On 16 July 2019, Professor José Antonio Ocampo, Chair of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), introduced the CDP’s 2019 report to ECOSOC to the Council’s High-Level Segment. Professor Ocampo stressed the CDP’s main messages on the theme of the Council (“Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”). Current levels of inequality, he stated, are unacceptable and unsustainable, and environmental degradation and the climate crisis are a major factor in disempowering the most vulnerable. There is an “urgent need for a transformation grounded in equality, inclusion and human rights, one that empowers those at risk of being left or pushed behind and addresses the mechanisms that enable the concentration of wealth and power at the top”, which in turn requires a new vision of the role of States in shaping the way in which public and private spheres interact. Professor Ocampo also presented the CDP’s recommendations for the new Programme of Action for LDCs, including that it adopt the issue of expansion of productive capacity as its organizing framework and be fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda. Finally, Professor Ocampo reported on findings of the CDP on the voluntary national reviews. While a valuable innovation, the VNRs can be strengthened by being more comprehensive, reflecting the interconnected character of the Agenda and the interdependence of SDGs and providing information on how countries are concretely working towards transformation and bringing different policy areas together.

More information:

Statement by Professor Ocampo
Link to the CDP Report