Thank you, Mr. President.
Mr. President,
I would like to thank the Administrator for her very comprehensive statement, that shows that, thus far, progress is on track and often exceeds milestones. The reforms undertaken by UNDP are clearly yielding positive results.
In today’s world, the Programme has a fundamental role and a comparative advantage as a driver of change and as a peace enabler. The migration crises and tragedies that we witness every day, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, a few kilometers from the Italian shores, are a clear evidence of the tight linkage between humanitarian and development activities. UNDP is therefore in a unique position to contribute eradicating most causes of migrations at their roots, to improve living conditions and eventually to prevent those appalling tragedies.
Against this background, we are concerned by the strong decline of contributions to regular resources in the last biennium, a constant decrease that may eventually affect the activities on the field. We encourage UNDP to keep working on the recent resources mobilization strategy and to enlarge its base of donors.
In response to that decrease, I am very proud to announce that in 2016 Italy has increased its contribution to UNDP’s core resources by 19 %, following a pattern of steady increase of our support to the Programme in the last years and in the framework of an overall higher contribution by Italy to all Funds in 2016 (25 % more on average).
Mr. President,
We all know that with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development we have entered a new era for development activities. Italy has responded to this historical challenge by establishing, since January, a dedicated Agency for Development Cooperation and by increasing ODA by 40%. We will continue to collaborate with UNDP and the whole Development System to the best of our possibilities and with ever increasing efforts. But it is also paramount that the UN Development System fully adjusts to the new Agenda, in order to assist all countries in their implementation of the SDGs. The forthcoming QCPR, in just few months, is an unmissable opportunity for all and it needs to represent a watershed for the management of the operational activities for development. We call on all actors involved in the QCPR to collaborate with each other to the maximum extent and to negotiate in a constructive and effective manner.
Thank you, Mr. President.
