Office of the High Representative

1. Office of the High Representative

2. Mandate of the OHRLLS • The Office was established on the recommendation of the UN Secretary-General by the General Assembly in its resolution 56/227 of 24 December 2001 to ensure the effective coordination, monitoring and review of implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action (BPOA).

3. Key Functions of OHRLLS • to assist the Secretary-General in mobilization and coordination of all parts of the UN system in order to ensure effective follow-up to the BPOA at the global level • to provide support to the ECOSOC, as well as to the General Assembly in assessing progress and conducting the annual review of the Brussels POA

4. Key Functions of OHRLLS • to support the coordinated follow-up and implementation of the Almaty PoA (2003) for Transit Transport Cooperation between Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and the Donor Community and the Barbados PoA (1994) for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States • to assist in mobilizing international support and resources for the implementation of the BPOA for the LDCs and programmes for the LLDCs and SIDS

5. Key Functions of OHRLLS • to undertake appropriate advocacy work in favour of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) • to provide appropriate support to group consultations of Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

6. Activities of the Office • As a member of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs (EC-ESA) and of the UN Development Group (UNDG), the OHRLLS ensures: • an integrated and coordinated approach to the follow-up of the Brussels POA for the LDCs and its mainstreaming into the work programmes of the UN system and agencies. • To date, 19 UN system organizations and agencies and 10 multilateral organizations have incorporated the BPOA into their respective programmes: • UN-HABITAT, UNIFEM, WFP, UNEP, FAO, UNCTAD, UNCDF, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIDO, WHO, ILO, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Division for Palestinian Rights (DPA), and The Global Compact. • WTO, the Global Environment Facility, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the Inter-Parliamentary Union .

7. Activities of the Office • The OHRLLS has launched a number of initiatives: • the Open Forum for Partnership, which serves as an interface among the LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS, their development partners, the UN entities, multilateral organizations, the civil society and the private sector • the OHRLLS website, containing comprehensive information related to the activities of the Office, and LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS (www.un.org/ohrlls/) • a Trust Fund for the LDCs as requested by the UN General Assembly resolution 57/276

8. Activities of the Office • Organized and held the International Ministerial Conference of the LLDCs from 25 to 29 August 2003 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, including regional and global preparatory meetings • Currently involved in the mobilization of resources for the review of the implementation of the Barbados Program of Action for SIDS, scheduled for January 2005 in Mauritius • The High Representative is the Secretary-General of the Mauritius International Meeting • Closely collaborates with civil society/NGOs and private sector in undertaking advocacy, raising awareness and mobilizing support for the LDCs