8 The EU and the Least Developed
Countries
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6736/11
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| Commission Staff Working Document: EU Position in view of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, 9-13 May 2011
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 16 February 2011
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| Deposited in Parliament | 1 March 2011
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| Department | International Development
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 14 March 2011
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | To be determined
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
8.1 The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted
by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments
during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000 are:
- Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
- Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
- Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
- Goal 5: Improve maternal health
- Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
- Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
They are due to be achieved by 2015. The eight MDGs are broken
down into 21 quantifiable targets that are in turn measured by
60 indicators.[41]
8.2 In the late 1960s, the United Nations began paying special
attention to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), recognizing
those countries as the most vulnerable of the international community.
The International Development Strategy for the second United Nations
Development Decade for the 1970s incorporated special measures
in favour of the least developed countries. In order to generate
international attention and action to reverse the continuing deterioration
of the socio-economic condition of these most vulnerable countries,
the First United Nations Conference on the LDCs was held in Paris
in 1981; this adopted a comprehensive Substantial New Programme
of Action (SNPA) for the 1980s for the LDCs. The SNPA was subsequently
endorsed by the UN General Assembly in its resolution 36/194 of
17 December 1981. To continue focus on the need for special measures
for these countries, the Second United Nations Conference on the
Least Developed Countries (LDC II) was held in 1990, also in Paris,
adopting the Paris declaration and the Programme of Action for
the LDCs for the 1990s.
8.3 The most recent United Nations Conference on the LDCs
— LDC III — took place in May 2001 in Brussels. It
concluded with the Brussels Programme of Action (BPoA), which
sought to establish a framework for partnership between LDCs and
their development partners "to accelerate sustained economic
growth and sustainable development in LDCs, to end marginalization
by eradicating poverty, inequality and deprivation in these countries,
and to enable them to integrate beneficially into the global economy",
covering a ten-year period.
8.4 The BPoA was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in its
resolution 55/279 of 12 July 2001. Its main features are:
Goals and targets: The overarching goal was "to make
substantial progress toward halving the proportion of people living
in extreme poverty and suffering from hunger by 2015 and promote
the sustainable development of the LDCs". The Programme of
Action contains 30 international development goals, including
those contained in the Millennium Declaration. They are embedded
in the commitments of the LDCs and their development partners;
Commitments: shared but differentiated responsibilities
or mutual commitments of the LDCs and their development partners
in seven interlinked areas: 1) fostering a people-centered policy
framework; 2) good governance at national and international levels;
3) building human and institutional capacities; 4) building productive
capacities to make globalization work for LDCs; 5) enhancing the
role of trade in development; 6) reducing vulnerability and protecting
the environment and 7) mobilizing financial resources;
Cross-cutting issues: ten cross-cutting priority issues:
poverty eradication, gender equality, employment, governance at
national and international levels, capacity-building, sustainable
development, special problems of landlocked and small island LDCs,
and challenges faced by LDCs affected by conflict;
Guiding principles:
- An integrated approach: The development process should
be viewed in a comprehensive, coherent and long-term manner by
LDCs and their partners, including the UN and other multilateral
agencies;
- Genuine partnership: open and transparent development
cooperation, underpinned by strong political will;
- Country ownership: ensure genuinely country-led development;
- Market considerations: ensure an appropriate mix of
public-private participation, adequate attention to market as
well as government weaknesses, and a stable legal and economic
framework;
- Result orientation: Success will depend critically
on effective follow-up, implementation, monitoring and review
at national, regional and global levels, and be judged by its
contribution towards LDCs achieving international development
targets and graduation from LDC status.[42]
The Commission Staff Working Document
8.5 The Fourth United Nations Conference on the LDCs (LDC
IV) is to be held in Istanbul from 9-13 May 2011. The Conference's
aims are:
- undertake a comprehensive appraisal of the implementation
of the BPoA;
- identify effective international and domestic policies, in
the light of the outcome of the appraisal, as well as new and
emerging challenges and opportunities and the means to address
them;
- reaffirm the global commitment to addressing the special needs
of the least developed countries, in particular related to sustainable
development, and to support the least developed countries in eradicating
poverty and integrating beneficially into the global economy;
and
- mobilise additional international support measures in favour
of the least developed countries,[43]
and formulate and adopt a renewed partnership between the LDCs
and their development partners.
