Sumario: October 28, 2002: Statement by Mrs. Pia Starbæk Szczepanski, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN, on behalf of the European Union, on "Operational activities for development". FIFTY-SEVENTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - SECOND COMMITTEE: Item 88 (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the associated countries - Cyprus, Malta and Turkey align themselves with this statement.
Mr. Chairman,
Securing an increased predictable funding base for the operational activities for development on the basis of effective performance by the UN system organisations remains a high priority. In this regard, the current efforts towards enhanced co-operation among UN system organisations in the field should continue to be pursued, and the European Union welcomes the importance attached hereto in the Secretary-General's report on strengthening of the United Nations system.
Turning now to the report of the Secretary General on alternative options to the current modality of the annual Pledging Conference, on which this intervention will be focussed, the European Union should like to reiterate its position concerning the annual Pledging Conference within the General Assembly. We are very much in agreement with the overall conclusions of the report.
Firstly, the format of the Pledging Conference no longer serves the purpose for which it was originally intended: Namely, increasing the resources for operational activities for development on a predictable, continuous and assured basis. The numbers speak for themselves. It is estimated that for this year UNFPA only managed to raise 0,04% of the total amount of financial contributions through the Pledging Conference held last November. Similar scenarios apply to UNDP and UNICEF.
Secondly, the introduction and continuous refinement of the Multi-year Funding Frameworks (MYFF) by the UN funds and programs, renders the pledging event not only duplicative but also of limited value due to its rather one-sided focus on resource mobilisation separated from results, programme performance and aid effectiveness. Finally, we do agree with the observation in the Secretary General's report that the "peer pressure effect" has turned out to be a non-factor.
For all of the above-mentioned reasons, the member states of the European Union will also this year remain absent from the Pledging Conference scheduled for November 5 and 6.
Mr. Chairman,
Generally, we hold the view that the issue at stake is not so much selecting the right venue for announcing financial contributions as it is a question of continuously guiding and supporting the UN system organisations in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of their operational activities at the field level. Demonstrated performance at field level, including active participation in the UN coordination frameworks, will weigh heavily when donors are making choices about allocating
resources.
Having said that we should like to underline our support for the MYFF's as appropriate tools for engaging in substantive discussions of the linkage between funding for operational activities and results based performance. This allows for a comprehensive view of the operational activities and their funding requirements. Donors have responded positively to the introduction of the MYFF's, and the latter have potential as far as contributing towards a predictable and sustained increase in the
funding base for the UN system organisations, along with continued efforts towards simplification and harmonisation of procedures, by the funds, programs and specialised agencies.
Due to the positive reaction so far to the MYFF both by donors and by the organisations, which have instituted it, we encourage those UN system organisations which have not done so yet, to adopt these frameworks for strategic planning and resource management. The MYFF should also in the future remain the linchpin for discussions on resource mobilisation and pledges accordingly.
Mr. Chairman,
In closing, we would like to underline that the member states of the European Union remain committed to supporting the United Nations operational activities for development, including through financial support. However, we must stress that the funding of operational activities cannot be seen in isolation from results demonstrated in the field by the UN system organisations. For this reason, we support an enhanced use of the MYFF within UN system organisations.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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