At 5th UN LDC summit, African leaders urge West to end 'era of unkept promises'

As the fifth United Nations Conference of Least Developed Countries (LDC5) kicked off in Qatar's Doha on March 5, African leaders have urged the international community and developed nations of the collective West to deliver on commitments, strengthen international solidarity and increase support for lesser-developed countries. 

According to sources, participants are expected to put forward new ideas, raise pledges of support for the world's poorest nations and spur on meeting previously agreed commitments over the five-day meet.

While speaking at the fifth United Nations Conference of Least Developed Countries (LDC5), senior African politicians claimed that their countries are experiencing hunger, human rights violations, armed conflicts, environmental deterioration and natural disasters, as well as economic constraints associated with global turbulence and debt burdens. African leaders further contended that there is a need to address issues jointly as they cannot be solved in isolation. They further renewed calls for debt relief and infrastructure investments that promote economic development.

'Victim of geopolitical ambitions of western powers': President of CAR

Speaking at the LDC5, President of the Central African Republic (CAR) Faustin Archange Touadera termed his resource-rich country as a victim of the geopolitical ambitions of western powers. He said, "Though endowed with vast reserves of gold, diamonds, cobalt, oil and uranium, the country remains, more than 60 years after independence, one of the poorest in the world."  Faustin Archange Touadera further noted that the nation has been subjected to looting and experienced mostly artificially created political instability.

He claimed that recurrent terrorist attacks made the state ungovernable, hindering the government’s efforts to stabilise the political situation and recuperate the economy.

'Conference can’t be another session of promises that are not kept': Chad’s President

Addressing the fifth United Nations Conference of Least Developed Countries (LDC5), Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno stated the untapped potential and resources of Chad. He said that vital sectors such as agriculture and technology are yet to be developed. He contended that the conference can not be another session of promises that are not kept. He said, "Poor nations do not need more summits, what they need is concrete action aimed at making people’s lives better."

Speaking on similar lines, Malawian President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, who is also the chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries, called on development partners across the globe to pursue a new future in which every nation is regarded as equal, while multilateral cooperation dominates international relations. The President stressed that the international community must push forward what it started, referring to commitments of the Doha Programme of Action and other regional and international agendas.

Further, the President of Djibouti Ismael Omar Guelleh contended that the international community has repeatedly fallen short on the goals set at previous conferences, in particular in terms of ensuring food security and providing financial assistance, He urged global actors to reflect on these failures to understand the underlying reasons behind them.

'It’s time the era of unkept promises comes to an end': UN Chief 

While addressing the conference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mentioned that the least-developed countries appeared to be left stranded amid growing crises, uncertainty, climate change effects and global injustices, sources claimed. Further, he mentioned that the least-developed countries are forced into the rawest deals by an unfair and mostly dysfunctional international financial system.

Antonio Guterres said, "25 developing nations spend more than 20% of their revenues on debt servicing. Least developed countries need a revolution of support and it’s time the era of unkept promises comes to an end."

It is worth mentioning that the opening day of the general debate at the summit saw an announcement of a financial contribution of $60 million that will be earmarked for supporting the United Nations programs in LDCs, including the implementation of the New Doha Programme of Action, adopted during the first part of the LDC5 conference on March 17, 2022.