UN system must undergo bold changes – Guterres
The Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, has said that the UN system must undergo bold changes to help countries achieve Sustainable Development Agenda by 2030.
Guterres gave the position when he presented his first report on the repositioning of the UN development system to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The Secretary-General said that “the 2030 Agenda is our boldest agenda for humanity, and requires equally bold changes in the UN development system”.
He stressed that just as the 2030 Agenda is an integrated platform to address people’s needs, the UN development system must also be far more integrated in its work to respond more effectively.
The Secretary-General underlined key areas for reform which included “ensuring that the UN system fully transits from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the 2030 Agenda”.
The other is “increasing the focus on financing for development so countries can unlock the doors to financing, expertise, know-how and technologies”.
Guterres called for the creation of a new generation of UN Country Teams that are more cohesive, flexible and can respond to the specific needs of each country.
According to him, this includes redefining the role of UN Resident Coordinators by delinking them from being UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representatives.
He also suggested giving the UN Resident Coordinators, direct supervisory lines overall UN Country Team members so that they could lead more effectively, and increasing accountability, oversight and transparency in the field as well as at headquarters.
The Secretary-General’s first report would be followed by a second one with further recommendations as well as more detailed actions for reform and this would be released in December.
