Thank you very much, Mr. President, and Deputy-Secretary-General, we very much appreciated the Secretary-General’s thoughtful reflections this morning. We welcome his report and are grateful for it at this very pivotal moment for the UN Development System.
We appreciate the very comprehensive manner with which you convey the many successes and the lessons-learned at this stage in the implementation of the QCPR and UN Development System reform.
We believe 2023 to be a most consequential year for development. Four years into our reform process, the UN development system is at a critical inflection point in its efforts to deliver on the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals.
This Operational Activities Segment is a critical milestone as we continue to assess collective progress and obstacles to success. The decisions we make during this segment, the upcoming Executive Board meetings, the SDG Summit, Second Committee, and the next QCPR will demonstrate our credibility in working together to better position the UN to contribute to accelerating the achievement of the SDGs.
The road ahead will be challenging and demands collective commitment. We must commit to balance our ambition with pragmatism as we seek solutions that strengthen transparency, accountability, effective program support, and, most importantly, the delivery of results.
In this regard, we call on Member States to engage in the creative and challenging conversations necessary to strengthen the role of ECOSOC as an essential governance function of the UNDS. Let’s turn ambition and words into concrete change.
We take this opportunity to raise two specific points about the report:
On RCs and the RC System Results Framework: We look forward to opportunities to improve this tool to ensure it most effectively captures the impact of the RC system. We would appreciate a briefing on RC recruitment, placement, retention, and performance. We would welcome more opportunities to engage informally with the RCs, including during the global retreat in the fall.
On System-Wide Evaluation: This tool is essential to better understand how reforms are driving anticipated results. We would also appreciate a briefing on the status of the office and learning more about how member states can support its success.
In closing, the United States looks forward to engaging UN leadership and member states in a hopeful journey forward – one focused on trust, solutions, and partnership – and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Thank you, Mr. President
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