The report updates on the Committee’s triennial review of the LDCs and its monitoring of countries that are graduating or have graduated from the list of LDCs.
It also updates on the discussion of graduation in the global context, as well as other activities related to supporting a smooth transition from the LDC category.
The Committee for Development Policy (CDP) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has published a report addressing the challenges and opportunities of innovation ecosystems for development, structural change, and equity. A contribution to the theme of ECOSOC’s 2024 session, the report will inform deliberations during the 2024 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in July.
The theme of the 2024 session of ECOSOC and the 2024 session of the HLPF is ‘Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: The effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions.’
Titled, ‘Committee for Development Policy: Report on the Twenty-sixth Session (4-8 March 2024),’ CDP’s report updates on the Committee’s triennial review of the least developed countries (LDCs), monitoring of countries that are graduating or have graduated from the list of LDCs, discussion of graduation in the global context, and other activities related to supporting a smooth transition from the LDC category.
The report highlights that while innovation can be a powerful driver of sustainable development, its potential, especially in developing countries, “remains vastly underrealized.” As challenges and opportunities for harnessing technology for sustainable development are being reshaped by global crises and shifts in the innovation landscape, the report underlines the need to reassess science, technology, and innovation policy frameworks. It also identifies the need for “global institutions to create an effective national and global innovation system” that is fit for purpose.
The report highlights intellectual property rights (IPRs) as a key policy lever to advance development, structural change, and equity and to build resilience to crises, and stresses that “developing countries require policy frameworks for innovation tailored to their specific priorities.”
The report highlights CDP’s recommendation for graduation from the LDC category of Cambodia, Djibouti, and Senegal, along with its finding that those countries require a five-year preparatory period. The Committee deferred its decision on a possible recommendation for graduation of the Comoros and Myanmar to the 2027 triennial review when it will also consider whether Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania can be recommended for graduation. These countries met the graduation criteria in 2024 for the first time.
The report updates on CDP’s review of the development progress of three recently graduated countries (Bhutan, Equatorial Guinea, and Vanuatu) and six graduating countries (Angola, Bangladesh, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Nepal, São Tomé and Principe, and Solomon Islands). The Committee expressed concern over those countries’ limited national capacity to address challenges, including those stemming from rising food and fuel prices, less affordable finance, geopolitical tensions, volatile commodity prices, high transportation costs, and more frequent and severe disasters. It concluded that Angola no longer meets the criteria for graduation and that the graduation process can recommence when the country meets the criteria for graduation again.
The report also notes that following CDP’s review of how the changing global context is affecting processes and prospects of graduation from the LDC category, the Committee found that “global shocks and their interplay with domestic factors are posing significant challenges to countries already graduating, and dimming the graduation prospects of many remaining [LDCs].” [Publication: Committee for Development Policy: Report on the Twenty-sixth Session (4-8 March 2024)]