LDC Watch Events

Civil Society Assembly for Assessing Development Challenges in African Least Developed Countries (LDCs): Reviewing the Brussels Programme of Action (BPoA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) towards the Fourth UN Conference on LDCs (LDC IV)

1.0 Background and Rationale

The African continent is home to the largest number of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)  . In 1971, when the United Nations (UN) introduced the special category of LDCs, only 15 LDCs were identified in Africa. Today, the fact that African LDCs has more than doubled to 33, therefore calls for a serious rethink of development policies and programmes pursued in the continent. Although the time frame of a decade (2001-2010) set aside for implementing the Brussels Programme of Action (BPoA) is concluding in 2010, and the time frame for achieving MDGs by 2015 has already crossed almost two-third of its timeline, there are rare evidences that the situation of the LDCs, particularly of African LDCs, can improve remarkably. It signifies that there is limited progress, if any, towards achieving the MDGs including the BPoA in LDCs within the targeted dates. The overall implications of the current trend as revealed in the LDCs shows that broad-based success in achieving progress towards the MDGs is elusive in the LDCs. As had been discussed in the Least Developed Countries Report, 2008: Growth, Poverty and the Terms of Development Partnership, it is strongly believed that unless the achievement of the MDGs is properly placed in an economic development framework and efforts are focused on generating productive jobs and livelihoods rather than just increasing the provision of public services directly linked to these goals, this situation is likely to remain unchanged.

Like adding insult upon injury, the global financial, food, fuel, debt and climate crises have cumulatively contributed to undermine the limited growth and development that had been achieved by the LDCs in the past (The Least Developed Countries Report, 2009: The State and Development Governance). However, situational updates on the spread and magnitude of these crises and the impacts on the poverty-stricken people of African LDCs are not available regularly. The problems faced by people in African LDCs, have multi-dimensional aspects. The people of most of these countries are living under extreme poverty, and are suffering from lack of adequate food and nutrition.  The incidence of extreme poverty, measured as the proportion of the people living on less than US$ 1 a day, has reduced from 44% in 1994 to 36% in 2005; however, the absolute number of extremely poor people had continued to rise (The Least Developed Countries Report 2008: Growth, Poverty and the Terms of Development Partnership).

Illiteracy, poor health, injustice and exclusion from development and political governance are other characteristics of these countries. Hunger, unemployment and loss of livelihoods among the critical masses have hit the African LDCs the hardest – coupled with increasing scarcity of land-based resources and water, declining investment and rising rates of urbanization. The ever growing humanitarian crisis induced by unprecedented climate change phenomena has already displaced a large chunk of LDC populations not only internally but also beyond borders. Debt crisis is on the rise and the inflow of Official Development Assistance (ODA) on which LDC development finance greatly depends is falling due to the global economic recession. All such development impediments have often fuelled social unrest, political instability and conflicts in LDCs. The Least Developed Countries Report 2009 rightly states that “The shortcomings of the current development paradigm need to be addressed” and that “LDCs need to find new forms of development governance that are appropriate for the twenty-first century”. The economic growth witnessed in LDCs by and large lacks the vital component of human well-being and is lop-sided, therefore only widening the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. A more sustainable and inclusive development model is imperative; this model must place production, productive capacities and productive employment opportunities as strategic priorities in the development policies and programmes of the LDCs.

Unfortunately, not only the state actors, but also the non-state actors including civil society lack capacity in coordination and resources to cope with the prevalent crises of various magnitudes in LDCs. There are cases where civil societies are either non-existent or have limited coordination with other development actors. Therefore, there is an urgent need to initiate a process so as to establish and strengthen an LDC-focussed civil society campaign and mechanism with proper follow-up processes for the development of the LDCs. Collaborative and concerted efforts by all actors are important to address the added development upheavals due to rising food and fuel prices, climate change catastrophes and the economic and financial crises that have further undermined the possibility of achieving the MDGs including the BPoA in LDCs.

For the LDCs, the upcoming MDG Review Summit in September 2010 and the Fourth United Nations Conference on the LDCs (LDC IV) in 2011 are promising opportunities to make a proper assessment of the existing development challenges and to further strategise on the way forward in building up a pro-poor agenda for poverty eradication and sustainable development in LDCs. The MDG Review Summit will undertake a comprehensive review of the Millennium Declaration and MDGs so as to reduce the lapses, if any, in days ahead whereas the LDC IV will primarily review the status of implementation of the BPoA for the LDCs for the Decade 2001-2010 that was adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on LDCs (LDC III) held in Brussels in May 2001, towards a next-generation LDC development agenda.

