Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries 30 May - 3 June 2011, Turkey

Parliaments have an important role to play in the implementation of the New Programme of Action for the LDCs. With their mandate to represent constituents, enact legislation, oversee government policy, and authorize government expenditures, parliaments constitute a pillar of good governance and help ensure national ownership of the development process. 

In preparation for the development of the new Programme of Action to be adopted at the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (UN LDC IV), consultations with parliamentarians have been organized (parliamentary track) at national, regional and global levels to help identify the relevant development priorities for LDCs for the next decade. At the national  level, parliaments in LDCs were involved in consultations to review the BPoA.  At the global level, the parliamentary track included a special parliamentary briefing at the 123^rd IPU Assembly (Oct. 2010) as well as other inputs into relevant pre-conference events.

The Parliamentary Forum to be held on 8 May in Istanbul, Turkey  will be the culmination of the activities of the parliamentary track of the UNLDC IV Conference. It is being organized  by the IPU, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,  and the UN-OHRLLS.  T he Forum will serve as an important platform for parliamentary exchange and commitment to action in the follow up to the new PoA. 

The main objectives of the Forum are the following:

 

1. To review the role of parliaments in the implementation of the BPOA over the past decade and identify successes, lessons learnt and challenges faced; 

2. To promote parliamentary action on all issues on the LDC IV development agenda, and ensure parliamentary participation in the implementation and review of the new PoA.

 

The conclusions of the Parliamentary Forum will be conveyed to the UN LDC IV conference along with a Parliamentary Message from the IPU's 124th Assembly (April 2011).