Thank you Mr. President and thank you Mr. Administrator for your clear and frank opening statement.

Mr. President

Last April the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation addressed the General Assembly during the debate on the High-level Panel report on System-wide Coherence. He stressed the importance to step up our efforts to achieve the MDG’s by 2015 and the need to make better use of UN organisations’ unique and invaluable expertise. UNDP, as the biggest development organisation of the UN system, is central to these efforts. It has a crucial role to play in assisting countries to achieve the MDG’s and in bringing to bear the full potential of the UN system.

The environment in which we are operating has changed. We all have to adapt to changing circumstances, also the UN, also UNDP. We – members of this Board – have a responsibility to all those people that are facing poverty and insecurity on a daily basis to ensure that UNDP and the UN as a whole are best equipped and organised to meet the challenges of our time. We need to show that we collectively are willing and able to translate the need for reform into action.

The Netherlands is a staunch supporter of UNDP. We want UNDP to strengthen its place and added value in the international aid environment. That is exactly why we have such high expectations of the strategic plan that lies before us, since it will set out our collective vision for the organisation for the next crucial four years.

I would like to address some practical issues in this stage of our discussion

Firstly on the coordinating role of UNDP,

The UN has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience over the years in a wide variety of areas. The reforms, which started as a result of the TCPR-resolutions, have been instrumental in bringing this knowledge and experience together in a coherent and coordinated way so that the UN has started to become more then the sum of its parts. This process is taken to the next logical step in the ‘delivering as one’-pilots, but also in some other recipient countries who have decided that they want the UN to deliver as one. Invaluable lessons are being learned about what it means for the UN to really work together as one. We would like to comment the governments who have shown leadership and ownership in demanding UN organisations in their countries to cooperate and work more closely together; but also UNDP as the coordinator of the UN operational system at country level, as well as other UN County Team (UNCT) members for their efforts and enthusiasm in trying to make the pilots and similar initiatives a success.

As coordinator of the UN at country level, UNDP has to ensure that the UN responds within its mandate and comparative advantage to the needs of recipient countries. The challenge is to reconcile on the one hand the full range of the UN’s normative and operational capacity with on the other hand the responsiveness of the UN to national priorities. This balancing act requires a Resident Coordinator who is empowered to fulfil its role but maybe even more importantly a Resident Coordinator who is perceived by the other members of the UN Country Team as being neutral.

Second issue, related to this is the delineation between United Nations-wide and UNDP-specific functions.

It is from this perspective that the Netherlands strongly supports a clear delineation and demarcation between UNDP’s coordination and operational functions. UNDP has already taken some measures to institutionalise these distinct functions. This is promising. The appointment of Country Directors in countries with a substantial UNDP programme, frees Resident Coordinators from their UNDP duties and allows them to focus on their coordinating role. The division of labour between the Administrator and the Associate Administrator creates clearer accountability and reporting lines within UNDP regarding its coordinating and operational roles. However, we believe that the institutional en procedural arrangements should be further refined and that the relevant provisions in the Strategic Plan should be improved. This should be done in close cooperation and consultation with the rest of the UN system. It is our impression that this is not sufficiently done so far. In order for UNDP to gain the trust of the rest of the UN system it will have to show openness and transparency; the process has to be inclusive. This is crucial for the acceptance of the increased coordinating role of UNDP. We would like to hear from the Administrator how UNDP is consulting with the rest of the UN system.

The third issue in on UNDP’s operational role.

When discussing how to make better use of UN organisations’ unique and invaluable expertise we should not forget UNDP’s own unique and invaluable expertise. In certain areas UNDP has an operational comparative advantage. However UNDP needs to define its role clearer in relation to what other UN organisations have to offer. Other agencies have to be confident that UNDP is not diverting to areas where they have the comparative advantage. UNDP needs to take a critical look at its own activities and consult with other agencies about an appropriate division of labour, possibly resulting in service level agreements.

The draft strategic plan has substantially improved during the several stages of the consultation process. In the coming months we would like UNDP however to define more clearly its comparative advantage and its areas of activity, what it wants to achieve (goals and outcomes), and how it will measure and report on outcomes. We also welcome the emphasis the Administrator put in his speech on peace-building and countries coming out of conflict and we encourage UNDP to continue to cooperate closely in this regard with the PBC.

The fourth issue is related to the country programs, in particularly Papua New Guinea.

 Recalling what I said before about the importance of the UN to deliver as one, I would like to draw your attention to the country programme for Papua New Guinea that is going to be discussed at this board. It is an excellent example of a country taking leadership and ownership in bringing the UN together at country level. The government of PNG wanted the one UN country programme to be discussed as a whole and not be unravelled. We fully supported them in this. If we take country ownership and UN reform seriously we need a mechanism to discuss and approve joint UN programmes. We cannot let bureaucratic hurdles obstruct the explicit wish of a country to have an integrated discussion of its country programme. We have to find a creative solution as there will be more recipient countries wanting to present their country programmes in an integral way.

Then a final word on accountability

UNDP has taken measures to further strengthen its accountability and oversight system. We welcome these steps and encourage UNDP to continue its efforts to adopt and adhere to best practices. We welcome your intention Mr. Administrator for further consultations with Board Members on the issue of internal audits. We look forward to a constructive and fruitful and conclusive discussion on the important issues on the agenda of this week.

Thank you Mr. President