Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Secretary-General for the International Conference on Small Island Developing States

Remarks at the Caucus of Least Developed Countries

5 June 2013, Addis Ababa

Under-Secretary-General Acharya,
State Minister Shide,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am heartened to see you gathered here for the DCF Ethiopia High-level Symposium, focused on a renewed global partnership for development, for the post-2015 era.

Preparations for a post-2015 UN development agenda are ramping up. It is critical that least developed countries are actively engaged in the process. Your caucus provides a great opportunity to create a common vision for the world you want.

Yet further work is clearly needed to firmly reflect the perspectives and development aspirations of LDCs in the post-2015 agenda. One critical step towards this end was the Bangkok Declaration adopted earlier this year. Such work will also feed the preparations for the 2014 Conference of Small Island Developing States, for which I have the honour to serve as Secretary-General.

While the process is ongoing, we are seeing broad agreement so far on some key issues. The Millennium Declaration should continue to guide our efforts. Poverty eradication and the specific needs of LDCs must remain a central focus. The unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals must be addressed in the post-2015 development agenda.

Within a few decades, an even larger portion of the poor will live in LDCs. LDCs face specific challenges to achieving sustainable development including unique structural barriers that require action at both national and global levels. Any post-2015 development agenda must, therefore, build on the Istanbul Programme of Action. It outlines both (i) priorities for sustainable development and (ii) a more robust global partnership for development needed to implement them.

A renewed global partnership for development must reflect the commitments set out in the Millennium Declaration, Monterrey Consensus and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. It should also advance delivery on the specific commitments to LDCs, including those featured in MDG-8.

You are here in Addis to assess the potential role, principles and strategic priorities of a renewed global partnership for development, plus its key features and working practices. We may ask, for example,

 

  •          Where can such a partnership provide the most meaningful support for implementing the post-2015 development agenda?
  •          How could it be more effective in making all stakeholders more accountable for delivering on their commitments?

 

For example, preparations for LDC-IV highlighted the need for greater accountability to ensure the quality of development cooperation to LDCs. Progress reviews would be a useful tool to inform the discussion moving forward. I encourage you to collect existing information on these issues and assess, through the DCF, the key challenges LDCs are facing in accountability.

The DCF is designed and determined to address accountability. It has helped to identify challenges for international development cooperation, backed by solid analytical work. A key objective for the 2014 DCF is building a more accountable and effective global partnership for development post-2015.

I look forward to hearing your views.

Thank you. 

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