Commodities

A/RES/78/138View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 16dCommodities, published in 2023.

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 subjects does this mandate have?

7 topics

Commodities Commodity Markets Commodity Prices Developing Countries Economic Development Trade in Commodities Trade Policy

What does this mandate say?

39 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on world commodity trends and prospects;

Recognizes the interlinkage between the adequate and transparent functioning of commodity markets and the capacity of some commodity-dependent developing countries to collect appropriate fiscal revenues from commodity exports and mobilize domestic resources to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and their sustainable development, including through sustainable and inclusive economic growth, industrialization, decent work and market diversification;

Encourages support for developing countries, according to their national plans and policies, through technical assistance, to increase their capacity in detecting and averting trade misinvoicing and transfer mispricing in their commodities sectors in order to enhance their benefits from those sectors to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Recognizes the need for developing countries rich in critical minerals to add value to their supply chains in line with the three pillars of sustainable development in a balanced manner as a way of contributing to their economic structural transformation, creating decent employment, increasing export revenues and participating in the process of economic development;

Reiterates the need for further efforts to address excessive commodity price volatility, in particular by assisting producers, especially small-scale producers, including women, in accordance with national plans and policies, in managing risk;

Stresses that developing countries, including African countries, the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, face particular challenges as lower prices for the commodities that they produce threaten the sustainable growth and the debt positions of such countries, and therefore notes that, in this context, economic and export diversification, value addition and industrialization can contribute to strengthening resilience to excessive price volatility by allowing the derivation of revenue from various sources;

Recognizes the need to continue efforts to diversify economies, as well as to improve the regulation, where appropriate, and the efficiency, responsiveness, functioning and transparency of financial and commodity markets nationally, regionally and internationally;

Acknowledges two main diversification strategies, one being horizontal diversification to export different types of commodities and other products to different markets, and the other being vertical diversification through value addition, and notes that these diversification strategies can contribute to creating sustained jobs and foster an inclusive and sustainable process of industrialization in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals;

Recognizes the relationship between technological change, innovation, economic diversification and structural transformation, notes with concern that most commodity-dependent developing countries have made minimal gains in closing technological gaps in the past 25 years, and notes that acquiring technological capabilities on mutually agreed terms and adopting policies and exploring the creation of national institutions, as appropriate, that foster innovation and technological development in line with the Sustainable Development Goals could help to close those gaps;

Encourages Member States, development partners and the private sector to promote economic diversification in commodity-dependent developing countries by means of responsible and sustainable investments in productive capacity, physical capital accumulation, value addition to commodities supply chains, human capacity-building, infrastructure, the improvement of science and technology capabilities and the strengthening of institutions and governance, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, while considering that diversification strategies can contribute to the creation of decent work and economic growth (Goal 8) and build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation (Goal 9);

Calls upon the international community to support the efforts of and foster cooperation with commodity-dependent developing countries to address the factors that create structural barriers to international trade and impede, inter alia, diversification, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, limited access to financial services resulting in scarce resources for investing in the commodity sector, weak infrastructure, particularly regarding both the cost and availability of transportation and storage, and lack of skills in producing and marketing alternative products;

Emphasizes the importance of enhanced collaboration between the public and private sectors and high levels of investment in commodity-dependent developing countries to promote diversification and upgrade productive structures integrated into global value chains for sustainable development;

Also emphasizes the importance of coherence in the integration of developing countries into commodity value chains, particularly through local and regional value addition;

Welcomes the successful conclusion of the twelfth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, held in Geneva from 12 to 17 June 2022, under the presidency of the Government of Kazakhstan, and looks forward to the convening of the thirteenth Ministerial Conference, to be held from 26 to 29 February 2024 in Abu Dhabi;

Notes with concern that the slow and uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic particularly harms developing countries, including commodity-dependent developing countries, and acknowledges that international trade can play a role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and sustainable, robust and balanced growth for all;

Calls for a coherent set of policy actions at the national, regional and international levels to address excessive price volatility and support commodity-dependent developing countries in mitigating negative impacts, by facilitating value addition and enhancing their participation in commodity and related product value chains, by supporting large-scale diversification of these economies and by encouraging the use and further development of market-oriented risk management tools, instruments and strategies;

Stresses the importance of developing and strengthening agricultural policies and strategies that recognize and address women’s critical role in food security and improved nutrition outcomes as an integral part of both short- and long-term responses to food insecurity and malnutrition and food crises in developing countries;

Recognizes the potential for innovation, productivity improvements and the promotion of non-traditional exports in most commodity-dependent developing countries, particularly in Africa, and calls for enhanced support by the international community as well as exchanges of experience in these areas within the framework of South-South economic cooperation;

Underscores the importance of increased investments in quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure as a means of promoting sustainable agricultural development and enhancing commodity diversification, including value-added production, and trade, and urges the international community to assist commodity-dependent developing countries in mainstreaming trade as well as sound investment and financial policies as key elements of development strategies, based on national circumstances and development priorities, and investing in and supporting research, innovation and development of sustainable agriculture productivity;

