Your Excellency Madam First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva,Honorable Ministers,Excellencies,Distinguished participants,Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all participants in the 2019 United Nations Public Service Forum.
I would like to extend sincere gratitude to the government and people of the Republic of Azerbaijan for hosting this year’s UN Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony. Our deep appreciation goes to His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev for his personal guidance. We are thankful to the First Vice President for her support and personal dedication. We are witnessing, first-hand today, the world-renowned generosity and hospitality from the Republic of Azerbaijan.
And, Happy Public Service Day to you all! Even though it falls every year on 23 June, we are celebrating it today at this Forum. Indeed, we are delighted to be commemorating the UN Public Service Day in such a unique city.
Baku provides a perfect backdrop, bringing together architecture both old and new in harmony. It draws on the past while looking to the future, reflecting the value of tying innovation with tradition in public service delivery.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The theme of the 2019 UN Public Service Forum focuses on “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through effective Delivery of Services, Innovative Transformation and Accountable Institutions.” This resonates with all our work and is at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 2030 Agenda is our opportunity to realize a vision of shared prosperity for all people, leaving no one behind, on a healthy planet. For us, to meet its 17 interlinked Goals, we must rely on transparent, accountable and effective institutions.
We must rely on you, the public servants of the world who are on the frontline, servicing people across the world. Four years into the 2030 Agenda, I am encouraged by the motivation and dedication of the United Nations Member States to work together to reach the Goals.
I am inspired too by the work of civil society and the business sector in driving forward this Agenda. From youth activists on climate actions, to girls and women fighting for gender equality, we are at an important moment in time. Great progress in achieving an inclusive, prosperous and sustainable world is possible and within reach.
Yet, at the same time, we are facing social, economic and environmental challenges on multiple fronts. That is why, now more than ever, our institutions matter.
Our institutions must be strong and resilient enough to survive the shockwaves that threaten to undermine our shared goals. They must be resilient enough to withstand the pushback against global partnership and multilateral solutions.
Our institutions must be strong enough to repel attempts designed to leave billions behind. In particular, strong institutions with safeguards in place, to:
Next month in New York, Member States will gather at the High-level Political Forum during ECOSOC to present their National Voluntary Reviews on efforts to deliver on the SDGs, including our host, Azerbaijan. This is the second time Azerbaijan is making its voluntary national review.
Notably, this year’s spotlight will be on efforts to make progress on SDG 16, which aims to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”
SDG 16 is the cornerstone to reaching all the Goals. It highlights the foundational importance of inclusive, responsive, transparent and effective institutions for sustainable development.
To be truly effective, public institutions need to make concerted efforts to proactively engage with and reach out to the poorest and most vulnerable. This is done through responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
I am delighted to see that one of the workshops taking place over the next couple of days is on enhancing gender-responsive public service delivery. Girls and women continue to be sidelined when it comes to public service delivery in some parts of the world today. They face a multitude of barriers, including access to education, access to suitable sanitary facilities, access to equal employment opportunities and equal pay. They face daily barriers to living safely, without the risk of violence.
Yet, our public services often fail to consider these barriers in their design and delivery. Much more work needs to be done to ensure that our services are designed, developed and delivered with more than just one half of our population in mind.
Excellencies,
The way forward is straightforward. We must work together by harnessing the growing potential of new technologies, by enhancing effective and responsive digital governance, and by leveraging the creativity of stakeholders.
The multi-stakeholder participation of the UN Public Service Forum illuminates the benefits and values of such cooperation. Through its capacity development workshops and showcase of innovation through the UN Public Service Awards, the Forum provides an opportunity for decision-makers to harness the innovation needed for transformative governance to meet the SDGs.
As we work collectively to implement the 2030 Agenda, let us use thisspace to learn from each other’s innovation and commit once more to delivering on the SDGs and leaving no one behind.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Republic of Azerbaijan, through innovative E-government, has created inclusive, effective and people-friendly ICT-based public services, thereby reducing the ‘distance’ between civil servants and citizens in provision of social services, as well as in making the relationship between public servants and the people they serve transparent.
The Government has achieved this remarkable outcome by adopting a whole-of-government approach to modernize service delivery in an integrated manner, and by putting in place innovative E-government services, improving their quality, and thus enhancing citizens’ satisfaction with these services. Political will has proved critical for these results.
In recognition of the Government’s leadership and innovation in digital public service delivery, a special award of recognition is hereby presented to the Republic of Azerbaijan on this occasion.
I am delighted to give this special award to the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan,Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva.
On behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all participants in the 2019 United Nations Public Service Forum.
