDCs have been able to put their issues high on the global agenda. In the 2000 Millennium Declaration, Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 8 refers to the needs of LDCs. In 2001, a UN conference in Brussels resulted in the Declaration and the decade-long Programme of Action focusing on the needs of these countries.

On the need to strengthen the implementation of the Programme of Action for LDCs

I feel very strongly that the immediate cancellation of debts for LDCs is the most urgent matter. The debt burden on these countries is unsustainable, and efforts to cancel their debts should be addressed immediately. The second immediate area would be to see that the ODA commitment made in the Brussels Programme, to provide LDCs with 0.20 per cent of overall gross domestic product of the industialized countries, should be redeemed immediately. Another is market access, but LDCs have been able to secure fairly good access in various industrial markets. The main challenge before them is the supply constraints. I believe that debt cancellation, meeting the ODA target for LDCs and supporting these countries in terms of political commitment, infrastructure and development needs would be a very effective way to assist them.

We have 50 least developed countries, 34 in Africa. Since most of the African LDCs are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, it is necessary that special attention be given to their needs. Capacity development should continue to be of primary importance. There is also a need to concentrate on poverty reduction and social development goals like health, education and empowerment of women. Of course, experience has shown that governance needs special attention too. This is an emerging concern, and development partners should also concentrate on this area. The UN system has focused on the needs of LDCs and has developed programmes and projects to support development efforts. If you take the resource allocation of UN funds and programmes, the majority goes to LDCs. Some eighteen UN entities have adopted decisions to mainstream the implementation of the Brussels Programme in the context of their own activities. What needs to be done is to see how the specific commitments made in the Programme can best be implemented.

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On development cooperation for SIDS

Small island developing States (SIDS) have a genuine case in the context of their vulnerable economies and environment. There is goodwill for these countries and strong support for their agenda and for the Barbados Programme of Action. However, it is necessary in the context of the Programme's ten-year review in Mauritius in January 2005 that there should be an effort by SIDS to prioritize the areas that are important to them. They must focus on the areas they would like to take up, say, in the next two or three years, as implementation and prioritization are very essential to get things moving.

The list of forty small island States is currently being redefined. Cyprus and Malta, for instance, in the context of their entry into the European Union, have already been advised to come out of the group. As we move forward, this list will be under review by the SIDS themselves. These countries are organized as a group under the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which will be adopting a charter, a formal structure for their caucus in Mauritius: that charter will identify who belongs to this group of small island States. The Barbados Programme has identified countries which are covered by it--that list is not the same as the AOISIS membership list. We now have to see how SIDS themselves work on this issue and come up with a list.

On improving trade and transit of LLDCs

The Almaty Conference is a milestone in building trust and a cooperative relationship between landlocked countries and their transit neighbours. The commitment made there has very clearly indicated the need for such cooperation. In the implementation process, we are focusing on the elements which have been incorporated in the Almaty Programme. If we move ahead in terms of implementation, we will see good results. Landlockness is connected with geography. Consequently, outside help such as financial and technical assistance is important. At the same time, one has to develop collaborative relationships between the landlocked and transit countries to overcome this geographical constraint. The international community has to identify a programme of action. I believe that ground has been prepared for assistance to come in.

On the mandate of the Office of the High Representative

The mandate of our Office is twofold, and one can say that these are the two sides of the same coin. One is to see how the specific programmes of action for these three most vulnerable groups-LDCs, landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS)--are being implemented. Monitoring, coordination and reporting on the implementation process are our responsibility. For the Brussels Programme and the Almaty Programme for LLDCs, our Office has the main responsibility in terms of monitoring and review. For the Barbados Programme for SIDS, we work closely with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The other side of the coin is advocacy: how to put the special needs of these three vulnerable groups high on the global agenda and focus attention on those countries. We have been able to achieve both with some measure of success. We work in close partnership with the UN system, the Member States and the multilateral bodies outside the UN system. Recently, we had the High-level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council focusing on resource mobilization for LDCs. We have been working very closely with the UN Resident Coordinators and country teams in the fifty least developed countries, and also with the country teams in the landlocked countries. We have to see how best we can make the Resident Coordinators our front-line partners in the implementation of the respective programmes of action.

In 2003, we initiated the first-ever global conference on the LLDCs and, for the first time, the issues of these countries and those of their transit neighbours were high on the agenda. We believe that the implementation of decisions taken will be beneficial for the 31 land-locked countries. For SIDS, we are making preparations for a conference in Mauritius, which will focus on a ten-year review of the Small Islands Programme of Action called the "Barbados Programme". All these activities, in terms of raising awareness and putting issues high on the global agenda, have been successful. Regarding real change at the national level, we have to see how these countries are doing in the context of the MDGs, how they are doing in terms of poverty reduction, and how their economic and social indicators are improving. We have good cases to show that many of these countries are moving ahead. Development is not an overnight affair; it is a long-term process. We have to wait and see how they can reap the benefits. Natural disasters and conflicts have been major constraints, and many good efforts by the LDCs to move ahead have been frustrated by recurrent natural disasters and continuing conflicts. Much more needs to be done.

RELATED ARTICLE: Small Island Developing States

Small island developing States (SIDS) are not just islands; they also include low-lying coastal countries that share similar sustainable development challenges, including small population, lack of resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, excessive dependence on international trade and vulnerability to global developments. Highly environmentally and economically vulnerable. SIDS are severely limited in their capacities to respond to the challenges they face and to adequately recover from incessant disasters. International support and assistance are sadly lacking.

Currently, 41 small island developing States and territories are included in the list used by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in monitoring the progress in the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA), adopted at the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of SIDS, convened in Barbados in 1994.

The BPOA outlines fourteen priorities for SIDS:

 1 Climate change and sea-level rise
 2 Natural and environmental disasters
 3 Management of wastes
 4 Coastal and marine resources
 5 Freshwater resources
 6 Land resources
 7 Energy resources
 8 Tourism resources
 9 Biodiversity resources
10 National institutions and administrative capacity
11 Regional institutions and technical cooperation
12 Transport and communication
13 Science and technology
14 Human resource development