Marginalization of 48 Poorest Countries
Leading to ‘A Future We Cannot Afford’,
Says United Nations Report,
Ahead of Conference on Least Developed Countries

A blue-ribbon report released ahead of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, to be held in Istanbul, from 9 to 13 May, says that these countries can break out of a decades-long poverty trap, with determined national action and international support.

The report shows upward progress in category after category of economic and human well-being indicators by developed and dynamic developing countries, while least developed country trends are close to flat-lining.

Pointing to the high incidence of conflicts in countries with extreme poverty and weak institutions, The Report of Eminent Persons 2011 says that “increasing marginalization of the LDCs is creating a future that we, as a global community, cannot afford.”

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