Mme Executive Director, Members and Observers of the Executive Board, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to start by thanking you all for the excellent cooperation that I have experienced during my year as president of the UNICEF Executive Board. We have adopted a number of important decisions. We have been willing to listen to each other’s views and at times to compromise. I think that we have demonstrated that we all concur with the need to support and protect UNICEF and the work it is doing for children all over the world. I think we have succeeded to avoid unnecessary politicization which could only bring harm to UNICEF. It is my hope that we will continue on that road, with the excellent atmosphere of cooperation that we have enjoyed and always have the best interest of UNICEF in mind, even when we have different starting-points for our discussions.
A special appreciation goes to the Members of the Executive Board and observers who have made this genuine spirit of cooperation possible. Thank you for your efforts in making the Board function smoothly and effectively.
Allow me also to express my sincere gratitude to the Executive Director, Ann Veneman, for her leadership of the organization and for her keen interest in the deliberations of the Executive Board. Ms Veneman, you have our appreciation for always being present at the Board meetings, attentively listening to the Members and actively participating in the discussions. We highly value your willingness to interact directly with the Executive Board.
I would also like to express my appreciation to the secretariat. Its hard-working and devoted staff has been most efficient and I would especially like to thank Ms Kirsi Madi and her team. Thank you for your excellent support to me and the bureau.
The constructive spirit of UNICEF has been evident throughout our discussions. For example, on the evaluation of UNICEF gender policy implementation. We had a quite frank report, there was an openness about the shortcomings, and there was a general understanding of the need to improve. This regular session will show the direction UNICEF will take to further develop its gender policy.
We had another important and constructive debate on UNICEF in Middle Income Countries. There were different views echoed in this ECOSOC chamber, but there was also agreement on the important role of UNICEF in that category of countries, not least when it comes to advocacy and the protection of children’s rights.
The UNICEF staff in the field deserve our particular attention. They are the ones to implement our decisions and who make a real difference for children, be it in Gaza, Georgia, Sudan or the Congo. They are devoted to their tasks and I am personally impressed by their knowledge and experience, and their great empathy with people in need. During field visits to Peru, Panama and Laos, I have experienced this first hand.
In times of financial crisis, resource mobilization might become even more challenging. The most vulnerable, the children, might have to face even more hardship. Not least, in such times, predictable and flexible core funding is essential, as is the work of the national committees. The national committees should be commended. They remind us that each and everyone’s contribution can make a difference. I am pleased to see representatives of national committees – members of our family - with us here today. Your work is even more important now as we are trying to muddle through the financial crisis.
In closing, it has been a rewarding experience to chair the Executive Board of UNICEF. I congratulate Ambassador Oumar Daou of Mali who will take over as president. I wish him all success and hope that the tradition of constructive spirit within this Executive Board will continue - for the benefit of UNICEF and ultimately for the benefit of children.