Least Developed Countries

Following the opening of the Ministerial Segment on Monday, participants at the 2016 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) discussed “Main messages from first HLPF week: our starting point.” This was followed by keynote speeches and panel discussions related to the meeting’s theme of “Ensuring that no one is left behind,” on: “Reaching the most vulnerable;” “Challenges of countries in special situations;” and “Unlocking means of implementation (MOI) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and creating an enabling environment.” A general debate took place at the end of the day. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily reports, daily web coverage and a summary and analysis from HLPF 2016, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening of the Ministerial Segment Delegates gather for the opening of the Ministerial Segment Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Oh Joon, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the UN and President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN and Vice President of ECOSOC Héctor Alejandro Palma Cerna, Deputy Permanent Representative of Honduras to the UN and Vice President of ECOSOC Mogens Lykketoft, President of the UN General Assembly Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, Vice President of Viet Nam Ensuring that no one is left behind: reaching the most vulnerable Panel speakers during the session Hugo Roger Martínez Bonilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs, El Salvador Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO) Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Md. Shahidul Haque, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Christian Friis Bach, Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Delegates watch proceedings from the gallery Ensuring that no one is left behind: challenges of countries in special situations View of the dais during the session Álvaro García, Office of Planning and Budget of the Presidency, Uruguay Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Dame Meg Taylor, Secretary-General, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Helen Clark, Administrator, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Karina Gould, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development, Canada Ricardo Cardona, Minister of Social Development, Honduras Shamshad Akhtar, Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Daniel Mensinga, Major Group for Children and Youth Ensuring that no one is left behind: unlocking the means of implementation for the Sustainable Development Goals and creating an enabling environment View of the dais during the session  Michelle Muschett, Vice Minister of Social Development, Panama Ardalan Shekarabi, Minister for Public Administration, Sweden Axel Bertuch-Samuels, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Vaughan Turekian, Advisor to the US Secretary of State Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Douglas Frantz, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank Group Representatives from the Women's Major Group hold up pictures of environmental and human rights activists who have been killed, demonstrating the need to create an enabling environment for stakeholder participation General Debate Delegates participate in a general debate Virachai Plasai, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Juan Temístocles Montás, Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Dominician Republic, speaking on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Bernard Kamphasa, Zambia, speaking on behalf of the LLDCs Eden Charles, Deputy Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Jiko Fatafehi Luveni, Fiji, speaking on behalf of the Group of Pacific SIDS Mohammed Khaled Khiari, Permanent Representative of Tunisia to the UN, speaking on behalf of the African Group Mohammed Maziad Al Tuwaijri, Vice-Minister of Economy and Planning, Saudi Arabia Celebrating Nelson Mandela Day A special event is held in the ECOSOC Chamber to commemorate "Mandela Day" Delegates stand to observe a moment of silence to honor Nelson Mandela and his contribution to freedom and justice in the world Stevie Wonder, UN Messenger of Peace Around the Venue Delegates gather for the start of the Ministerial Segment Delegates greet each other before the start of plenary Delegates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo Delegates from South Africa Delegates speak informally Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, and Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, Vice-President of Viet Nam, participate in an event "Scream from Nature" that emphasized the importance of environmental protection Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, and Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, Vice-President of Viet Nam, stand with children during the event Musical performance by fifth graders from the Special Music School, New York Around the UN Headquarters

GEF Council members were briefed by representatives from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank at the beginning of the third and final day of the 50th meeting of the GEF Council. Representatives from the three organizations presented on progress to date on the three Integrated Approach Pilot (IAP) Programs that their organizations are leading: taking deforestation out of the global commodity supply chain, fostering sustainability and resilience for food security in sub-Saharan Africa, and sustainable cities, respectively. The GEF Council also reviewed and approved the GEF Business Plan and Corporate Budget for the fiscal year 2017, the investment strategy review of the GEF Trust Fund, and the Annual Performance Report 2015 and Management Response. Participants then convened for the 20th meeting of the Council for the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF)/Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) and considered a progress report, Annual Monitoring Review for the fiscal year 2015 and 2015 Annual Evaluation Report of the Funds as well as work programs and budgets for 2017. At the conclusion of the meetings, Council members reviewed and approved the Joint Summary of the Chairs for the GEF Council and LDCF/SCCF meetings. As indicated in the Joint Summary for the GEF Council meeting, the Council approved its Work Program comprising 38 project concepts and four programmatic frameworks, with total resources amounting to US$398.68 million. The programmatic frameworks include a Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development and a project on Leapfrogging Markets to High Efficiency Products. As agreed on the first day of the meeting and included in the Joint Summary of the Chairs, the 50th meeting of the GEF Council also established a new trust fund for the Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT). At the close of the meeting, GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii thanked Council members for their input and a rich discussion, which she said would be useful as the Secretariat plans for the seventh replenishment of the GEF (GEF-7). Ishii closed the meeting at 2:05 pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage from the GEF Council Consultation Meeting with CSOs, 50th GEF Council Meeting and 20th Meeting of the LDCF/SCCF Council. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has also produced a summary video of the event, which is available in HTML and PDF format. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Integrated Approach Pilot Programs (IAP) View of the UNDP presentation on IAP Andrew Bovarnick, UNDP Margarita Astrálaga, International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vasquez, World Bank Xueman Wang, World Bank Claudia Nordini, Italy Nicola Speranza, Brazil Antoinette Macumi, Burundi Tanyaradzwa Mundoga, Zimbabwe May Gicquel, France Mohamed-Yahya Lafdal, Mauritania Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson Co-Chair Caroline Leclerc, Canada Budget and Investment Strategy Review of the GEF Trust Fund Peter Lallas, GEF Secretariat Praveen Prasad Desabatla, World Bank L-R: Francisco Grahammer, Neeraj Kumar Negi and Juha Uitto, Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) L-R: Jean-Xavier Bourre, Tapiwa Sikipa and Praveen Prasad Desabatla, World Bank Anton Hilber, Switzerland Josceline Wheatley, UK Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, US L-R: Roland Sundstrom, GEF Secretariat; Elwyn Grainger-Jones, GEF Secretariat; Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson; Co-Chair Caroline Leclerc, Canada; and William Ehlers, GEF Secretariat 20th Meeting of the Council of the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) Participants heard a report on the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF). L-R: Saliha Dobardzic, Rawleston Moore and Gustavo Fonseca, GEF Secretariat L-R: Francisco Grahammer, Anna Viggh and Juha Uitto, IEO Merete Villum Pedersen, Denmark Jozef Buys, Belgium Rachna Ramsurn, Mauritius Comlan Awougnon, Togo Anders Wallberg, Sweden Kees Rade, the Netherlands Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson, closed the GEF50 meeting at 2:05 pm.