Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly

17 May 2022

H.E. Mr. Collen Vixen Kelapile, President of ECOSOC

H.E. Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

It is an honour to participate in the opening of the ECOSOC operational activities segment. 

This year’s theme could not be more fitting. 

While the world still battles with the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are also in the process of recovering.

But one thing is clear, we do not aim to rebuild the world as it was before 2020.  We aim to build back better, stronger, greener, and bluer!

The pandemic has revealed the deep inequalities and macroeconomic fragilities that plague our societies, and the shortcomings of our social protection, economic and financial systems. 

We must use the recovery to adopt the kind of structural reforms and transformative policies that will allow us to reach both the SDGs and our climate goals. 

This is not an easy road to take.   

For many countries, this path requires the support of the UN development system, at the core of the UN reform agenda.

Excellencies,

The General Assembly adopted the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of UN system operational activities – the QCPR – in the midst of the pandemic in late 2020. 

This QCPR resolution reflects the shared concerns of countries about leaving no one behind. It contains, for the first time, explicit calls for the UN development system to support social protection, universal health coverage, and education. 

It called for assisting the most vulnerable and for reinforcing rights-based approaches and gender equality.

The QCPR thus went beyond the usual focus on how the UN development system works and provided guidance on what the UN system should do to help countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda, based on lessons from its response to the pandemic.  

The General Assembly also called for supporting countries in the mobilization of resources and partnerships. It asked the UN development system to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and ensure the sustainability of its operations.

Excellencies,

The 2020 QCPR also called for tailoring support to the needs of countries in special situations – LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS –and to the specific challenges faced by some middle-income countries. 

ECOSOC’s operational activities segment has the difficult, but important task to review how the UN development system implements the policy guidance of the General Assembly. 

It is a place for review and debate, and for ensuring accountability. 

I am glad to see that, over the next three days, you will have the opportunity to discuss pressing topics and issues that mirror the key themes of the QCPR. 

You will review how the UN development system supports integrated policies on social protection and how it adapts its activities to the needs of countries in special situations. 

You will delve into how the system helps mitigate drivers of conflicts, disaster risks, humanitarian crises, and complex emergencies. 

You will take stock of the regional repositioning and progress in implementing the Funding Compact. 

Finally, you will assess the efficacy, efficiency, coherence, and impact of the UN operational activities for development, against the backdrop of an evolving environment of international development cooperation.

Dear friends,

The breadth, complexity, and interlinked nature of the 2030 Agenda requires integrated approaches.

Each UN entity, serving its mandates in collaboration with the rest of the system, adds value to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

The ECOSOC operational activities segment demonstrates what can be achieved when we work together.

In this vein, I thank the President of ECOSOC for his invitation for me to speak here, reflecting the complementary relationship between the General Assembly and ECOSOC.

I encourage all participants to actively participate in these discussions; to ensure the UN development system is equipped to support Member States as they build back better from the pandemic and move forward in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for a more inclusive future, post-COVID-19.

I wish everyone very productive deliberations over the next three days.

I thank you.