09 September 2008

Mr. President,

Distinguished delegates,

Colleagues and friends,

It is always a pleasure to address you as members of the Executive Board and as our partners in delivering on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). I also welcome all members from the capitals.

Needless to say, my colleagues and I look forward to our discussions this week. We all know that true breakthroughs require more than strategic plans, they depend on inspired collaboration. UNFPA would not have been able to move forward as we have over the past few years in becoming a more field-focused and results-oriented organization without your strong support and guidance.

In my statement today I will update you on some new developments, the status of UNFPA’s reorganization and our new way of working. I will introduce the agenda item that we will discuss this morning on the revision of UNFPA financial regulations. And I will highlight the centrality of the ICPD agenda, as we prepare for the upcoming High-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

At our last meeting in Geneva, I introduced the new UNFPA executive team. And I am pleased to introduce today the last member of this team, Nobuko Horibe, the new Director of the Asia Pacific Regional Office. Nobuko first joined UNFPA in 1987 as a Programme Officer and has since held various positions, including UNFPA Representative for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and most recently as Deputy Director for the Division for Oversight Services. Please join me in welcoming Nobuko to her new position.

It is exciting to have an invigorating team leading UNFPA through the restructuring and beyond. Just last week, we completed a series of meetings aimed at team-building and decision-making. Our purpose was to develop a common understanding and agreement as a unified team that speaks with one voice, and to move together in decision-making about matters facing the Fund in its transition. It is with great pleasure that I express our collective amazement about how we seem to fit together fairly seamlessly, combining the wisdom and UNFPA-specific experience of those of us who have been here for a while with the energy and diverse experience of those who have just joined us.

Mr. President,

It’s been 40 years since the Stanford biology professor, Paul Ehrlich, warned of imminent global catastrophe in his book, The Population Bomb. Thankfully, massive starvation on a large scale has not come to pass, as was predicted.

When he wrote the book in 1968, global population stood at roughly 3.5 billion. Today, we are 6.7 billion people sharing planet Earth and population continues to grow at a rate of 78 million people each year. Most of this growth is occurring in urban areas in less developed regions.

There is no doubt that our world is becoming more complex and crowded, and we are confronted by the defining challenge of climate change.

But while some people fear that the size of the population is the problem, the real problem is not people, but rather poor management of demographic dynamics through economic and social policies that leave people behind. And here I am talking not only about national policies, but also about global and regional policies.

We need policies that are just and equitable and put people at the centre. And this requires taking into account demographic trends and dynamics that include the rates of population growth, fertility and mortality, and the age and spatial distribution of the population, including migration and urbanization. And basic to all this, is the right of individuals to make choices about their lives and their right to reproductive health.

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit one of the world’s largest cities for the 17th International AIDS Conference. It was amazing to land in Mexico City in an airport that was built on the margins of the city 50 years ago and now appears to be in city centre.

The airport handles 26 million passengers annually and analysts say that, with existing demand, it could have grown to handle up to 40 million. But it is located in a densely populated area and there is no room left to expand.

Mexico has been a leader in carrying forward the ICPD agenda on population and development. The nation has made substantial advances in education and sexual and reproductive health. And they have increased opportunities for women and girls. It also took its youth population seriously.

As a result, the average Mexican family has two children today, compared to six in 1970. And the point worth celebrating is not so much that fertility and population growth rates have declined, but that women and men are making their own decisions about family size and have the means to do so.

In Mexico, families are smaller and citizens live longer. And the social policies and programmes that have opened the demographic window of opportunity have led to increased savings, investment and economic growth.

Today, all over the world, countries like Mexico are reaping the benefits of economic and social investment.

Yet, pockets of poverty persist and there is a great need to address inequality and to support marginalized and excluded people and their right to a better life for themselves and their families.

Today, countries are challenged to respond to shifting age structures and their young and elderly populations.

While the greying of the planet is an unprecedented phenomenon, rapid ageing of the population is much more advanced in more developed regions.

This stands in stark contrast to less developed regions, especially the least developed countries, which have youthful populations that are growing rapidly. By mid-century, the populations of Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger and Uganda are expected to triple.

