What we heard at ECOSOC

The UN Development System stocktaking moment that happened last week in New York has been marked by the strong support of the Member States with the concrete results achieved by the Resident Coordinator System and the UN development system at large.

More than 100 representatives of Member States from around the world took the floor at the ECOSOC Chamber of the UN Headquarters from 23-25 May 2023. Here are some highlights of what they had to say:
 

The success of the UN reform is evident 

“The empowered resident Coordinator System is better positioned to provide tailored support by leveraging assets from across the UN system. As shown by the COVID-19 pandemic, the RC system is now well positioned to respond to emergencies, build resilience and ensure that development remains at the center of UN interventions.” 

- Delegate of Mongolia, Speaking on behalf of land-locked developing countries (LLDCs)
 

“Investments made in the repositioning of the UN development system are delivering results, with country team programming and policy support increasingly well regarded by host governments.”

- Dr. Frederick M Shava, Keynote speaker and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe 
 

Continuing at the current pace, the SDGs will not be met 

“We have gone into reverse on more than 30 per cent of SDG targets – including our most fundamental goals of reducing poverty and hunger. Progress on another 50 per cent is weak and insufficient.”  

- Mr. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
 

Sustainable development is still the only answer to crises and uncertainty

“Without development, we will have no peace or stability, and we all know this so we should really examine why development remains underfunded, unattended and unaddressed.” 

- Mr. Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Dr. Pa’olelei Luteru, Permanent Representative of Samoa, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island Developing Sates

More investments are needed

“Giving the rising needs around the world and the challenges to achieving the SDGs, we have been calling on the UN Development System to do more, and more, with less and less quality funding. There is a limit to the feasibility of this. The UNDS cannot much further expand its activities with fewer resources, but the UNDS can still further sharpen and consolidate its offer around its unique role, legitimacy and expertise” 

- Ms. Nicole Ruder, Head of the Multilateral Division and Deputy Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Switzerland

“Without adequate and predictable funding, we will jeopardize hard-won gains in the reforms and our ability to support the countries to deliver on the SDGs” 

- Ms. Amina J Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General
 

“Adjusting the quantity and quality of funding does have a multiplier effect on the implementation of the SDGs.”

- Mr. Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination  
 

Extending beyond constrained public resources

“We [Resident Coordinators] have taken the UN Country Teams out of their comfort zone to start collaborations with financial institutions; in some cases, we have co-created new financial vehicles which are now up and running. We are increasingly sought to help connect private and public entities, support pipeline development, and design the impact frameworks needed to reward the investments that accelerate the SDGs.”

- Ms. Mireia Villar Forner, UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia 

“Global trust funds, like the UN Joint SDG Fund, are foundational to give the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team the scope and flexibility to push boundaries and work in ways that go beyond our traditional comfort zone” 

- Mr. Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator in Moldova
 

“Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF) reflect a part of a growing recognition that the future of finance must be one where we align all flows, public and private, with sustainable, inclusive development” 

- Mr. Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator and Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group

UN entities working hand in hand for national priorities

“Our Group strongly advocates that the focus of the UN Development System, and in particular the Resident Coordinator system, must remain on development issues, bearing in mind the different development levels and realities on the ground in all developing countries. The eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions must remain the system’s overarching objective.” 

- Delegate of Cuba, speaking on behalf of the G77 group and China  

“Entities have stepped up to adapt to the new working modalities of the repositioned UN development system.”

- Ms. Amina J Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General 
 

“We need UN Country Teams that are cohesive, flexible, efficient and focused on their scope. We need country teams that can respond to evolving national priorities in an integrated and holistic way. And we need country teams where the individual entities combine their unique approaches into a collective effort.”

- Ms. Marianne Loe, Policy Director at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
 

“New mechanisms for UN teams on the ground are boosting UNICEF's ability to deliver for children, also aligned with national priorities”.

- Ms. Catherine Russell, Executive Director of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Find out more on the ECOSOC AOS Session and the 2023 report
Full remarks by the UN Secretary-General
Full remarks by the UN Deputy Secretary-General
Full remarks by the Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination