Madame President, Deputy Secretary General, Executive Directors of UN Women and UNFPA,
Thank you for your briefings today, which is very useful – and it is also valuable to hear comments and questions from colleagues. Norway supports the UN80 reforms, and we eagerly welcome updates on progress made by the Secretariat and UN Development System in realizing them.
We appreciate the progress made on Work Package 15 on Technology and 16 on Data. A Data Commons, ICT consolidation and technology acceleration has fantastic potential for the UN System.
Our comments today will, however, mainly focus on Work Package 4.
President,
The Secretary General states in his report that ‘’…the integrity of mandates anchored in the ICPD Programme of Action, the Beijing Platform and CEDAW … represents a foundational condition for any future institutional configuration’’.
We fully agree. The strategic objective of any reform must be for the UN to maintain and strengthen its normative and operative lead on women’s rights and gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, as well as the women, peace and security agenda - at the country level and across the UN system.
We are open to pooling and consolidating relevant resources and structures to this end.
President,
We note with interest the composite entity pathway outlined in the preliminary findings of the strategic merger assessment, and the strategic opportunities that such a pathway could lead to. We are eager to receive more information about the details, and we have some specific questions:
Underlining again the criticality of the two organizations’ mandates and the risks referred to in the preliminary findings’ paragraph 17, could you provide more information about the concrete mechanics of how the Secretariat and Member States together can ensure that the mandates are safeguarded in a composite entity pathway?
Could you provide some more information on the role of the boards of the organisations going forward, noting the challenges outlined in the preliminary findings’ paragraph 12 on governance complexity and fragmented accountability arrangements?
Could you provide more information about how a composite entity could strengthen delivery of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and promote the vital role women play as peace and security actors?
How could a potential composite entity ensure strengthened system-wide delivery of the mandates I have referred to, across the UN family?
I note here the challenges identified in paragraph 10 of the preliminary findings regarding sustained coordination across institutional boundaries to realize end-to-end impact for women, girls, and youth.
Let me end by saying that we are prepared to continue to engage constructively on the proposed next steps outlined in the merger assessment preliminary findings.
Thank you.