Today, the median age in Japan is 43 years old, and the median age in Malawi is 16.

Mr. President,

We will not close the great gap between rich and poor unless we address population and development issues. This means ensuring universal access to education and reproductive health and providing equal opportunities for women—in line with the ICPD agenda, which your governments have adopted. And it also means ensuring that globalization and the economic and political environment benefits the developing countries more than the developed countries as we strive for greater solidarity and equity among nations.

We have to meet the needs of present generations and improve their quality of life without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The Millennium Development Goals represent our collective challenge and also our collective opportunity.

Reproductive health was recognized as vital to human security at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) and also at the recent Group of Eight (G-8) Summit.

As your Governments go into the upcoming high-level session on the Millennium Development Goals in the General Assembly on 25 September, I urge you to keep these issues front and centre.

We count on your active support for the ICPD agenda as we move forward, leading up to the commemoration of ICPD at 15 next year.

Mr. President,

Distinguished delegates,

We need increased political will and teamwork to scale up quality sexual and reproductive health services, which remains an urgent challenge.

We will not achieve MDG 5, to improve maternal health, unless women have universal access to reproductive health, especially at the basic level of family planning, skilled attendance at birth and emergency obstetric care.

Over the past two years, UNFPA has worked closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 40 African countries to develop national Road Maps for Maternal and Newborn Health.

This past July, together with WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, we agreed on a clearer division of labour among our agencies and plans for accelerated support in maternal health.

UNFPA’s goal is to provide $500 million of targeted support over the coming four years through our maternal health thematic fund. The funds will support priority countries in improving their national health outcomes. We thank donors that have contributed and encourage others to support this initiative.

Together, we need to strengthen health systems, through increased investment in health workers, infrastructure and supply systems, so they can deliver to women when women are ready to deliver. And we, the informal gathering calling ourselves the H-8, are working together to support countries in this effort.

Through the Global Programme on Reproductive Health Commodity Security, UNFPA is working with partners to ensure there are less stock-outs of contraceptives and other supplies, and improving supply systems.

So far, 66 countries have completed situation analyses, 56 have developed strategic plans, and more are engaged in efforts to build national capacity for forecasting, warehousing, distribution and logistics to ensure reproductive health commodity security.

I am also pleased to report that the Campaign to End Fistula continues to go strong. The campaign is active in more than 45 countries in Africa, Asia and the Arab region, preventing and treating fistula and rehabilitating and empowering women who have undergone treatment.

I can tell you the real concrete result that one cannot miss is the smiling face of a woman after successful fistula surgery with her hope and dignity restored.

Mr. President,

As I mentioned earlier, I attended last month’s 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

I met with leaders in government and civil society, and heard the stories of people living with HIV. I was moved by their determination and courage, and inspired to do even more.

We need to intensify HIV prevention as has been done with treatment. And we need to fight even harder against stigma and discrimination. This is especially important for women and youth, who are disproportionately affected, and also for marginalized groups, such as men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and sex workers.

I was heartened to hear partners in Mexico City repeatedly stress the importance of linking interventions for HIV and sexual and reproductive health. UNFPA is actively engaged with partners to build stronger coalitions among women and youth networks and to more fully engage our partners in maternal and newborn heath in the area of HIV prevention.

The UNFPA core mission in furthering sexual and reproductive health provides us with a comparative advantage in preventing HIV and advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. We work systematically and strategically with United Nations partners and others to advance women’s human rights because this is where real prevention begins.

We are encouraged by the recent Security Council resolution 1820 in 2008, which affirmed that rape and other forms of sexual violence constitute war crimes and called for strong measures to combat brutal attacks on women and girls. Together with UN partners, UNFPA is responding to resolutions 1820 (2008) and 1325 (2000). We support the development and strengthening of judicial and health systems. We also partner with local civil society networks to prevent violence against women and to provide assistance to survivors of sexual violence, especially in armed and post-conflict situations.

