Development Cooperation at Heart of United Nations, Says Secretary-General, Hoping

Review of United Nations Operational Activities Makes Constructive Contribution

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, as delivered by Navid Hanif, Director, Office of Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, at the opening of the retreat on the 2012 Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review of United Nations Operational Activities for Development, in Tarrytown, New York, 8 June:

It is a pleasure to greet all those attending this retreat organized by the President of the General Assembly, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs on the future of the United Nations development system.  I also want to thank UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) and other United Nations entities for their active participation and contributions to this event.

The Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review is a tremendously important intergovernmental process that allows Member States to discuss how to make the United Nations development system more relevant, effective and efficient.

Operational activities for development now account for nearly two thirds of all our system-wide activities.  How these activities are conceived, planned and delivered in developing countries is, therefore, a basic, daily test of how well the organization serves the world’s people, particularly those most in need.

The United Nations development system faces growing demands for more varied assistance.  Even as we struggle without adequate resources, the global public has ever higher expectations for results.

To deliver on those expectations, the United Nations must place greater emphasis on alliances and partnerships.  We need to do more, quicker and better, with the resources we have.  We have to work as one, and we must embrace change.

As highlighted in one of the background papers for the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review, the United Nations development system has a legacy of adapting to change.  I hope Member States and United Nations entities alike will take decisions in the upcoming Policy Review negotiations that send a strong message that the United Nations development system can continue to evolve, reinvent itself and keep pace in a world of transformation and change.

Development cooperation lies at the heart of the United Nations.  As we strive to get it right, this retreat can make a constructive contribution.  I wish you much success in your deliberations.

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For information media • not an official record