October 20, 09

NEWS / Migiro addresses pilot countries of One UN reform programme

19 October 2009 – Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today opened a gathering in the Rwandan capital that brings together the eight pilot countries taking part in the United Nations initiative that seeks to better coordinate development activities at the country level and avoid duplication.
Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay and Viet Nam volunteered in 2006 to participate in the “One UN” programme, which aims to speed up development operations to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight targets for tackling poverty, hunger and other social ills by 2015.

The creation of these pilot projects was suggested in Delivering as One, a report by the UN High-Level Panel on System-wide Coherence that was released November 2006.

That report recommended, among other things, that the UN “deliver as one at the country level, with one leader, one programme, one budget, where appropriate, one office” with the aim of avoiding fragmentation and duplication of efforts.

The evaluations at the conference will help to adjust the programme in the eight countries, Ms. Migiro will tell participants, and provide a firm basis for comparing experiences and determining what has worked and what has failed in making the work of the UN system more coherent and effective.

While in Kigali, Ms. Migiro will also hold bilateral meetings with senior Rwandan Government officials, and have an informal exchange with women parliamentarians.

Rwanda is the only country in the world where women are a majority in Parliament. The Deputy Secretary-General is expected to highlight the role played by the nation’s women, especially decision-makers in leadership roles, in helping to build a thriving democracy.

Tomorrow Ms. Migiro will be in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, to deliver the keynote address at the 2nd Metropolis Women International Network Forum. She will also hold bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan and other senior Government officials during her visit.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32620&Cr=migiro&Cr1=