UN DESA is the Secretariat of the Committee on Development Policy (CDP), which advises the ECOSOC on issues related to smooth graduation from this category. In this capacity, the Department conducts assessments on the impact of graduation, especially in terms of access to international support measures (ISMs) related to trade (granted through preferential market access for LDCs and special and differential treatment under the WTO agreements), ODA (granted through international commitments targeting the LDCs) and participation in international fora. The Department also provides technical expertise, information and capacity development support to graduating LDCs to facilitate smooth graduation from the LDC status.

UN DESA partners with governments, UN resident coordinators, and UN country teams to assess the impact of graduation, especially in terms of reduced access to ISMs, and advices on improved graduation procedures, measures and tools to promote smooth graduation, productive capacity, and inclusive growth. It also offers the broad range of Departmental capacity development support for the implementation of the SDGs, which includes support for evidence-based policy, policy coherence, and means of implementation, adapted to the specific needs of the LDCs.

UN DESA provides support through various modalities, including knowledge dissemination, technical advisory services and capacity development support to ensure a smooth graduation.

Key resources and tools:

• Committee for Development Policy (CDP) knowledge platform – provides access to analyses and recommendations on a broad range of issues from LDC graduation to productive capacity and inclusive growth
• LDC portal: provides information on international support measures for LDCs
• Gradjet: provides information on the graduation process to prepare for a smooth transition
• ePing: toolkit developed by the CDP Secretariat in collaboration with WTO and ITC to provide access to key information from trading partners regarding new export product requirements. The toolkit is managed by WTO and ITC.