Professor Dugan moderated a High-Level Event on Development System Reform on 19 September 2017. You can find full video of the event here.
High-Level Event on Development System Reform
72nd United Nations General Assembly
Tuesday September 19th 11.00 – 12.30
Venue: Conference Room 5, General Assembly Building
Purpose: This high-level event, co-hosted by the UK, Nigerian and Mexican Governments, brought together a cross-regional group of Member States to discuss the recommendations of the Secretary General’s June 2017 report: Repositioning the UN development system to deliver on the 2030 Agenda – Ensuring a Better Future for All. In the report, the Secretary General reviewed the functions and capacities of the UN Development System and set out his vision for how the system must adapt to support countries to deliver Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
We are at a critical juncture. The Secretary General’s report is the first system-wide analysis of functions and capacities and was based on broad consultation. It is also just the start of an ambitious reform process, that has, for the first time, a universal development agenda. A further report will be issued in December 2017 with a comprehensive set of recommendations. In the interim, the Deputy Secretary General has set out six priority workstreams where further consultation is needed. These will consider the following proposals:
- A system-wide strategy for collective UN action to support the 2030 Agenda.
- Improvement to the Resident Coordinator system
- More responsive and tailored Country Teams
- Greater clarity on the UN’s regional functions, policy and data-management capacities
- Strengthened system-wide governance and oversight of the UN’s support to the 2030 Agenda
- The establishment of a ‘“Funding Compact” to improve the quality and predictability of resources allocated to the UN development system
This event provided an opportunity for Member States to signal their support for the Secretary General’s vision, discuss how they make reform a reality, and consider how it can be put into practice in their own countries.
The Deputy Secretary General, Ms. Amina Mohammed, has a pivotal role in the reform process: facilitating integration and system-wide coherence, and acting as a neutral broker in interagency processes. The DSG attended the event, reflected on the views of panelists and briefly presented on progress on the priority areas that will be covered in the December report.
Format: The event opened by the Nigerian and Mexican ministers for Development and Multilateral Affairs, and then followed a Question and Answer format with five senior representatives of Member States. Panelists were asked to consider the following questions, referring back to the six priority areas listed above:
- Which aspect of the development system reform agenda is most critical if we are to reposition the UN to meet the challenges of the 21st Century?
- Which areas of focus will have most impact on the ground, once they been implemented?
- Which recommendations are particularly relevant for your country/region?
- Where could the Secretary General press even more robustly for reform?
- How can Member States ensure improved collaboration in effective resource mobilization between the UNDS and other stakeholders to ensure sustainable, high-quality and long-term financing?
- Are any issues not considered in the June report that should be considered in the December follow-up?
Following the moderated discussion, participants were invited to make comments and raise questions from the floor.
The event was closed by the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon Priti Patel, who highlighted key points of discussion and reflected on the way forwards.
