Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries
9-13 May 2011

«The Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, to be held in Istanbul, Turkey from 9 to 13 May 2011, is an excellent opportunity to take stock of action for the word’s least developed countries and to strengthen our commitment in their favour. The stakes are high. This is a struggle for human dignity, and against the dehumanizing conditions of poverty and hunger. UNESCO is contributing to this by assisting the least developed countries through education, the science, culture and communication and information.”

Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General

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UNESCO participates in the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Istanbul from 9-13 May 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey



Highlights

• The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, urges the LDCs and development partners to invest in girls and women's education, and to leverage technical and vocational education and training to provide young people, particularly young women, with the skills and knowledge needed to access the labour market, during the High-Level Thematic Debate on ‘Human and Social Development, Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women’, organized on 12 May 2011. Click here to find out more
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• Speaking at the special event on ‘Harnessing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Least Developed Countries’, organized by the United Nations Group on the Information Society on 12 May, the Director-General emphasizes that more must be done to harness the enormous potential of information and communication technologies for sustainable development and poverty reduction. Click here to find out more
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• UNESCO—WWAP organizes a special event on Water Issues in the Least Developed Countries in partnership with FAO, IFAD, and the Tajikistan and Bangladesh Permanent Missions to the UN. Click here to find out more

Outcome of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries



The summit focused on ways to harness the potential of the 48 countries – many of them in sub-Saharan Africa – classified as LDCs so that they can lift themselves out of poverty and develop economically.



Forty-eight countries are classified as LDCs, 33 of which are in Africa, 14 in the Asia-Pacific region, and one in Latin America and the Caribbean.



The Draft Istanbul Declaration (hotlink to the 1st attachment) and the 10-year Action Plan (2011-2020) (hotlink to 2nd attachment), adopted by the Conference, commits governments to enable half the number of LDCs to meet the criteria for graduation by 2020. It emphasizes the strengthening of the productive capacity in LDCs – building infrastructure, enhancing human capital and governance capabilities.



Under the programme of action, affluent countries have committed to realizing the target of spending 0.15 per cent to 0.20 per cent of their national incomes on official development assistance (ODA). If implemented, this would represent a significant increase on current levels of aid.



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To find our more about what UNESCO is doing to assist the least development countries in achieving their development objectives, click here.