Least Developed Countries

The opening session of the High-level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Ministerial Segment of the 2017 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) took place on Monday morning. Reporting by Ministerial Chairs on the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development, and two sessions on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), followed. In the afternoon, the UN Secretary-General’s report on the theme of the ECOSOC 2017 session (“Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges”), and the report on the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) were presented, followed by a general debate. In parallel, an additional two sessions on VNRs took place. In total, 12 countries presented VNRs on Monday: Brazil, Luxembourg, Nepal, Monaco, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Kenya, the Netherlands, Chile, and Malaysia. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports from HLPF 2017 and also produced a summary and analysis report, which is available in HTML and PDF. 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 High-Level Segment Plenary is full to capacity as the High-level Segment begins Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) UN Secretary-General António Guterres Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the UN, and President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Delegates applaud the keynote speakers Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Jürgen Schulz, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Cristián Barros Melet, Permanent Representative of Chile to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Nabeel Munir, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC View of plenary from the dais Reporting by Ministerial Chairs on the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development View of the dais during the session Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Commissioner-General for Sustainable Development, Ministry of Environment, Energy and the Sea, France Lahcen Daoudi, Minister of General Affairs and Governance, Morocco Francisco Guzmán Ortiz, Head of the Office of the President, Mexico Rosemarie Edillon, Undersecretary for Planning and Policy, National Economic and Development Authority, the Philippines Gervais Meatchi, Director of Planning and Development, Togo Presentation of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) 12 countries present their VNRs throughout the day Romain Schneider, Minister for Development, Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, and Carole Dieschbourg, Minister of Environment, Luxembourg Adil Najam, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University Min Bahadur Shrestha, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission, Nepal Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany  José Antônio Marcondes de Carvalho, Ministry of Environment, Energy, Science, and Technology, Brazil Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of National Development Planning, Indonesia Serge Telle, Minister of State, Monaco Fumio Kishida, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan Abul Kalam Azad, Principal SDG Coordinator, Prime Minister's Office, Bangladesh Lilianne Plouman, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, the Netherlands Olga Marta Sánchez Oviedo, Minister of Planning and Economic Policy, Costa Rica Marcos Barraza, Minister of Social Development, Chile Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia Irungu Nyakera, Ministry of Devolution and Planning, Kenya High-Level General Debate Delegates gather in the Trusteeship Council for the High-level debate Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development José Antonio Ocampo, Chair of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) Luck Mulusa, Minister of National Development Planning, Zambia, speaking on behalf of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) Alenka Smerkolj, Minister without portfolio responsible for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion, Slovenia Andrés Mideros, National Secretary of Planning and Development, Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Miguel Ángel Moir Sandoval, Minister of Planning, Guatemala Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife, Sri Lanka, speaking on behalf of the Group of 15 Kęstutis Navickas, Minister of Environment, Lithuania Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa Around the Venue Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, speaks with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Peter Thomson, President of the UNGA Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, DESA UN Secretary-General António Guterres Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC, with Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the UN, and President of ECOSOC Carole Dieschbourg, Minister of Environment, Luxembourg Delegates stand at the back of plenary Security around the venue Zaheer Fakir, South Africa, speaks with Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Abdullah Abu Shawesh, State of Palestine Martijn Visser and Max van Deursen, Youth Representatives for Sustainable Development, the Netherlands Delegates between sessions Around the UN Headquarters

On Wednesday, the 2017 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) reviewed the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (good health and well being) and SDG 5 (gender equality). In the afternoon, thematic reviews took place on two topics related to this year’s overall theme of “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”: “Taking forward the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway,” and “How it affects countries in special situations: least developed countries (LDCs) and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs).” The latter thematic review also discussed the special challenges of middle-income countries (MICs). IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports from HLPF 2017 and also produced a summary and analysis report, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Session 7 - Review of implementation: SDG 3 (good health and well being) View of the dais during the session Nabeel Munir, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, and Vice President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Nata Menabde, Executive Director, World Health Organization (WHO) Office at the UN, New York Michael Myers, Managing Director, The Rockefeller Foundation Francesca Perucci, UN Statistics Division (UNSD) Laura Flores, Permanent Representative of Panama to the UN Rachel Cohen, Regional Executive Director, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) Marie Hauerslev, Vice President for External Affairs, International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) Jeroen Verheul, the Netherlands, speaking on behalf of 18 developed and developing countries Farzana Zahir, Maldives, speaking on behalf of Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Odo Tevi, Vanuatu Session 8 - Review of implementation: SDG 5 (gender equality) View of the dais during the session Salma Nims, Secretary General, Jordanian National Commission for Women Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President, ECOSOC Moderator Craig Mokhiber, Chief, Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Jane Sanyu Mpagi, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Uganda Roberto Bissio, Executive Director, Third World Institute, and Coordinator of Social Watch, Uruguay Nalini Singh, Executive Director, Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM), representative of Women's Major Group Akinremi Bolaji, Nigeria Kajsa Olofsgård, Sweden Lena Gerber, US Ana Cristina García, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Nguyen Thi Le Thuy, Viet Nam   Session 9 - Thematic review: Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world: Taking forward the SAMOA Pathway View of the dais during the session Shahine Robinson, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Jamaica Moderator Pennelope Beckles, Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN Cristián Barros Melet, Permanent Representative of Chile to the UN, and Vice President, ECOSOC Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Paula Vivili, Director, Public Health Division, Pacific Community (SPC) Tuitama Leao Talalelei Tuitama, Minister of Health, Samoa Rennier Gadabu, Nauru Mahe'uli'uli Sandhurst Tupouniua, Tonga José Luis Rocha, Cabo Verde Fauzia Mwita Haji, Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities Masina Tietie, Women's Major Group Session 10 - Thematic review: Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world: How it affects countries in special situations: Least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and special challenges of middle-income countries (MICs) View of the dais during the session Amira Gornass, Chairperson, Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Moderator Swarnim Waglé, National Planning Commission, Nepal Larysa Belskaya, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belarus Nikhil Seth, Executive Director, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Farah Kabir, Country Director, ActionAid Bangladesh Lazarous Kapambwe, Permanent Representative of Zambia to the UN Masud Bin Momen, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Around the Venue Delegates from Indonesia Delegates between sessions Delegates use the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) to keep up to date with discussions at HLPF 2017 Delegates huddle for a discussion Sainivalati Navoti, SIDS Network, and William Bly, UN Webmaster and Photographer Delegates speak informally