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Governments, donors and UN commit to 'Delivering as One' at Viet Nam conference

HA NOI, Viet Nam, 17 June 2010 - "Much has been achieved, more needs to be done. 'Delivering as One' is the future for UN development activities."

Thus concluded a statement issued by governments and United Nations representatives at a three-day international gathering on UN reform that wrapped up yesterday in Ha Noi.

The event brought together over 260 participants, including representatives from countries that are piloting the Delivering as One approach and nations that have funded and supported the UN reform process - as well as delegates from the UN, other international organizations and diplomatic missions in Viet Nam.

A coordinated approach

The UN launched Delivering as One in 2007 to respond to global challenges and provide more coordinated development assistance in the eight nations that volunteered to become pilot cases: Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Viet Nam. Together with the world body, they are experimenting with ways to increase the UN's impact through more coherent programmes and accelerate achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 deadline.

"Pilot countries lead the way in operationalizing the vision of the UN system at country level," said UN Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Rose-Asha Migiro. "Many of the successful changes need to be institutionalized in order to be sustainable."

Conference participants ultimately arrived at a 'Ha Noi Statement', which charts a clear way forward for Delivering as One and reaffirms that the old way of doing business is no longer an option.

The statement calls upon the UN system to institutionalize business and management systems that enhance efficiency and effectiveness. It also urges donors to provide multi-year, predictable and un-earmarked funding to countries in order to make the Delivering as One approach credible and applicable to future development activities worldwide.

Translating vision into action

The five main pillars of Delivering as One - one plan; one fund; one set of management practices in one house; one leader; and one voice - were discussed on 15 June in parallel thematic workshops, with a view towards further improving their implementation at the country level.

"The eight pilot countries have written history, because what we have initiated has actually taken root," said UNICEF Representative in Viet Nam Jesper Morch. "We are now at a crucial point in time where we need to go further and demonstrate the sustainability of the process. This is not something that can be done through the UN alone. Government leadership and ownership is absolutely fundamental, as well as donor guidance."

Mr. Morch added: "Donors in Viet Nam have been instrumental in the design of Delivering as One. They have been involved from day one and have played a loyal role in that they stood up when needed, also providing significant funding. The UN now needs to translate this vision into action, move one step beyond the process and show tangible results for the people."

Effectiveness and results

The Ha Noi Statement was complemented by a closing statement on behalf of the donor nations.

"Donors appreciate the way Delivering as One countries have demonstrated national ownership and leadership, and stand ready to respond to governments' requests to work through the One UN programme," said Ambassador Jostein Leiro, Deputy Director-General of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The success of the Ha Noi conference will contribute to the effort to enhance the UN's operational effectiveness, in line with the General Assembly's resolutions on system-wide coherence. The outcome of this meeting also provides a significant source of information for an independent evaluation on Delivering as One that is planned for next year.

"Reform is always a long and challenging process, which requires persevering and strong commitment and efforts of all nations, as well as the UN as a whole," Viet Nam's Prime Minister, M. Nguyen Tan Dung, stated during the conference's final day.

"The important thing," he added, "is that success of the reform will surely bring about enormous benefits to the realization of national development goals and the improvement of the people's lives. As such, I am confident that with commitment of all stakeholders, Delivering as One will produce the desired development results."