Outcome Document of UN LDC IV: Framework Issues and Strategic Concerns

As the second meeting of the Inter-governmental Preparatory Committee of the Fourth UN Conference of the Least Developed Countries (UN LDC IV) draws near, a “Draft Programme of Action for the LDCs for the Decade 2011-2020” remains in circulation. How adequate is the current draft of the outcome document in addressing the fundamental criticisms associated with the weak implementations of its precursor? Concerns persist regarding the framework of the final outcome of the UNLDC-IV as well as on concrete modalities of the new partnership agreement. The possibility of attracting additional development resources still appears to be unlikely. Finally, institutional arrangement to follow-up the implementation of the possible outcome of the conference remains vaguely articulated. The seminar presentation seeks to address these concerns.