Stresses that technical assistance and capacity-building aimed at improving the commodity export competitiveness of producers are particularly important for developing countries, especially in Africa, and invites Member States and all relevant stakeholders to provide the resources necessary for commodity-specific financial and technical assistance, in particular for human and institutional capacity-building, including gender-responsive measures, as well as quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient 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;

Also stresses that the Aid for Trade initiative should aim to help developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, to build the supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastructure that they need to assist them in implementing and benefiting from World Trade Organization agreements and, more broadly, expanding their trade;

Recalls the agreement to keep under regular review, by the Ministerial Conference and appropriate bodies of the World Trade Organization, the impact of the results of the Uruguay Round on the least developed countries as well as on the net food-importing developing countries, with a view to fostering positive measures to enable them to achieve their development objectives, and in this regard looks forward to the implementation of the Marrakesh Ministerial Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries;

Recognizes that high volatility in food prices in various countries and continuing food insecurity and malnutrition being faced by hundreds of millions of people, in particular in Africa, in South and West Asia and in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, highlight the need for resilient and diversified agrifood systems, in order to lower the risks associated with future shocks and to safeguard access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food and diversified healthy diets, by supporting large-scale diversification of these economies, building a stronger food production sector inclusive of all relevant stakeholders, boosting productivity and market links in the food supply chains, increasing investments for a more diverse agricultural sector and seeking partnerships to increase trade and strengthen supply chains;

Stresses that improving access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food and diversified healthy diets and maintaining food security during crises involve efforts to protect the most vulnerable, which, drawing from the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the need for socioeconomic policies to counteract the effects of adverse economic cycles and serve as a buffer against income shocks;

Encourages developed countries that have not already done so and developing countries declaring themselves in a position to do so to take steps towards the goal of realizing timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration adopted by the World Trade Organization in 2005;

Notes the efforts under way to make the international financial architecture more responsive to global challenges, recognizes that more needs to be done, and in this regard strongly encourages international financial institutions and development banks to assist developing countries, in particular commodity-dependent developing countries, in managing the effects of commodity price volatility, including excessive volatility, in accordance with their respective mandates;

Reaffirms that every State has and shall freely exercise full permanent sovereignty over all its wealth, natural resources and economic activities;

Recognizes the importance of increasing efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in the management of public and private sector revenues in developed and developing countries derived from all commodities and commodities-related industries, including final processed goods, in support of development;

Notes the important contributions of the Common Fund for Commodities and other international commodities organizations, and encourages them, in cooperation with the International Trade Centre, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and other relevant bodies, to strengthen coordination among them and to identify and implement innovative measures to enable the sustainable contribution of the commodity sector to economic development, including ways to reduce vulnerability to volatility in commodity prices, as well as to enhance activities in developing countries to improve access to markets and the reliability of supply, enhance diversification and the addition of value, improve the competitiveness of commodities, strengthen the market chain, improve market structures, broaden the export base and ensure the effective participation of all stakeholders, on the basis of a shared understanding of the contribution of commodities to sustainable development;

Stresses that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and its partners, in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation and multi-stakeholder partnerships, within their respective mandates, should continue to engage actively in collaborative research and analysis of the commodity problematique and related capacity- and consensus-building activities, with a view to providing regular analysis and policy advice relevant to the sustainable development of commodity-dependent developing countries, particularly low-income countries;

Welcomes the successful conclusion of the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held in Barbados from 3 to 7 October 2021;

Notes the convening of the first Global Supply Chain Forum, which will be organized jointly by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Government of Barbados from 21 to 24 May 2024;

Emphasizes the importance of facilitating accession to the World Trade Organization, particularly for commodity-dependent developing countries, in full compliance with its rules;

Underlines the urgent need for the provision of and access to trade finance to commodity-dependent developing countries, given the tightened access to all types of credit and noting debt sustainability;

Welcomes the commitment to prevent and combat illicit financial flows and strengthen international cooperation and good practices on assets return and recovery;

Stresses that revenues from commodity production and exports remain critical for developing countries, in particular in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, given that developing countries need to mobilize resources in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and that commodity prices have been highly volatile since 2022, which has put pressure on government budgets in developing countries;

Invites the President of the General Assembly to hold a one-day informal interactive dialogue of the Assembly on commodity markets during the first half of 2024 to review world commodity trends and prospects and possible strategies for economic and export diversification, as well as value addition for sustainable development, particularly in commodity-dependent developing countries, with the aim of sharing experiences and lessons learned, on a date and in a format to be decided by the President of the Assembly;

Calls upon all relevant bodies, agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system and other relevant intergovernmental, global, regional and subregional organizations, in particular the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and all relevant international financial and economic institutions, within their respective mandates, to continue to address the issue of the low industrialization and diversification of the economies of some commodity-dependent developing countries in relation to the capacity of Member States to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eightieth session, in collaboration with the secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, an action-oriented report on the implementation of the present resolution, with a particular emphasis on recommendations and strategies for economic and export diversification, commodity production and value addition for sustainable development, in line with the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, and, in this regard, decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eightieth session, under the item entitled “Macroeconomic policy questions”, the sub-item entitled “Commodities”.

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