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Forum: Economic and Financial Committee - University GA 4th
Question Of: Adopting specific actions in order to improve the economic conditions of landlocked
developing countries
Main Submitter: China
Co-Submitters: Greece, Mauritania, Japan, Germany
THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE,
Observing that, as the sea has always represented the main way of communication and the first way
of trading for humankind, landlocked developing countries are historically less advantaged compared
to any other countries which are facing the sea,
Noting with appreciation the significance of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, adopted by
heads of State and Government on 8th September 2000, in addressing the urgent needs and
problems of landlocked developing countries,
Congratulating the success of the most recent conferences, including but not limited to, the Third
United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (Brussels, 2001), the International
Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, 2002) and the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (Johannesburg, 2002), the Almaty Declaration (1997) on resolving the topic,
Bearing in mind the deficient natural endowment of landlocked countries often vastly impedes
economic growth and humanitarian development,
Deeply concerned that many landlocked countries remain under the category of least developed
countries,
Having considered that it must be done a distinction between the landlocked countries that have an
access to a source of water of any other sort (i.e. a lake, a river),
Believing that landlocked developing countries are seriously damaged in import and exports of goods
because of the lack of possibility to use shipping as a method of transport,
Taking into consideration the possibility of formation of new landlocked nation states due to the
impact of a political change, including the disintegration and independent movements, with reference
to the example of Serbia and Montenegro,
1. Acknowledges the right of landlocked countries to access and to transit to and from the sea,
as stipulated by international law;
2. Encourages governments of landlocked countries to adopt trading as a major means for
economic growth, by taking into consideration the following measures:
a.
facilitating the transit and flow of commodities through establishing common custom
regulations between neighboring countries, with consideration of the case of the
European Union,
b.
establishing free-trade agreements, under the assistance of regional organs, for
landlocked countries, with priority given to nations precluded by the sea by more than
one country,
c.
improving the means of communication and transportation of landlocked economies with
the technical assistance of respective United Nations organs and Non-Governamental
Organizations (NGOs);
3. Further recommends the more economically developed countries (MEDCs) to assist
domestic firms to invest in landlocked developing countries through foreign direct
investments, with the following explicit objectives:
a.
improve the efficiency of infrastructure to compensate the lack of marine channels,
b.
enhance production efficiency of the secondary and tertiary sector in landlocked
developing countries with the surveillance of the Economic and Financial Committee
(EcoFin) in order to avoid exploitation and corruption;
c.
increasing employment in the landlocked countries in order to eliminate absolute
poverty in those countries;
4. Calls upon the General Assembly, under the mandate of General Assembly resolution 56/180
adopted in 2002, to reconvene the International Ministerial Conference of Landlocked and
Transit Developing Countries;
5. Suggests that the Conference aforementioned could, with the supervision of the Donor
Countries and International Financial and Development Institutions on Transit Transport
Cooperation, conduct research on the feasibility of creating low-cost technologies for the
following purposes:
a.
cultivating agricultural fields under the harsh environmental conditions in which water is
scarcely present in soil,
b.
improving on the current channels to transport water for irrigation,
c.
utilizing domestic natural endowment to exchange for resources necessary for economic
activities,
d.
relocating resources already present in the territory to areas of need;
6. Urges the General Assembly, alongside with other relevant United Nations organs, to draw up
an appropriate agenda for the prompt resolution of the topic;
7. Suggests the United Nations to investigate into the channels of raising funds via both
allocation of funds from the United Nations annual budget and additional voluntary monetary
aids;
8. Further suggests Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and More Economically
Developed Countries (MEDCs) governments to draw public attention, by obligatory education,
on the importance of the quality of infrastructure in order to achieve satisfactory voluntary
donations to tackle the issue.