13 May 2019: The co-facilitators of negotiations on the high-level midterm review of the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA) have released a roadmap for the negotiations. The VPoA addresses the needs of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and covers the decade 2014-2024. The comprehensive midterm review meeting is expected to take place in November 2019.
In their letter to UN Member States, co-facilitators Doma Tshering, Permanent Representative of Bhutan, and Jan Kickert, Permanent Representative of Austria, indicate that the zero draft of the political declaration from the review should be released on 16 June 2019, followed by a presentation of the zero draft on 18 June.
At the 18 June session, the co-facilitators note, they will brief delegates and seek their comments on the proposed structure and content of the draft, and on the roadmap of intergovernmental negotiations. This will be followed by the first, second and third informal consultations on the political declaration, expected to take place on 21 June, 27 June and 1 July respectively.
The high-level midterm review is referred to in UNGA resolution 72/232 on the follow-up to the second UN Conference on LLDCs. Per the resolution, the UNGA decides to convene a comprehensive high-level midterm review no later than December 2019, as called for in paragraph 78 of the VPoA. It also calls on the review to enable the sharing of best practices and lessons learned, and identify obstacles and constraints encountered, actions and initiatives needed to overcome them, and new challenges and emerging issues.
According to the website of the UN Office of the High Representative for the least developed countries, LLDCs, and small island developing States (OHRLLS), the conference will take place in November 2019, following national, regional and global-level preparations. As part of this preparatory process, the website outlines national reviews from March to December 2018, regional review meetings in February, March and July 2019, and pre-conference thematic events from May 2018 through late 2019. The website also notes the organization of an ambassadorial retreat on the midterm review from 7-8 May 2019, in New York, US, to exchange views on the political declaration, review progress made so far and identify ways that lessons from the first five years of implementation of the VPoA (2014-2019) can be applied to the remaining five years (until 2024).
OHRLLS is in charge of coordinating the Conference’s preparatory process, with support from relevant UN system organizations. [Co-facilitators’ letter on negotiation roadmap] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on co-facilitators’ appointment]