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UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeand
Development
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheUnitedNationsConferenceonTradeand
Development(UNCTAD)(FrenchConfrencedes
NationsuniessurleCommerceetleDveloppement
(CNUCED))wasestablishedin1964asapermanent
intergovernmentalbody.

UnitedNationsConferenceonTrade
andDevelopment
UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeand
Development

UNCTADistheprincipalorganoftheUnitedNations
GeneralAssemblydealingwithtrade,investment,and
developmentissues.Theorganization'sgoalsareto:
"maximizethetrade,investmentanddevelopment
opportunitiesofdevelopingcountriesandassistthemin
theireffortstointegrateintotheworldeconomyonan
equitablebasis."[1]
TheprimaryobjectiveofUNCTADistoformulate
policiesrelatingtoallaspectsofdevelopmentincluding
trade,aid,transport,financeandtechnology.The
conferenceordinarilymeetsonceinfouryearsthe
permanentsecretariatisinGeneva.
OneoftheprincipalachievementsofUNCTADhas
beentoconceiveandimplementtheGeneralisedSystem
ofPreferences(GSP).ItwasarguedinUNCTADthatto
promoteexportsofmanufacturedgoodsfrom
developingcountries,itwouldbenecessarytooffer
specialtariffconcessionstosuchexports.Acceptingthis
argument,thedevelopedcountriesformulatedtheGSP
schemeunderwhichmanufacturers'exportsandsome
agriculturalgoodsfromthedevelopingcountriesenter
dutyfreeoratreducedratesinthedevelopedcountries.
Sinceimportsofsuchitemsfromotherdeveloped
countriesaresubjecttothenormalratesofduties,
importsofthesameitemsfromdevelopingcountries
wouldenjoyacompetitiveadvantage.

TheheadquartersoftheUnitedNationsConference
onTradeandDevelopmentarelocatedinthePalace
ofNations(UnitedNationsOfficeatGeneva,
Switzerland).
Abbreviation

UNCTAD

Formation

1964

Headquarters Geneva,Switzerland
Website

www.unctad.org
(http://www.unctad.org)

ThecreationofUNCTADin1964wasbasedon
concernsofdevelopingcountriesovertheinternationalmarket,multinationalcorporations,andgreat
disparitybetweendevelopednationsanddevelopingnations.TheUnitedNationsConferenceonTradeand
Developmentwasestablishedtoprovideaforumwherethedevelopingcountriescoulddiscussthe
problemsrelatingtotheireconomicdevelopment.Theorganisationgrewfromtheviewthatexisting
institutionslikeGATT(nowreplacedbytheWorldTradeOrganization,WTO),theInternationalMonetary
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Fund(IMF),andWorldBankwerenotproperlyorganizedtohandletheparticularproblemsofdeveloping
countries.Later,inthe1970sand1980s,UNCTADwascloselyassociatedwiththeideaofaNew
InternationalEconomicOrder(NIEO).
ThefirstUNCTADconferencetookplaceinGenevain1964,thesecondinNewDelhiin1968,thethirdin
Santiagoin1972,fourthinNairobiin1976,thefifthinManilain1979,thesixthinBelgradein1983,the
seventhinGenevain1987,theeighthinCartagenain1992,theninthatJohannesburg(SouthAfrica)in
1996,thetenthinBangkok(Thailand)in2000,theeleventhinSoPaulo(Brazil)in2004,thetwelfthin
Accrain2008andthethirteenthinDoha(Qatar)in2012.
Currently,UNCTADhas194memberstatesandisheadquarteredinGeneva,Switzerland.UNCTADhas
400staffmembersandabiannual(20102011)regularbudgetof$138millionincoreexpendituresand
$72millioninextrabudgetarytechnicalassistancefunds.ItisamemberoftheUnitedNations
DevelopmentGroup.[2]Therearenongovernmentalorganizationsparticipatingintheactivitiesof
UNCTAD.[3]

