19 March 2010: A Special high-level meeting of UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), took place on 18-19 March 2010, in New York, US, under the theme “Building on Monterrey and Doha: towards achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.” During the meeting, participants highlighted climate change as a pressing challenge for international financial institutions.
Charles Gore, Head of the Policy Analysis and Research Branch of UNCTAD’s Division for Africa, least developed countries and Special Programmes, said current international support mechanisms focused on trade need to be broadened to include finance and technology. He added that knowledge and technology will become increasingly important in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro underlined that “Now is the time,” and that together with next week’s High-level Dialogue of the UN General Assembly on Financing for Development, this meeting would provide crucial inputs to the high-level review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), scheduled to take place from 20-22 September 2010. Highlighting the particular situation of the poorest countries, including those that had been pushed by natural disasters and climate change into emergency situations not of their making, she stressed the need for coordinated, comprehensive support.
The meeting consisted of three informal thematic debates on: mobilizing domestic and international resources to fund existing and emerging MDG implementation gaps; supporting rehabilitation, recovery and development efforts of developing countries with special needs and those facing humanitarian emergency situations; and enhancing coherence and consistency of the international monetary, financial and trading systems in support of development. [Meeting Website]