Joint cross regional
statement in response to ED Fore’s Opening Statement delivered by Ambassador Martin Bille Hermann at UNICEF’s Executive
Board Meeting 9 February 2021
Madame President
Thank you for giving me the floor. I would like to congratulate you and
the new members of the Bureau on your election. We look forward to working with
you this coming year, which in many ways will be a defining one.
Madame Executive Director,
Thank you for your opening remarks. I have the honor to deliver the
following statement on behalf of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Costa
Rica, the Czech Republic, Belgium, (Bulgaria), Estonia, the EU as a Donor,
Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Mexico, Norway, Panama, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Suriname, Sweden,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and my own
country Denmark.
As we embark on a new year, which marks the 75th Anniversary
of UNICEF and the adoption of a new Strategic Plan, it is an opportunity to
reflect on past and present challenges, lessons learned and the road ahead.
Please allow me to make 5 points.
Covid-19 and COVAX
First, we commend UNICEF for its early and agile response to Covid-19.
We would in particular like to thank UNICEF staff who have continued to assist
children during the pandemic under difficult conditions.
We also welcome the leading role that UNICEF plays in COVAX. More than
ever, the world needs UNICEF’s strong expertise to provide safe and equitable
access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Delivery of vaccines to low and middle-income countries is not just a
moral imperative; it is enlightened self-interest. We remain committed to
equitable access to safe and effective vaccines and COVAX, the COVAX AMC and
UNICEF are crucial in this regard. Many
of us have already contributed to the COVAX-facility, and we encourage other
member states to do the same.
BBBG
Secondly, in our efforts to build back after Covid-19 we must not only
build back better and more equal, but also greener. The crisis caused by the
pandemic makes a focus on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the
Paris Agreement ever more urgent. Our planet and societies are more vulnerable
than we thought.
To this end, we welcome UNICEF’s progress in reducing its carbon emissions.
At the same time, we wish to stress that UNICEF’s contribution to the climate
agenda must go beyond reducing its carbon footprint. We encourage UNICEF to
ensure that climate awareness and action becomes an integrated part of UNICEF’s
programming, including in education initiatives.
Strategic Plan
Madame Executive Director,
As you stated, the challenges facing children have changed, and how we support them must change too.
We must learn from this global crisis, adjust our priorities, increase
our ambition and avoid reverting to “business as usual”.
This leads me to my fourth point.
As we embark on the drafting of a new Strategic Plan we urge management
to integrate lessons learned as well as the recommendations of the evaluation
of the current Strategic Plan, the Gender Action Plan and the Humanitarian and
Midterm reviews.
We also encourage UNICEF to use its dual mandate effectively to build
bridges between humanitarian and development initiatives, while contributing to
peacebuilding and sustaining peace, and reduce the risk of programmatic silos.
We also support the development of a longer-term, outcome-focused
strategy for children.
Gender Equality and human rights
The pandemic has exposed and
exacerbated vulnerabilities and inequalities within and among countries,
including pre-existing gender inequalities and heightened protection risks.
More girls than boys are out of school. The crisis has led to an
increase in gender-based violence and restricted access to sexual and reproductive
health and rights. We welcome your acknowledgement of the importance of SRHR in
UNICEF’s work.
UNICEF’s response must address these structural inequalities. This requires
strategic efforts based on gender disaggregated data as well as allocating
sufficient resources for these important areas.
We encourage UNICEF to apply a multi-sectoral,
human rights-based and gender-transformative approach, in order to ensure that
no child – regardless of gender - is left behind.
Financing and UNDS-reform
Finally, strong international solidarity and support for the
multilateral system is paramount in responding to the current crisis.
It is our shared responsibility to
ensure that UNICEF is resourced sustainably. Timely, flexible and predictable
contributions are key, but increased funding is not a goal in itself.
It is more important than ever to
focus on efficiency gains, and ensure that a maximum of aid reaches
beneficiaries most in need and achieves lasting impact. It is crucial to build
synergies and enhance coordination and cooperation among the multilateral
organizations to ensure a comprehensive response with maximum impact while avoiding
duplications.
We recall our strong support to the UNDS reform and the Funding Compact
commitments to enhance efficiency and transparency.
Madame Executive Director,
In closing, we look forward to the year ahead and continuing our
partnership with UNICEF to jointly make a difference in the lives of children
all over the world.