The decade of the 1990s returned a mixed score card for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Overall, the LDCs recorded only modest progress, but there were some encouraging experiences in social development and economic integration. The Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries presents an opportunity to review these experiences and agree on strategies to build on lessons learnt to accelerate the fight against poverty. These strategies must be centred on the realization of the rights of children.