The Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was established on the recommendation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations by the General Assembly in its resolution 56/227 of 24 December 2001.

The Office aims at enhancing the mobilization and galvanization of international support for - and ensuring the effective coordination, monitoring and review of - the implementation of the Brussels Declaration and Programme of Action (POA). The Brussels Declaration and POA were adopted by the Least Developed Countries and its development partners in May 2001. In addition to the Brussels Declaration and POA, the legislative mandate of the programme flows from the General Assembly resolutions: 55/279 of 12 July 2001; 56/227 of 24 December 2001; 55/2 of 8 September 2000 on the United Nations Millennium Declaration (paragraphs 15, 17 & 18); ECOSOC resolutions 2001/320 of 22 October 2001 and 2002/33 of 26 July 2002.

The key functions of the Office of the High Representative is:

- to assist the Secretary-General in ensuring the full mobilization and coordination of all parts of the United Nations system, with a view to facilitating the coordinated implementation of and coherence in the follow-up and monitoring of the Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries at country, regional and global levels;

- to provide coordinated support to the Economic and Social Council as well as the General Assembly in assessing progress and in conducting the annual review of the implementation of the Programme of Action;

- to support, as appropriate, the coordinated follow-up of the implementation of the Global Framework for Transit Transport Cooperation between Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and the donor community and the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States;

- to undertake appropriate advocacy work in favour of least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, in partnership with the relevant bodies of the United Nations as well as with civil society, the media, academia and foundations;

- to assist in mobilizing international support and resources for the implementation of the Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries, and for other programmes and initiatives for landlocked developing countries and small island developing States;

In carrying out its mandate, OHRLLS will be working in the following framework:

(i) It will focus on country-level implementation-both by the LDCs and donor countries to see to it that they are implementing their commitments made in the POA. The Office will work closely with UNDP partners, including in particular UNDP, to ensure full support of the Resident Coordinator system to the LDCs. The UNDAF and PRSP processes in LDCs, as applicable, need to incorporate implementation of the POA.

(ii) It will work with all the relevant entities of the UN family, in particular the Funds and Programmes, Regional Commissions, Specialized Agencies, and the Bretton Woods Institutions, to ensure that these entities mainstream the Brussels POA in their activities and in their intergovernmental processes as well as establish appropriate focal points for review and follow-up as called for in the POA and the General Assembly resolution 56/227.

(iii) It will be working with other multilateral organizations, particularly the regional organizations like the African Union (AU), the SAARC, the South Pacific Forum and regional development banks, as well as the sub-regional organizations like the SADC, ECOWAS, ASEAN, CARICOM and others, as these organizations have LDCs as their constituents. It is important that they focus on the development efforts of these countries and, in particular, on the implementation of the Brussels POA. Recent adoption of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) by the African Union provides an immense opportunity for reinforcing and complementing the development efforts in 34 LDCs.

(iv) It will work closely with civil society and private sector, both national and global, so that they are brought in as full development partners of the LDCs. It will promote linkages with civil society including NGOs involved in development efforts of LDCs as well as with the private sector, academia and functions, in an attempt to forge closer cooperation to respond more capably to LDCs.

The first Medium-Term Plan of the OHRLLS was presented on 21 June 2002 to the General Assembly’s Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC).  According to the Plan covering 2002 to 2005 as approved by the CPC, the substantive responsibility for the follow-up and coordination for the implementation of the Brussels POA is vested in the Office of the High Representative.

Initial activities of the OHRLLS commenced with a three-pronged approach: (i) placing the issue of LDCs high on the intergovernmental agenda through appropriate legislative mandates, as needed (ii) centering its focus on Africa, particularly in the context of NEPAD, and (iii) supporting establishment of country-level implementation arrangements including establishment of national forums as envisaged in paragraph 100 of the Brussels POA.

In undertaking effectively the responsibilities outlined in its mandate, the OHRLLS will perform its coordination, monitoring and reporting roles as functions in support of a broader mandate to speak for the specific needs of LDCs to highlight their concerns as well as their potentials in a rapidly globalizing world.  The Office will adopt advocacy as its key strategy, using monitoring and coordination as its tools to mobilize international support for the Brussels POA.  Value will be added to the monitoring and reporting tasks of the OHRLLS by focusing on “ lessons learned” and bringing to the ECOSOC - and also to the General Assembly - specific proposals in support of LDCs.

The Brussels POA has accorded a specific role to the ECOSOC for the intergovernmental oversight of its implementation.  In its paragraph 111, the POA suggested a) creation of an annual agenda item on the review and coordination; b) undertaking at regular intervals such reviews at the high-level segment; and c) effective preparations for the annual review, inter alia, drawing on the contribution of governmental and individual experts.

The Brussels POA, in paragraph 112, also identifies the elements of the annual reviews.  First, the review will include follow-up, monitoring and assessment of progress in the implementation of the POA at national, sub-regional, regional and global levels through report by governments as well as by all other entities concerned.  Second, the review will be fostering international cooperation in support of the POA, including coordination among donors and among relevant entities.  Third, the review will elaborate new policies and measures in light of changing domestic and external circumstances facing LDCs.  The POA has also invited governing bodies of UNCTAD and WTO specifically (paragraph 113) to inform the ECOSOC about the progress made by their respective organizations in implementing the POA.