Statement by

H.E. Ambassador Le Hoai Trung

Permanent Representative of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

to the United Nations

 

Agenda Item 25: Operational activities for development of the Second Committee of the 67^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

                                                (New York, October 15, 2012)

 

 

Mr. Chairman,

            My delegation associates itself with the statement made by the distinguished representative from Algeria on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and the joint statement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

            Mr. Chairman,

            Viet Nam would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the primary importance of the development pillar in the work of the United Nations. We believe that strengthening and intensifying development co-operation is in the interest of all countries and critical to the attainment of other purposes of the United Nations. The Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) is an opportunity to reflect on the experience over the past 5 years with a view to taking new steps and solutions to address new developments and demands.

            Viet Nam is concerned about the decline in funding for UN operational activities for development. This poses challenges to the operation of the UN development system, especially at the country level where programming activities in development take place. We urge that development partners would continue their commitment to ODA pledge to promote the realization of internationally agreed development goals.

            Viet Nam is strongly committed to enhancing coherence, efficiency and effectiveness of the UN development system. Viet Nam volunteered to be one of the 8 pilot countries of “Delivering as One” (DAO). It is the continuation of the “One UN” reform in Viet Nam which was in fact initiated before DAO.  The “One UN” primarily stemmed from Viet Nam’s policy of making the most efficient use of all resources, in line with our view that internal resources are decisive and external resources are important.

The Government of Viet Nam highly appreciates the comparative advantages of  UN organizations, which contributed significantly to our country’s socio-economic development throughout the post-war reconstruction and reform periods and in our course of international integration. However, the Government of Viet Nam, the UN Country Team and many development partners believe that to be relevant, efficient, effective and given the limited resources, UN development cooperation activities in Viet Nam need to be more coherent in purpose, more coordinated and focused in action and more harmonized in management.

Almost all the six components of the One UN-DAO are now in place in Viet Nam.  One Plan (2012-2016) has been developed based on key national priorities and UN comparative advantages and used as a framework for Viet Nam country programs of UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and several other UN organizations. A One Plan Fund has been established to facilitate the mobilization of un-earmarked and multi-year funding. The Resident Coordinator is provided with more concrete responsibility for coordination in the different aspects of the One UN. The One Set of Management Practices has been completed and important guidelines approved by the Government and put into practice.  Work is under way to build the Green One UN House.

The important factors in the promotion of the One UN-DAO in Viet Nam are the Government ownership, active participation of UN organizations, especially the Country Team, support from development partners and hard efforts to deal with various technical issues.  We respect the mandates and identities of different UN organizations which allow them to respond to the diverse development needs.  Now the One UN-DAO in Viet Nam has passed the stage of setting in process and moved into the stage of working more for results.  It has put in place a framework for the possible reforms towards effective and efficiency in Viet Nam-UN development cooperation. However there remain considerable challenges, including those related to the shortage of resources and effective implementation of what has been agreed upon.  It thus requires further support from headquarters of UN organizations and development partners.

Efforts to promote the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of UN development operational activities cannot substitute the greatly needed resources and must not alter the principles guiding UN development cooperation. These efforts are needed to enhance development cooperation, which can have both immediate and profound impact on lives and rights of people but at the same time regrettably has not always attracted the level of attention it deserves in the work of the United Nations.

            The delegation of Viet Nam looks forward fruitful discussions on the various aspects of UN development cooperation.

Thank you for your kind attention.

           

Thùy Minh