8.6 Two preparatory meetings are taking place in New York
ahead of the conference. The first Prep Com, at which negotiations
officially started, took place from 10-14 January; the second
will take place from 4-8 April 2011. In order to prepare a common
EU position for LDC IV before the second Prep Com, this paper,
based on existing EU policies, outlines the priority issues that
the Commission suggests the EU could promote.
8.7 The Commission's suggested Key Messages are:
- EU support for the LDCs objective that half of them should
graduate[44]
by the end of the decade;
both LDCs and their development partners should take the necessary
action to considerably reduce poverty, with a firm resolve to
increase the number of graduations;
- all donors should continue
working towards reaching the ODA target of 0.15 to 0.20% of GNI
for LDCs and making their support more effective;
- developing countries have the
primary responsibility for their own development by designing
and implementing appropriate policies and achieving good governance;
LDCs need to assess why progress is slow, which commitments have
not been met and why;
- work should focus on improving
the efficiency and effectiveness of existing mechanisms and fulfilling
existing commitments, by both development partners and LDCs;
- all available sources of financing
should be mobilised, primarily domestic resources, complemented
by innovative financing mechanisms and support from developed
countries, the private sector and emerging donors;
- emerging countries should thus
provide their fair share of assistance to LDCs and the G20's work
should support this aim;
- the conference should be results-oriented,
i.e. avoid focusing only on aid, narrow down its objectives, decide
to review progress on a more frequent basis in a spirit of mutual
accountability, and address the issue of graduation;
- the BPoA's long list of priorities
failed to pay sufficient attention to the feasibility of implementing
them; yet the LDCs' proposal still contains 264 measures. LDC-IV
should clearly distinguish between what should be achieved and
how it should be done; set clear targets and indicators to measure
progress; focus future measures on areas where the LDC-IV outcome
can really add value, and pay due attention to implementation
by the LDCs and their international partners;
- a more systematic mechanism
for granting time-sensitive concessions to countries which have
recently graduated should be considered, in order to make graduation
more appealing and allow LDCs to focus on accelerating progress
towards graduation;
8.8 The Commission sees the EU's achievements
in relation to the BPoA as:
- the "Everything But Arms"
initiative; since 1 January 2011, the new EU GSP "rules of
origin" regime; the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative;
FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement on Governance and Trade);
- EU ODA to LDCs increasing by
78% from €8.3 billion in 2000 to €14.7 billion in 2009
(in $ terms it almost tripled);
- the share of GNI spent on ODA
to LDCs rising from 0.09% in 2000 to 0.13% in 2009, with eight
EU countries already above the 0.15% threshold in 2009; and
- the EU being still by far the
largest donor to the LDCs (55% in 2008), with the share of Commission-managed
EU aid to the LDCs rising from 21.6% in 2000 to 29.9% in 2009.
8.9 Nevertheless, since the LDC category was
established in 1971, the number of LDCs has increased from 25
to 48, and only three have succeeded in graduating from LDC status:
Botswana in 1994, Cape Verde in 2007, and Maldives in 2011. However,
the Commission notes, many LDCs could potentially graduate within
the next decade: two are about to graduate; ten LDCs have met
one graduation threshold and could soon meet a second; and seven
are likely to meet one to two graduation thresholds in the long
run.
8.10 The Commission then puts forward a number
of suggestions related to three issues that it sees as key to
building on the MDG framework: (a) vulnerability; (b) a favourable
environment for LDCs' sustainable development; and (c) inclusive
and sustainable economic growth.
