Distinguished Members of the Committee for Development Policy,
Under-Secretary-General,
Colleagues,
I am honoured to be here with you today, and to address this opening session of the Committee for Development Policy.
This year, the theme of ECOSOC and the High-level political forum is: “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”.
On the day before HLPF, the ECOSOC Integration Segment will bring together key messages from the subsidiary bodies of the Council, and the UN system on this theme.
The Segment should lead to action-oriented recommendations for follow-up, and feed into HLPF.
It is a priority of mine to strengthen cooperation among the entire ECOSOC ecosystem to deliver better results.
I am certain that the CDP will make valuable contributions to ECOSOC’s work.
Your analysis of the VNRs has already been important in shedding light on what countries emphasize, and the work of the Committee is recognized as a source of information, and ideas, about VNRs.
I also welcome that the Committee has been looking ahead to the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, and its theme: “The Future We Want, the United Nations We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism.”
Dear Colleagues,
You will discuss many important items this week.
I am glad to hear that you are dedicating your open session to the topic of “new inequalities”.
We need to accelerate progress in reducing inequality, promoting inclusive societies, and advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women.
And, as you have identified with the choice of this topic, it is important that we also address a new generation of global inequalities – fueled by climate change, technological change, and other emerging issues.
Various UN reports have made clear that the climate crisis is already hitting the poorest, the hardest.
While technological advances, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, can leave behind entire groups of people.
I am sure that the expertise among CDP members on this topic will trigger a very interesting debate, and concrete policy recommendations.
I look forward to seeing the results of your work.
Dear colleagues,
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
As you know, the Fifth UN Conference on LDCs in 2021 is expected to adopt a new 10-year programme of action for LDCs.
This will coincide with the Decade of Action and Delivery for sustainable development.
I am glad that the CDP is providing its technical and analytical expertise in support of the LDCs – proposing new ideas to accelerate their development progress on the way to graduation, and achievement of the SDGs.
The President of the General Assembly and I will organize a meeting on 13 April this year to contribute to the Conference on LDCs.
I would welcome your ideas on how we can make this meeting most useful and impactful.
Dear Colleagues,
I wish you every success in your plenary deliberations, and look forward to receiving your report and recommendations to the Council.
Thank you.