I would like to extend sincere gratitude to the government and people of the Republic of Azerbaijan for hosting this year’s UN Public Service Forum and Awards Ceremony. Our deep appreciation goes to His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev for his personal guidance. We are thankful to the First Vice President for her support and personal dedication. We are witnessing, first-hand today, the world-renowned generosity and hospitality from the Republic of Azerbaijan.
And, Happy Public Service Day to you all! Even though it falls every year on 23 June, we are celebrating it today at this Forum. Indeed, we are delighted to be commemorating the UN Public Service Day in such a unique city.
Baku provides a perfect backdrop, bringing together architecture both old and new in harmony. It draws on the past while looking to the future, reflecting the value of tying innovation with tradition in public service delivery.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The theme of the 2019 UN Public Service Forum focuses on “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through effective Delivery of Services, Innovative Transformation and Accountable Institutions.” This resonates with all our work and is at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 2030 Agenda is our opportunity to realize a vision of shared prosperity for all people, leaving no one behind, on a healthy planet. For us, to meet its 17 interlinked Goals, we must rely on transparent, accountable and effective institutions.
We must rely on you, the public servants of the world who are on the frontline, servicing people across the world. Four years into the 2030 Agenda, I am encouraged by the motivation and dedication of the United Nations Member States to work together to reach the Goals.
I am inspired too by the work of civil society and the business sector in driving forward this Agenda. From youth activists on climate actions, to girls and women fighting for gender equality, we are at an important moment in time. Great progress in achieving an inclusive, prosperous and sustainable world is possible and within reach.
Yet, at the same time, we are facing social, economic and environmental challenges on multiple fronts. That is why, now more than ever, our institutions matter.
Our institutions must be strong and resilient enough to survive the shockwaves that threaten to undermine our shared goals. They must be resilient enough to withstand the pushback against global partnership and multilateral solutions.
Our institutions must be strong enough to repel attempts designed to leave billions behind. In particular, strong institutions with safeguards in place, to:
- stamp out corruption,
- safeguard against discrimination,
- ensure strong ethics of public servants and
- engage all citizens – should be the backbone of our work.
Next month in New York, Member States will gather at the High-level Political Forum during ECOSOC to present their National Voluntary Reviews on efforts to deliver on the SDGs, including our host, Azerbaijan. This is the second time Azerbaijan is making its voluntary national review.
Notably, this year’s spotlight will be on efforts to make progress on SDG 16, which aims to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”
SDG 16 is the cornerstone to reaching all the Goals. It highlights the foundational importance of inclusive, responsive, transparent and effective institutions for sustainable development.
To be truly effective, public institutions need to make concerted efforts to proactively engage with and reach out to the poorest and most vulnerable. This is done through responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
I am delighted to see that one of the workshops taking place over the next couple of days is on enhancing gender-responsive public service delivery. Girls and women continue to be sidelined when it comes to public service delivery in some parts of the world today. They face a multitude of barriers, including access to education, access to suitable sanitary facilities, access to equal employment opportunities and equal pay. They face daily barriers to living safely, without the risk of violence.
Yet, our public services often fail to consider these barriers in their design and delivery. Much more work needs to be done to ensure that our services are designed, developed and delivered with more than just one half of our population in mind.
Excellencies,
The way forward is straightforward. We must work together by harnessing the growing potential of new technologies, by enhancing effective and responsive digital governance, and by leveraging the creativity of stakeholders.
The multi-stakeholder participation of the UN Public Service Forum illuminates the benefits and values of such cooperation. Through its capacity development workshops and showcase of innovation through the UN Public Service Awards, the Forum provides an opportunity for decision-makers to harness the innovation needed for transformative governance to meet the SDGs.
As we work collectively to implement the 2030 Agenda, let us use thisspace to learn from each other’s innovation and commit once more to delivering on the SDGs and leaving no one behind.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Republic of Azerbaijan, through innovative E-government, has created inclusive, effective and people-friendly ICT-based public services, thereby reducing the ‘distance’ between civil servants and citizens in provision of social services, as well as in making the relationship between public servants and the people they serve transparent.
The Government has achieved this remarkable outcome by adopting a whole-of-government approach to modernize service delivery in an integrated manner, and by putting in place innovative E-government services, improving their quality, and thus enhancing citizens’ satisfaction with these services. Political will has proved critical for these results.
In recognition of the Government’s leadership and innovation in digital public service delivery, a special award of recognition is hereby presented to the Republic of Azerbaijan on this occasion.
I am delighted to give this special award to the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan,Ms. Mehriban Aliyeva.
File date:
Monday, June 24, 2019