2011 UN Pledging Conference

 for Development Activities

AM Meeting

$265 Million Promised as Member States Attend Pledging Conference in Support

of United Nations Development Activities for 2012

 

Current Economic Reality No Excuse for Reneging on Commitments, Donors Told

Twenty Member States pledged approximately $265 million today at an event in support of United Nations development activities for 2012.

Opening the 2011 Pledging Conference, Navid Hanif, Acting Director of the Office of Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, noted that the ever-deepening global economic and financial crisis was taking a heavy toll on human development and risked rolling back decades of gains.  The world’s poorest, most vulnerable people, already hit hard by soaring food and energy prices, had become even more dependent on foreign aid, he added.

He said that after providing a record $129 billion in official development assistance (ODA) last year, donor countries, faced with a slower-than-expected economic recovery and early fiscal consolidation, would likely limit their support in the coming years to those needing it.  It was highly unlikely that the estimated 2015 ODA target of $300 billion and the agreed goal of devoting 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to foreign aid would be reached.

However, the current economic reality should not be an excuse to renege on aid commitments, he stressed, recalling the commitment by world leaders during the 2010 Millennium Development Goals Summit to strengthen the global partnership for development.  The United Nations development support system should also be restructured to keep pace with global needs.  “More than ever, the UN has to act fast,” he emphasized.  “It must be flexible to help countries respond to shocks.  It must be driven by demand and needs.  It must be effective and efficient.  It must mobilize the expertise of all its organizations and deliver as one.”

Nevertheless, trends in the overall volume of funding for the United Nations system had been quite encouraging, he said, recalling that in 2010, the Organization had received an estimated $23 billion to $23.5 billion for operational activities for development.  About 69 per cent of those contributions were earmarked, or “non-core” contributions, up from 36 per cent in 2004, he said, noting, however, that while the increase in non-core funding had bolstered the Organization’s resource flows, it had led to less predictable and flexible resources and to increased transaction costs — a worrisome trend, according to General Assembly resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence.  Today’s event had “high symbolic value” as it gave Member States an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to giving core, unrestricted resources to the United Nations, he said.

Kazuo Kodama ( Japan), President of the 2011 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, said the event was an opportunity for countries to bolster their commitment to help implement the Millennium Development Goals Action Agenda and while demonstrating solidarity with developing countries, particularly the poorest, by providing “predictable, flexible and sustainable” funding to United Nations operational activities for development.

“This is indeed an opportunity to identify concrete ways to improve further this important instrument so that it can deliver to its full potential,” he added.  That objective was even more compelling this year in the face of growing global economic uncertainty and fiscal belt-tightening, he said, applauding developing countries, which, despite the current financial challenges, continued to pledge the most resources during the annual pledging event, providing half of the total 2010 total pledges of $470 million for 2010.

In closing remarks after the pledging, John Hendra, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), called on donors to bolster donations for the recently-created body’s first-ever strategic plan.  During 2011-2013, he said, it would focus on women’s economic empowerment, political participation and leadership; ending violence against women and girls; and engaging women fully in peace and post-conflict processes, as well as in national development planning and budgeting.

“Our success in achieving the results of the strategic plan will depend on your critical support in providing predictable and multi-year funding,” he continued.  It was feasible to reach the entity’s $500 million resource target for 2013, particularly if its resource base was expanded to include new donors.  Fully, 64 per cent of the core contributions provided by 101 Member States came from just five countries.  They had totalled $130 million in 2011, a 74 per cent increase from 2010, he said, adding that UN Women also had more than 30 multi-year commitments.  Still, that fell short of the $150 million projected target for core resources.

Gerd Trogemann, Director ad interim of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Division for Resources Mobilization, said contributions to its regular core resources had reached $5.3 billion in 2010, a 5 per cent decrease from 2009, and would likely remain about the same in 2011, thus widening the gap between actual contributions and the annual targets set by the Programme’s strategic plan.  Non-core resources had reached $4.3 billion in 2010, up 4 per cent from $4.1 billion in 2009, he added.

Emphasizing the need to make funding for United Nations development activities more predictable, he said UNDP’s ability to operate in a forward-thinking manner, with clear strategic priorities depended on regular resources.  Its top 10 donors would provide just above 80 per cent of regular resources in 2011, compared to 86 per cent in 2010, he noted.  To expand the donor base, the UNDP Administrator had either signed or was in the process of negotiating new partnership framework agreements with several emerging and non-traditional partners, he said.