We are currently working with UNICEF to accelerate the abandonment of female genital mutilation/cutting. This global initiative is being implemented for five years in 17 countries in Africa, using strategies that have proven effective, including culturally sensitive approaches for supporting change from within.

Today, in Egypt and Sudan, laws have been revised and Senegal and Djibouti have adopted national action plans. Parliamentarians in Kenya and Guinea-Bissau are leading national campaigns to abolish female genital mutilation/cutting. And a powerful example was set in Sudan, where more than 200 women vowed in public that they would not allow their daughters to be cut.

Mr. President,

Distinguished delegates,

This is progress. But it is not enough.

We all need to do more to combat all forms of discrimination and violence against women.

To increase impact, UNFPA is expanding partnerships with governments, professional organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and community and religious leaders.

We are taking a culturally sensitive approach, based on cultural awareness and knowledge, to ensure ownership of the ICPD agenda by communities and individuals. Part of this work involves reaching out to community leaders and faith-based organizations that are able to reach people in their communities and provide a wide array of social services.

Our focus in 2008 has been to consolidate inter-faith networks for population and development. We look forward to the UNFPA-sponsored Global Faith-Based Organization Forum in Istanbul next month to enhance this strategic partnership. Furthermore, to expand understanding on what this culturally sensitive approach means and how it supports the promotion of human rights. UNFPA’s The State of the World Population 2008 report, to be launched on 12 November, will focus on culture and development.

The continuing challenge is to strengthen and expand ownership of the ICPD agenda, particularly at regional, national and community levels. This requires broad-based partnerships with all segments and all levels of society, including non-traditional partners such as Ministers of Finance and Planning.

But we also know, as we move more and more to ensure ICPD ownership within communities, that there are forces that do not like our agenda. Threats are made against the UN in general but also about the UN family planning programmes in particular. Our staff, especially national staff, are right there in the open space doing what they believe they should do and we need your support in ensuring staff security is as high on your agenda as it is on ours.

Mr. President,

I am pleased to report that UNFPA reorganization is proceeding on schedule.

At the end of June, all Country Support Team offices were closed and the technical functions were transferred to the respective Regional and Subregional offices. And the Technical and Programme Divisions are being established in a phased manner at Headquarters.

The reorganization process within UNFPA pays specific attention to the human dimension of change, maintaining business continuity and ensuring that reorganization costs are kept within budget. It is also a great pleasure to inform you that the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Staff Council has given UNFPA high marks for its transparent, fair and just job matching exercise and we are looking forward to get another set of high marks for the job fair.

Our human resources strategy ensures that both the interest of staff members and that of the organization are taken into consideration. The job fair is nearly completed and staff reassignments are proceeding. And through all of this, we are working to maintain, as much as possible within the present context, the delivery of programmes and keep communications flowing. We are working to establish cost-effective and efficient communication systems to all our regional offices, using state-of-the-art technology.

I am proud of the way UNFPA is changing in response to a changing environment.

We are changing the way we do business in support of national development and ownership in line with the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review. We are working to fully utilize national and regional institutions and expertise for providing technical support to our country and regional programmes. We are working to build national capacity and support triangular and South-South cooperation. And we welcome the Accra Agenda for Action that was adopted last week at the 3rd High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. Together with partners, UNFPA will carry forward this agenda to support country ownership and build more effective and inclusive partnerships with a focus on results and accountability.

At UNFPA, we know that many developing countries have come a long way to build their institutions and national expertise and we are working to build our technical support to governments through these institutions and expertise.

We also know that changing the way we work requires more than changing our structures and systems, it requires changing the way we think and, thus, the way we work—and that is for both of us, UNFPA and the Member States.

Right now, as I speak, a team of statisticians from Indonesia is in South Africa, which recently completed a successful census and Indonesia is in the process of planning their own. The Indonesian team is learning from the South African experience in using new technologies to process census data.

In Latin America, UNFPA is facilitating the transfer of knowledge and technical expertise between Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and other national statistical offices of the region. The use of wireless palm devices to collect and transfer data for surveys and censuses can cut operation time down from up to a year to two or three months and reduce the margin of error.

