Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States - FERDI

Tackling Vulnerability on the Road to LDC5

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 18:42:00 +0000

uganda_ilo_asin_nsubuga_ilo_rudmec.jpg

Buyers and sellers practice social distance during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Ugandan marketplace.

Yasin Nsubuga ILO / RUDMEC

NEW YORK 27 October 2020 – COVID-19 is impacting the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in unprecedented, profound and disproportionate ways. This is why these countries, often unable to afford comprehensive response plans, need more international support.

So what does COVID-19 mean for the most vulnerable countries and the support they need from the international community?

That was the over-riding question at a two-part high-level forum organised by OHRLLS, the OECD Development Centre and FERDI on October 21 and 23.

At the meeting, representatives from governments, multilateral institutions and civil society urged the international community to rethink the economic vulnerability of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and of developing countries more generally.

Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, issued a stark warning to those present at the meeting and the international community at large: “The very credibility of the multilateral system is at stake.”

She explained: “LDCs are the most vulnerable with least access to resources. The LDCs’ structural vulnerabilities are visible to all of us and there is absolute urgency to build resilience and redouble efforts towards achieving the SDGs.”

Vulnerability is one of the main criteria for including in the LDC category in the first instance. It is measured by the economic and environmental vulnerability index (EVI), which captures a country’s structural vulnerability to economic and environmental shocks.

However, growing concerns on exposure to international shocks, and the compounding of several risks, make it necessary to rethink how we think of national and individual vulnerability and how we help the LDCs address it.

Prof. Patrick Guillamont, President of FERDI, highlighted that the vulnerability of LDCs is largely due to structural handicaps beyond their control. It is due to these vulnerabilities, he said, that LDCs have been especially severely affected by COVID-19 in all sectors of their economies. He stressed that reducing vulnerability is the key to managing all shocks, from economic to climate-related.

Speaking about the importance of “people-centric” approaches to tackling vulnerability, Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development, HE Khalifa Jassim Al-Kuwari told the meeting that “The local community has the knowledge, understands the challenges faced and knows which of them are the most pressing.”

Any global recovery will depend on how the weakest economies and health systems can cope with the pandemic. While developed countries have taken large-scale action to deliver broad stimulus packages and protective measures, many of the most vulnerable countries do not have the means, or are too deep in debt, to do the same.

HE Abila Musleh, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Women Affairs in Afghanistan talked about the financial challenges that her country has faced since the pandemic broke out.

“Beyond the very serious human cost and economic downturn, COVID has created a large fiscal hole,” she said, adding that while “donors have responded with some $1.5bn in quick response aid, but only a small portion represents new money.”

HE Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said that the international community must “reinvigorate and reform international co-operation" to better respond to the emerging challenges.

Calling a more robust approach to the measurement and assessment of vulnerability in development responses, he called for the international community to focus on placing multidimensional vulnerabilities, resilience and the provision of global public goods at the core of the system.”

Front Page Article:

The Road to the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5)

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 17:21:00 +0000

Wednesday, 21 October 2020 - 9:00am to Friday, 23 October 2020 - 10:30pm

As preparations get underway for the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), OHRLLS is co-organising a high-level event to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on development in the LDCs.

The event was co-organised with the OECD Development Centre and the Foundation for studies and Research on International Development (FERDI). The summary of the event can be found here.

Aimed at tackling vulnerabilities and leveraging scarce resources to help LDCs in their recovery from COVID-19, the event was split into two sessions on October 21 and 23.

Speakers included:

Ángel GURRÍA, Secretary-General, Organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD)
Right Honorable Patricia SCOTLAND, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘UTOIKAMANU, UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
Ambassador Perks LIGOYA, Permanent Representative of Malawi to the UN in NY and Chair of the LDC group

The agenda is here.

First session: 21 October 2020, 09:00 – 10:30 (EST)

What does COVID-19 mean for LDC’s vulnerabilities and support measures?

The COVID-19 crisis is rolling back years of development progress. It urges us to rethink the economic vulnerability of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and of developing countries more generally. Vulnerability, one of the main criteria for including countries into the LDC list, has been measured by the economic and environmental vulnerability index (EVI), which captures the country’ structural vulnerability to economic and environmental shocks. However, growing concerns on exposure to international shocks, and the compounding of several risks, make it necessary to rethink how we measure vulnerabilities and how we help the LDCs address them. The first panel will take stock of this debate to inform the preparations of the Fifth UN Conference on the LDCs (LDC5), to be held in Doha, Qatar in January 2022.

