Arjun Karki

JUL 19 - The present situation of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is alarming and inhumane as the majority of the LDCs peoples are still deprived of even the bare necessities of life such as adequate food, healthcare, water and sanitation, housing, decent work, energy and education. The international political economy presents a pessimistic image of the current world order. The richest 10 percent of people on this planet hold 57 percent of global income, while the poorest 20 percent has less than 1 percent; this one percent also includes the share of the LDCs. LDC livelihoods, which are already inadequate, are further threatened by the expansion of corporate control over agriculture, forests and fisheries. Productive employment and decent wages are not available for a huge percentage of the LDC labor force, and 40 percent of youth— who comprise 60 percent of the LDC population—are unemployed. These economic burdens are further exacerbated by war, conflict, political instability, violence and women’s oppression, which is prevalent in the LDCs. This is the result of a deeply flawed system of injustice, inequity, exclusion and marginalisation that deprives LDC peoples of the universal right to development, peace and freedom. It is all too clear that peace and political stability are prerequisites for sustainable development in LDCs, as development makes no sense for hot spots like Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where people live in constant fear for their lives every ticking second.

The fourth UN conference on the Least Developed Countries concludes making pledges to support LDCs to help themselves. But will these pledges translate into action?

By Bhagirath Yogi in Istanbul

For five-days (9-13 May), the Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Center looked like a festival ground. Some 9,000 people, attired in their traditional dresses, had gathered in the historic city from around the world. The aim was to lobby with the western developed countries to commit more to support one of the poorest sections of the world’s community. But, as delegates and activists were returning to their respective countries, there was little for them to take back. “We had high hope that things would change this time, especially after all these crises in the world. Unfortunately in the produced document, we see cynicism, it is business as usual. Developed, countries do not seem ready for a new kind of partnership, it is really disappointing,” said Demba Mousaa Dembele, a civil society activist from Senegal, who is also the chairperson of LDC Watch—a network of civil society organisations monitoring the progress of LDCs. The Istanbul Declaration and Istanbul Programme of Action (2011-2020), adopted by the member states of the United Nations at the conclusion of the summit, however, called for partnership for all the stakeholders to change the plight of the poorest people in the world.