DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN REMARKS TO EUROPEAN COMMISSION-UNITED NATIONS

WORKSHOP, URGES ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM, ADJUSTMENT OF WORKING CULTURES

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s opening remarks at the European Commission-United Nations workshop in New York, today, 27 March:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to this workshop, which I am sure will be very worthwhile for both our organizations.

The European Commission and the United Nations each have diverse and enormous constituencies.  Moreover, our portfolios continue to expand and people are looking to us with growing expectations.

The relationship between the EC and UN is a long-standing one.  Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Bonn, Strasbourg and Brussels, where I met with a number of European parliamentarians and officials.  We had very positive discussions about the Millennium Development Goals and other matters.  While there I also launched an important report documenting the very constructive operational cooperation between our institutions in the crucial areas of development and humanitarian assistance.  Those efforts in the field -– encompassing literacy, immunization, mine clearance, tsunami assistance and much more –- are making a positive difference in the lives of millions of men, women and children throughout the world.

Today, we are turning our attention somewhat inward, to the nuts and bolts of our respective machinery:  our management and administration.  If we are to meet growing demands and effectively serve our constituents, we must continue to adapt and reform our administrative practices.  At times, when necessary, we must go even deeper, and adjust our working cultures.

That is why we in the United Nations very much welcome this opportunity to share experiences with the EC in administrative areas such as planning and budget, human resources, procurement, internal controls, audit, investigations and ethics.  Such sharing is invaluable in better equipping ourselves to carry our reform agendas.  Indeed, it is particularly useful to learn from those who are going through the same processes -– and, let’s face it, who sometimes experience the same woes.  There is an old saying that encapsulates this idea:  “A problem shared, is a problem halved!”

I have every confidence that we will come away from today’s workshops with fresh ideas, helpful information and perhaps new colleagues with whom to engage in an ongoing dialogue.

Thank you again for your participation, especially those colleagues who have travelled long distances to be here. 

Cooperation between the European Commission and the United Nations is a vital means for better serving people around the world.  It is essential that we continue and expand our dialogue at the political, policy and operational levels.

Thank you for your commitment to that effort.  I look forward to the contributions you will all make in building an even stronger relationship between our two organizations.

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For information media • not an official record