Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States - #UN75

Opening Remarks at the Virtual High-level Panel Discussion on the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 2020

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 08:52:00 +0000

Opening Remarks by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

10 September 2020
New York, USA

Excellencies,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to join you for today’s special session to commemorate the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation.

All people presently live a major global crisis since the founding of the United Nations.

Over half a year has already gone by where we all try to move forward in spite of the disrupting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

People’s lives have been upended and too many lives have been lost.

The pandemic thrives on inequalities and has deepened inequalities even further.

New divides have emerged. Socio- economic tensions have the potential to endanger hardwon peace and stability everywhere.

Uncertainty continues to prevail and we have yet to get a grip on what the medium to long-term socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 could look like.

It is though already certain that vulnerable countries such as the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS will be impacted disproportionately.

Their intrinsic vulnerabilities to endogenous and external shocks have been amplified by a multiple.

Their lack of institutional capacity and financial resources to respond to the multiple COVID-19 threats is likely to erode the development progress they could record in the past decade.

LDCs expérience significant economic slow-down brought by the collapse of commodity prices, shrinking global demand, disruption in domestic production and value chain systems.

It is estimated that over 70 million additional people living in LDCs will be pushed into extreme poverty this year.

Health concern driven border closures and associated restrictive measures have inflicted devastating impact on the LLDCs. They rely heavily on cross-border trade for much needed medical equipment and essential supplies. Losses in export earnings are projected to reach an estimated 37 per cent this year.

As far as the SIDS are concerned, they are likely to experience a pronounced contraction in 2020 and beyond as a result of plummeting tourism revenues and remittance flows.

The disruption of global supply chains, the near standstill tourism sector and mounting debt burdens and an ever accelerating impact of climate change exact a disproportionately heavy toll on SIDS.

To keep it short:

the challenge lies in how we can find ways and means to ensure that the most vulnerable, women, elderly, children and all those who fall between the cracks because they lost crucial lifelines to decent livelihoods, and because they have no adequate social protection are not left behind.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

COVID 19 drives home to all of as that it knows no borders, no gender, no race, no religion.

COVID 19 sends a message: we need solidarity, multi- lateral collaboration and above all the political will to turn what is a global challenge into a situation where we leave no one behind.

It is NOW that countries need international support that must include support from the global South.

Together we must mobilize the resources needed to strengthen fragile health systems to cope with this emergency and this must include focus on the vulnerable segments of the population.

Let me be clear, strengthening health systems, strengthening public health is more than equipment, medicine and the like. It is about nutrition, it is about safe drinking water , it is about clean air, it is about sanitation - it is about basic human rights that we can no longer deny to the most vulnerable!

We must go beyond quick fixes that so often are not sustainable to move to building back better.

So, more than ever before, we must strengthen South-South cooperation, we must leverage it to help LDCs, LLDCs and SIDs in their fight against this pandemic.

The southern partners have the experience, the knowledge and the means to provide targeted and effective support. They can boost regional cooperation and the sharing of cost-effective and context-specific solutions.

I give you some examples.

SIDS in the Pacific came together to establish the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway on COVID-19. The goal is to facilitate rapid movement of medical & humanitarian assistance. This is key in a region where geographical distances to be overcome are enormous.

Take then Senegal. They piloted an economical COVID-19 testing kit and helped to train health workers from neighboring countries.

Other countries such as India , Turkey, China, Cuba and Qatar sent urgent medical aid or teams to Africa and many others in the global South also help each other.

As far as OHRLLS is concerned, we have tried to rally global support for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS as part of our advocacy role.

We have done so by organizing a series of workshops and high-level dialogues with multilateral development banks, UN agencies, and development partners both from the North and the South. We keep repeating that a cohesive stimulus package in support of the swift recovery of the vulnerable groups of countries is needed NOW.

OHRLLS collaborates with all our UN system partners to provide a platform to build solidarity, mobilize resources, foster peer-learning and promote exchange of best practices through South-South and triangular cooperation.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

We merely have a Decade of Action left to turn the 2030 Agenda from words to impact.

This also applies to achieving the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.

For the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS this will only happen through renewed global commitment and enhanced partnerships.

South-South and triangular cooperation are imperative if we want an inclusive and sustainable recovery and way forward for the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS.

In just so many short and long- term aspects ranging from providing medical supplies, affordable vaccines, comprehensive debt relief to investment in technological know-how, resilient infrastructure, ICT, to the all important capacity building, South-South and triangular cooperation will be more than ever indispensable and vital.

