Let me start by commending the Executive Director on her Annual Report. UNICEF produced solid results in 2018, another challenging year for the children of this world.
We are particularly pleased to see strong results in the education sector. We appreciate UNICEFs efforts to create non-discriminatory and gender-responsive education systems. Openness about the challenges UNICEF faces will increase donor trust and contribute to learning.
President,
The ongoing UN reform will succeed only if all entities in the UN development system as well as Member States do their part. Norway is a consistent partner to the UN, contributing more than 200 mill USD to UNICEF annually, and we will do our best to live up to the commitments of the recent Funding Compact.
The new Management and Accountability Framework and guidelines for the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework contain clear expectations on collaboration, and requires substantial cultural changes and changes in ways of doing business. We feel confident that UNICEF will make necessary changes in policies and guidelines and inform the Executive Board accordingly.
My government is this week presenting a white paper on Norway’s role and interests in the multilateral system. We are stepping up our efforts to strengthen international cooperation.
Norway will strengthen support to the Leaving no one behind- agenda, with a particular focus on reaching marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities. We look forward to increased cooperation with UNICEF on this and encourage further efforts to enhance the availability of disaggregated data to enhance policy development by host countries and inform UN programming.
President,
The Governments of Norway, Iraq, Somalia and the United Arab Emirates, in collaboration with OCHA, UNFPA and the ICRC recently hosted the conference “Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Crises” in Oslo. Representatives from 100 nations and more than 250 organizations committed political will and a total of more than 363 million USD to SGBV prevention and response. On behalf of my government, let me thank UNICEF and all participating member states for their valuable contributions to this successful venture.
I thank you.