United Nations Development Group (UNDG)

The UNDG members have adopted the recommendation of the Programme to mainstream the implementation of the Programme of Action for the LDCs through the already existing mechanisms for provision of assistance at the country level. All UN Resident Coordinators in LDCs have received copies of the Programme of Action. 

The Resident Coordinators and members of the country teams, including BWIs have been advised by the UNDG of the need to support the process of formulating a poverty reduction strategy in each country, if government welcomes this support. The strategy to reduce poverty formulated by each country will reflect the needs and situation of each country, and will reflect the recommendations of UN Conferences including the Programme of Action for the LDCs, where governments find these recommendations appropriate.  

The CCA process, done by the UN country team, government and other national/international partners, as a basis for programme of UN assistance/cooperation, and as an input to national poverty strategy formulation, will review the causes of poverty and development challenges in each country, including the concerns identified by the Programme of Action for the LDCs and the Millennium Declaration, as well as other UN Conference resolutions. 

            In addition to supporting the national strategy formulation process, the UN country team prepares the UNDAF outlining the major development results to be supported by the UN system over the next programming period. These key results are selected by government and the UN system, reflecting national priorities and the comparative advantage of the UN system.  The Programme of Action for the LDCs will be an important guide to both government and the UN system in this process.

            While it would be desirable to monitor progress on all recommendations of each UN Conference on a routine basis, the data collection capacity of most LDCs would not be able to support such an effort on an annual basis.

            Therefore, the UN country teams have been advised that they should work with each government to identify the key poverty indicators for each country, including as a minimum the Millennium Declaration Goals, which are also reflected in the Programme of Action for the LDCs.  The UN country teams have been advised that they should build national capacity to collect and use the necessary data to monitor progress in reducing poverty, and to allow each government to revise their national poverty reduction strategies, as necessary.

Inputs to the Secretary-General's report to ECOSOC on the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action for the LDCs