A/RES/53/170 Page 3 on the theme “Partners for Development”, held at Lyon, France, from 9 to 12 November 1998, and urges the Conference, in cooperation with other relevant bodies of the United Nations system, to continue to assist developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, and, in this regard, also notes the needs of the economies in transition; 8. Reiterates the importance of continued trade liberalization in developed and developing countries, including in sectors of export interest to developing countries, through, inter alia: (a) Substantial reductions of tariffs, the rolling back of tariff peaks and the removal of tariff escalation; (b) The elimination of trade-distorting policies, protectionist practices and non-tariff barriers in international trade relations; (c) Ensuring that resort to anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, and phytosanitary and technical standards is subjected to effective multilateral surveillance so that such measures respect and are consistent with multilateral rules and obligations and are not used for protectionist purposes; (d) The improvement and renewal, by preference-giving countries, of their Generalized System of Preferences schemes with the objective of integrating developing countries, especially the least developed countries, into the international trading system and of finding ways and means to ensure more effective utilization of the Generalized System of Preferences schemes, and in this context reiterates its original principles, namely, non-discrimination, universality, burden-sharing and non-reciprocity; 9. Also reiterates that it is an ethical imperative for the international community to arrest and reverse the marginalization of the least developed countries and to promote their expeditious integration into the world economy and, as declared in the ministerial communiqué on market access adopted by the Economic and Social Council on 8 July 1998,1 that all countries should work together towards further enhanced market access for exports from least developed countries within the context of supporting their own efforts at capacity-building; welcomes the initiatives taken by the World Trade Organization in cooperation with other organizations in the implementation of the Plan of Action for the Least Developed Countries adopted at its first Ministerial Conference, held at Singapore from 9 to 13 December 1996, including through effective follow-up to the High-level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for Least Developed Countries' Trade Development, held at Geneva on 27 and 28 October 1997; recognizes that the full implementation of the Plan of Action requires further progress towards duty-free imports from the least developed countries; and invites the relevant international organizations to provide enhanced technical assistance to help strengthen the supply capacity of the least developed countries so as to help them to take the fullest possible advantage of trading opportunities arising from globalization and liberalization; 10. Stresses the urgent need to facilitate the integration of the countries of Africa into the world economy, and in this context welcomes the action-oriented agenda for the development of Africa contained in the report of the Secretary-General on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa,4 and endorses the call contained in the ministerial communiqué for continued efforts to enhance market access for products of export interest to African economies and 4 A/52/871–S/1998/318; see Official Records of the Security Council, Fifty-third Year, Supplement for April, May and June 1998, document S/1998/318. /...