To register for this session click here.

Second session: 23 October 2020, 09:00 – 10:30 (EST)

Financing the recovery in LDCs: what role for international co-operation?

In his latest report on the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA), which came out at the very outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Secretary-General had already stressed the uneven progress of LDCs, and the need to better support them beyond graduation point. Declining foreign direct investment, persistently low shares in world exports, slow gains in structural transformation and productive capacity, continued dependence on commodities and a worsening of undernourishment in the LDCs were all matters of concern on the eve of the major 2020 global economic crisis. This second panel will discuss options for improving the mobilisation of global finance, its alignment with, and its impact on the recovery and sustainable development of LDCs.

To register for this session click here.

NEWS

Tackling Vulnerability on the Road to LDC5

The event was co-organised by UNOHRLLS, FERDI and OECD Development Centre will take place in the framework of the LDC IV Monitor, a consortium which also includes the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD, Bangladesh), in collaboration with the Southern Voice network of think tanks, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and the 51�Թ� University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER).

tags:

Least Developed Countries

OECD Development Centre

FERDI

Istanbul Programme of Action

Vulnerability

Economic Aftershocks

Structural Economic Transformation

Categories:

Events

LDCs

Statement at the Towards UN LDC5 - Recovery from COVID-19 Tackling Vulnerabilities and Leveraging Scarce Resources Event

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 05:21:00 +0000

Statement by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

21 & 23 October 2020
New York, USA

Excellencies,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I join H.E. Ambassador Escudero, Permanent Representative of Spain to the OECD and Chair of the Governing Board of the Development Centre, in warmly welcoming you all to this virtual event.

More than nine months have passed since the world over COVID took too many lives, disrupted countless lives, decimated and continues to shake livelihoods.

More than ever, and in solidarity, we must focus on Recovery from COVID-19, we must find ways to tackle vulnerabilities and leverage scarce resources.

And this is precisely the theme of our meeting.

This virtual event is also held in the context of preparations for the Fifth UN Conference on LDCs, in short LDC5.

I wish to thank our main co-organisers, FERDI and the OECD Development Centre. Prof. Guillaumont, the President of Ferdi, and Mario Pezzini, the Director of the Development Centre and Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the OECD.

You both are good friends of not only OHRLLS but also the LDCs.

I also thank all other partners for contributing to this endeavor.

Just as you all, I am grateful to see the LDC IV Monitor, which is a consortium including the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD, Bangladesh), with us.

You already contributed to the Fourth UN Conference in Istanbul and its mid-term review and I am very happy to see you engaged in the preparations for LDC5.

Last but certainly not least, I must acknowledge the collaboration with the Southern Voice network of think tanks, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and the 51�Թ� University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). 

It is encouraging to see such a broad group representing many stakeholders not only from governments, the UN and think tanks but also civil society. Indeed, it is all together that we must engage in discussions about the needs of LDCs and what can be done to enhance their resilience.

As I said a moment ago, our virtual meeting takes place in the context of the preparations of LDC5.

The General Assembly has agreed to hold the conference from 23 to 27 January 2022, in Doha, Qatar, at the highest level.

Three key goals will drive the leaders from all UN Member States:

Undertake a comprehensive appraisal of the IPOA implementation by the LDCs and their development partners;

Mobilize additional international support measures and action in favour of the LDCs and,
Agree on a renewed partnership between the LDCs and their development partners, including the private sector, civil society and governments at all levels.

It is with even stronger resolve and determination that we relaunch the LDC5 preparatory process.

From now to January 2022, an intensive preparatory process takes place. This includes regional review meetings for Africa and Haiti and Asia-Pacific LDCs.

A range of formal and informal meetings will happen and involve many stakeholders, including parliaments, the private sector, youth, foundations and civil society.

You can find all the details on our website.

Additionally, and in a novel effort, we organize what we call an Academic Conference.

We do so next year jointly with UNU-WIDER, SDSN, and the Government of Finland, in Helsinki.

The goal is to provide an analytical underpinning to the discussions leading up to the LDC5.

So why is this LDC5 conference so important?

The IPoA set as its key goal to overcome the structural challenges of LDCs as the means to eradicate poverty, achieve internationally agreed development goals and enable graduation from the LDC category.