Contents
1Membership
2Meetings
2.1Geneva,1964
2.2NewDelhi,1968
2.3Santiago,1972
2.4Nairobi,1976andManila,1979
2.5Belgrade,1983
3Reports
4Other
4.1PartnershipInitiatives
5ListofSecretariesGeneralandOfficersinCharge
6Seealso
7References
8Furtherreading
9Externallinks

Membership
AsofOctober2012,194statesareUNCTADmembers:[4]allUNmembersandtheHolySee.UNCTAD
membersaredividedintofourlists,thedivisionbeingbasedonUnitedNationsRegionalGroups[4]withsix
membersunassigned:Armenia,Kiribati,Nauru,SouthSudan,Tajikistan,Tuvalu.ListAconsistsmostlyof
countriesintheAfricanandAsiaPacificGroupsoftheUN.ListBconsistsofcountriesoftheWestern
EuropeanandOthersGroup.ListCconsistsofcountriesoftheGroupofLatinAmericanandCaribbean
States(GRULAC).ListDconsistsofcountriesoftheEasternEuropeanGroup.

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Thelists,originallydefinedin19thGeneral
Assemblyresolution1995[5]servetobalance
geographicaldistributionofmemberstates'
representationontheTradeDevelopmentBoard
andotherUNCTADstructures.Thelistsare
similartothoseofUNIDO,anUNspecialized
agency.
Thefulllistsareasfollows:
UNCTADMembers

ListA(100members):Afghanistan,
UNCTADMembersattheTradeandDevelopment
Algeria,Angola,Bahrain,Bangladesh,
Board
Benin,Bhutan,BosniaandHerzegovina,
Botswana,BruneiDarussalam,Burkina
Faso,Burundi,Cambodia,Cameroon,Cape
Verde,CentralAfricanRepublic,Chad,
China,Comoros,Cted'Ivoire,Republicof
Congo,DemocraticRepublicofCongo,
Djibouti,Egypt,EquatorialGuinea,Eritrea,
Ethiopia,Fiji,Gabon,Gambia,Ghana,
Guinea,GuineaBissau,India,Indonesia,
Iran,Iraq,Israel,Jordan,Kenya,Kuwait,
Laos,Lebanon,Lesotho,Liberia,Libya,
Madagascar,Malawi,Malaysia,Maldives,
Members,ListA
Mali,MarshallIslands,Mauritania,
Mauritius,Micronesia,Mongolia,Morocco,
Members,ListB
Mozambique,Myanmar,Namibia,Nepal,
Members,ListC
Niger,Nigeria,NorthKorea,Oman,
Members,ListD
Pakistan,Palau,PapuaNewGuinea,
Philippines,Qatar,SouthKorea,Rwanda,
Members,tobeassigned
Samoa,SaoTomeandPrincipe,Saudi
Arabia,Senegal,Seychelles,SierraLeone,
Singapore,SolomonIslands,Somalia,SouthAfrica,SriLanka,Sudan,Swaziland,Syria,Thailand,
TimorLeste,Togo,Tonga,Tunisia,Turkmenistan,Uganda,UnitedArabEmirates,Tanzania,
Vanuatu,VietNam,Yemen,Zambia,Zimbabwe.
ListB(31members):Andorra,Australia,Austria,Belgium,Canada,Cyprus,Denmark,Finland,
France,Germany,Greece,HolySee,Iceland,Ireland,Italy,Japan,Liechtenstein,Luxembourg,
Malta,Monaco,Netherlands,NewZealand,Norway,Portugal,SanMarino,Spain,Sweden,
Switzerland,Turkey,UnitedKingdom,UnitedStates.
ListC(33members):AntiguaandBarbuda,Argentina,Bahamas,Barbados,Belize,Bolivia,Brazil,
Chile,Colombia,CostaRica,Cuba,Dominica,DominicanRepublic,Ecuador,ElSalvador,Grenada,
Guatemala,Guyana,Haiti,Honduras,Jamaica,Mexico,Nicaragua,Panama,Paraguay,Peru,Saint
KittsandNevis,SaintLucia,SaintVincentandtheGrenadines,Suriname,TrinidadandTobago,
Uruguay,Venezuela.
ListD(24members):Albania,Azerbaijan,Belarus,Bulgaria,Croatia,CzechRepublic,Estonia,
Georgia,Hungary,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Latvia,Lithuania,Montenegro,Poland,Moldova,
Romania,Russia,Serbia,Slovakia,Slovenia,Macedonia,Ukraine,Uzbekistan.
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Notassignedcountries(6members):Armenia,Kiribati,Nauru,SouthSudan,Tajikistan,Tuvalu.
OtherstatesthatdonotparticipateareCookIslands,Niueandthestateswithlimitedrecognition.

