Statement by Dr. Arjun Karki, International Co-ordinator of LDC Watch at the LDC Ambassadorial Meetings in United Nations Headquarters
New York, 12 September 2011

I am honored and pleased to make this statement on behalf of the LDC Watch and Civil Society Organisations involved in the monitoring and implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action.

1.ISTANBUL PROGRAME OF ACTION (IPoA)

We recognize and appreciate the strong efforts of LDC governments, UN OHRLLS and the Turkish government as the host of UN LDC IV to develop tangible/substantial commitments in the Istanbul Programme of Action.

Excellencies,

We are very pleased to brief you that AS THE CIVIL SOCIETY GROUP we have already started doing our part in fulfilling the roles and responsibilities for the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action.  It gives me great pleasure to share that, after the Istanbul conference, we have already conducted civil society country strategy meetings in PDR of Lao, DRC, Tanzania, Rwanda, Senegal, Madagascar and Malawi. Similarly, we also recently had the Pacific regional strategy meeting on the Implementation of Istanbul Programme of Action in New Zealand in the sideline of the Pacific Island Forum. We are likewise planning to conduct the Asia strategy meeting in December 2011 in Bangkok and the Africa strategy meeting in Addis Ababa in January 2012.

Excellencies,

We are very much concerned about the effective and timely implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action. We must immediately learn from our past failures and be more ambitious and forward looking.  We do appreciate the commitment that you have made, to effectively implement the Istanbul Programme of Action and to graduate at least half of the LDCs by the end of its implementation.  However, if we do not start taking actions now itself, it will be very difficult for us to succeed in graduating half of the LDCs by the year 2020. Hence we must not delay any further.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to carry out the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action forward as a Global Campaign against poverty and vulnerability. For this the collective involvement of development partners, UN agencies and LDC member states is imperative. It is very important for us to mobilize the CSOs, National Parliament, Bi-lateral, Multi-lateral and Inter-governmental agencies urgently for the implementation of IPoA.

We in civil society urge our governments and international institutions to promote new development approaches that are people-focused, rights-based, democratic and ecologically sustainable. In simple terms this means a model of development that directly responds to the people’s needs – including realizing their right to food, land, education, and access to health services and overall human development

2. Rio+20

The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil made powerful commitments on sustainable development, and resulted in the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biodiversity and Agenda 21. Yet even 20 years after that, our planet is still confronted with unprecedented ecological and socio-economic crises. The upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio in 2012 (also known as Rio+20) must come to the realization that the attainment of sustainable development goals is increasingly imperiled in the current period of heightened economic globalization.

There is also much discussion going around on sustainable development and the green economy leading up to the Rio+20. Therefore, we as members of LDCs need to discuss the policy agenda on Rio+20 in-depth, particularly the social and development implications of the Rio themes of “green economy” and “institutional framework for sustainable development” in LDCs.The recent spate of crises on food, energy and climate and the increasing poverty underscore the urgency to push for a global shift to a sustainable development pathway. The expanded and sustained participation of civil society, parliamentarians and social movements in policy debates is crucial to promoting a transformative agenda towards development that truly upholds the interests of the poor and the marginalized, today as well as in the future generations in LDCs.

Excellencies,

In order to address the increasing impacts of climate change, including greater frequency and severity of natural disasters such as floods, drought, the melting of glaciers and related hazards such as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), which are leading to problems of natural resource scarcity, loss of forests and biodiversity, declining agricultural productivity, increasing food insecurity, health impacts, rise in sea levels and coastal flooding, the Least Developed Countries need additional, predictable and adequate technical and financial support for climate change adaptation and mitigation in line with international commitments including the IPoA. In the run up to the Rio+20, the LDCs need to build on the progress made, and address the gaps and new and continuing challenges such as climate change, poverty, vulnerability, social exclusion, environmental degradation, and atmospheric pollution.

We as the civil society group urge member states to realize sustainable outcomes and impacts of their development actions, focusing on results and conditions for lasting change for people, with special emphasis on poor and marginalized populations, ensuring an enduring legacy for present and future generations.
Mr. President, we highly support the secretary general’s recent call for urgent action on climate change pointing to the severe famine and drought in the Horn of Africa region.  Crisis such as these are a major challenge for us in the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action and should in-fact serve to re-awaken the spirit in us to strive towards our targets set in the Istanbul Program of Action. Therefore the need of the hour is the instantaneous implementation of the Istanbul Program of Action on the part of the international community.

3. BUSAN

Mr. President, I would also like to take this opportunity today to draw our attention towards the forthcoming High-level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. In Busan, Korea, from 29th November to 1st December 2011, more than 2000 delegates, including high level government officials, donors, multilateral organizations and CSOs, will be coming together for the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness to take stock of progress against the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action and define a new framework on the quality of aid for the future. However, discussions at Busan will go beyond aid effectiveness, and will touch on development as the core of major global challenges. The 4th High Level Forum in Busan presents an opportunity for the LDCs and Istanbul Programme of Action to reform the existing aid architecture to embrace sustainable and people-centered development approaches, which is essential in pursuing a new development path by empowering the poor and marginalized to claim their rights and by building a development path that is successful in alleviating poverty as well as sustainable in the long term.

Responding to the poor performance of the current development model in achieving sustainable development results, in Busan the LDCs need to make a call for fundamental reforms of the global development system. This needs to see a move away from aid, towards development effectiveness and should be pursued through a new international development architecture that is inclusive, rights-based and democratic, promoting sovereignty and coherence. Similarly, we as LDCs need to advocate for an inclusive Busan Compact at HLF4, which brings together specific time-bound commitments and initiates fundamental reforms in the global governance of development cooperation and creates an equitable and inclusive multilateral forum for policy dialogue and a standard setting that can build a world without LDCs.

Thank you all for your kind attention!!