Summary: October 9, 2000: Statement by Mrs Catherine Gras, Financial Adviser at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations. Operational development activities (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) and the other associated countries (Cyprus and Turkey) support this statement.
The European Union would like to take the opportunity presented by this debate to reaffirm its deep commitment to the United Nations' operational development activities. We consider them to be one of the mainstays of the organisation's action to bring about a world of peace and solidarity. As largest single donor in terms of official development aid (I would remind you that the European Union funds 54% of ODA taken as a whole, whereas its share of world GNP is 29%), the European Union has long
made a substantial contribution to the financing of the United Nations' funds and programmes, funding over half of them.
The European Union welcomes the resolutions adopted by ECOSOC at its substantive session in July 2000, in the context of its operational development activities segment, in an atmosphere of constructive dialogue and partnership. It hopes that the same spirit will guide delegations in preparing for the forthcoming triennial review, planned for the 56th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Mr Chairman,
The European Union fully agrees with the suggestion put forward by the Secretary-General at the UNDP ministerial meeting on 11 September 2000 that the role of the UN should not be confined to economic and social regulation. The pursuit of operational development activities through the work of funds and programmes is, in our view, essential. They must of course be adapted to the requirements of the new challenges of a constantly changing world and in particular be redefined to dovetail smoothly
with the action of other institutions, such as the Bretton Woods institutions.
Mr Chairman,
The first point we would emphasise with regard to UNIFEM is this capacity to adapt. Faced with a delicate situation in the middle of the past decade, UNIFEM has redefined its tasks and its methods of operation, rethought its action and established clear priorities. It has thus managed to restore Member States' and in particular donors' confidence, which has resulted in an increase in its resources over the past few years. The European Union considers that the innovative nature of programmes
should enable UNIFEM to act as a catalyst in the United Nations system.
2.
More recently, UNIFEM has redefined its procedures for cooperating not only with the UNDP but also with the UNFPA, both at headquarter level and on the ground, notably by taking an active part in the preparation of UNDAF or by making specialist advisers on gender issues available to the UNFPA technical support teams. There is in fact considerable convergence between the activities of UNIFEM and UNFPA, which closely complement one another. In this connection, the European Union would emphasise
the importance for women and female adolescents of access to healthcare, particularly reproductive health services.
Mr Chairman,
We know and appreciate UNIFEM's role and involvement in the preparation and proceedings of the 23nd special session of the General Assembly (Beijing plus 5). We are sure that this institution will wish to show the same commitment concerning the implementation of the recommendations of the final document of that special session, which aims to ensure full, effective implementation of the Beijing action plan.
The European Union would like to remind you here of the points it feels deserve particular attention:
The human rights approach is one of the reform priorities introduced by the Secretary-General in 1997. This approach is particularly relevant to UNIFEM and in fact lies at the heart of its remit. UNIFEM has a particular role to play in promoting the effective implementation of international conventions, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. We must remember here that the rights of women and girls form an inalienable, integral and
indivisible part of universal human rights.
The increased participation of women in decision-making in all three spheres - public, economic and social - is a decisive factor in strategies for poverty reduction, growth and development for society as a whole. Much remains to be done, including in the developing countries, to achieve the objective of parity. The European Union would emphasise in this connection how important it is for girls to have access to quality education.
The elimination of all forms of violence towards women is of course a top priority. UNIFEM must continue its efforts to promote the adoption and implementation of national legislation penalising inter alia rape, genital mutilation, domestic violence and other forms of violence. The European Union welcomes the setting up of a trust fund, to date the only multilateral funding mechanism to support the implementation of innovative strategies for putting an end to violence towards women.
Improved statistical data and the breakdown of data by gender is a strategy which will facilitate the proper assessment of local situations as well as the progress made. We hope that UNIFEM will continue its efforts in this area, particularly when it comes to preparing common country assessments (CCAs). We especially appreciate the work done in some countries to ensure that the question of equality between men and women is taken into account in the analysis and preparation of budgets.
Thank you Mr Chairman.
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