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