Against this background, LDC Watch  in collaboration with two of its key partners, the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN OHRLLS) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) is organising the African Civil Society Assembly on 4-5 March 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia just prior to the official Regional Review of the BPoA in Africa that is being organised by the UNECA on 8-9 March. LDC Watch was established in 2001, and as the only international LDC civil society network engaging in both policy advocacy and campaigns in the interest of the LDCs, LDC Watch has been officially mandated by the OHRLLS High Representative to lead the civil society process towards the LDC IV that is scheduled to take place in 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey and hence, this African Assembly is a part of the CSO preparatory process to feed into the LDC IV including the upcoming MDG Review Summit in September 2010. The Assembly will produce a statement that would feed into the official Regional Review of BPoA in Africa on 8-9 March.

2.0 Objectives

The twin objectives of the African Civil Society Assembly are:

• To assess and review the implementation of the BPoA and MDGs in African LDCs including in the context of the economic, financial, food, climate climate and debt crises.
• To strengthen civil society alliances in African LDCs and further build strategic alliances with the LDC governments, the Africa Union (AU), the UN agencies and other relevant stakeholders and actors, towards an effective engagement at the LDC IV in 2011 including the MDG Review Summit in September 2010.

3.0 Methodology

To achieve the objectives, a broad-based participatory and inclusive process will be followed in order to ensure that the African civil society organisations (CSOs) initiate and continue their engagement with all stakeholders in the long run. LDC Watch will play the role of a facilitator to the process.

4.0 African Assembly

The two-day long African Assembly will be convened on 4-5 March 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This Assembly will take stock of the development challenges specifically in relation to the BPoA and the MDGs in African LDCs at the local/national and regional levels. In this regard, the Assembly will review the effectiveness of the implementation of the BPoA and the MDGs and the role played by CSOs and other relevant stakeholders. It will analyze the concerns and challenges of CSOs at the national and regional levels and will initiate the necessary preparations for an effective engagement of CSOs towards the LDC IV in 2011 including the MDG Review Summit in September 2010.

More specifically, the Assembly aims to:

• Review the policies and programmes of African LDC governments, their development partners, the UN agencies and other multi-lateral institutions with regard to the implementation of the BPoA and the MDGs, including focus on the issues of universal access to basic services and domestic productive capacity.
• Raise the level of awareness among CSOs for their meaningful contribution and engagement on the MDG Review Summit and the LDC IV, respectively.
• Strategize on the effective role of CSOs towards the LDC IV in 2011 including MDG Review Summit in September 2010.
• Produce an outcome document to immediately feed into the official Regional Review of BPoA in Africa on 8-9 March in Addis Ababa.

The Assembly aims to bring together at least one CSO representative from each of the 33 African LDCs including Haiti in the Caribbean; representatives of Asia-Pacific LDCs; government representatives; the UN-OHRLLS, UNECA, UNCTAD, UNMC and other relevant UN agencies; and the AU. In addition, representatives of other multi-lateral institutions; LDC Watch network and development partners and other relevant stakeholders will also be invited to the AA.

5.0 Expected Outcomes

• Shared knowledge and understanding among the different stakeholders on the status and issues of the BPoA and MDGs in the African LDCs.
• Strengthened capacity of African LDC CSOs to take on the issues of the BPoA and MDGs by sustained advocacy and campaigns.
• Enhanced networks, alliances, campaigns and policy advocacy at the national, regional and global levels towards poverty eradication and sustainable development in the LDCs.
• Produced and disseminated CSO position papers on the 1) Impact of the Financial Crisis on African LDCs 2) BPoA and MDGs in African LDCs and 3) Food Crisis, Livelihoods & the Impact of Climate Change in African LDCs.
• Established functional mechanism for follow up towards the LDC IV in 2011 including the MDG Review Summit in September 2010.
• Expanded LDC Watch network in African LDCs.
• Produced an outcome document to immediately feed into the official Regional Review of BPoA in Africa on 8-9 March in Addis Ababa.