Mr Chairman
I have the honour to deliver this statement on the operational activities of the UN system on behalf of Malawi, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Norway, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the United Kingdom.
Mr Chairman
We are pleased to be able to engage in this dialogue at this time. The UN Operational Activities for Development system continues to play a critical role in the response to the ongoing crises we face. We welcome the UN’s response to date and encourage the donors to meet their aid commitments in order to deliver the MDGs. But more and better funding is only part of the solution. The truth is that the UN development system has the scope to become much more effective and efficient in delivery on the ground allowing savings to be re-invested in country programmes.
Mr Chairman
Evidence from the pilot country evaluations presented at Hanoi show that the way the UN works on the ground has improved. Delivering as One has made the UN more relevant and responsive to the needs of programme countries. Some efficiency gains have been made, and competition between agencies has been reduced. Speaking with one voice has enhanced the visibility and impact of the UN at country level. The outcome statement from Hanoi reaffirms the conclusions of the Kigali Conference in 2009 that “there is no going back to doing business in the manner prior to the Delivering as One initiative” and called on UN member states “to promote the Delivering as One approach across programme countries”. This is welcome news. However, there are several areas where improvements must be made. There is still work to be done at Headquarters to support the reforms in-country. For example, more needs to be done to reduce the reporting burden on UN country teams. We also need to ensure that the UN’s funding system is responsive to the needs of these countries and is delivered in ways that promote coherence. On business practice harmonisation we call for the swift implementation of the CEB Plan of Action. Resolving the frustrating issues that inhibit closer UN working in-country should be a priority. It is important that these efforts are truly system-wide and are followed through by not only the funds and programmes, but also by the secretariat and the specialised agencies.
Mr Chairman
The UN needs to ensure that the firewall agreement becomes fully operative and that Resident Coordinators are empowered to lead their country team. This is clearly mandated in the QCPR. The pilot country evaluations show that while progress has been made there is still much to be done. As called for in Hanoi, we now need all UN agencies to ensure that the RC is properly empowered to deliver on behalf of the system “with the level of authority matching the responsibilities and accountabilities placed on them”. It is also critical that we get the right people with the right skills in post in time. This is particularly important in countries emerging from conflict, or where a complex mix of humanitarian and development pressures need to be managed well. We are mindful that the UN is only as good as its staff. Human Resource Management reform is on the agenda of the 5th committee this session, and we need to ensure that the policies that we as Member States put in place serve to get the right people in the right place at the right time.
Mr Chairman
The recent resolution on System Wide Coherence and the establishment of UN Women as a key part of the UN development operations systems was another important step forward. We congratulate Ms Bachelet on her appointment and look forward to working with her. This new body represents an important step change in how the UN works on gender and we hope will be able to deliver results quickly and will bring with it much needed reforms and ensure better working on the full range of gender issues across the UN organisations. We are pleased that UN Women will join the next session of the Joint Boards.
Finally Mr Chairman
Malawi, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Norway, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the United Kingdom remain fully committed to the full implementation of the QCPR and making progress on all important ongoing System-Wide reforms still to be fully realised. We look forward to the results of the independent evaluation following a fair and transparent process. We will continue to actively work across the governing boards of the Operational Activities system to ensure that the benefits of Delivering as One become available to all countries that voluntarily wish to take this approach.
Thank you