Commodities

A/RES/61/190No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 51dCommodities, published in 2007.

What other versions does this mandate have?

22 versions · 1987–2025

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2025).

2025A/RES/80/124CommoditiesLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/138CommoditiesCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/194CommoditiesCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/204CommoditiesCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/205CommoditiesCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Reiterates the importance of maximizing the contribution of the commodity sector to sustained economic growth and sustainable development, while continuing with diversification efforts in commodity-dependent developing countries;

Recalls the potential of regional integration and cooperation to improve the effectiveness of traditional commodity sectors and support diversification efforts;

Recognizes that developed countries account for two thirds of non-fuel commodity imports, and expresses the urgent need for supportive international policies and measures to improve the functioning of the commodity markets through efficient and transparent mechanisms, including commodity exchanges;

Reiterates the importance of expanded South-South trade and investment in commodities;

Emphasizes the need for efforts by the developing countries that are heavily dependent on primary commodities to continue to promote a domestic policy and an institutional environment that encourage diversification and liberalization of the trade and export sectors and enhance competitiveness;

Reaffirms that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development, and recognizes that an effective enabling environment at the national and international levels entails, inter alia, a sound macroeconomic framework, competitive markets, clearly defined property rights, an attractive investment climate, good governance, the absence of corruption and well-designed regulatory policies that protect the public interest and generate public confidence in market operations;

Also reaffirms the commitments made in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and the decision of the General Council of the World Trade Organization of 1 August 2004 to meaningfully integrate the developing and the least developed countries into the multilateral trading system, and calls for the successful and timely completion of the Doha round of trade negotiations with the full realization of the development dimensions of the Doha Work Programme;

Expresses concern over the suspension of the Doha round of trade negotiations, and calls for their early resumption and successful development-oriented outcome adhering fully to the agreed mandate in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the Framework adopted by the General Council of the World Trade Organization in its decision of 1 August 2004 and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration;

Calls upon developed countries and developing countries declaring themselves in a position to do so to provide duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all products originating from all least developed countries, consistent with the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration;

Encourages developing countries, with the necessary support of donor countries and the international community, to formulate specific commodity policies so as to contribute to the facilitation of trade expansion, the reduction of vulnerability and the improvement of livelihood and food security, by:

Creating an enabling environment that encourages the participation of rural producers and small farmers;

Continuing the diversification of the commodity sector and enhancing its competitiveness in developing countries that are heavily dependent on commodities;

Increasing technology development and improving information systems, institutions and human resources;

Stresses that the adoption or enforcement of any measures necessary to protect human, animal and plant life or health should not be applied in a manner that would constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable use of non-tariff measures, non-trade barriers or other standards to unfairly restrict access of developing countries’ products, reaffirms in this regard that developing countries should play an increasing role in the formulation of, inter alia, safety, environmental and health standards, and recognizes the need to facilitate the increased and meaningful participation of developing countries in the work of relevant international standard-setting organizations;

Calls for capacity-building support by the relevant international organizations and by developed countries, encourages the private sector, in the context of corporate responsibility and accountability as well as responsible business practices, to enable developing countries to put in place measures that are appropriate and necessary for meeting market requirements and standards, inter alia, quality control standards, and invites the relevant intergovernmental organizations to establish procedures for elaborating product and process standards that take into account the interests and capabilities of developing countries without jeopardizing the legitimate objective for developed as well as developing countries of protecting human, animal and plant life or health consistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the relevant agreements of the World Trade Organization;

Invites international financial organizations, other donors and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to revisit the operational modalities of international commodity, as well as to consider finance and risk management facilities and programmes;

Stresses that technical assistance and capacity-building aimed at improving the competitiveness of commodity producers is particularly important, and urges the donor community to increase resources for commodity-specific, financial and technical assistance, in particular for human and institutional capacity-building, as well as infrastructure development of developing countries, with a view to reducing their institutional bottlenecks and transaction costs and enhancing their commodity trade and development in accordance with national development plans;

Emphasizes the importance of official development assistance for agriculture and rural development, and in this regard calls upon the donor community to reinforce its assistance in those sectors, and to increase its financial and technical support for activities aimed at addressing commodity issues, in particular the needs and problems of commodity-dependent developing countries;

Invites developing countries, in cooperation with developed countries and relevant international organizations, to establish medium- and long-term commodity development programmes geared towards enhancing research for product diversification and improving the production, productivity, value addition and competitiveness of developing countries’ commodities;

Underlines the need to strengthen the Common Fund for Commodities, and encourages it, in cooperation with the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other relevant bodies, to continue to strengthen the activities covered by its Second Account in developing countries with its supply chain concept of improving access to markets and reliability of supply, enhancing diversification and addition of value, improving the competitiveness of commodities, strengthening the market chain, improving market structures, broadening the export base and ensuring the effective participation of all stakeholders;

Calls upon developed countries, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other relevant international organizations to support training and awareness-building programmes on the functioning of commodity exchanges and their use, in a development-oriented manner, in supporting and enabling small farmers and in supporting capacity-building programmes in developing countries in accordance with national development plans;

Reiterates the role of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in addressing commodities issues in a comprehensive way in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions and the provisions of the São Paulo Consensus, adopted by the Conference at its eleventh session, and in this regard calls upon the donor community to provide the resources required to enable the Conference to undertake these activities;

Expresses concern that the International Task Force on Commodities launched at the eleventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has not yet entered into force, and calls upon interested stakeholders to provide voluntary financial support for the timely establishment of the Task Force;

Requests the Secretary-General, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, to submit a report with recommendations on the implementation of the present resolution and to report on world commodity trends and prospects to the General Assembly at its sixty-third session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-third session, under the item entitled “Macroeconomic policy questions”, the sub-item entitled “Commodities”.

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Commodities

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