Re: [soac-newgtldapsup-wg] Least Developed Countries Report 2010

[Alex Gakuru <gakuru@xxxxxxxxx>]

Yes, Kenya was chosen as the Africa report launch venue and I attended the
ceremony.

On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 4:09 PM, Eric Brunner-Williams <
ebw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
> Colleagues,
>
> The UN Conference on Trade and Development's 2010 Least Developed Countries
> report was released yesterday. I've included the announcement here, so that
> link clinking is minimized, and links to media coverage in English and
> French. The full report doesn't appear to be available at the UN
> Publications site, though the reports for prior years are, and priced at
> $40/$20/$10, depending on the economic status of the country of origin of
> the requestor.
>
> A link to the 43 page Overview is:
>
>
> http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Download.asp?docid=14164&lang=1&intItemID=2068
>
> Media in French:
>
> http://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2010/11/26/le-nombre-de-pays-tres-pauvres-a-double-en-quarante-ans_1445160_3210.html
>
> Media in English:
> http://allafrica.com/stories/201011251118.html
> and
>
> http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/pan/Poorest-Countries-Must-Diversify-to-Break-Out-of-Poverty-Cycle-110654304.html
>
> Eric
> ---
>
>
> The Least Developed Countries Report  2010
> Towards a New International Development Architecture for LDCs
>
>
> Highlights
>
> The global financial and economic crisis highlight the urgent need to move
> beyond business as usual and, through concerted international action, foster
> more stable and inclusive global development. The crisis has been a sober
> reminder that economic and social imbalances and inequalities, both within
> and between countries, if left to correct themselves, are likely to produce
> damaging and destructive outcomes, particularly for vulnerable countries and
> communities. This Report focuses on the boombust cycle of the past decade in
> the least developed countries (LDCs) and offers alternatives for the coming
> decade.
>
> Even as global economic growth accelerated in the first decade of the
> millennium, the LDCs remained marginal in the world economy owing to their
> structural weaknesses and the form of their integration into the global
> economy. The number of people living in absolute poverty in these countries
> has continued to rise, even during the boom years of 2002–2007, and progress
> towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals has remained very
> slow. The Report calls for the creation of a new international development
> architecture (NIDA) for the LDCs aimed at: a) reversing their
> marginalization in the global economy and helping them in their catch-up
> efforts; (b) supporting a pattern of accelerated economic growth and
> diversification which would improve the general welfare and well-being of
> all their people; and (c) helping these countries graduate from LDC status.
>
> The Report argues that these objectives can be achieved if there is a
> paradigm shift that supports new, more inclusive development paths in LDCs.
> This requires the State to play a more developmental role in creating
> favourable conditions for job creation, capital accumulation, technological
> progress and structural transformation. The NIDA should be designed to
> facilitate the new development paths. The Report shows, through alternative
> policy scenarios, that accelerated growth and poverty reduction are
> achievable through policy changes.
>
> The NIDA for LDCs is defined as a new architecture of formal and informal
> institutions, rules and norms, including incentives, standards and
> processes, which would shape international economic relations in a way that
> is conducive to sustained and inclusive development. It would be constituted
> through: (a) reforms of the global economic regimes which directly affect
> development and poverty reduction in LDCs; and (b) the design of a new
> generation of special international support mechanisms (ISMs) for the LDCs
> aimed at addressing their specific structural constraints and
> vulnerabilities. Increasing South- South international flows of trade, FDI,
> official finance and knowledge also implies that South-South cooperation,
> both within regions and between LDCs and large, fast-growing developing
> countries, could also play an important role in a NIDA for LDCs.
>
> The Report proposes five major pillars of the NIDA: finance, trade,
> commodities, technology, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. At
> present, the focus of support for LDCs is mainly in the area of trade. This
> Report identifies a forward-looking agenda for action in the NIDA for LDCs
> in all five areas. It is intended to serve as a major input to the policy
> debate for the fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries
> to be held in Turkey in 2011. Combining international support measures for
> LDCs with a new international framework for policy and cooperation that can
> deliver more stable, equitable and inclusive development is one of the most
> urgent challenges facing the international community today.
>