August 2016: In a report released ahead of the 71st UN General Assembly (UNGA), the UN Secretary-General provided an update on the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA) for landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) for the decade 2014-2024. Also transmitted to the UNGA was a draft Charter for the Technology Bank for the least developed countries (LDCs), outlining operational details of the Bank.

The report on VPoA implementation discusses coherence in the follow-up, implementation and review of the VPoA, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other global
 development frameworks. The VPoA was adopted at the second UN Conference on LLDCs in November 2014, and endorsed by the UNGA in resolution A/RES/69/137. The UN Secretary-General report on its implementation (A/71/313) provides an overview of recent socioeconomic developments in LLDCs, and considers the status of implementation of the priority areas of the Vienna Programme of Action (fundamental transit policy issues; infrastructure development and maintenance; international trade and trade facilitation; regional integration and cooperation; structural economic transformation; means of implementation).

According to the report, poverty remains prevalent in many LLDCs, although it has been on the decline since 2002. The report also shows that: LLDCs remain particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and have gradually lost forest area as a proportion of total land area, dropping from 17.1% in 2000 to 15.7% in 2015, compared with the world average of 30.7%; on the basis of the human development index, only five LLDCs rank among countries with high human development; and the average renewable energy share of LLDCs in the total final energy consumption category decreased from 44.3% in 2000 to 29.2% in 2012.

On priority areas, the report notes that: in 2015, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal signed a motor vehicle agreement that would further improve transit processes for landlocked Nepal and Bhutan; and the ninth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, held in Bali in 2013, saw the adoption of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, which sets out a series of measures to expedite the passage of goods across borders, with the main objectives being to reduce bureaucratic obstacles trade and decrease trade costs.

The report highlights the importance of: implementing the VPoA and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a coherent and integrated manner, including by prioritizing financing, capacity-building and technology; fully implementing the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), the outcome of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD); mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda and the VPoA coherently into national development planning; ensuring integrated monitoring of the 2030 Agenda and the VPoA, with the VPoA’s and SDGs’ indicators used complementarily; and continuing to review the special needs of LLDCs at the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF).

The report recommends that LLDCs consider: creating a high-level national multi-stakeholder body in order to give strong impetus to coherently implement all VPoA’s priorities with national medium-term plans and programmes; enhancing regional integration and cooperation, together with transit countries, by strengthening intraregional trade, engaging in bilateral and multilateral trade and transit-related agreements, developing regional infrastructure and harmonizing policies; and shifting away from commodities and low-value agricultural products to higher value-added activities and sectors, such as manufacturing, agro-industry and modern services. It also calls on the international community to consider supporting LLDCs in developing policies to address the challenges presented by land degradation, desertification, deforestation and climate change.

The UN Secretary-General’s note on ‘Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries’ (A/71/363) includes the draft Charter of the Technology Bank. The Charter was prepared by the Governing Council of the Bank, which provides support to the UN Secretary General towards the operationalization of the Technology Bank by 2017.

The draft Charter includes ten articles on: establishment, objectives, beneficiaries, organization, Council, Managing Director, personnel, capital costs and recurrent costs, status and authority, and the amendment of the Charter.

The draft Charter notes that the headquarters of the Bank shall be located in Gebze, Turkey. It states the Technology Bank should: strengthen the science, technology and innovation (STI) capacity of LDCs; promote the development and implementation of national and regional STI strategies; strengthen partnerships among STI-related public entities and with the private sector; promote cooperation among all stakeholders involved in STI; and promote and facilitate the identification and utilization of and access to appropriate technologies by the LDCs, as well as their transfer to the LDCs, while respecting intellectual property rights. On beneficiaries, the Charter outlines that any LDC that graduates from the LDC category by decision of the UNGA shall remain a beneficiary of the activities of the Technology Bank for a period of at least five years after the date of graduation.

According to the draft Charter, the Technology Bank should be composed of: a Council, which shall serve as the governing body for the Bank; a Managing Director, who shall be responsible to the Council for the direction, administration, programming and coordination of the Bank; and an STI Supporting and Enabling Mechanism and an Intellectual Property Bank, as operational units, assisted by a Management Support, Partnerships and Coordination Unit. The Charter notes that the Bank shall have 13 members appointed by the UN Secretary-General who are experts in STI and development cooperation matters. It lists organizations who can participate as observers to the meeting of the Council, and adds that STI regional centres for LDCs in Africa and Asia can be established on the basis of voluntary contributions and if so decided by the Council.

On capital costs and recurrent costs of the Bank, the draft Charter states that those shall be met from voluntary contributions made by governmental or public sources, UN system organizations and other international and regional organizations; and non-governmental sources, including foundations, private sector entities and individuals. It also states that the funds of the Technology Bank shall be kept in a trust fund to be established by the Secretary-General. [Note by the Secretary-General: Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries] [Report of the Secretary-General: Implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014-2024] [Compilation of UN Secretary-General Reports for UNGA 71]