Mr. ChairpersonDistinguished Members of CEPALadies and Gentlemen
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the fifteenth session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration.
The theme of the session is timely and important. Your meeting comes against the backdrop of the milestone adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September of last year.
Transforming public institutions is essential to support the type of inclusive and integrated policies needed to realize the sustainable development goals.
Many countries have begun putting in place or adapting institutions to steer, coordinate, consult on and review implementation of the new Agenda. 22 countries have already volunteered to take part in the national reviews at the high-level political forum on sustainable development this summer.
Implementing the Agenda will require a vast amount of resources, as well as capacity building and clean technology. The Third International Conference on Financing for Development held last July in Addis Ababa provided a framework for financing and supporting the SDGs. It reflected on the resources available to public institutions, including local authorities.
In a major boost for efforts to realize the SDGs, the climate change agreement was adopted in Paris in December last year. The Conference of Parties was seen as the first test of the international commitment to the SDGs.
The UN General Assembly is also currently reflecting on how to ensure a coherent and inclusive review and follow-up of the SDGs. The outcome of this process will be important for CEPA, as the Committee is an integral part of the UN review architecture.
As you well know, CEPA is an advisory body to ECOSOC. It will continue to report to ECOSOC and to provide substantive contributions to its integration segment.
It will also start contributing to the thematic reviews of the SDGs and cross-cutting issues to be carried out by the high-level political forum. The Forum is the central UN platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda. It will start delivering on its role this summer.
Contributing to these two important UN platforms places CEPA at the heart of the UN architecture to follow-up on the 2030 Agenda. It is critical for the Committee to deliver on its role to follow-up on the SDGs, building on its long-standing reflection on public administration.
I see that the Agenda for this session will allow you to reflect on the many aspects of the role of public institutions in responding to the 2030 Agenda.
First, I am pleased that you will indeed provide an input to this year’s thematic review of the high-level political forum on the theme of “Ensuring That No One Is Left Behind”. You can send a strong message on the role of public institutions in realizing this principle which is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda.
Second, you will discuss issues related to integrated policymaking. Making progress on one SDG requires making progress on the other SDGs. These interdependencies require an unprecedented level of policy integration among the various ministries, between central and local institutions and between governmental and non-governmental actors.
Third, you will deliberate on the important issues of participatory and accountable decision making. Participatory decision making is enshrined in the targets. Effective accountability mechanisms will also be critical for the implementation of the SDGs. Uprooting corruption is a key element of implementing the 2030 Agenda.
You will deliberate on many other important issues. It is heartening that so many of you have taken the lead in preparing the Committee’s discussions. You bring a unique mix of collective expertise.
Together, you can truly help realize the SDGs.
We look forward to your analysis and recommendations.
My Colleagues and I are committed to supporting you to the best of our abilities.
Thank you.
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the fifteenth session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration.
The theme of the session is timely and important. Your meeting comes against the backdrop of the milestone adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September of last year.
Transforming public institutions is essential to support the type of inclusive and integrated policies needed to realize the sustainable development goals.
Many countries have begun putting in place or adapting institutions to steer, coordinate, consult on and review implementation of the new Agenda. 22 countries have already volunteered to take part in the national reviews at the high-level political forum on sustainable development this summer.
Implementing the Agenda will require a vast amount of resources, as well as capacity building and clean technology. The Third International Conference on Financing for Development held last July in Addis Ababa provided a framework for financing and supporting the SDGs. It reflected on the resources available to public institutions, including local authorities.
In a major boost for efforts to realize the SDGs, the climate change agreement was adopted in Paris in December last year. The Conference of Parties was seen as the first test of the international commitment to the SDGs.
The UN General Assembly is also currently reflecting on how to ensure a coherent and inclusive review and follow-up of the SDGs. The outcome of this process will be important for CEPA, as the Committee is an integral part of the UN review architecture.
As you well know, CEPA is an advisory body to ECOSOC. It will continue to report to ECOSOC and to provide substantive contributions to its integration segment.
It will also start contributing to the thematic reviews of the SDGs and cross-cutting issues to be carried out by the high-level political forum. The Forum is the central UN platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda. It will start delivering on its role this summer.
Contributing to these two important UN platforms places CEPA at the heart of the UN architecture to follow-up on the 2030 Agenda. It is critical for the Committee to deliver on its role to follow-up on the SDGs, building on its long-standing reflection on public administration.
I see that the Agenda for this session will allow you to reflect on the many aspects of the role of public institutions in responding to the 2030 Agenda.
First, I am pleased that you will indeed provide an input to this year’s thematic review of the high-level political forum on the theme of “Ensuring That No One Is Left Behind”. You can send a strong message on the role of public institutions in realizing this principle which is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda.
Second, you will discuss issues related to integrated policymaking. Making progress on one SDG requires making progress on the other SDGs. These interdependencies require an unprecedented level of policy integration among the various ministries, between central and local institutions and between governmental and non-governmental actors.
Third, you will deliberate on the important issues of participatory and accountable decision making. Participatory decision making is enshrined in the targets. Effective accountability mechanisms will also be critical for the implementation of the SDGs. Uprooting corruption is a key element of implementing the 2030 Agenda.
You will deliberate on many other important issues. It is heartening that so many of you have taken the lead in preparing the Committee’s discussions. You bring a unique mix of collective expertise.
Together, you can truly help realize the SDGs.
We look forward to your analysis and recommendations.
My Colleagues and I are committed to supporting you to the best of our abilities.
Thank you.
File date:
Monday, April 18, 2016