8.11 The Commission concludes by noting that
"a well-governed state providing security and stability is
key to designing and implementing such policies, and to strengthen
human and institutional capacities, notably in the areas of education,
science and technology", and by stating that "for many
years, the EU has provided unwavering financial and technical
support to the LDCs in order for them to reach graduation, going
beyond the measures foreseen in the Brussels Programme of Action"
and by calling for "careful consideration [to] be given to
a dialogue on measures which could ease the transition period
for graduating LDCs by putting in place a mechanism which enhances
incentives to graduate."
The Government's view
8.12 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 14 March
2011, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for
International Development (Mr Stephen O'Brien) says that the UK
objective will be:
"to ensure the outcome of this Conference supports
and complements the outcome of the MDG Summit which took place
last September. In particular, the focus should be on reinforcing
the need to align with the 2010-2015 action agenda agreed in the
MDG Summit outcome document,[45]
with a strong results-orientation."
8.13 One of the UK priorities will, he says,
be:
"to work with partners to ensure that the outcome
language on ODA levels is acceptable and reinforces existing commitments
— in particular the EU Member States commitment to deliver
0.7% ODA/GNI by 2015, of which 0.15-0.2% ODA was to be targeted
to LDCs by 2010."
8.14 The Minister says that he will also "look
to support the existing debt sustainability framework and work
with partners to ensure that wider HMG objectives are met —
such as on innovative financing."
8.15 The Minister notes that the LDC IV Conference
has three supporting preparatory "tracks" — Private
Sector, Civil Society and Parliaments: "Civil society, to
date, has not seen the LDC IV Conference as a major development
opportunity in 2011, but we stand ready to engage with them as
required."
8.16 Finally, the Minister says that the Council
are looking to agree Council Conclusions as soon as possible.
Conclusion
8.17 It is difficult not to note the many
similarities between the various components of the prescription
for lifting the LDCs out of poverty laid down in the 2001 Brussels
Programme of Action and, ten years on, those that the Commission
feels continue to need to be advocated. As the Minister notes,
while some progress has been achieved against the BPoA, its work
is generally seen as unfinished and for the most part to have
failed to deliver major development gains to the LDCs. There have
no doubt been many failings by all concerned. But perhaps the
biggest has been in good governance: as the Commission notes,
"a well-governed state providing security and stability is
key". While there are, happily, some bright spots, there
are also too many dark ones, where anything but good governance
is the norm, and where the development process is inevitably undermined.
8.18 There is, however, no good alternative
to persevering nonetheless. The Minister no doubt hopes that the
Council Conclusions and Common Position, and the outcome of the
subsequent LDC IV, will adequately reflect his aims and objectives.
We are content to leave it to others to pursue these further matters,
and, with this in mind, are drawing this chapter of our Report
to the attention of the International Development Committee.