This type of South-South cooperation is not only important for knowledge sharing; it is a concrete and practical way of delivering technical support for national capacity development. As we promote this type of cooperation, we also value North-South transfer of knowledge in both directions. This can strengthen how we all provide support to development and it can also strengthen a necessary component of peace: mutual respect and responsibility.

Mr. President,

Distinguished delegates,

While we are making progress in the countdown to 2015 to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the progress is not fast enough and we need to do more.

I ask myself, are we doing all we can, with the resources we have at our disposal, to close the gaps between rich and poor in and among countries and make our world more just and sustainable.

In the international development community, we focus a great deal on aid effectiveness, results-based management and accountability.

But I wonder at times, what does this all mean to a child who just lost his mother during birth or who was born unknowingly as HIV-positive or a girl who was forced into marriage?

Of course, we know that we must be held accountable for resources entrusted to UNFPA. And we have taken many concrete steps, together with you as Board members, to push these initiatives forward in UNFPA. And we have made much progress.

But I believe we have reached a critical point, in the countdown to 2015, when we need to focus more on delivering results and not be so preoccupied with processes. We need to make our planning and monitoring systems and processes simpler so we have both the energy and the time to focus on what matters—supporting countries and civil society to deliver social services and development results.

I say this because we are in a race against time in the countdown to 2015—we have only 6 years and 144 days remaining. And we need to maximize our time and resources to greater effect if we are to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger and achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015.

While strategic plans and monitoring systems are important, real breakthroughs depend on working on the ground. We need to be less bureaucratic and more dynamic. Our collective success will be measured by lives that are improved.

Mr. President,

We are struggling with this very important balance that we must attain—how to be less process-oriented and more results-focused; how to amend existing cumbersome mechanisms and systems and make them more user-friendly and how to abandon some of our own UN systems and adopt national systems and processes. It is a real challenge but it is also a true opportunity. And the point that I want to stress is that we at UNFPA cannot do it alone. This new way of working requires collective engagement of the governments and the UN system.

I would also like to stress that while it is important to spend our money wisely, it is also important to provide the assistance that has been promised and is desperately needed, especially in the poorest countries and to the most vulnerable populations.

And when we talk about improving the social conditions of people, progress cannot be attributed to one agency or even to the government alone. It is the cumulative result of all of our interventions, with the national governments providing the leadership and the largest share of interventions. That is why measuring results is not as simple as when we talk about it; it is complex and we need to find simpler ways to measure them.

But we cannot reach the results we are trying to measure, within the context of the news we heard from a new report released last Thursday by the UN Secretary-General. It shows that aid to poor nations has slumped even as higher food and energy prices and slowing economic growth have made such assistance more urgent. Today, I call on all donors to commit 0.7 per cent of national income to official development assistance and it would be even better if they would reach what a few others countries have done- the 1 per cent level. We look forward to greater support that is commensurate with the economic global challenges faced by all countries, including fair trade, which impacts on the lives of individuals.

I take this opportunity to thank all governments that contribute to UNFPA. Every one of our contributors, big or small, makes a difference because each and every one counts.

I am pleased to report that our estimated regular income for 2008 is $470 million, an increase of more than $50 million from last year. The co-financing contributions for 2008 now total $175 million and we are confident that we will reach our target of $200 million before the end of the year.

For 2008, the projected top 10 donor governments for regular resources are the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Finland, Spain and Canada.

Mr. President,

I would now like to turn to financial, budgetary and administrative matters.

UNFPA is strengthening results-based management and accountability. And, as requested by the Board, we are continuing to harmonize and improve results-based budgeting. But as I said before, we have to remain vigilant that our systems are simple and user-friendly not for us in Headquarters and for you as members of the Board, but for the millions of people at the country level who are engaged in development work. The tension between these two continues to challenge us.

UNFPA, UNICEF and UNDP have engaged the services of an independent consultant to review and compare the cost classification between programme and management costs across the three agencies. The review concluded that the agencies are generally harmonized in classifying costs; however, exceptions still exist mainly due to differing business models, and the size of programmes. We are continuing to pursue further harmonization, including in the area of common management results and indicators. We will continue to brief the Executive Board during informal consultations on the Bienniel Support Budget (BSB) next year.

