(6th plenary meeting) UNICEF Executive Board, 2026 Annual Session

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, final morning of this Board's Annual Session of 2026 continues. We will begin by turning our attention to Item 18 of the Agenda of Matters. I invite the Secretary to introduce the provisional list of agenda items for 2026 Second Regular Session. Secretary, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. The provisional list of agenda items for the Second Regular Session has been shared with board members. I have received no comments on it, so it will be under consideration. Thank you, Mr. President.

I thank the Secretary for his remarks and now open the floor for discussion. I don't see anyone wishing to take the floor at this particular moment. If there is no additional comments, this concludes our consideration of this agenda item. We will now turn to agenda item 19 and take action on the draft decisions that have been discussed during the session. We now have before us 12 draft decisions that have been discussed during the informal consultations. The draft decision on the Annual Report for 2025 of Executive Director of UNICEF has been issued at E/ICEF/2026/L10. I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision. If there is no objection—

Excuse me, but under other matters, the Russian Federation would like to take the floor.

Okay.

I apologize. I see that under other matters, Russian Federation would like to take the floor. Please, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for allowing me to make this statement. Greetings also to the Executive Director of UNICEF. We would like to make a statement in continuation of the statement that we delivered previously during this session regarding the overall trend towards an expansive interpretation by UNICEF of its mandate, and in particular, we'd like to express our concern over the recently published Children's Climate Risk Report 2026. We acknowledge that UNICEF has an important mandate to defend the rights and well-being of children, but we note, however, that this mandate does not include promoting any scenarios of an energy transition or calls upon states to conduct a particular energy policy. It is interesting that the organization is imposing approaches on specialized issues in the climate, energy, and economic policy that are not a subject for discussion within UNICEF's activities. Climate policy energy transitions, and compliance with international climate obligations are something that fall within the purview exclusively of member states within the context of the respective intergovernmental processes established under the auspices of the United Nations, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. [SPEAKING GERMAN] We are also concerned by the general trend according to which UN system agencies are increasingly involved in activities that go beyond the bounds of their mandate as given to them by member states. This practice could undermine the intergovernmental nature of the United Nations and divert resources from the agency fulfilling its main responsibilities. At the same time, we note that the current UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026 to 2029 does not stipulate any actions relating to combating climate change. The organization is only obliged to provide assistance to governments to increase the resilience of social infrastructure and services to extreme weather phenomenon. And also to expand access to systems that reduce the impacts of environmental hazards and disasters for children and their families. That is impact result 5. We see this report as an attempt to influence ongoing discussions within climate and energy negotiations. In that regard, we call upon UNICEF to focus on its core tasks: protecting the rights of children, facilitating access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and humanitarian assistance, and also addressing the consequences of environmental challenges for children. Thank you for your attention.

I thank the distinguished representative of Russian Federation for this statement. I would now like to come back to a draft decision on the annual report for 2025 of the Executive Director of UNICEF that has been issued as E/ICEF/2026/L.10. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there is no objections, it is so decided. I see something. Sorry. Sorry for this little hiccup. So the draft decision on the annual report on UNICEF's humanitarian action has been issued at E/ICEF/2026/L11. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there is no objection, it is so decided. The draft decision on update to protection from sexual exploitation and abuse has been issued at E/ICEF/2026/L12. ICEF/2026/L12. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there's no objection, it is so decided. Page 15. No?

15 on this one.

On page 15. We now move to adoption of next draft decision. The draft decision on update on implementation efforts on the repositioning of the United Nations Development System has been issued at E/ICEF/2026/L14. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? I see no objections. It is so decided.

Thank you.

The draft decision on the update on the UN80 Initiative and implementation by UNICEF has been issued at E/ICEF/2026/L15. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there is no objections, it is so decided. The draft decision on the annual report for 2025 of the Evaluation Function in UNICEF and management response has been issued at e/icef/2026/l16. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there is no objection, it is so decided. The draft decision on the report of the Ethics Office of UNICEF for 2025 and management response has been issued at E/ICEF/2026/L17. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there are no objection, it is so decided. The draft decision on the UNICEF Office of Internal Audit and Investigations 2025 annual report to the Executive Board and management response has been issued as E/ICEF/2026/L18. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there are no objections, it is so decided. The draft decision on the annual report on the risk profile of UNICEF has been issued as E/ICEF/2026/L19. 2026/L19. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there are— if there is no objection, it is so decided. The draft decision on progress on the— I'm sorry. Progress on the consideration of a review of governance and oversight of Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNICEF and UN Women by the Joint Inspection Unit has been issued as E/ICEF/2026/L20. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there is no objection, it is so decided. The draft decision on the Private Fundraising and Partnerships Financial Report for the Year Ending 31 December 2025 has been issued as E/ICEF/2026/L21. May I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? I see no objection. It is so decided. Let me go back here. The draft decision on the update on organizational culture and diversity has been issued as E/ICEF/2026/L13. I see that United States want to take a floor here. You have a floor.

