Follow-Up to the 2nd United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries

A/RES/73/243View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 23bFollow-up to the 2nd United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, published in 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

11 versions · 2016–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/151

2025A/RES/80/151Follow-up to the 3rd United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing CountriesLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/219Follow-up to the 3rd United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing CountriesCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/163Follow-up to the 2nd United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing CountriesCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/246Follow-up to the 2nd United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing CountriesCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/217Follow-up to the 2nd United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing CountriesCompare with previous version

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

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Landlocked Developing Countries Programme Implementation Sustainable Development Transit Countries Transport Facilitation Transport Infrastructure

What does this mandate say?

59 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014–2024;

Welcomes the recognition of the special needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, and affirms that their effective implementation, together with the implementation of the six priority areas of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014–2024, can drive the social and economic progress of landlocked developing countries and assist in their transformation from landlocked to land-linked countries;

Recalls paragraph 11 of its resolution 67/290 of 9 July 2013, and stresses that the concerns and specific challenges of landlocked developing countries should be given consideration, as appropriate, in the implementation, follow-up and review process of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Recognizes that landlocked developing countries face specific challenges in their efforts towards the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, and the pursuit of sustainable development, and in this regard underlines the importance of continued international support to complement the efforts of landlocked developing countries;

Also recognizes that efforts will need to be scaled up and sustained in order to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030 in landlocked developing countries;

Invites the landlocked developing countries, transit countries, their development partners, the United Nations system and all other actors to implement the relevant actions, consistent with national priorities, agreed upon in the Vienna Programme of Action in its six priority areas in a coordinated, coherent and expeditious manner;

Reiterates its invitation to development partners to provide targeted technical and financial support, as appropriate, towards the implementation of the specific actions listed in the Vienna Programme of Action;

Invites Member States that have not yet done so to mainstream the Vienna Programme of Action into their national and sectoral development strategies in order to ensure its effective implementation, and encourages development partners, the United Nations system and the relevant international and regional organizations to continue to provide technical support, within their respective mandates, to the landlocked developing countries in their efforts to mainstream the Vienna Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into their national development strategies;

Encourages landlocked developing countries that have not yet done so to mainstream the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into their national development planning and foster coherence in its implementation with the Vienna Programme of Action;

Stresses that the harmonization, simplification and standardization of rules and documentation should be promoted, including the full and effective implementation of international conventions on transport and transit and bilateral, subregional and regional agreements, and invites Member States that have not joined the existing conventions to consider the possibility of accession, stresses also that cooperation on fundamental transit policies, laws and regulations between landlocked developing countries and their transit neighbours is crucial for the effective and integrated solution of cross-border trade and transit transport problems, and underlines that this cooperation should be promoted on the basis of the mutual interests of both landlocked developing countries and transit countries;

Recognizes the importance of addressing the special needs of landlocked developing countries, inter alia, by establishing and promoting efficient transit transport systems, including roads, railroads and inland waterways, that link landlocked developing countries to international markets, reaffirms that the Vienna Programme of Action constitutes a fundamental framework for genuine partnerships between landlocked and transit developing countries and their development partners at the national, bilateral, subregional, regional and global levels, and in this regard highlights the need to establish secure, reliable, efficient, high-quality, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including transit transport systems, renewable energy and information and communications technology, with the support of development partners, multilateral financial and development institutions and regional banks;

Notes that, despite the continued growth of air passenger and freight transport, landlocked developing countries are still faced with low volumes of freight transported by air, and stresses that air transport is particularly important, as it provides landlocked developing countries with direct access to international markets;

Invites landlocked developing countries and transit countries to consider ratifying, as appropriate, relevant international trade and transport facilitation conventions;

Underlines that infrastructure development plays a key role in reducing the cost of development for landlocked developing countries and that the development and maintenance of transit transport infrastructure, information and communications technology and energy infrastructure are crucial for landlocked developing countries in order to reduce high trading costs, improve their competitiveness and become fully integrated into the global market;

Stresses that the magnitude of the resources required to invest in infrastructure development and maintenance remains a major challenge and requires the forging of international, regional, subregional and bilateral cooperation on infrastructure projects, the allocation of more resources from national budgets, the effective deployment of international development assistance and multilateral financing in the development and maintenance of infrastructure and strengthening of the role of the private sector, and recognizes that both public and private investment have key roles to play in infrastructure financing, including through development banks, development finance institutions and tools and mechanisms such as public-private partnerships, blended finance, which combines concessional public finance, non-concessional private finance and expertise from the public and private sector, special purpose vehicles, non-recourse project financing, risk mitigation instruments and pooled funding structures;