He went on to say that UNDP was keen to find new development cooperation methods and its corporate agenda for organizational change aimed to make it as responsive as possible to all partners while positioning itself well to support global development needs.  Furthermore, he noted that in 2010, net ODA flows from members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) had surpassed $128 billion, a 6.5 per cent increase from 2009, and the highest level of real ODA ever.  Aid from other official donors had grown even more sharply than ODA, albeit from a lower base, he added.

Afshan Khan, Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Public-Sector Alliances and Resource Mobilization Office,said its core resources, which had dropped 3 per cent in 2010, had accounted for 26 per cent of that year’s total resources, down 7 per cent from 2009.  Expressing “great concern” over the steady decline in core resources as part of overall income, she said the Fund’s capacity to lead the world on child-related priorities, including during emergencies, depended largely on a strong, reliable core income base.

The growing imbalance between core and non-core funding seriously risked disrupting the implementation of UNICEF’s country programmes and its ability to meet development targets for children, she warned.  In the current difficult global economic climate, it was crucial to make judicious use of available resources to spur progress towards the Millennium Goals, with a particular focus on proven, cost-effective ways to provide the poorest, most deprived children with access to essential services, she said.  Core funding, which was of the highest quality, was needed to ensure such an integrated approach.

Heimo Laakkonen, Chief of the Resource Mobilization Branch of the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA), Information and External Relations Division, said that as population growth outpaced economic growth in many parts of the developing world, the need for reproductive health services, especially family planning, was more relevant than ever.  Funding for such services was essential for achieving the fifth Millennium Goal, universal access to reproductive health, and must be maintained, she emphasized, hailing China for having become the first donor Government to contribute $1 million to UNFPA’s core resources.

“Your continued investments in UNFPA’s mandated areas are critical for sustainable development and the well-being of people globally,” he continued.  This year, an estimated $452 million would be contributed for UNFPA’s core resources and $270 million for other resources, he said.  The Fund had received contributions from 120 donors and efforts to maintain a wide, diverse donor base were continuing.  However, six of the top 21 donors, which had provided 98 per cent of UNFPA’s regular contributions, had decreased their donations substantially this year, he said, pointing out that even though six major donors had bolstered their funding and others had maintained theirs, UNFPA’s core resources would likely drop in 2011.

Tony Nwanze, Chief of Partnership and Technical Cooperation in the Cabinet Office of the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said the continent faced the “uphill task” of realizing the Millennium Development Goals while grappling with the global economic crisis and climate change.  He urged global donors and development partners to donate funds to the African Climate Policy Centre, created by ECA and the African Union Commission to help African countries develop appropriate climate-change mitigation and adaptation policies.  Delegates should also support ECA’s business plan, which required $109.9 million for 2010-2012 for development work on the continent, he added.

At the outset of the event, the Pledging Conference elected Mr. Kodama (Japan) its President and Jim McLay (New Zealand) Vice-President.

It also adopted the draft report on the Pledging Conference (document A/CONF.208/2011/L.1).

Mr. Kodama (Japan) also called attention to the report of the Secretary-General on comprehensive analysis of operational activities for development for 2009 (document A/66/79-E/2011/107);a note by the Secretary-General on operational activities for development of the United Nations system (document A/CONF.208/2011/1); a note on contributions pledged or paid at the 2010 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities as of 30 June 2011 (documents A/CONF.208/2011/2); and background information on programmes and funds.

The representatives of Japan and the Czech Republic said they would announce their pledges at a later date.

Delegates from Australia, Israel and Algeria also made statements but did not announce specific pledges.