This year and in just two weeks’ time, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

It was out of years and years of deep human suffering with millions and millions of lives lost, people left with nothing and starving that the UN was envisioned.

Now, it is our turn to vision the future we want so that the Charter and the Universal Déclaration of Human Rights can be enjoyed by ALL.

COVID-19 is both threat and opportunity.

It is now our opportunity to seize this threat by working together to steer recovery towards a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable future for all.

Let us rise to this challenge.

Thank you.

Front Page Article:

Opening Remarks at the Virtual Webinar: Breaking Geographical Barriers - Leveraging the Role of Multilateralism to Achieve VPoA and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in LLDCs

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 14:40:00 +0000

Opening Remarks by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

28 July 2020
New York, USA

Honorable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Head of Organizations,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

We enter the last decade of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. We enter the last five years of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing countries.

Above all we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation.

The world goes through a pandemic affecting the lives and livelihoods of billions of people.

No country or individual is spared from the global impacts of COVID-19.

It is its impact which greatly differs across countries and within countries.

The LLDCs are amongst the hardest hit due to their vulnerabilities.

Honorable Ministers, Excellencies,

The UN General Assembly held the midterm review of the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs in December 2019.

The midterm review revealed that while LLDCs continue to make efforts to address their development challenges, they are far behind in achieving the SDGs and the objectives of the Vienna Programme of Action.

The midterm review revealed that one third of the population of LLDCs continues to live in extreme poverty. The prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity continues to persist.

The average human development index lags behind the world average.

Economic growth has declined, inequalities have risen since the adoption of the Vienna Programme of Action.

The share of merchandise exports declined to less than 1 percent.

Still, there was dynamic and we saw the glass as half full.

Then came COVID 19 and now the risk for a glass becoming half empty.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities, deepened existing vulnerabilities. LLDCs rely on transit countries and many transit countries closed their borders in their fight to contain the spread of COVID-19.

LLDC exports are commodity based and the global demand for commodities declined drastically.

The very geography of LLDCs makes them reliant on other countries.

They require greater cooperation at sub-regional, regional and global level for their development.

International solidarity and cooperation are key for these countries’ peace and security and their inclusive and sustainable development.

An equitable multilateral trading system truly is the lifeblood for the LLDCs sustainable future through integration into the global economy.

Just as solidarity expressed through the multi- lateral system helped rebuild the world after the World War 2, the Multi- lateral system has over decades now delivered major economic and social progress including for the LLDCs.

Openness, cooperation and partnership between countries are critical to this success.

Today’s global economy is more interconnected than ever, connected at vastly greater speeds than ever and we are faced with more complex than ever multiple global challenges.

Inequality, climate change and pandemics know no borders.

A strong and well-functioning multilateral system that can deliver for people is more than ever needed.

At a time where more rather than less international cooperation is needed, multilateralism has come under great stress.

Protection is on the rise. This makes us all vulnerable and even more so those already in highly vulnerable life situations.

Of course, the whole of human history has been one of change and it is only befitting that we ask the question what kind of multi- lateralism today’s and tomorrow’s challenges need. In that it is vital that we listen to, that we hear the voices of the most vulnerable.

This webinar gives us the opportunity to exchange, to listen to each other, to hear each other.

The findings of our webinar will also feed into to the upcoming Annual Ministerial Meeting of LLDCs to be held in the margins of the High-level week of the UN General Assembly.

So, let us not just overcome geographical barriers but also all those other barriers too often preventing us from listening to each other.

I look forward to our exchanges.

Thank you.

Front Page Article:

Breaking Geographical Barriers: Leveraging the Role of Multilateralism to Achieve VPoA and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in LLDCs

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 16:43:00 +0000

Tuesday, 28 July 2020 - 8:30am to 10:00am

The webinar will provide an opportunity to contribute to the global conversation on “creating the future we want by 2045” and to leverage multilateralism in accelerating the VPoA and SDGs in LLDCs.

BACKGROUND

This year, the United Nations celebrates its 75th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that the UN is hosting the world’s largest global conversation on creating the future we want by 2045, when the UN celebrates its centennial. The Theme for the year is “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism”. The UN had invited all the stakeholders to share their thoughts on the current state of the world and is asking us all how we can work together to improve our world so that everyone, everywhere, can live their best lives. The Landlocked Developing countries (LLDCs) voice in this global conversation is important to ensure that they are not left behind, including in the implementation of the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs by 2030 and during the period beyond 2030.

