The 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) concluded with adoption of the ‘Doha Political Declaration’ by the world leaders.
Key points
- The LDC5 conference was held under the theme “From Potential to Prosperity” at Doha, Qatar from March 5-9, 2023.
- The declaration focuses on implementing the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) — the 10-year plan to put the world’s 46 most vulnerable countries back on track to achieving the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
- It was adopted a year after the text of DPoA for the Decade (2022-2031) was agreed upon during the first part of the LDC5 conference on March 17, 2022 in New York.
- There are currently 46 economies designated by the United Nations as the least developed countries (LDCs), entitling them to preferential market access, aid, special technical assistance, and capacity-building on technology among other concessions.
- They have contributed minimally to carbon dioxide emissions, but disproportionately bear the burden of climate change impacts.
- The 46 LDCs are being hit the hardest by multiple crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, growing inequalities, rising debt burdens and economic shocks.
