The UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) together with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), thanks to a grant from the Government of Italy, have designed an “Investment Support Programme for the LDCs”, which aims to make available on request to LDCs and their interested business entities with resource constraints the pro bono services of legal and other experts to support them in investment-related negotiations and dispute settlement.
The Programme intends to prioritize legal and expert assistance to the LDCs with the objective of increasing and diversifying investments and ensuring their sustainability. It responds to the repeated calls of the international community in this direction, including in the Istanbul Programme of Action for the LDCs (IPoA), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Political Declaration adopted at the 2016 mid-term review of the IPoA. The Programme has been developed with feedback from LDC officials and other international experts.
The meeting during the Ministerial week of the General Assembly will open with a high-level segment featuring a keynote address by the Vice President of the International Court of Justice, addresses by the Under-Secretary General and High Representative for the LDCs, and the Director-General of IDLO, statements by Ministers of LDCs and development partners, followed by an interactive debate.
A second part of the meeting will be devoted to a dialogue on LDCs' support requirements in relation to both investment negotiations and dispute settlement, involving renowned legal experts and practitioners.
Overview of the Initiative - English
Aperçu de l'initiative - Français
Outlines of the Initiative - English
Description du programme - Français
H.E. Jamal Mohamed Hassan, Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development, Federal Republic of Somalia
H.E. Dr. Isatou Touray, Minister of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment, Republic of The Gambia
Luigi De Chiara, Minister Plenipotentiary, Directorate of Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy
Moderator: Hassan Cisse, Member of IDLO Board of Advisors and former Director, Governance and Inclusive Institutions, Governance Global Practice, World Bank
Panelists:
Surya Subedi - University of Leeds: “The art of negotiating investment treaties and investment contacts in a changing world of international investment law”
Mamadou Hebié - University of Leiden: “Negotiations and the creation of legitimate expectations for investors”
Paolo di Rosa - Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer: “Dispute resolution clauses in investment agreements”
Kyi Kyi Than Aung - Director of the Commercial Contracts Division, Union Attorney General’s Office, Myanmar: "The challenges of investment negotiations for small economies: the case of Myanmar"
Moderator: Hassan Cisse, Member of IDLO Board of Advisors and former Director, Governance and Inclusive Institutions, Governance Global Practice, World Bank
Panelists:
Grant Hanessian and Kabir Duggal - Baker and McKenzie: “The challenges of investment arbitration for the LDCs: a review of the case law”
Won Kidane - Seattle University Law School: “LDCs unique challenge of getting the composition of arbitrators in investor-state arbitration right”
Maria B. Deli - Italian Association for Arbitration: “ADR and LDCs: when the alternative methods become real and effective”
Robert Howse - New York University Law School: “Settlement negotiations”
The United Nations security arrangements during the General Assembly are particularly tight, therefore access to the UN building will only be granted to those invitees who have RSVP’d by Tuesday, September 19th, through the link below.
All participants, including holders of UN Blue Ground Passes, are required to have a special event pass to access the venue.
Please bring your government issued photo ID and UN pass (should you have one).
Participants are kindly requested to come to the meeting checkpoint located at 46th street and 2nd avenue from 8:30 to 9:15 am to collect their special event pass.
After collecting the special event pass from the meeting representative at the checkpoint, participants will be escorted through security to Conference Room 2.
Security screening is a several-step process and will take time to complete. To ensure smooth access through the security check point at the entrance of the UN Headquarters, please do not bring large bags, large cameras, tripods or food items.
The registration for non UN Pass holders is now closed.
This event is accessible to UN Pass holder only.
You can follow the event live through the below link:
UN Webcast
