Mr. Chairman,
At the outset, I would like to thank the Executive Director for her comprehensive statement. It clearly outlined the challenges and opportunities that UNFPA is facing as well as the strategic direction of the organization in the coming four years.
Sweden welcomes the new Strategic Plan document. It constitutes a strong overarching framework for UNFPA’s effective contribution to the implementation of the ICPD agenda, the MDGs and the UN reform process.
Sweden supports the focus of the Strategic Plan on nationally owned development and national capacity building to ensure the implementation of the ICPD recommendations. Our understanding is that UNFPA will apply the human rights based approach when implementing the Plan, to reach out to all concerned individuals and groups including socially excluded or vulnerable groups, amongst them people of various sexual orientations.
We welcome the interlinkage between the Strategic Plan, the global and regional programmes, the organizational structure and the reviewed resource allocation system and that the documents are geared at a more results based approach. We look forward to further discussions on the follow-up of UNFPA’s ”Accountability Framework” and on the development of a future evaluation policy.
In the context of the three focus areas of the Strategic Plan we would like to stress two issues. The first is in relation to focus area 3 “gender equality”; we note the on-going interagency work on establishing a clearer division of responsibilities in the area of gender equality. In order to get a better understanding of the future implementation of this focus area we would like to ask the Executive Director what the current status of this interagency process is. The second issue refers to focus area 2 “reproductive health and rights”; we would have liked to see more emphasis on the linkages between the dynamics of sexual and reproductive health and rights and UNFPA’s work on HIV prevention. We would welcome further clarifications in this regard.
Sweden attaches a lot of importance to UNFPA's work in humanitarian crises. Another aspect that could have been more elaborated in the strategic plan document is UNFPA’s role in the on-going humanitarian reform efforts. What is, for example, UNFPA’s experience to date of the cluster approach and its implementation, at the global and at the country level? How will UNFPA contribute to the continuing humanitarian reform efforts?
The strategic plan forms the basis for the discussion on UNFPA’s future organisational structure. We support UNFPA’s analysis that a shift of staff and responsibilities to the regions and country level will allow UNFPA for a more effective delivery in the field, in line with the Paris declaration on aid effectiveness. We also acknowledge the advantage of working on the regional level with the ICPD agenda. However, we want to reiterate that a new organisational structure must build on existing UN regional structures.
Sweden is pleased to note UNFPA’s active contribution to the UN reform process at large, and in particular to the One UN country pilots. We share the concern of UNFPA that the concept of “delivering as one” implies the risk of sexual and reproductive health “sliding off the agenda”. It falls upon UNFPA, together with member states and other partners, to make sure that sexual and reproductive health and rights remain squarely on the agenda.
Finally, I want to underline that Sweden is confident that the new strategic plan together with UNFPA’s future organisational structure will enable the organisation to efficiently fulfil its mandate. We look forward to be an active partner in the implementation of the plan.
Thank you!