Excellencies,Distinguished Delegates,Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to this Side Event on “Building capacity to implement the 2030 Agenda- the contribution of UN DESA”.
This is an opportunity to strengthen dialogue with Member States and United Nations partners to identify how we can best work together to implement the transformative vision of the 2030 Agenda and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
I feel strongly that open and transparent communication is essential to create an atmosphere of mutual trust and collaboration. This will enable us to continue to build on each other’s strengths while we rethink our respective roles vis-à-vis the new Agenda.
It is in this spirit that I would like to focus on the role and contributions that UN DESA brings to the ongoing efforts to build capacities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
UN DESA was established 20 years ago, in 1997, to bring together the normative, analytical and capacity development work on development issues at the Secretariat.
This integrated approach continues to drive the work of the Department. It ensures that these three functions are mutually reinforcing and facilitate more coherent and integrated support to the UN development agenda, as defined by the outcomes of the UN global conferences and summits, including the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
Since the beginning, the capacity development work of the Department has focused on providing tools to help policy makers translate globally agreed development frameworks into concrete policies and actions.
Such tools build on the Department’s unique knowledge and expertise derived from its engagement with a variety of intergovernmental processes in the economic, social and environmental spheres: from social inclusion to sustainable forest management.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe that the experience of the last 20 years has proven the validity of the Department’s three-pillar approach. Within this framework, UN DESA’s capacity development function has provided a direct link between global agreements and national action.
First, it helps disseminate the latest global norms and standards, for instance the statistical norms and standards adopted by the Statistical Commission of ECOSOC. The Department develops updated statistical methods, tools and techniques and continues to improve their quality by testing them on the ground.
Second, it facilitates policy change at the country level by assisting Member States to translate global policy frameworks into viable policies. This often involves the use of toolkits and methodologies that build on the Department’s analytical expertise.
Third, it draws the attention of the international community to key areas of the development Agenda that are overlooked or under-supported, as in the cases of gender statistics, environmental accounting, international tax cooperation, and geospatial information, just to mention a few.
UN DESA can do so by virtue of its role as the custodian of the 2030 Agenda’s review process, which enables the Department to act as an impartial broker and use its convening power to channel support to areas where it is most needed.
Finally, DESA enriches the global debate on sustainable development by bringing the experience and challenges faced by developing countries in achieving development goals into intergovernmental discussions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The added value of UN DESA’s capacity development work ultimately rests on its contribution to all stages of the policy cycle - from policy making, to analysis, implementation and review – which is facilitated by its three-pillar approach; the other side of the added value rests on its enhancement of the governance capacities of the countries covered by our projects.
To maximize this value UN DESA must work in partnership with other UN bodies or agencies and non-UN development partners to ensure the continuous relevance and sustainability of its work.
Strong partnerships that can help transform the Department’s strengths into country-level impact require continued commitment, transparency and accountability.
In this regard, I intend to take the following actions moving forward:
First, establish a mechanism to systematically inform Member States about our capacity development activities to strengthen transparency and accountability;Second, systematically inform UN partners about Member States’ requests for capacity development support to facilitate joint responses that leverage our respective expertise;
Third, plan and program capacity development work more strategically to ensure that existing resources – including the Development Account (DA) and the Regular Programme of Technical Cooperation (RPTC)- are used efficiently and effectively.
I will now hand the floor to Mr. Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs in UN DESA, who will moderate the panel.
I look forward to our discussion. Thank you.
Welcome to this Side Event on “Building capacity to implement the 2030 Agenda- the contribution of UN DESA”.
This is an opportunity to strengthen dialogue with Member States and United Nations partners to identify how we can best work together to implement the transformative vision of the 2030 Agenda and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
I feel strongly that open and transparent communication is essential to create an atmosphere of mutual trust and collaboration. This will enable us to continue to build on each other’s strengths while we rethink our respective roles vis-à-vis the new Agenda.
It is in this spirit that I would like to focus on the role and contributions that UN DESA brings to the ongoing efforts to build capacities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
UN DESA was established 20 years ago, in 1997, to bring together the normative, analytical and capacity development work on development issues at the Secretariat.
This integrated approach continues to drive the work of the Department. It ensures that these three functions are mutually reinforcing and facilitate more coherent and integrated support to the UN development agenda, as defined by the outcomes of the UN global conferences and summits, including the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
Since the beginning, the capacity development work of the Department has focused on providing tools to help policy makers translate globally agreed development frameworks into concrete policies and actions.
Such tools build on the Department’s unique knowledge and expertise derived from its engagement with a variety of intergovernmental processes in the economic, social and environmental spheres: from social inclusion to sustainable forest management.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe that the experience of the last 20 years has proven the validity of the Department’s three-pillar approach. Within this framework, UN DESA’s capacity development function has provided a direct link between global agreements and national action.
First, it helps disseminate the latest global norms and standards, for instance the statistical norms and standards adopted by the Statistical Commission of ECOSOC. The Department develops updated statistical methods, tools and techniques and continues to improve their quality by testing them on the ground.
Second, it facilitates policy change at the country level by assisting Member States to translate global policy frameworks into viable policies. This often involves the use of toolkits and methodologies that build on the Department’s analytical expertise.
Third, it draws the attention of the international community to key areas of the development Agenda that are overlooked or under-supported, as in the cases of gender statistics, environmental accounting, international tax cooperation, and geospatial information, just to mention a few.
UN DESA can do so by virtue of its role as the custodian of the 2030 Agenda’s review process, which enables the Department to act as an impartial broker and use its convening power to channel support to areas where it is most needed.
Finally, DESA enriches the global debate on sustainable development by bringing the experience and challenges faced by developing countries in achieving development goals into intergovernmental discussions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The added value of UN DESA’s capacity development work ultimately rests on its contribution to all stages of the policy cycle - from policy making, to analysis, implementation and review – which is facilitated by its three-pillar approach; the other side of the added value rests on its enhancement of the governance capacities of the countries covered by our projects.
To maximize this value UN DESA must work in partnership with other UN bodies or agencies and non-UN development partners to ensure the continuous relevance and sustainability of its work.
Strong partnerships that can help transform the Department’s strengths into country-level impact require continued commitment, transparency and accountability.
In this regard, I intend to take the following actions moving forward:
First, establish a mechanism to systematically inform Member States about our capacity development activities to strengthen transparency and accountability;Second, systematically inform UN partners about Member States’ requests for capacity development support to facilitate joint responses that leverage our respective expertise;
Third, plan and program capacity development work more strategically to ensure that existing resources – including the Development Account (DA) and the Regular Programme of Technical Cooperation (RPTC)- are used efficiently and effectively.
I will now hand the floor to Mr. Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs in UN DESA, who will moderate the panel.
I look forward to our discussion. Thank you.
File date:
Monday, November 27, 2017