Support to the United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries

This project supports the substantive preparations for the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) held in Doha Qatar in January 2022. The conference expects to adopt a ten-year programme of action for the LDCs to succeed the Istanbul Programme of Action which concludes in 2020. The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries Landlocked Developing Countries and the Small Island Developing States is the focal point for preparations. The preparatory process includes two regional review meetings in spring 2021 hosted by Bangladesh and Malawi and two meetings of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee of which Canada is a Bureau member. The preparatory process and conference itself facilitate the participation of civil society and youth from LDCs. Project activities include: (1) supporting the preparation of country reports by all 46 Least Developed Countries (LDCs); (2) supporting two regional preparatory meetings; (3) organizing at least two pre-conference events on major thematic issues for the LDCs; (4) communicating the Fifth UN Conference on the LDCs and its preparatory meetings; (5) producing and disseminating training materials for journalists; and (6) increasing youth engagement and participation in preparatory activities.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) strengthened capacity of stakeholders to monitor and review the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action priorities at the country-level and take actions towards poverty eradication; (2) enhanced knowledge of all stakeholders regarding the challenges faced by LDCs and their populations and possible actions to overcome them; (3) enhanced participation of all stakeholders during the preparations for and the holding of the conference; (4) exchanged views on LDC priorities between LDCs and their development partners; and (5) enhanced knowledge of and increased reporting by LDC journalists on development narratives for local communities and actions taken at all levels towards the Sustainable Development Goals.