Meetings
Theintergovernmentalworkisdoneatfivelevelsofmeetings:
TheUNCTADConferenceheldeveryfouryears:
UNCTAD
Doha
XIII

Qatar

2126April
2012[6]

UNCTAD
Accra
XII

Ghana

2125April
2008[7]

UNCTAD
SoPaulo
XI

Brazil

1318June
2004[8]

UNCTAD
Bangkok
X
Thailand
UNCTAD
Midrand
IX

1219
February
2000[9]

27April
South
11May
Africa
1996

825
UNCTAD
Cartagena
February
VIII
Colombia
1992

UNCTAD
JENEWA, Template:SWITZERLAND 1987
VII

TheUNCTADTradeandDevelopmentBoardtheBoardmanagestheworkofUNCTADbetween
twoconferencesandmeetsuptothreetimeseveryyear
FourUNCTADCommissionsandoneWorkingPartythesemeetmoreoftenthantheBoardtotake
uppolicy,programmeandbudgetaryissues
ExpertMeetingsthecommissionswillconveneexpertmeetingsonselectedtopicstoprovide
substantiveandexpertinputforCommissionpolicydiscussions.

Geneva,1964
Inresponsetodevelopingcountry(LeastDevelopedCountry,LDC)anxietyattheirworseningpositionin
worldtrade,theUnitedNationsGeneralAssemblyvotedfora'oneoff'conference.Theseearlydiscussions
pavedthewayfornewIMFfacilitiestoprovidefinanceforshortfallsincommodityearningsandforthe
GeneralisedPreferenceSchemeswhichincreasedaccesstoNorthernmarketsformanufacturedimports
fromtheSouth.AtGeneva,theLDCsweresuccessfulintheirproposalfortheconferencewithits
SecretariattobecomeapermanentorganoftheUN,withmeetingseveryfouryears.[10]

NewDelhi,1968

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TheNewDelhiConference,heldinFebruaryandMarch1968,wasaforumthatalloweddeveloping
countriestoreachagreementonbasicprinciplesoftheirdevelopmentpolicies.TheconferenceinNew
Delhiwasanopportunityforschemestobefinallyapproved.Theconferenceprovidedamajorimpetusin
persuadingtheNorthtofollowupUNCTADIresolutions,inestablishinggeneralisedpreferences.The
targetforprivateandofficialflowstoLDCswasraisedto1%oftheNorth'sGNP,butthedeveloped
countriesfailedtocommitthemselvestoachievingthetargetbyaspecificdate.Thishasprovena
continuingpointofdebateatUNCTADconferences.
TheconferenceledtotheInternationalSugarAgreement,whichseekstostabilizeworldsugarprices.[10][11]

