DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR STRENGTHENED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

EFFORTS, WITH UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ‘DELIVERING AS ONE’, AT BANGKOK MEETING

Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s statement to the meeting of the United Nations Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation Mechanism in Bangkok, 19 February:

At the outset, allow me to thank Noeleen [Heyzer], for the very warm welcome that she has extended to me.  It is a great pleasure for me to be here at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and see at first hand the vibrant and impressive United Nations regional headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region.

I am honoured to join all of you at today’s meeting of the Asia-Pacific Regional Coordination Mechanism, and see the strong representation of some 27 Bangkok-based United Nations entities.

This is my first visit as Deputy Secretary-General to Bangkok, such a key strategic regional hub for United Nations operations in Asia and the Pacific.  At Noeleen’s invitation, I have come here to understand more fully the depth and range of the United Nations development activities in this vast, diverse and dynamic region.

The specific focus of my visit to Bangkok is to chair this Regional Cooperation Mechanism meeting, which is a reflection of the importance that the Secretary-General places on the regional dimension of the United Nations work for development and “Delivering as One”.

As you know, we have been holding consultations on ways to strengthen the United Nations development agenda, including enhancing the Organization’s machinery to deliver more effective and relevant services to Member States.  A key aspect of this exercise is strengthening the regional dimension of development, including through the role of the regional commissions.

At the same time, we must ensure we implement development programmes that are owned by Member States and aligned towards common results, with harmonized operational procedures and mutual accountability.  The costs of a United Nations system that is not “Delivering as One” are borne by us all, but most critically, by Member States themselves.

Given the sheer magnitude and scale of development issues in the Asia-Pacific, what happens in the ESCAP region will shape the success or failure of the international community’s efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals.

This region is home to more than 60 per cent of the world’s population, and the number of people affected by lack of progress on the Millennium Development Goals is daunting.  As you know all too well, the region faces huge challenges of extreme poverty, child mortality, HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, gender disparities and deforestation.

But reaching the Millennium Development Goals, while critical, does not tell the whole story.  We cannot leave behind the migrants, ethnic minorities or remote populations who need support.  A commitment to the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals is also a commitment to addressing disparity and inequality -- within and among nations.

When we recognize the growing importance of the regional dimension of development, we recognize the accelerating pace of regional integration and interdependence.  We know that transboundary issues affect us all.

I believe that we can build further on this understanding.  We can draw on the strengths of diverse Member States to support the collective advancement of the region as a whole.  We can make more use of South-South cooperation as a tool in supporting this agenda.  We can use regional approaches to advance the global common good by securing global public goods -- to address challenges such as climate change, air and water pollution, health, migration, organized crime and disarmament.

Just a few months ago, the Secretary-General met with you in this very room.  He encouraged you to work for greater alignment with the Regional Directors’ Team of the United Nations Development Group Ex-Com agencies, and to begin discussions on integrating the work of non-resident and regional agencies in national processes.

We face a challenge in promoting the regional dimension of “Delivering as One”, and I am heartened to know that you have made good progress through the Regional Cooperation Mechanism and Thematic Working Groups.  I look forward to learning more from you today.

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For information media • not an official record