Mr. Chairman,
Allow me, first of all, to thank the Administrator, Mr. Kemal Dervis, for his statement this morning. We learned only a few days ago that, unfortunately, this statement will be his last to the Executive Board as Administrator of UNDP. During four eventful years, Mr. Dervis has worked tirelessly to lead the organization and consolidate its role as a central and effective development agency.
Mr. Dervis’ four years at UNDP have been marked by the wider global context of ever increasing development challenges and opportunities. Accelerated globalization, emerging environment challenges such as climate change, new and old crises and conflicts as well as threats to human health have been some of them. At the same time, structural challenges in the international aid architecture have accelerated as well as the expectations of what the UN development system should and can deliver. Kemal Dervis and UNDP have had a key role in responding to these challenges.
In contributing to reforms of the UN development system, Mr. Dervis has been a key actor behind translating the ‘Delivering as One’ concept into practice. Many issues still need to be fine-tuned in its implementation, but there is no doubt that major steps have been taken. It is clear that the UN system in many countries today is more coherent compared to only a few years ago. And the system is unambiguously moving in the right direction. We warmly welcome this progress towards a better performing UN that responds more directly to the needs of developing countries.
Mr. Dervis has also advanced UNDP’s mission in the cause of global development and poverty reduction in many ways. The organization deals with many of our most significant development concerns and remains a key development partner for Sweden. Over the past four years, progress has been made in developing strategies and policies for poverty reduction, often in partnership with other agencies such as ILO on employment and UNCDF on microfinance in LDCs. We welcome UNDP’s reinforced focus on South-South cooperation as well as gender equality and women’s empowerment. These efforts serve to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and ultimately contribute to the eradication of poverty.
UNDP, under Mr. Dervis’ guidance, certainly has undergone some key organizational reforms that are highly appreciated by my Government. While challenges remain, I would like to acknowledge Mr. Dervis’ strengthened efforts to make UNDP a more efficient and transparent organization by advancing and refining the results-based management system and by developing an accountability framework. In June last year, the Executive Board adopted a Strategic Plan that allows for a more holistic and strategic approach to governing the activities of UNDP and ensuring impact in the field. UNDP is currently working on another important reform: cost classification. We will comment on this more in detail during our deliberations this afternoon but I would like to emphasize that this too, is a crucial feature of transparency and efficiency.
In sum, Mr. Chairman, on behalf of my Government I would like to thank Mr. Kemal Dervis for his hard work and for the achievements made since 2005. Looking ahead, and specifically at the recruitment process of a new Administrator, we believe it is vital that UNDP gets the right person at the helm. For us this means that the recruitment process must be as transparent as possible, and characterized by open competition and focused on the candidates competence. The announcement on January 13 of Mr. Nambiar, Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, is a welcome step in this direction.
By looking forward let me also highlight some other issues of importance to the Swedish Government. The challenge of human rights’ mainstreaming in the work of UNDP and the UN system remains. My Government is still of the firm view that human rights should be more clearly anchored in the vision and mandate of the organization. As universal values, human rights are unquestionably linked to development efforts and UNDP must therefore shoulder its responsibility to work with the full spectra of democratic governance. Human rights must be given the weight that they deserve.
Another remaining challenge is the ongoing UN reform. This is a long term process that needs to be characterized by continuous learning and mutual sensitivity among all parties concerned, not least from UNDP and the other parts of the UN system.
In closing, let me once again reiterate Sweden’s longstanding commitment to UNDP and its work as a global development agency. With Mr. Dervis decision to step down as Administrator this Board session is the final page in an important chapter of the life of UNDP. Sweden looks forward to whole heartedly engage with the forthcoming pages.