Santiago,1972
TheSantiagoConference,April15,1972,wasthethirdoccasiononwhichthedevelopingcountrieshave
confrontedtherichwiththeneedtousetradeandaidmeasuresmoreeffectivelytoimprovelivingstandards
inthedevelopingworld.Discussioncentredontheinternationalmonetarysystemandspecificallyonthe
South'sproposalthatahigherproportionofnewspecialdrawingrights(SDRs)shouldbeallocatedtoLDCs
asaformofaid(thesocalled'link').InSantiago,substantialdisagreementsarosewithintheGroupof77
(G77)despitepreconferencemeetings.TherewasdisagreementovertheSDRproposalandbetweenthose
intheG77whowantedfundamentalchangessuchasachangeinthevotingallocationsintheSouth's
favourattheIMFandthose(mainlytheLatinAmericancountries)whowantedmuchmilderreforms.This
internaldissentseriouslyweakenedthegroup'snegotiatingpositionandledtoafinalagreedmotionwhich
recommendedthattheIMFshouldexaminethelinkandthatfurtherresearchbeconductedintogeneral
reforms.Thisavoidedfirmcommitmentstoactonthe'link'orgeneralreform,andthemotionwaspassed
byconference.[10][12]

Nairobi,1976andManila,1979
UNCTADIVheldinNairobiMay1976,showedrelativesuccesscomparedtoitspredecessors.An
OverseasDevelopmentInstitutebriefingpaperofApril1979highlightsonereasonforsuccessasbeing
downtothe1973OilCrisisandtheencouragementofLDCstomakegainsthroughproducersofother
commodities.TheprincipalresultoftheconferencewastheadoptionoftheIntegratedProgrammefor
Commodities.Theprogrammecoveredtheprincipalcommodityexportsanditsobjectivesasidefromthe
stabilisationofcommoditypriceswere:'Justandremunerativepricing,takingintoaccountworldinflation',
theexpansionofprocessing,distributionandcontroloftechnologybyLDCsandimprovedaccessto
markets.[13][14]
UNCTADVinthewakeoftheNairobiConference,heldinManila1979focusedonthekeyissuesof:
protectionismindevelopingcountriesandtheneedforstructuralchange,tradeincommoditiesand
manufacturesaidandinternationalmonetaryreform,technology,shipping,andeconomiccooperation
amongdevelopingcountries.AnOverseasDevelopmentInstitutebriefingpaperwrittenin1979focusesits
attentiononthekeyissuesregardingtheLDCs`roleastheGroupof77intheinternationalcommunity.[15]

Belgrade,1983
ThesixthUNconferenceontradeanddevelopmentinBelgrade,630June1983washeldagainstthe
backgroundofearlierUNCTADswhichhavesubstantiallyfailedtoresolvemanyofthedisagreements
betweenthedevelopedanddevelopingcountriesandofaworldeconomyinitsworstrecessionsincethe
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early1930s.Thekeyissuesofthetimewerefinanceandadjustment,commoditypricestabilisationand
trade.[10]

Reports
UNCTADproducesanumberoftopicalreports,including:
TheTradeandDevelopmentReport[16]
TheTradeandEnvironmentReview[17]
TheWorldInvestmentReport[18]
TheEconomicDevelopmentinAfricaReport[19]
TheLeastDevelopedCountriesReport[20]
UNCTADStatistics[21]
TheInformationEconomyReport[22]
TheReviewofMaritimeTransport[23]
TheInternationalAccountingandReportingIssuesAnnualReview[24]
TheTechnologyandInnovationReport[25]

Other
UNCTADconductstechnicalcooperationprogrammes[26]suchasASYCUDA,DMFAS,EMPRETECand
WAIPA.
Inaddition,UNCTADconductscertaintechnicalcooperationincollaborationwiththeWorldTrade
OrganizationthroughthejointInternationalTradeCentre(ITC),atechnicalcooperationagencytargeting
operationalandenterpriseorientedaspectsoftradedevelopment.
UNCTADhoststheIntergovernmentalWorkingGroupofExpertsonInternationalStandardsof
AccountingandReporting(ISAR).[24]

PartnershipInitiatives
UNCTADisafoundingmemberoftheUnitedNationsSustainableStockExchanges(SSE)initiativealong
withthePrinciplesforResponsibleInvestment(PRI),theUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgrammeFinance
Initiative(UNEPFI),andtheUNGlobalCompact.