The most recent report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the IPoA highlights that there has been some progress and most notably with respect to graduation.

But as always there is a but.

The objectives of achieving structural transformation and building productive capacity, and of combating poverty through high rates of economic growth and decent jobs powered by export growth, have not been realized. And this we could already see even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

It is the very well documented vulnerabilities of these countries causing this limited progress.

Just let me mention a few.

There is their narrow range of export products which makes them vulnerable to any fluctuations in commodity prices. Prices have declined since 2013 and thus have diminished the value of exports and foreign currency earnings.

We have climate vulnerability due to climate change induced or accelerated phenomena such as hurricanes, cyclones, flooding, drought and landslides. They have caused devastating loss and damage to lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront inequalities and poverty and so starkly teaches us lessons about the interlinked nature of the various vulnerabilities LDCs face and the devastation this causes.

Yes, we have the direct health impacts of the pandemic but at the same time we have the direct impacts on the very livelihoods of people. Tourism, trade and remittances have plummeted in these nations. The consequences are many from job losses, to increasing poverty and a decline in government revenues, worsening an already acute debt situation.

The lockdown and closures have had major negative social impacts, including on gender, decent work, health, education, and food security. The vast majority of workers in LDCs are in the informal economy and do not benefit from social protection.

For example, in the Sahel region, nationwide school closures due to COVID-19 came at a time when a very large number of schools had already been closed for several months because of severe insecurity, strikes, or climatic hazards.

For girls that cannot attend school for months because of school closures it became more likely that they will not ever return to school with all the negative long-term consequences this might have.

COVID-19 has also shown us how urgent it is that we close yet another divide, the digital divide. Countries that are left furthest behind need support from all relevant actors to enable remote schooling, telemedicine and make use of digital finance.

Indeed, like a mirror we have to look into, the COVID-19 pandemic all too clearly gives us the reflection of stark inequalities and how they keep growing within countries, between countries, regions and at the global level.

So, I just shared with you some examples of the vulnerabilities of LDCs that we together must address and they will be discussed in the first panel today.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

This brings me to a key topic : development finance.

Prior to the global crisis we now all face, development financing had already fallen short of the financing requirements to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

Prior to the global crisis, fiscal space of the LDCs was already limited due to rising public debt levels and servicing costs.

Not only does this lacking access to finance make it much harder for LDCs to respond to the crisis but it also means that no single source of financing will be enough to close the COVID-19-induced financing gap.

The collapse of domestic revenues we now see severely limits LDCs’ ability to put together sufficient health and stimulus packages.

The decline of remittances will leave too many families in destitution and increase poverty.

The steep decline in FDI to LDCs will hamper urgently needed investment in building productive capacity so that the much needed jobs are created and building back better happens.

For LDCs, it remains difficult to attract private finance due to their high vulnerabilities, smallness and their risk perception.

Yet, they have large needs for example for investments in infrastructure, from transport to sustainable energy.

My Office through the ‘COVID-19 - The Most Vulnerable 91’ campaign, put a spotlight on the very limited scale of funding that has been made available to the LDCs during the pandemic.

LDCs have all made national efforts to respond to the pandemic, their spending power is vastly outmatched by what advanced economies are able to mobilize.

LDCs remain among the poorest nations in the world and their financial resources are limited and their spending power to tackle major crises is very low.

Our research shows that less than seven dollars per head has been shared with LDCs by the international community to help them combat the pandemic.

We are now at a juncture.

More than ever, commitments with respect to ODA and beyond must be met. Increased climate finance must be provided and real debt relief must be seriously considered.

The impacts of the pandemic will be far-reaching and felt for years to come.

LDCs are the most vulnerable with least access to resources. The LDCs’ structural vulnerabilities are visible to all of us and there is absolute urgency to build resilience and redouble efforts towards achieving the SDGs.

The credibility of and trust in multi- lateral cooperation are at stake.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

This brings me to the need for the new Programme of Action for the LDCs, which will be adopted by Member States in Doha.

This programme must be ambitious and aim towards addressing recovery efforts, building back better, building back inclusively and driving efforts towards the Decade for Action in the LDCs.

It is my sincere hope that our virtual event will generate ideas and political momentum for an effective and coordinated response from international actors to provide adequate financing and technical assistance to build back better for a more equitable, sustainable and resilient world.

I look forward to hearing fresh ideas we can put into action to secure a truly sustainable future for the LDCs.

Thank you.