Editing UN Trade and Development (section)

==Meetings==
The inter-governmental work is done at five levels of meetings:
* The UNCTAD Conference – held every four years:
{| class="wikitable" 
|UNCTAD XV
|[[Bridgetown]]
|{{flagu|Barbados}}
|3–8 October 2021<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unctad.org/meeting/fifteenth-session-united-nations-conference-trade-and-development-unctad-15|title=Fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 15) &#124; UNCTAD|website=unctad.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unctad15.bb/|title=UNCTAD 15 Barbados - Development Through Trade|website=UNCTAD 15 Barbados}}</ref>
|- 
| UNCTAD XIV || [[Nairobi]] || {{flagu|Kenya}} || 17–22 July 2016<ref>[https://archive.today/20160610210335/http://unctad14.org/] UNCTAD 14 Home Page</ref>
|-
| UNCTAD XIII || [[Doha]] || {{flagu|Qatar}} || 21–26 April 2012<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unctadxiii.org/|title=Home &#124; UNCTAD|website=www.unctadxiii.org|access-date=16 December 2011|archive-date=30 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930015259/http://www.unctadxiii.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|- 
| UNCTAD XII || [[Accra]] || {{flagu|Ghana}} || 21–25 April 2008<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unctadxii.org/ |title=UNCTAD XII Adopts Wide-Ranging Conclusions |access-date=26 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826034148/http://www.unctadxii.org/ |archive-date=26 August 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
|- 
| UNCTAD XI  || [[São Paulo]] || {{flagu|Brazil}} || 13–18 June 2004<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unctadxi.org/ |title=Unctad Xi |access-date=26 March 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040326123257/http://www.unctadxi.org/ |archive-date=26 March 2004 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
|- 
| UNCTAD X || [[Bangkok]] || {{flagu|Thailand}} || 12–19 February 2000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unctad-10.org/|title=Welcome to the Tenth Session of the Conference (UNCTAD X), Bangkok 12–19 FEB. 2000|publisher=unctad-10.org}}</ref>
|- 
| UNCTAD IX || [[Midrand, Gauteng|Midrand]] || {{flagu|South Africa}} || 27 April – 11 May 1996
|- 
| UNCTAD VIII || [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]] || {{flagu|Colombia}} || 8–25 February 1992
|-
|UNCTAD VII
|[[Geneva]]
|{{flagu|Switzerland}}
|8 Jul – 3 Aug 1987
|-
|UNCTAD VI
|[[Belgrade]]
|{{flagu|Yugoslavia}}
|6–30 Jun 1983
|-
|UNCTAD V
|[[Manila]]
|{{flagu|Philippines}}
|7 May – 3 Jun 1979
|-
|UNCTAD IV
|[[Nairobi]]
|{{flagu|Kenya}}
|5–31 May 1976
|-
|UNCTAD III
|[[Santiago]]
|{{flagu|Chile}}
|13 Apr – 21 May 1972
|-
|UNCTAD II
|[[New Delhi]]
|{{flagu|India}}
|31 Jan – 29 Mar 1968
|-
|UNCTAD I
|[[Geneva]]
|{{flagu|Switzerland}}
|23 Mar – 16 Jun 1964
|}
* The UNCTAD Trade and Development Board – the board manages the work of UNCTAD between two conferences and meets up to three times every year.
* Four UNCTAD Commissions and one Working Party – these meet more often than the board to take up policy, programme and budgetary issues.
* Expert Meetings – the commissions will convene expert meetings on selected topics to provide substantive and expert input for Commission policy discussions.

The 15th quadrennial meeting took place virtually in [[Bridgetown, Barbados]], from 25 to 30 April 2021.<ref>UNCTAD, [https://unctad.org/meeting/fifteenth-session-united-nations-conference-trade-and-development-unctad-15 Fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 15)], accessed 27 October 2020</ref>

=== Geneva, 1964 ===
In response to developing countries ([[Least Developed Country]], LDC) anxiety at their worsening position in world trade, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] voted for a 'one-off' conference. These early discussions paved the way for new IMF facilities to provide finance for shortfalls in commodity earnings and for the Generalised Preference Schemes which increased access to Northern markets for manufactured imports from the South. At [[Geneva]], the LDCs were successful in their proposal for the conference with its secretariat to become a permanent organ of the UN, with meetings every four years.<ref name="UNCTAD VI: background and issues">{{cite web|title=UNCTAD VI: background and issues|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5412&title=unctad-vi-issues-prospects-ldcs|work=ODI Briefing Paper|publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]]|access-date=19 July 2011|archive-date=26 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026162118/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5412&title=unctad-vi-issues-prospects-ldcs|url-status=dead}}</ref>  At the Geneva meeting, [[Raúl Prebisch]]—a prominent Argentinian economist from the [[United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean]] (ECLAC)—became the organization's first secretary-general.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unctad.org/en/Pages/About%20UNCTAD/A-Brief-History-of-UNCTAD.aspx|title=History|website=United Nations Conference on Trade and Development}}</ref>

