HOLY SEE ADDRESSES CONFERENCE ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 18, 2001 (VIS) - Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, head of the Holy See Delegation at the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, taking place in Brussels, Belgium from May 14 to 20, addressed the meeting on May 16. That speech was published today.

Archbishop Martin, Holy See Permanent Observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, Switzerland, noted that the number of the least developed countries has actually increased and "we cannot remain indifferent to such a situation."

"Our era possesses the knowledge, the means and the policy orientations needed to address poverty, exclusion and crass inequalities. ... It recognizes that only a comprehensive, holistic development strategy, centered on the human person, will ensure long-term development."

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