Doha Political Declaration on LDCs | 14 Mar 2023

Prelims: Doha Political Declaration, Least Developed Countries, Unted Nations, SDGs, Climate Change, Covid-19.

Mains: Doha Political Declaration on LDCs.

Why in News?

The 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) concluded with adoption of the ‘Doha Political Declaration’ by the world leaders.

  • The declaration is a key outcome of the second part of LDC5 conference held under the theme “From Potential to Prosperity” in Qatar.

What are the Key Highlights of the Declaration?

  • Doha Programme of Action:
    • It focuses on implementing the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA), the 10-year plan to put the world’s 46 most vulnerable countries back on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
      • DPoA for the Decade (2022-2031) was agreed upon during the first part of the LDC5 conference in March 2022 in New York, the US.
    • DPoA (2022-2031) consisted of Six Key Focus Areas,
      • Eradicating Poverty
      • Leveraging the potential of science and technology to fight against multidimensional vulnerabilities and to achieve the SDGs
      • Addressing Climate Change
      • Environmental Degradation
      • Recovering from Covid-19 and building resilience against future shocks for risk-informed sustainable development.
  • Need for the Declaration:
    • The 46 LDCs are being hit the hardest by multiple crises including the Covid-19 Pandemic, Climate Crisis, growing Inequalities, rising Debt Burdens and economic shocks.
    • They have contributed minimally to Carbon Dioxide Emissions, but disproportionately bear the burden of climate change impacts.
    • These countries, which include 33 African nations, face the challenge of high debt costs while having inadequate liquidity to provide essential services.
    • The LDCs are the worst performers on the progress made towards achieving SDGs, according to the Sustainable Development Report 2022.

What are LDCs?

  • LDCs are a group of countries identified by the United Nations as having the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. These countries are characterized by high levels of poverty, low levels of human capital, and limited access to basic services, such as healthcare and education.
  • Currently, there are 46 countries on the United Nations' list of LDCs.
    • Africa (33);
    • Asia (9);
    • Caribbean (1): Haiti;
    • Pacific (3): Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
  • The list of LDCs is reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), a group of independent experts that report to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.
  • Following a triennial review of the list, the CDP may recommend, in its report to ECOSOC, countries for addition to the list or graduation from LDC status.

Source: DTE