=== New Delhi, 1968 ===
The New Delhi Conference, held in February and March 1968, was a forum that allowed developing countries to reach an agreement on the basic principles of their development policies. The conference in New Delhi was an opportunity for schemes to be finally approved. The conference provided a major impetus in persuading the North to follow up on UNCTAD I resolutions, in establishing generalized preferences. The target for private and official flows to LDCs was raised to 1% of the North's [[GNP]], but the developed countries failed to achieve the target by a specific date. This has proven a continuing point of debate at UNCTAD conferences.

The conference led to the [[International Sugar Agreement]], which seeks to stabilize world sugar prices.<ref name="UNCTAD VI: background and issues"/><ref>{{cite web|title=The UN Conference on Trade and Development|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5262&title=unctad-trade-development|work=ODI Briefing Paper 1|publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]]|access-date=27 June 2011|archive-date=26 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026145017/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5262&title=unctad-trade-development|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Santiago, 1972 ===
The Santiago Conference, 15 April 1972, was the third occasion on which developing countries confronted the rich with the need to use trade and aid measures more effectively to improve living standards in the developing world. Discussion centred on the international monetary system and specifically on the South's proposal that a higher proportion of new special drawing rights (SDRs) should be allocated to LDCs as a form of aid (the so-called 'link'). In [[Santiago]], substantial disagreements arose within the [[Group of 77]] (G77) despite preconference meetings. There was disagreement over the SDR proposal and between those in the G77 who wanted fundamental changes such as a change in the voting allocations in the South's favour at the IMF and those (mainly the Latin American countries) who wanted much milder reforms. This internal dissent seriously weakened the group's negotiating position and led to a final agreed motion which recommended that the IMF should examine the link and that further research be conducted into general reforms. This avoided firm commitments to act on the 'link' or general reform, and the motion was passed by the conference.<ref name="UNCTAD VI: background and issues"/><ref>{{cite web|title=ODI Briefing Paper|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5314&title=unctad-iii-problems-prospects|work=UNCTAD III, problems and prospects|publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]]|access-date=27 June 2011|archive-date=26 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026165140/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5314&title=unctad-iii-problems-prospects|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Nairobi, 1976, and Manila, 1979 ===
UNCTAD IV, held in [[Nairobi]] in May 1976, showed relative success compared to its predecessors. An [[Overseas Development Institute]] briefing paper of April 1979 highlights one reason for success as being down to the [[1973 Oil Crisis]] and the encouragement of LDCs to make gains through producers of other commodities. The principal result of the conference was the adoption of the Integrated Programme for Commodities. The programme covered the principal commodity exports and its objectives aside from the stabilisation of commodity prices were: "Just and remunerative pricing, taking into account world inflation", the expansion of processing, distribution and control of technology by LDCs and improved access to markets.<ref name="preview">{{cite web|title=UNCTAD V: A preview of the issues |url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5369&title=unctad-v-preview|work=ODI Briefing Papers 2 |date=April 1979 |publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]]|access-date=28 June 2011|archive-date=26 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026150532/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5369&title=unctad-v-preview|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=UNCTAd VI: background and issues|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5412&title=unctad-vi-issues-prospects-ldcs|work=ODI Briefing Paper|publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]]|access-date=19 July 2011|archive-date=26 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026162118/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5412&title=unctad-vi-issues-prospects-ldcs|url-status=dead}}</ref>

UNCTAD V, held in [[Manila]] in 1979 in the wake of the Nairobi Conference, focused on the key issues of protectionism in developing countries and the need for structural change, trade in commodities and manufacturing aid and international monetary reform, technology, shipping, and economic co-operation among developing countries. An Overseas Development Institute briefing paper written in 1979 focuses its attention on the key issues regarding the LDCs' role as the [[Group of 77]] in the international community.<ref name="preview"/>

=== Belgrade, 1983 ===
The sixth UN Conference on Trade and Development in [[Belgrade]], 6–30 June 1983, was held against the background of earlier UNCTADs which have substantially failed to resolve many of the disagreements between the developed and developing countries and of a world economy in its worst recession since the early 1930s. The key issues of the time were finance and adjustment, commodity price stabilisation and trade.<ref name="UNCTAD VI: background and issues"/>

=== Bridgetown, 2021 ===
The fifteenth session of UNCTAD was originally scheduled for 2020 but was delayed until 2021 due to [[COVID-19]].
This was the first time the conference was held in a [[Small Island Developing States|Small Island Developing State]] (SIDS).