The President of the UN General Assembly announced the establishment of a board of advisors to enhance support for the least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and small island developing States (SIDS), which he said comprise the 91 most vulnerable UN Member States.

The board includes representatives of the three groups of countries: the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS); the LLDCs group; and the LDCs group. From the UN system, members include the leaders of: the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS (OHRLLS), the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the UN Office on Disaster Risk Reduction. A UN Foundation representative is also a member.

The board will provide advice on vulnerable countries’ “bottlenecks, challenges, and vulnerabilities.” It also aims to support specific UNGA mandates for the 75th session related to vulnerable countries, including a thematic event to be held jointly with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to gather input for the upcoming Fifth UN Conference on the LDCs (LDC-V), which is scheduled for January 2022.

The UNGA is also mandated to hold a high-level meeting on middle-income countries on implementing the 2030 Agenda.

The Board will begin meeting in November 2020. [Remarks of UNGA President’s spokesperson] [Letter from UNGA President] [LDC-V webpage]