unrestricted access in international trade. This chapter briefly discusses several international attempts to address the development problem.
5.1.1 Strengthening Coordination: The ECOSOC Resolution
ECOSOC acknowledged the importance of LLS access to the sea for trade purposes in the context of the Asian and Pacific countries in a Resolution on Restructuring the Conference Structure of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), adopted during its 34th plenary meeting on July 18, 1997.524Through the resolution it decided to retain and invigorate a special body that had been created earlier to act as the focal point on LLS issues.525 In accordance with the terms of reference,526this Special Body is to provide a forum for addressing the special problems facing the least developed and land-locked developing countries in the spirit of regional cooperation. It has the responsibility to review and analyze economic and social progress in these coun-tries and study the economic, social, and environmental constraints on their development.527It is also expected to mobilize ideas and be a catalyst for action to identify and promote new international policy options for removing constraints on the economic and social development of these countries, emphasizing adop-tion of measures for increased mobilizaadop-tion of domestic and foreign resources, trade and private sector development, or public sector reform. It will also act, on request, as economic advisor to governments with limited internal capacity.528 Responsible for enhancing the national capacities of LLS, particularly in formu-lating development strategies and strengthening intercountry cooperation, the Special Body, if necessary, can analyze the transit trade and transport problems of Asian landlocked developing countries, recommend measures for solving these problems within international legal regimes, and encourage these countries and their transit neighbors to cooperate bilaterally in dealing with problems.529 Finally, it is responsible for coordinating with development agencies, the private
524ECOSOC Resolution 1997/4.
525The Special Body on Least Developed and Landlocked Developing Countries had already been established for the LLS. The decision to reinvigorate it is noteworthy because it reflects an understanding of the problems of LLS by the international commu-nity. See paragraph 2 of ECOSOC Resolution 1997/4.
526See Annex VII of ECOSOC Resolution 1997/4.
527See id.
528See id.
529See id.
sector, and NGOs on activities for the benefit of the least developed and land-locked developing countries.530
5.1.2 Devising Specific Actions: General Assembly Resolutions
Similarly, in 1997 the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution on Specific Actions Related to the Particular Needs and Problems of Landlocked Developing Countries.531 Recalling several earlier resolutions,532this Resolution noted that measures to deal with the transit problems of landlocked developing countries required closer and even more effective cooperation and collaboration between LLS and their transit neighbors. Interestingly, it confirmed the rights of access of landlocked countries to and from the sea and of freedom of transit through the territory of transit States by all means of transport in accordance with interna-tional law. It also reaffirmed that transit developing countries, in exercising full sovereignty over their territory, have the right to take all measures necessary to ensure that the rights and facilities they provide for landlocked developing coun-tries in no way infringe upon their legitimate interests.
While retaining a theoretical neutrality on issues of substance (defining rights and duties), the Resolution called upon both the landlocked developing countries and their transit neighbors to implement measures to further their cooperative and collaborative efforts on transit issues by, inter alia,improving the transit trans-port infrastructure, signing bilateral and subregional agreements to govern tran-sit transport operations, developing joint ventures, strengthening institutions and human resources for dealing with transit transport, and promoting South-South cooperation.
The Resolution also recommended that all States and international organiza-tions make it an urgent priority to implement specific acorganiza-tions related to the particular needs and problems of landlocked developing countries as agreed in resolutions and declarations adopted by the General Assembly and by the major relevant UN conferences. Finally, the Resolution invited donor countries and multilateral institutions to provide landlocked and transit developing countries with assistance in constructing, maintaining, and improving transport, storage, and other transit-related facilities, including alternative routes and improved
530See id.
531UN General Assembly Resolution 52/183, adopted on December 18, 1997, in UN Doc.
A/52/626/Add.2.
532In particular Resolutions 44/214 of December 22, 1989, 46/212 of December 20, 1991, 48/169 of December 21, 1993, and 50/97 of December 20, 1995.
communications, and in promoting subregional, regional, and interregional programs.533
This certainly was not the first time the international community had made pronouncements in favor of international cooperation. During its 86th plenary meeting on December 16, 1996, the General Assembly adopted a Resolution on Central Asian countries that highlighted the importance of cooperation for developing trade and access,534and on December 15, 1998, it passed another Resolution535that focused particularly on LLS trade problems.
In these Resolutions, the General Assembly recognized that the socioeco-nomic development efforts of newly independent and developing LLS, seeking to enter world markets through a multicountry transit system, are impeded by both lack of territorial access to the sea and their remoteness and isolation from world markets. The Resolutions stated that the problems of transit transport fac-ing the Central Asian region needed to be seen against the backdrop of economic change and the accompanying challenges, especially how such change affected their international and intraregional trade. To be effective, therefore, a transit transport strategy for such countries should incorporate actions that address both the problems inhering in the use of existing transit routes and the early develop-ment and smooth functioning of new alternative routes.
The Resolutions also invited the Secretary General of UNCTAD and the governments concerned to elaborate a program for improving the efficiency of the transit environment in the newly independent and developing landlocked States in Central Asia and their transit neighbors, and the community of donors,
533A Special Fund for Landlocked Developing Countries was created in late 1976.
See UN General Assembly Resolution 31/177 (December 21, 1976), UN Doc.
A/31/335/Add.1. Although the responsibility for defining and executing projects is to be shared with UNCTAD, the fund was put under the supervision of UNDP. Voluntary contributions were pledged in conjunction with the UN Pledging Conference for Devel-opment Activities. By the end of 1981 cumulative contributions were approximately
$1 million, with over half of this from a single donor (UNDP 1982). From 1982 to 1984 contributions averaged $70,000 per year, making the Special Fund insignificant in devel-opment terms. See UNDP 1985. In view of the very limited resources available, the main function of the fund was to conduct studies and provide small-scale assistance, primarily in areas of transportation and trade relevant to landlocked developing countries. The repeated refusal of the major donors to contribute to the Special Fund reflected their belief that groups of developing countries should not be singled out for special treatment; this made it difficult to carry out the initiative effectively. See UNDP 1985.
534UN General Assembly Resolution 51/168, dated December 16, 1996. Resolution on Transit Environment in the Landlocked States in Central Asia and Their Transit Develop-ing Neighbors, in UN Doc. A/Res/51/168 (February 21, 1997).
535UN General Assembly Resolution 53/171, dated December 15, 1998, bore the same title as Resolution 51/168, id. SeeUN Doc. A/Res/53/171 (January 15, 1999).
within their mandates, to give such countries assistance in improving the transit environment.536
While emphasizing the need for access to the sea, Resolution 53/171 also reaf-firmed that transit countries, in the exercise of full sovereignty over their terri-tory, have the right to take all measures necessary to ensure that the rights and facilities provided for landlocked countries in no way infringe upon their legiti-mate interests.537
It may therefore be concluded that the soft instruments unequivocally recog-nize the difficulties of enforcing, in practical terms, the LLS right of access to and from the sea on which their participation in international trade and economic development activities depends. Indeed, although recognized by different inter-national instruments, access to the sea still remains theoretical for many LLS; in practice they have to rely heavily on the decisions of their transit neighbors, who first consider their own sovereignty and strategic interests, not necessarily the interests of the LLS.
5.2 Specific Initiatives for Resource Allocation
The turn of the twenty-first century augured well for innovative approaches to addressing the concerns of LLS. Although the LLS continued their struggles in international forums, increasingly they have engaged in coordinated and collab-orative action with the LDCs.