Liberia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, His Excellency Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr. has stressed the need for adequate, predictable, and sustainable funding for the United Nations Resident Coordinator System as essential to delivering a coherent, effective, efficient and accountable response to National Needs And Priorities.
Stressed Ambassador Kemayah: “It is laudable that the reinvigorated Resident Coordinator System is now in place; and the new system is taking shape with UN Country Teams. Liberia is a very good example of the prospects of the UN Resident Coordinator System. We thank the UN Secretary-General for this endeavor, and DSG Amina Mohammed for her effort in this direction; as well as our Resident Coordinator Kingsley Amaning and his Country Team in Liberia for the hard work. However, as also underscored in the report of the Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group; the need for adequate, predictable and sustainable funding; which is essential to delivering a coherent, effective, efficient; and accountable response; in accordance with national needs and priorities; demands all of our attention. Finally, on behalf of His Excellency President Weah, and the Government and People of Liberia; we thank the Secretary-General, DSG Amina Mohammed; and RC Kingsley Amaning and His UN Country Team; and re-affirm our unwavering commitment and support to the Charter, Reform Agenda of the UN Secretary-General and the workings of the United Nations”.
Ambassador Kemayah spoke during the official opening session of a Five-Day United Nations Operational Activities for Development Segment and Interactive Session with United Nations Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. The event ran for the rest of the week and ended on May 27, 2020.
Held under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and social Council-ECOSOC; the United Nations Operational Activities for Development Segment presented a platform to review the implementation of the guidance given by United Nations Member States in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 71/243 on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review – QCPR of operational activities for development of the United Nations System; and review of progress in implementing United Nations General Assembly Resolution 72/279 on the Re-positioning of the United Nations Development System -UNDS. In its landmark resolution 72/279, the United Nations General Assembly decided to fundamentally transform the development coordination system of the United Nations to better respond to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a reinvigorated, empowered, and independent Resident Coordinator System at its helm. In the resolution, the United Nations General Assembly also requested the Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group to present a comprehensive report on an annual basis, including on the operational, administrative and financing aspects of the activities of the newly established Development Coordination Office, to the United Nations Economic and Social Council at its operational activities for development segment.
The Permanent Representative of Liberia to the United Nations made the statement following United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ presentation of his report on the implementation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 71/243 on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review – QCPR of operational activities for development of the United Nations system.
Said Ambassador Kemayah: “We thank ECOSOC for this meeting. We thank the Secretary-General for his report, which provides valuable updates on the implementation of QCPR and the reform of the UN Development System; respectively. We anticipate that this review process will inspire and provide further guidance for the 2020 QCPR, which comes on the threshold of the Decade of Action for sustainable development. With this backdrop, we cannot overly-emphasize the importance of an effective and efficient UN Development System that provides direction, and complements efforts at the country level; to support the acceleration of the SDGs; particularly; given the COVID-19 pandemic; strengthening national and local capacities, and support for poverty eradication; with the goal of leaving no one behind”.
Commenting further on the United Nations Secretary-General’s report, Ambassador Kemayah, also underscored the importance of transitioning from “repositioning to results”. The Liberian Diplomat averred: “while we welcome the UN Secretary-General’s report in general; on the repositioning of the UN Development System; we particularly wish to highlight as outlined in chapter VII of the report: the transition; “From repositioning to results: Mobilizing an integrated whole of system response in support of the Decade of Action”.
The Five-Day United Nations Operational Activities for Development Segment was attended by United Nations Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, H.E. Amina J. Mohammed, H.E. Ms. Mona Juul, Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations and President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council-ECOSOC, Permanent Representatives and Ambassadors/Permanent Missions of Countries and Observer Missions to the United Nations, United Nations Secretariat in New York, United Nations Resident Coordinators around the World; among others.