EU Presidency Statement - The Human Development Report

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour on behalf of the European Union to deliver a general comment on the resolution contained in document A/C.2/57/L.85 under agenda item 88.

The Central and Eastern European countries associated with European Union - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the associated countries - Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, as well as the EFTA countries of the European Economic Area -Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, align themselves with this comment.

The European Union would like to express its satisfaction that the General Assembly through this resolution reconfirmed the editorial independence of the Human Development Report. We believe that the Human Development Report has proved to be an important tool for raising awareness about human development around the world.

Regarding the concerns on the consultation process of the Human Development Report, which have been expressed by some Member States, it is the view of the EU that these concerns should be considered by the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA with a view to improving the consultation process while fully respecting the editorial independence of the Human Development Report.

We expect the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board to define an improved consultation process with member states regarding the Human Development Report in the context of its annual work plan. As a result, the EU does not envisage this issue being considered as a recurring agenda item of the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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