Calls upon the landlocked developing countries and transit countries, in a coordinated manner, to develop and upgrade international transport and transit corridors encompassing all modes of transportation, such as inland waterways, roads, rail networks, ports and pipelines, in order to address the special development needs and challenges of landlocked developing countries;

Underlines the significance of international transport corridors for reducing trade costs and promoting regional sustainable development, recognizes that joint regional efforts to reduce transit time through corridor facilitation contribute to improving export competitiveness and attracting more business to landlocked developing countries, and invites the international community to provide, within existing resources, support in this regard;

Acknowledges that impediments to private investment in infrastructure exist on both the supply and the demand side and that insufficient investment is due in part to inadequate infrastructure plans and an insufficient number of well-prepared investable projects, along with private sector incentive structures that are not necessarily appropriate for investing in many long-term projects and risk perceptions of investors, encourages landlocked developing countries to embed resilient and quality infrastructure investment plans into their national sustainable development strategies, while also strengthening their domestic enabling environments, and calls upon the international community to provide technical support to landlocked developing countries to translate plans into concrete project pipelines, as well as support for individual implementable projects, including for feasibility studies, the negotiation of complex contracts and project management;

Encourages multilateral development banks, including regional banks, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to address gaps in trade, transport and transit-related regional infrastructure, including by completing missing links connecting, inter alia, landlocked developing countries within regional networks;

Invites the multilateral financial and development institutions to consider how they can best support landlocked developing countries with infrastructure development, including through project financing, planning for operations and maintenance, technical and regulatory advice and project preparation;

Stresses the importance of universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services and the need for accelerating sustainable energy for all in landlocked developing countries, including through innovative partnerships;

Underlines that greater integration of landlocked developing countries into world trade and global as well as regional value chains is vital for increasing their competitiveness and diversification and ensuring their economic development, and invites the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States to provide assistance, within existing resources, to landlocked developing countries to strengthen their capacity to participate in regional and global value chains;

Recognizes that services sectors are important enablers of trade in goods and effective participation in international trade and global value chains, that efficient services sectors enhance productivity, reduce the cost of doing business and promote job creation and that landlocked developing countries should be supported so as to increase the share of services in their economies and exports, including through enabling policies;

Stresses that improved trade facilitation, including through further streamlining and harmonization of customs and transit procedures and formalities and transparent and efficient border management and coordination of agencies involved in border clearance, would help landlocked developing countries to enhance the competitiveness of their export products and services;

Recognizes the importance of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation in addressing high trade and transit costs, and in this regard calls for its full and timely implementation by all members of the World Trade Organization, calls upon those members that have not yet done so to deposit their instrument of acceptance, where appropriate, as soon as possible, and in this regard urges members and relevant international and regional organizations to continue to provide and enhance technical and capacity-building assistance, particularly for the effective implementation of the provisions of articles on the release and clearance of goods, border agency cooperation, formalities connected with importation, exportation and transit, freedom of transit and customs cooperation, which are very relevant for landlocked developing countries;

Also recognizes that the growth in e-commerce provides international trade opportunities for landlocked developing countries, including new market opportunities, and encourages development partners to consider assisting landlocked developing countries in developing information and communications technology infrastructure and helping to ensure that appropriate policies and legal and regulatory frameworks are in place to support the development of information and communications technology and close the digital divide;

Stresses the need to promote meaningful regional integration to encompass cooperation among countries in a broader range of areas than just trade and trade facilitation, including investment, research and development and policies aimed at accelerating regional industrial development and regional connectivity, that this approach is aimed at fostering structural change and economic growth in landlocked developing countries as a goal, and also as a means of collectively linking regions to global markets, that this would enhance competitiveness and help to maximize benefits from globalization and that documentation and the sharing and dissemination of best practices are important to allow cooperating partners to benefit from each other’s experience;

Recognizes that the economies of many landlocked developing countries are still reliant on a few export commodities, which often have low value addition, stresses the need for renewed and strengthened partnerships for development to support landlocked developing countries in diversifying their economic base and enhancing value addition to their exports by entering and moving up global value chains through the development of their productive capacities, including through private sector involvement, and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, with a view to increasing the competitiveness of the products of landlocked developing countries in export markets, and welcomes the establishment of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda;

