Doha Political Declaration adopted by world leaders to fast-track progress in least developed countries

Source: The post is based on the article “Doha Political Declaration adopted by world leaders to fast-track progress in least developed countries” published in Down To Earth on 15th March 2023

What is the News?

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

What is the Doha Political Declaration?

The declaration focuses on implementing the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA).

What is the Doha Programme of Action(DPoA)?

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.

It is a 10-year plan to put the world’s 46 most vulnerable countries back on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

DPoA consisted of six key focus areas: 1) Eradicating Poverty, 2) Leveraging the potential of science and technology to fight against multidimensional vulnerabilities and to achieve the SDGs, 3) Addressing Climate Change, 4) Environmental Degradation, 5) Recovering from Covid-19 and 6) building resilience against future shocks for risk-informed sustainable development.

What is the need for this declaration?

The 46 Least Developed Countries (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 in the progress made towards achieving SDGs, according to the Sustainable Development Report 2022.

What are the Least developed countries (LDCs)?

LDCs are low-income countries confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development. They are highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks and have low levels of human assets.

There are currently 46 countries on the list of LDCs which are reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development (CDP).

LDCs have exclusive access to certain international support measures in particular in the areas of development assistance and trade.