8.19 In the meantime, we now clear the document.
Annex: The Millennium Development
Goals, Targets and Indicators
| Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
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| Goals and Targets
(from the Millennium Declaration)
| Indicators for monitoring progress
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| Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
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| Target 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than less than one dollar a day
| 1. Proportion of population below $1 (PPP) per day
2. Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty]
3. Share of poorest quintile in national consumption
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| Target 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
| 4. Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age
5. Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption
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| Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
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| Target 3: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling
| 6. Net enrolment ratio in primary education
7. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5b
8. Literacy rate of 15-24 year-olds
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| Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
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| Target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015
| 9. Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education
10. Ratio of literate women to men, 15-24 years old
11. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector
12. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament
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| Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
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| Target 5: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
| 13. Under-five mortality rate
14. Infant mortality rate
15. Proportion of 1 year-old children immunised against measles
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| Goals and Targets
(from the Millennium Declaration)
| Indicators for monitoring progress
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| Goal 5: Improve maternal health
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| Target 6: Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
| 16. Maternal mortality ratio
17. Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
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| Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
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| Target 7: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
| 18. HIV prevalence among pregnant women aged 15-24 years
19. Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate
19a. Condom use at last high-risk sex
19b. Percentage of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS
19c. Contraceptive prevalence rate
20. Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans aged 10-14 years
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| Target 8: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
| 21. Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria
22. Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effective malaria prevention and treatment measures
23. Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis
24. Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under directly observed treatment short course DOTS (Internationally recommended TB control strategy)
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| Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
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| Target 9: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources
| 25. Proportion of land area covered by forest
26. Ratio of area protected to maintain biological diversity to surface area
27. Energy use (kg oil equivalent) per $1 GDP (PPP)
28. Carbon dioxide emissions per capita and consumption of ozonedepleting CFCs (ODP tons)
29. Proportion of population using solid fuels
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| Goals and Targets
(from the Millennium Declaration)
| Indicators for monitoring progress
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| Target 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
| 30. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural
31. Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural
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| Target 10: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
| 30. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural
31. Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural
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| Target 11: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers
| 32. Proportion of households with access to secure tenure
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| Goals and Targets
(from the Millennium Declaration)
| Indicators for monitoring progress
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| Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
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| Target 12: Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction — both nationally and internationally
Target 13: Address the special needs of the least developed countries
Includes: tariff and quota free access for the least developed countries' exports; enhanced programme of debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) and cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous ODA for countries committed to poverty reduction
Target 14: Address the special needs of landlocked developing countries and small island developing States (through the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly)
Target 15: Deal comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries through national and international measures in order to make debt sustainable in the long term
| Some of the indicators listed below are monitored separately for the least developed countries (LDCs), Africa, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.
Official development assistance (ODA)
33. Net ODA, total and to the least developed countries, as percentage of OECD/DAC donors' gross national income
34. Proportion of total bilateral, sector-allocable ODA of OECD/DAC donors to basic social services (basic education, primary health care, nutrition, safe water and sanitation)
35. Proportion of bilateral official development assistance of OECD/DAC donors that is untied
36. ODA received in landlocked developing countries as a proportion of their gross national incomes
37. ODA received in small island developing States as a proportion of their gross national incomes
Market access
38. Proportion of total developed country imports (by value and excluding arms) from developing countries and least developed countries, admitted free of duty
39. Average tariffs imposed by developed countries on agricultural products and textiles and clothing from developing countries
40. Agricultural support estimate for OECD countries as a percentage of their gross domestic product
41. Proportion of ODA provided to help build trade capacity
Debt sustainability
42. Total number of countries that have reached their HIPC decision points and number that have reached their HIPC completion points (cumulative)
43. Debt relief committed under HIPC Initiative
44. Debt service as a percentage of exports of goods and services
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| Goals and Targets
(from the Millennium Declaration)
| Indicators for monitoring progress
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| Target 16: In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth
| 45. Unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 years, each sex and total
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| Target 17: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries
| 46. Proportion of population with access to affordable essential drugs on a sustainable basis
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| Target 18: In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications
| 47. Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population
48. Personal computers in use per 100 population Internet users per 100 population
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41 See the Annex to this chapter of our Report. Back
42
See http://www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ldc/BD%20and%20POA%20of%20LDCs.htm
for full information on the Brussels Programme of Action. Back
43
The Commission notes that LDC status is currently characterized
by a low GNI per capita, and structural impediments to growth
measured by a low Human Assets Index (HAI) and a high Economic
Vulnerability Index (EVI). The HAI has 4 indicators: undernourishment,
under 5 mortality, secondary school enrolment, and adult literacy.
The EVI has 7 indicators: population size, remoteness, merchandise
export concentration, share of agriculture, forestry and fisheries
in GDP, homelessness due to natural disasters, instability of
agricultural production, and instability of exports of goods and
services. Back
4 44 4
Graduation from the list of LDCs occurs when a country has made
sufficient progress on two LDC criteria, or when its GNI per capita
has significantly increased and is deemed highly likely to remain
sustainable. Back
45
For details of the Summit, including the action agenda, see http://www.undp.org/mdg/summit.shtml.
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