Deputy Secretary-General tells latin group of need to seek ways

to ease effects of global financial crisis on poor countries

This is the text of remarks by Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro at the annual meeting of the Regional Coordination Mechanism in Latin America and the Caribbean Region, in Santiago, Chile, on 3 November:

I am deeply honoured to participate, once again, in this meeting of the Regional Coordination Mechanism.  I bring you warm greetings from Secretary-General Ban and his best wishes for a successful meeting.

First, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Government of Chile for its unfaltering support to ECLAC [Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean] and the larger United Nations family.

I would also like to thank Ms. Bárcena [Executive Secretary of ECLAC] for her leadership.  Alicia, you are leading an organization that has profoundly shaped the evolution of the United Nations development agenda and the development of countries in all of Latin America and the Caribbean.  I am especially proud that you are the first female Executive Secretary of ECLAC.

I want to commend all of you for your contribution in ensuring that the United Nations system has a vibrant presence in the region.  You are bearers of the United Nations values, ensuring that everything that the Organization stands for is translated into action here on the ground.

You are changing lives for the better by supporting programmes ranging from development, social cohesion, HIV and AIDS, gender equality, human rights and the inclusion of indigenous peoples.

The progress the Regional Coordinating Mechanism has achieved over the years is impressive.  Through your collective efforts, you have shown that United Nations programmes, funds and specialized agencies in this region can generate effective synergies that help to overcome capacity and resource constraints facing entities when acting on their own.  Hence, the central theme of this meeting:  “strengthening coherence among all the entities of the United Nations system in the region” is fitting.

The effective interaction between the Mechanism and the Regional Directors Team constitutes an important step forward, as is the establishment of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Nutrition for Development.

Let me assure you of the Secretary-General’s firm support for this process and for the important work you are doing.  We both attach great importance to reinforcing the relationship between the United Nations Headquarters and regional commissions.

We meet at a time of great concern in the international community.  We are facing a global financial crisis that, if unchecked, threatens to undermine our progress towards eradicating poverty and disease, fighting climate change, and promoting development.  The challenges ahead require collective and cross-boundary solutions.  We will be effective only if all stakeholders, particularly within the United Nations system, act hand in hand, including at the regional level.

More than ever before, coordination has become a vital element in the advancement of global initiatives.

United Nations agencies will be better able to address these challenges and link global commitments with national action plans by promoting a region-specific approach to development, and by increasing regional integration.

It is encouraging to note that the region as a whole is on track or has already met some of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals.  Yet, the rising number of people living in extreme poverty remains a major subject of concern.  And as pointed out by ECLAC, the current financial crisis may cause the region to lose a great deal of the ground gained over the past decade in the fight against poverty.  We need to identify ways in which the United Nations system can help countries face the economic and social impact of the crisis, particularly on the more vulnerable groups.

In this regard, the Secretary-General and I welcome the outcomes of the international conferences on development cooperation with middle-income countries held in Spain, El Salvador and Namibia.  As a result of these outcomes, a draft resolution is currently being negotiated to allow the United Nations to review the existing practices of the international cooperation system to foster support to middle-income countries.  In order for this process to bear fruit, we will have to coordinate closely and work together with developing partners and the Bretton Woods institutions so that the guidance provided by the General Assembly finds a concrete implementation.

I am pleased you are rising to the challenge and have devoted a big part of this meeting to come together and seek common solutions to the crisis before us.  I want to assure you of my support and that of the Secretary-General in all your efforts.  The Secretary-General has been consulting widely on the crisis, in particular on how to protect the poorest, who are being hardest hit.  Two weeks ago, the United Nations Chief Executives Board pledged to show proactive leadership and work towards well-coordinated and comprehensive policies on trade, development, finance, humanitarian assistance, the environment and the protection of global goods.

We must also build on what you have achieved in terms of inter-agency collaboration at the regional level.  The Regional [Coordination] Mechanism sets the normative foundation upon which the United Nations can make a difference.  Tailored to the specific circumstances of each region, you are showing how we can anticipate, plan and respond to common socio-economic priorities.  You bind us together, enabling the United Nations to act coherently and effectively.

Your role is central in forging regional agreement at the intergovernmental level as a building block towards global consensus.  In addition, you bridge the gap between Headquarters and country offices.  Your efforts also contribute a great deal to the ongoing reform process of the United Nations to make it more transparent, accountable and deliver more effectively its activities.

We, therefore, need to continue thinking strategically and collectively about the development challenges ahead.  And let us always remember that achieving greater coordination requires sustained efforts.  Your strong commitment to advancing the development agenda of the United Nations in a more coherent way makes me ever more hopeful of greater progress in the days to come.

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For information media • not an official record