UNDP Executive Board – Annual Session
8 June 2022
Statement by Italy
Thank you Madam President.
At the outset, we join others in wishing the Administrator a speedy recovery and we thank him for providing another comprehensive and thought-provoking presentation of his vision for accelerating UNDP’s action in today’s increasingly challenging world.
Today, Sustainable development and humanitarian needs have never been higher since the foundation of the United Nations. As registered in the Secretary General’s SDG progress report, we are not on track on the implementation of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda is at risk, with fundamental indicators on poverty, hunger, education, gender equality, decent work, sustainable growth, social protection, climate and the environment, having worsened over the last years, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, protracted and emerging conflicts and crises and their respective localized, regional and global impacts.
Against this difficult background, we need to accelerate multilateral action for responding to these urgent needs and the repositioned UN Development System continues to represent one of our best collective assets.
Italy appreciates the more integrated, One-UN responses in more than 160 countries and UNDP’s key contributions in all those many areas where it is offering comparative advantages and impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, its outcome areas and the signature solutions. In the several and differentiated operative contexts, UNDP’s role will continue to be key. This is why Italy is further strengthening its longstanding and multi-faceted partnership with UNDP and, also to respond to the call of the Administrator, we are proud to have just increased by 50% our core contribution to UNDP for this year with respect to last year, in addition to supporting many thematic programs, including those mentioned by the Administrator such as the INFF and our cooperation during last year’s Italian Presidency of the G20.
We encourage UNDP to intensify action on the priority areas, including and in particular joint programming and inter-agency cooperation, scale-up good practices and continue addressing the differentiated needs of all partner countries through integrated solutions, policy-support and especially effective programme delivery. We also appreciate UNDP’s effective partnership with vertical funds.
Mr. Administrator, in the evolving dynamics of international development and multilateral cooperation, further efforts to integrate actions and programs are necessary. The proliferation of development emergencies is a concerning and it is our “next challenge”. The integrated implementation of the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, to be contextualized on a case-by-case approach, should guide our response and this will require mutual efforts including from the financing and the programmatic coordination and integration sides. Complex challenges require concerted solutions. What is in your opinion the main challenge for a successful implementation of the HDP nexus, beyond the need for tailored approaches in the different contexts? And what is the role that you see for UNDP as part of the UN System?
To conclude, UNDP can continue to count on Italy’s convinced partnership and full support for our common and collective endeavors. Strengthening UNDP action, in synergy, coordination and integration with the wider UN System will contribute to strengthening effective and action-driven multilateralism and deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, leaving no one behind.
I thank you.