Pledges Made for 2012

(Converted from local currencies into United States dollars)

Bangladesh
UNDP - HQ	$400,000
UNDP - Local	$14,407
UNICEF	$34,000
UNFPA - HQ	$25,000
UNFPA - Local	$3,000
UNEP	$653
UN Volunteers	$1,000
UNODC	$1,000
UN Fund for South-South Cooperation	$1,000
UN Women	$10,500
UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons	$2,000
Thailand
UNDP	$865,112
UNDP - Local	$509,927
UNICEF	$112,500
UNICEF – Local admin costs	$66,830
UNFPA	$96,000
UNDCP	$30,000
UN Women	$13,000
UNCDF	$2,500
UNITAR	$2,000
UN Volunteers	$1,629
Singapore
UNDP	$300,000
UNICEF	$50,000
UN Women	$50,000
UN OCHA	$20,000
UNHCR	$10,000
UNFPA	$5,000
UNDCP	$5,000
G-77 Account for Economic Cooperation	$5,000
UNEP	$50,000
Trust Fund of the East Asian Seas	$10,000
Australia
No figures announced
Finland
UNFPA	$39,980,000
TOTAL	$142,000,000
Luxembourg
UNDP	$7,996,929
UNFPA	$6,604,197
UNICEF	$7,033,073
UNCDF	$2,072,933
UN Women	1,385,927
Myanmar
UNDP	$167,962
UNCDF	$5,000
UNFPA	$31,104
Russian Federation
UNDP	$1,100,000
UNICEF	$1,000,000
UNFPA	$300,000
UNEP	$900,000
WFP	$20,000,000
UNODC	$2,000,000
UN-Habitat	$400,000
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria	$20,000,000
Saudi Arabia
UNDP	$2,000,000
UNICEF	$1,000,000
UNFPA	$500,000
UN Women	$100,000
China
No individual figures	$16,647,102
United Arab Emirates
UNDP	$324,000
UNHCR	$200,000
UNICEF	$100,000
UN Fund to Support Marine Navigation in the Straits of Malacca	$100,000
ICRC	$100,000
UNIFEM	$50,000
CERF	$50,000
UN Trust Fund to Support the Activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights	$50,000
UNEP	$40,000
UN Fund for South-South Cooperation	$40,000
UN Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Fund	$30,000
UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery	$30,000
Trust Fund for the Coordination Office of Emergency Relief Operations	$20,000
UNITAR	$10,000
UNFPA	$10,000
UNDCP	$10,000
UN Voluntary Fund on Disability	$10,000
UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture	$10,000
UN Convention to Combat Desertification Trust Fund	$10,000
UNRWA	$1,000,000
UN Women	$5,000,000
Djibouti
UNDP	$1,000
UNICEF	$1,000
UNFPA	$1,000
UN Women	$1,000
Japan
No figures announced pending 2012 Budget
Indonesia
UN Women	$147,000
UNICEF	$110,000
UNDP	$55,000
UNFPA	$44,793
UNCITRAL	$20,000
Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund for Economic and Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries	$7,000
Kuwait
UNDP	$570,000
UNICEF	$200,000
UNFPA	$10,000
UN Women	$50,000
UNITAR	$20,000
UNEP	$200,000
UNDCP	$5,000
UNRWA	$2,000,000
UN-Habitat	$347,000
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria	$500,000
UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture	$10,000
CERF	$300,000
UN Trust Fund to Support the Activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights	$500,000
UNHCR	$1,000,000
ICRC	$3,000,000
Turkey
UNDP	$1,100,000
UNICEF	$150,000
UNFPA	$150,000
UN Women	$500,000
UNDCP	$600,000
UNITAR	$10,000
UN Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Fund	$200,000
UN Volunteers	$10,000
UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture	$10,000
UN Youth Fund	$10,000
UN Trust Fund for Ageing	$10,000
UN Voluntary Fund for Disability	$10,000
UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery	$6,000
UN Trust Fund to Support the Activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights	$120,000
Israel
No figures announced
Czech Republic
No figures announced pending 2012 Budget
India
UNDP	$4,500,000
UNICEF	$900,000
UNFPA	$500,000
UNEP	$100,000
WFP	$1,920,000
UN-Habitat	$100,000
UNODC	$300,000
UNRWA	$1,000,000
UN Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation	$100,000
UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery	$25,000
UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture	$25,000
Algeria
No figures announced
Afghanistan
No individual figures	$15,000
Malaysia
UN Women	$50,000
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
UNDP	$89,804
UNICEF	$89,804
UNFPA	$89,804
WFP	$64,497
FAO	$25,472
Viet Nam
UNDP	$29,000
UNICEF	$13,700
UNFPA	$4,500
UN Women	$5,000
UNCDF	$1,000

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For information media • not an official record