Underlines that, in order for landlocked developing countries to fully utilize their export and trade potential, it is important to undertake measures, consistent with relevant international rules and obligations, that promote structural economic transformation capable of reducing the negative impact of their geographical disadvantages and external shocks, creating jobs and ultimately leading to the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions and inclusive and sustainable growth and development, stresses that each landlocked developing country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development and that the role of national policies and development strategies cannot be overemphasized, and in this regard stresses that the national development efforts of landlocked developing countries need to be supported by an enabling international economic environment;

Emphasizes that infrastructure, industry and innovation are strongly connected, share the common goal of achieving inclusive and sustainable economic development and contribute to poverty eradication, and recognizes that inclusive and sustainable industrialization that provides open and equal social and economic opportunities for all, including women and girls, is integral to the structural transformation of the economies of all countries, including the landlocked developing countries;

Recognizes that landlocked developing countries remain highly vulnerable to external economic shocks and to the multiple other challenges faced by the international community;

Also recognizes that landlocked developing countries are vulnerable to and remain negatively affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, land degradation, desertification, deforestation, floods, including glacial lake outburst floods, and droughts, recognizes the potential benefits of mutually addressing these challenges, and calls upon the international community to continue to support the efforts of landlocked developing countries to address these challenges in an integrated manner, as appropriate;

Underlines that South-South and triangular cooperation are vital to the landlocked developing countries, especially in the areas of productive capacity-building, infrastructure, energy, science and technology, trade, investment and transit transport cooperation, and in this regard highlights the importance of the second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation in addressing the needs of countries in special situations;

Notes with appreciation the inauguration of the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries as the first-ever intergovernmental entity of the landlocked developing countries, invites the International Think Tank to continue to undertake its role of supporting the development efforts of the landlocked developing countries, urges those landlocked developing countries that have not yet done so to ratify, at their earliest convenience, the Multilateral Agreement for the Establishment of an International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries, and invites relevant stakeholders to support the International Think Tank;

Recognizes that landlocked developing countries and their transit country neighbours need to effectively mobilize adequate domestic and external resources for the effective implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action, reaffirms that, for all countries, public policies and the mobilization and effective use of domestic resources, underlined by the principle of national ownership, are central to the common pursuit of sustainable development, including the implementation of the Programme of Action, and also recognizes that international public finance plays an important role in complementing those efforts, especially in the poorest and most vulnerable countries with limited domestic resources;

Underlines the prominent role that foreign direct investment plays in accelerating development and poverty reduction through employment, the transfer of managerial and technological know-how, on mutually agreed terms, and non-debt-creating flows of capital, recognizes the considerable role and potential of private sector involvement in infrastructure development for transport, telecommunications and utilities for landlocked developing countries, encourages Member States to facilitate foreign direct investment flows to landlocked developing countries in this regard, and calls upon landlocked and transit developing countries to promote an enabling environment to attract foreign direct investment and private sector involvement;

Reiterates that the fulfilment of all official development assistance commitments remains crucial, with providers of official development assistance reaffirming their respective commitments;

Recognizes the essential role of the private sector in the development of landlocked developing countries, and in this regard underlines the need to continue promoting the participation of the private sector in achieving sustainable development and the critical importance of mobilizing private resources, including through foreign direct investment, for the development of landlocked developing countries, taking into account the leading role of Member States in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Vienna Programme of Action;

Invites developing countries, guided by the spirit of solidarity and consistent with their capabilities, to provide support for the effective implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action in mutually agreed areas of cooperation, within the framework of South-South cooperation, which is a complement to, but not a substitute for, North-South cooperation;

Invites development partners to effectively implement the Aid for Trade initiative in assisting landlocked developing countries to address their special needs and requirements, including capacity-building for the formulation of trade policies, participation in trade negotiations and the implementation of trade facilitation measures, as well as the diversification of export products;

Calls upon relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, and invites international organizations and relevant regional and subregional organizations, to integrate the Vienna Programme of Action into their programmes of work, as appropriate, within their respective mandates, and to support landlocked and transit developing countries in their implementation of the Programme of Action in a well-coordinated and coherent manner;

Underlines the importance of increasing the availability and use of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by sex, age, geography, income, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability and other characteristics relevant in national contexts, stresses the need to enhance capacity-building support for developing countries, including landlocked developing countries, for this purpose, and reaffirms the commitment to strengthen the capacity of national statistical offices and data systems to ensure access to high-quality, timely, reliable and disaggregated data;