I am also pleased to report that, as you have requested, baseline data have been compiled and targets have been developed for all indicators in the UNFPA Strategic Plan. For your reference, the updated matrix is posted on the UNFPA Executive Board web pages.

Allow me now to present UNFPA’s proposal to revise Financial Regulation 14.5 on ex-gratia payments, as contained in the documents before you (DP/FP/2008/15, DP/FPA/2008/15/Corr.1 and DP/FPA/2008/16).

We are proposing the removal of the limit of $25,000 for ex-gratia payments that can be made in a single year. This ceiling was established in June 1983 and is no longer realistic.

Ex-gratia payment is made to an affected UNFPA staff or family member as a form of immediate relief in the aftermath of a devastating event, such as an accident, a natural disaster, civil strife, an act of war or a malicious act, including an act of terrorism. These payments are not legal obligations, rather they are offered to staff for moral support.

Today, we ask your support in removing the existing $25,000 ceiling. We do so not only to harmonize with our UN system partners, but also to respond to the changing global environment and the increasing risks and threats faced by our staff worldwide.

Last year, three UNFPA staff members lost their lives in the devastating bombing in Algiers, and two were injured. Even for those who survived without injury, it was a traumatic and life-changing event, including how they see the United Nations responding to their sacrifice.

When our colleagues are attacked while on duty implementing the mandate that you have adopted, we, as the employer, have an obligation to respond with equal responsibility and with humanity. The United Nations cannot recruit and retain committed staff of high quality if it is seen as an employer that does not provide the basic requirements for staff safety and commensurate compensations. With the continuously threatening environment that we face, we have to protect and provide compensation in a way that is commensurate with their sacrifices. We cannot foresee the number of these incidents and the corresponding requirements.

Security threats are unprecedented and UNFPA has to be prepared to deal with their various aspects and dimensions. We need your support, not only in this Board, but in other forums where financial decisions are made because without it, we can not serve the countries to the best of our abilities.

It is important to underscore that UNFPA does not expect the revision to the regulation to result in any significant financial impact for the Fund. Major amounts towards such compensations are covered by Malicious Acts Insurance Policy and the Staff Rules of the United Nations.

I would also like to assure you that we fully recognize the importance of fiscal responsibility and disclosure. The financial implications of ex-gratia payments are disclosed by the Board of Auditors to the General Assembly along with our financial statements.

Mr. President,

Distinguished delegates,

It is a real privilege to work with you and the dedicated staff of UNFPA and to lead this organization. The causes we champion from ending poverty to women’s empowerment to the right to sexual and reproductive health are absolutely central to human development, freedom and dignity. And while the population and development field has always been difficult and often misunderstood, I can assure you that, no matter where I am, I will continue to be a fearless champion of the ICPD agenda and a strong supporter of a more coherent, responsive and effective United Nations that lives up to its ideals. I want to assure you that UNFPA is a strong organization that continuously works very hard to adapt itself to the ever-changing challenges in the external environment in which it is called to work. You should be proud of UNFPA and its staff as I am.

This morning, the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, informed me of his decision about my term of office. He decided to extend my tenure for two more years in order to ensure a safe and secure transition for UNFPA during this period. I would like to thank each and all Member States that have expressed their support for my extension by addressing the Secretary-General, whether verbally or in writing. I would like to especially express my gratitude to the President of the Executive Board for following-up on the matter proactively with the Secretary-General.

It is an honour for me as an international civil servant to know that many Member States appreciate my leadership and have their minds and hearts set on UNFPA. On a personal level, I am touched and humbled by your support and the decision of the Secretary-General. This only deepens my sense of belonging and commitment to the United Nations and I recommit myself and my colleagues, the senior leadership of the Fund and every single staff member of UNFPA, to further expand and deepen our support to you, our Member States, and to the people whom we serve. Without the commitment of the staff of UNFPA, we could not have moved as far and as quickly as we have done. To all of you, I am indebted and promise to lead the Fund forward.

Thank you.