17 December 1981

United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974 containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974 containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, and 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international co-operation,

Reaffirming that the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade, adopted by the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth session, states, inter alia, that as an essential priority within the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade, the least developed countries - the economically weakest and poorest countries with the most formidable structural problems - require a special programme of sufficient size and intensity consistent with their national plans and priorities to make a decisive break from their past and present situation and their bleak prospects,

Recalling resolution 122 (V) of 3 June 1979 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in which the Conference decided, as one of its major priorities, to launch a Comprehensive New Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries in two phases, an Immediate Action Programme (1979-1981) and a Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s, and which was endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 34/210 of 19 December 1979,

Recalling also its resolutions 34/203 of 19 December 1979 and 35/205 of 16 December 1980 on convening a United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries with the objective of finalizing, adopting and supporting the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries,

Deeply concerned at the gravity of the deteriorating economic and social situation of the least developed countries and their dismal development during the past two decades, as well as their bleak development prospects for the 1980s,

Recalling that the objective of the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries is to transform the economies of those countries towards self-sustained development and enable them to provide internationally accepted minimum standards of nutrition, health, transport and communications, housing and education as well as job opportunities to all their citizens, particularly to the rural and urban poor,

Expressing deepest concern that, more than two years after the adoption of the Immediate Action Programme (1979-1981) contained in resolution 122 (V) of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, very limited progress has been made towards its implementation,

Reaffirming that there is an immediate need for a greatly expanded programme, including a major increase in the transfer of additional resources, to meet the critical needs of the least developed countries and to help them promote more rapid socio-economic development,

Stressing that external support should be forthcoming from all developed countries, developing countries in a position to do so, multilateral development institutions and other sources,

Emphasizing the particular importance of the contribution that economic co-operation among developing countries and technical co-operation among developing countries can make, inter alia, to the development of the least developed among them,

Recognizing the need for extensive public awareness throughout the world of the desperate plight of the least developed countries and the importance and objectives of the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries, adopted by the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries,

Taking note of the report of the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Paris from 1 to 14 September 1981,

Taking note also of the report of the Secretary-General on secretariat services for the follow-up, monitoring and implementation of the Substantial New Programme of Action,

1. Endorses the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries, adopted by the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Paris from 1 to 14 September 1981;

2. Expresses its appreciation to the Government and the people of France for acting as host to the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, as well as for their gracious hospitality, excellent arrangements and important contribution to the outcome of the Conference;

3. Calls upon all Member States as well as intergovernmental and multilateral institutions, the organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, and all others concerned to take immediate, concrete and adequate steps to implement the Substantial New Programme of Action as part of international action for the establishment of the new international economic order;

4. Emphasizes that, in view of their desperate socio-economic plight, the least developed countries need the urgent and special attention and the large-scale and continued support of the international community to enable them to progress towards self-reliant development, consistent with the plans and programmes of each least developed country;

5. Strongly urges all donor countries to implement their commitments, as contained in paragraphs 61 to 69 of the Substantial New Programme of Action, so as to achieve, in that regard, a substantial increase of assistance for the development of the least developed countries;

6. Reaffirms that the least developed countries have primary responsibility for their over-all development and that, although international support measures are vitally important, the domestic policies those countries pursue will be of critical importance for the success of their development efforts;

7. Urges all donor countries to make adequate special allocation to the Special Measures Fund for the Least Developed Countries of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Capital Development Fund, or through other suitable channels for the least developed countries, in order to provide extra resources needed by the Governments of those countries for more intensive planning efforts, feasibility studies and project preparation over the first half of the decade of the 1980s and, for that purpose, invites the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme to take appropriate action to mobilize additional resources for the activities under his administration;

8. Decides that regular review and monitoring of the progress in the implementation of the Substantial New Programme of Action at the national, regional, and global levels should be undertaken as envisaged in that Programme to maintain the momentum of commitments made by the international community and to promote the implementation of the plans and programmes of the least developed countries with a view to achieving accelerated growth rates and structural transformation of their economies;

9. Decides also that the Inter-Governmental Group on the Least Developed Countries of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at its high-level meeting in 1985 shall carry out the mid-term review, consider the possibility of holding a global review at the end of the decade, which might, inter alia, take the form of a United Nations conference on the least developed countries, and readjust, as appropriate, the Substantial New Programme of Action for the second half of the decade in order to ensure its full implementation, and decides also that the results shall be made available to it, so that they may be taken fully into account in the review and appraisal of the implementation of the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade;

10. Calls upon States, organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and other relevant agencies to give favourable response to invitations to participate in aid consultative groups or other arrangements to be established at the initiative of the least developed countries in accordance with paragraphs 110 to 116 of the Substantial New Programme of Action as a mechanism for regular and periodic review and implementation of that Programme and suggests that the first round of review meetings for that purpose at the country level should take place as soon as possible, preferably by 1983;

11. Invites the governing bodies of appropriate organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to take the necessary and appropriate measures for effective implementation and follow-up of the Substantial New Programme of Action within their respective spheres of competence and mandates;

12. Decides further to ensure that resources that will be made available to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other appropriate organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system are adequate for the effective follow-up, review, monitoring and implementation of the Substantial New Programme of Action, including those specified in the report of the Secretary-General on the secretariat services required, as well as in paragraph 8 of the present resolution;

13. Requests the Secretary-General, in conformity with paragraph 123 of the Substantial New Programme of Action, to entrust the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation, in close collaboration with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the executive secretaries of the regional commissions and the lead agencies for the aid groups, with the responsibility of ensuring at the Secretariat level the full mobilization and co-ordination of all organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system for the purpose of implementation and follow-up of the Substantial New Programme of Action and, for this purpose, to retain and effectively utilize the system of focal points in each United Nations agency, which was used in the preparations for the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session on the implementation of the present resolution.