Lack of territorial access to the sea, isolation and remoteness from world markets and high transport and transit costs impose constraints on the overall socio-economic development and trade competitiveness of the 32 LLDCs. The international community adopted in 2014 the Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA) for LLDCs for the Decade 2014-2024 to address these challenges. The VPoA, which is also an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Development, offers a holistic approach to improving the integration of LLDCs into the global economy through the following six priority areas: Fundamental Transit Policy Issues; Infrastructure Development and Maintenance; International Trade and Trade Facilitation; Regional Integration and Cooperation, Structural Economic Transformation, and Means of Implementation. The full and effective implementation of the VPoA is critical for LLDCs in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Whilst some progress has been made to implement the VPoA, there are challenges that need to be addressed to accelerate the implementation of the VPoA in order to meaningfully improve the welfare of the lives of over 500 million people living in the LLDCs. The COVID-19 pandemic could also reverse progress so far achieved by LLDCs in the implementation of the VPoA and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The pandemic has worsened existing vulnerabilities as LLDCs face a decline in investment, trade, remittances, growing debt burdens, and severely reduced fiscal space. Enhanced international cooperation is fundamental in dealing with the pandemic and addressing its devastating aftermath.

OBJECTIVES

To provide a platform for LLDCs and relevant stakeholders to engage and contribute to the global conversation on “creating the future we want by 2045”.
To identify megatrends and major challenges before humanity in the coming decades,
To discuss concrete and effective ways to leverage multilateralism to accelerating the achievement of the VPoA goals and the SDGs in LLDCs.
To highlight how multilateralism can be re-invigorated to better address global, regional and national challenges faced by the most vulnerable and amplify their voices and underline the role and contribution of the United Nations in this regard.

FORMAT

The webinar will feature:

Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States;
H.E. Mr. Kairat Umarov, PR of Kazakhstan and Chair of Group of LLDCs;
Mr Fabrizio Hochschild-Drummond, Special Adviser to the Secretary General on the Commemoration of the United Nations 75th Anniversary;
Honorable Dr. Unity Dow, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Botswana (TBC);
H.E. Mr. Antonio Rivas Palacios, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paraguay (TBC);
Mr. Yonov Frederick Agah, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization;
Mr. Nikhil Seth, Executive Director, UNITAR and
Ms. Sanda Ojiambo, Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact(TBC)

EXPECTED OUTCOME

An official summary will be issued as an outcome of this meeting.

ORGANISERS

Co-organized by: Chair of the Group of the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Office of the High Representative of Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Islands Developing States (OHRLLS)

TARGET AUDIENCE

Member States; relevant UN system entities, relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations; academia, and private sector.

REGISTER

https://bit.ly/3eTa9ZG

DOCUMENTS

Upcoming

Photo: Tondikorey, a small village located directly on the shores of the river Niger, Niger. OCHA/Ivo Brandau

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Statement at the Briefing on UN75 Organised by UN-OHRLLS in Coordination with the Office of the Special Adviser to the SG on the Commemoration of the UN 75th Anniversary

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 15:42:00 +0000

Statement by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

2 July 2020
New York, USA

Excellencies,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to welcome you to the second briefing session for the Permanent Missions for LDCs, LLDCs & SIDS, convened together with my colleague Mr Hochschild, Special Advisor to the Secretary General on Digital Cooperation and the Preparations for the Seventy Fifth United Nations Anniversary.

A lot has happened since the first briefing session in September 2019.

We are at the start of the second half of this year and sadly so, we remain mired in an unprecedented global situation for the 21st century.

The lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions continue to be directly and indirectly disrupted and too often destroyed.

No country or individual is spared from the truly global impacts of COVID-19.

But it should not surprise us that the Least Developed Countries, the Landlocked Developing Countries, and the Small Island Developing States, with their inherent structural constraints, are disproportionately impacted.

Many of you see this play out every day in your hospitals and on the streets of your countries.

Millions and millions of people are out of employment in LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS.

The typical safety net is the family. Yet, if all in a family are impacted, what do you do? There already is dire hardship, this will continue and we can expect the number of poor and malnourished people to double.

It is quite the understatement to say we now face and must work through greatly changed circumstances.

Prior to the pandemic, we already faced challenging circumstances with emerging debt crises, fragile economies, social needs and human security issues, and a rapidly growing need for urgent climate action.

These existing challenges now run even deeper and new and emerging challenges also must be addressed.

The most vulnerable member states of the United Nations need our support more than ever before.

Excellencies,

We the Peoples stand at a crossroads.

The United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary at a time of great upheaval and change.

As USG Hochschild will show in his presentation, faith in the ability of our traditional multilateral structures to deliver for people is diminishing.