Recognizes that it is important for all countries, including landlocked developing countries, to commit to a world in which all women and girls enjoy full gender equality with men and boys and all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment and equality have been removed;

Reaffirms its resolution 71/243 on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations development system, in which it urged the United Nations development system to enhance its support for, inter alia, the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action, and calls upon the entities of the United Nations development system to integrate and mainstream it fully into their operational activities for development;

Also reaffirms its resolution 72/279 on the repositioning of the United Nations development system, in which it agreed on reforms to improve the United Nations system collective support to countries as they implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Urges that coherent and effective linkages be made between the implementation, follow-up and review arrangements for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and those of all relevant United Nations conferences and processes, including the Vienna Programme of Action;

Underlines the importance of the successful implementation of, follow-up to and review of the Vienna Programme of Action at the national, subregional, regional and global levels;

Stresses that, in accordance with the mandate given by the General Assembly, the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States should continue to ensure the coordinated follow-up to, effective monitoring of and reporting on the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action and undertake advocacy efforts at the national, regional and global levels;

Reaffirms its decision, in its resolution 72/232, to convene, as called for in paragraph 78 of the Vienna Programme of Action, a comprehensive high-level midterm review on the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for the Decade 2014–2024, to be held no later than December 2019, that the Office of the High Representative shall coordinate the preparatory process, that all relevant United Nations system organizations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Development Programme, the regional commissions and other relevant organizations, within their respective mandates and within existing resources, shall be invited to provide support to the review process, that the high-level midterm review shall be preceded by regional preparatory meetings, as appropriate and within existing resources, that the high-level midterm review shall adopt an intergovernmentally negotiated and agreed outcome in the form of a political declaration, that the midterm review and its preparation shall be conducted within existing resources and that all costs relating to the midterm review and its preparation shall be financed through voluntary contributions;

Also reaffirms that the comprehensive high-level midterm review shall review progress made by the landlocked developing countries, transit countries and development partners in the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action and shall be a forum for sharing best practices and lessons learned and identifying obstacles and constraints encountered and actions and initiatives needed to overcome them, as well as new challenges and emerging issues, in order to further accelerate the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action;

Decides to hold no more than two days of high-level plenary meetings of the General Assembly devoted to the midterm review in early December 2019, to be chaired by the President of the Assembly;

Also decides to invite the President of the General Assembly to chair the high-level midterm review, requests the President of the Assembly to convene informal consultations, as required, and in the most efficient and effective manner, to finalize its outstanding organizational arrangements, including the dates, and to facilitate the preparation of an outcome document for the midterm review, and in this regard welcomes the appointment by the President of the General Assembly of co facilitators to lead the informal consultations;

Requests the Office of the High Representative, in close consultation with the relevant United Nations system organizations, to prepare a draft outline of the outcome document of the midterm review so as to facilitate the intergovernmental consultations, taking into account the outcomes of the regional meetings and the reports of the Secretary-General on the progress made in the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action;

Encourages all Member States, in particular landlocked and transit developing countries and donor countries, as well as the United Nations system and international and regional organizations, to participate actively in the midterm review at the highest possible level, and reiterates the critical importance of the full and effective participation of the landlocked developing countries in the high-level midterm review process;

Stresses the importance of the effective participation of all relevant stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, in the high-level midterm review and its preparatory process;

Decides that the high-level midterm review and its preparatory process shall be open to participation by all States Members of the United Nations and members of the specialized agencies and observers in the General Assembly;

Emphasizes the importance of country-level preparations as a critical input to the preparatory process for the high-level midterm review and to the implementation of and follow-up to its outcome, and in this context calls upon the landlocked developing countries to undertake their national reviews on the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action, with a particular focus on progress, obstacles, constraints, actions and measures necessary to further its implementation, in close collaboration with the Office of the High Representative;

Strongly encourages Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, major groups and other donors to contribute in a timely manner to the trust fund in support of activities undertaken by the Office of the High Representative to support the implementation of, follow-up to and monitoring of the Vienna Programme of Action, including the preparations for and organization of the high-level midterm review of the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session a progress report on the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for its high-level midterm review, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-fourth session, under the item entitled “Groups of countries in special situations”, the sub-item entitled “Follow-up to the second United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries”, unless otherwise agreed.

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