ListofSecretariesGeneralandOfficersinCharge

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Nr

UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopmentWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

SecretaryGeneral

10 MukhisaKituyi

Datesinoffice
1September2013Present

Countryoforigin
Kenya

SupachaiPanitchpakdi 1September200530August2013

Thailand

CarlosFortin

20042005

Chile

RubensRicupero

19952004

Brazil

CarlosFortin

19941995

Chile

KennethK.S.Dadzie

19861994

Ghana

AlisterMcIntyre

1985

Grenada

GamaniCorea

19741984

SriLanka

ManuelPrezGuerrero 19691974

Venezuela

RalPrebisch

Argentina

19631969

Remarks

OfficerinCharge
OfficerinCharge
OfficerinCharge

Seealso
Foreigndirectinvestment
GlobalSystemofTradePreferencesamongDevelopingCountries(GSTP)
Internationaltrade
ListofcountriesbyreceivedFDI
UnitedNationsGuidelinesforConsumerProtection

References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Fromofficialwebsite
http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=13
http://archive.unctad.org/en/docs/tdngolistd12_en.pdf
"MembershipofUNCTADandmembershipoftheTradeandDevelopmentBoard"(PDF).unctad.org.
http://daccessods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?OpenAgent&DS=A/RES/1995(XIX)&Lang=E&Area=RESOLUTION
http://www.unctadxiii.org/
http://www.unctadxii.org/
http://www.unctadxi.org/
"WELCOMETOTENTHSESSIONOFTHECONFERENCE(UNCTADX),BANGKOK1219FEB.2000".
unctad10.org.
10. "UNCTADVI:backgroundandissues".ODIBriefingPaper.OverseasDevelopmentInstitute.Retrieved19July
2011.
11. "TheUNConferenceonTradeandDevelopment".ODIBriefingPaper1.OverseasDevelopmentInstitute.
Retrieved27June2011.
12. "ODIBriefingPaper".UNCTADIII,problemsandprospects.OverseasDevelopmentInstitute.Retrieved
27June2011.
13. "UNCTAD5:Apreviewoftheissues".ODIbriefingpaperNo.21979.OverseasDevelopmentInstitute.
Retrieved28June2011.
14. "UNCTAdVI:backgroundandissues".ODIBriefingPaper.OverseasDevelopmentInstitute.Retrieved19July
2011.
15. "UNCTAD:Apreviewoftheissues".ODIbriefingpaper1979.OverseasDevelopmentInstitute.Retrieved
28June2011.
16. http://unctad.org/tdr
17. http://unctad.org/ter
18. "unctad.orgHome".unctad.org.
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18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.

UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopmentWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

"unctad.orgHome".unctad.org.
http://unctad.org/africa/series
http://unctad.org/ldcr
http://unctad.org/stats
http://unctad.org/ier/series
http://unctad.org/rmt/series
http://unctad.org/isar
"unctad.orgTechnologyandInnovationReport(Series)".unctad.org.
http://unctad.org/tc

Furtherreading
Berthoud,Paul(2008).AProfessionalLifeNarrative.edinter.net.workedwithUNCTADandoffers
testimonyfromtheinside(http://www.edinter.net/paulberthoud/narrative/#gva).

Externallinks
UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopment
WikimediaCommonshas
(http://unctad.org)
mediarelatedtoUnited
UNCTADmemberstates
NationsConferenceon
(http://unctad.org/en/Pages/About%20UNCTAD/UNCTADs
TradeandDevelopment.
Membership.aspx)
ResearchGuideaboutUNCTAD(UNLibraryatGeneva)(http://libraryresources.unog.ch/unctad)
InternationalTradeCentre(http://www.intracen.org)
UNCTAD:TimetoLead(FocusontheGlobalSouth)
(http://www.focusweb.org/publications/2000/UNCTAD.htm)
GlobalPolicyForumUNCTAD(http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/trade/unctad/unctadin.htm)
InternationalTradeDebates(http://www.irantradelaw.com/)
ODIBriefingPapersontheUNCTAD(http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/search.asp?
series=&type=&theme=&country=&programme=&staff=&year=&language=&search=UNCTAD)
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