Yet, this is a moment where the global community needs to work together . It is a moment to show cooperation based on a shared vision of an inclusive sustainable development.

It is a moment for action.

It is a moment to restore faith in and credibility of multi-lateral cooperation.

It is a moment to show results.

How we respond to the pandemic will greatly determine how fast the world recovers.

How we respond will determine our ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and associated and emerging other global challenges.

How we respond to the pandemic will also shape, in part, how we are perceived as an international system by people, by We the Peoples we are here to serve.

The words of Dag Hammarskjöld come to mind.

He famously said that the United Nations "was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell."

Seventy-five years after the visionary founding enshrined in the Charter and the Universal Human Rights, our mission to protect and serve is once more being put to test.

Our resolve must be unwavering.

Our support must be grounded in listening.

First to diagnose , and then TOGETHER find actionable solutions.

That is why the UN75 initiative is so important. It has the power to renew inspiration and move us all forward.

By launching the ‘world’s largest conversation’, we commit first and foremost to listening.

We must hear what women, men, girls, boys tell us about the future they want and what United Nations they need.

This is a crucial time for humanity and it is vital that your voices are heard.

Your views, concerns and ideas will be presented to world leaders and senior UN officials at the official commemoration of the 75th Anniversary by the UN General Assembly in September.

Each conversation is an opportunity to encourage each one of us to take actions in our own lives in line with what we heard and learned.

Just as in everyday life, it is dialogue, it is conversation giving us insights, ideas and evidence that the national and international organisations can and I even say must apply.

We may find valuable ideas for new programmes, investments, partnerships and campaigns, among other options.

So, I thank USG Hochschild for agreeing to present on his very important work today.

I also asked the USG to update us on his other portfolio, as the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on digital cooperation.

We can participate in this virtual meeting. We can do so because we are among the lucky ones who have access to the technology and sufficient bandwidths.

The pandemic has shown how this is truly vital – but access is highly UNEQUAL.

Many citizens of the globe remain EXCLUDED from access to a quality and reliable internet.

The Secretary General’s roadmap alerts us that 87 per cent of individuals in developed countries used the Internet in 2019.

Now look at access and use in the Least Developed Countries. It stood on average at just 19 per cent!

In the Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, the figure is also below 50 per cent, on average.

That means the majority of people in these countries simply cannot participate in virtual learning.

They do not have the means to work from home, telemedicine is a distant dream and forget about staying connected with their families and friends.

They are unable to listen and participate in conversations like this one.

I would like to reiterate what I said during the launch of the SG’s roadmap on digital cooperation a few weeks ago.

The time is NOW for us to make the right decisions, take immediate action and implement initiatives to bring ALL women, men, boys and girls into the digital age.

We cannot leave them behind. We need to ensure their effective inclusion and participation in an ever more digitally connected world and humanity.

We are not talking luxury. This is a key precondition to attaining an inclusive sustainable development and address climate change.

The sad reality is that little financing and aid are used for this purpose. Only a small fraction of official development assistance is dedicated to digitalization, yet digital technology is at the core of participating in the global production and value chain.

It is my hope that the implementation of the roadmap will boost all dimensions of Broadband Internet access -- availability, accessibility, content and capacity to use. This must include the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS.

Let there be no doubt, the UN cannot prepare for and go through its next 75 years without listening to ALL peoples of the world.

And the peoples of the world cannot engage in that conversation unless we can speak with them – and hear them – where they are.

So with this, I once again thank USG Hochschild for his time and I invite you to begin your presentation.

Thank you.

Front Page Article:

Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States - #UN75

Opening Remarks at the Virtual High-level Panel Discussion on the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 2020

Opening Remarks by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

10 September 2020 New York, USA

Opening Remarks at the Virtual Webinar: Breaking Geographical Barriers - Leveraging the Role of Multilateralism to Achieve VPoA and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in LLDCs

Opening Remarks by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

28 July 2020 New York, USA

Breaking Geographical Barriers: Leveraging the Role of Multilateralism to Achieve VPoA and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in LLDCs

BACKGROUND

OBJECTIVES

FORMAT

EXPECTED OUTCOME

ORGANISERS

TARGET AUDIENCE

REGISTER

DOCUMENTS

Statement at the Briefing on UN75 Organised by UN-OHRLLS in Coordination with the Office of the Special Adviser to the SG on the Commemoration of the UN 75th Anniversary

Statement by Ms. Fekitamoeloa Katoa‘Utoikamanu, High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States

2 July 2020 New York, USA

10 September 2020
New York, USA

28 July 2020
New York, USA

2 July 2020
New York, USA