The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) concluded its first part today, 17 March 2022, as Member States at the United Nations headquarters in New York adopted the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022–2031. The conference comes at a critical time as the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 continue to bear down on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people and have reversed some of the progress made by least developed countries (LDCs) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Now, more than ever, bold actions are needed to keep the world’s promise to “leave no one behind”.
The second part of the LDC5 conference will take place on 5–9 March 2023 in Doha, Qatar. This will be an in-person meeting where world leaders will gather with civil society, the private sector and youth, among others, to build new plans and partnerships for the delivery of the DPoA over the following decade. They will aim to mobilize additional international support measures and actions to assist the LDCs and agree on a renewed partnership between LDCs and their development partners to overcome structural challenges, eradicate poverty, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and enable sustainable graduation from the LDC category.
For more information on LDCs, see the Handbook on the Least Developed Country Category, 4th ed.