Mr. President, the United States has an objection and wishes to call a vote and to vote no on the draft decision under agenda item 8, Regarding organizational culture and diversity. First, the United States wishes to clearly lay out our regret that consensus could not be reached on the text. Our delegation attended every negotiating session and negotiated in good faith throughout this process. We appreciate the flexibility, constructive spirit shown by many other delegations over the course of these negotiations. We regret that one group did not show up for every session and nonetheless forced force language into the decision knowing that language would not result in consensus. As we've noted throughout this Executive Board session, the United States supports much of the work UNICEF does around organizational culture and commends the agency for its accountability and transparency measures. We strongly support the work to prevent misconduct and support staff's mental health and the continued efforts to do so through this decision language. Thank you. The United States also supports UNICEF's commitment to ensuring that qualified persons with disabilities can serve free of barriers and with reasonable accommodation. This is consistent with a merit-based workforce that reflects the equal dignity of every human being. We support a UNICEF workforce built on merit, competence, and integrity. Recruitment, promotion, and advancement must be rooted in individual qualifications and demonstrated The U.S. holds that women, young adults, and those of various geographical locations are fully capable of competing and succeeding on the basis of their qualification like any other staff. Framing them as requiring preferential treatment is neither respectful or accurate and at risk substituting one form of discrimination for another. Equal opportunity, not differential advantage, is the principle that honors their ability and dignity. The United States does not support approaches that treat demographic representation as an objective in its own right, including geographical representation and gender balance. Personnel decisions should rest on ability, competence, and performance so they could best serve children, period. This moment deserves nothing less. We are called to do more with less, and children are facing compounding crises around the world and need a UNICEF workforce built to deliver. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of the United States, and I have taken note on the statement made by the delegate and the request for a vote on the adoption of a draft decision on the update on organizational culture and diversity. The Executive Board will vote on the draft decision for the update on organizational Culture and Diversity. Those voting in favor of adoption of a draft decision on the update on Organizational Culture and Diversity will vote yes, and those voting against adoption of a draft decision on the update on Organizational Culture and Diversity will vote no. Before we move towards commencement of the voting, I kindly ask the Secretary to share some of the procedural issues related to voting. Mr. Secretary, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. Delegations are reminded that in accordance with Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure of UNICEF, of the UNICEF Executive Board, representatives may make brief statements consisting solely of explanation of their votes before the voting has commenced or after the voting has been completed. The representative of a member sponsoring a proposal or motion shall not speak speak an explanation of vote thereon, except if it has been amended. Explanations of vote may only be made by members of the Executive Board before the voting has started or after the voting has been completed. Sponsors may not speak an explanation of their vote unless their draft has been amended. It is recalled that in accordance with Rule 39.1 of the UNICEF Executive Board Rules of Procedure, decisions of the Board shall be made by a majority of the members present and voting. In accordance with Rule 39.2, members that abstain from voting are considered as non-voting. I can confirm, Mr. President, that there is quorum to proceed with the vote. In accordance with Rule 43, after the President has announced the commencement of voting, no representative may interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual process of voting. The individual votes will be decided displayed on screen. The tally of all votes will be displayed as well, and the President will announce the result of the vote. Finally, in accordance with Rule 41, the vote of each member participating in the electronic vote will be inserted in the record of the meeting. Thank you, Mr. President.

I thank the Secretary of the Executive Board for his explanation. Does any member of the Executive Board other than the Does any sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of their vote before the voting commence? I don't see. Let us now proceed with electronic vote if there are no objections. And I see no objections. We shall now begin the voting process. Those in favor, against, or abstaining from voting on adoption of a draft decision on the updates on organizational culture and diversity, please signify.

The Board is now voting on the adoption of the draft decision on the update on organizational culture and diversity. May I request— All executive board members to confirm that their votes are actually reflected on screen. We see it. I'll give it to you in a second. The voting has been completed. Technicians, please lock the voting machine.

Distinguished delegates, the result of the vote is as follows: in favor, 32; against, 1; abstentions, 0. With this result, the Executive Board has adopted the draft decision on the update on organizational culture and diversity. The vote of each member will be inserted in the record. Does any member of the Executive Board— I'm sorry. Does any member of the Executive Board other than the sponsor wish to make a statement in explanation of their vote? I see a distinguished delegate of Iceland. Please, you have the floor.

Thank you, President. I deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and my own country, Iceland. We regret that consensus was not possible on this decision. It represents a further challenge to the Executive Board's tradition of working by consensus, particularly on issues that go to the effectiveness, accountability, and integrity of UNICEF. It is particularly disappointing that a decision focused on organizational culture and diversity, which is key to addressing well-being, leadership accountability, and interagency collaboration, was called to a vote. We support this decision because we believe a safe, respectful, ethical, diverse, and inclusive working environment is central to UNICEF's ability to deliver for children. This is not a secondary concern, but a core enabler of program delivery, risk management, staff performance, and institutional trust. Our view is that this decision, which is the result of— collaborative negotiations is balanced and constructive. It recognizes the importance of UNICEF management leadership and includes key requests for practical measures, including with respect to improving gender equality, youth engagement, and disability inclusion. Better monitoring of the impact of organizational change on staff well-being encourages the use of staff survey data and underlines the value of independent perspectives. Those— these are appropriate and necessary areas of board oversight. At a time when UNICEF is managing significant internal organizational change, including through the Future Focus Initiative and the wider UN80 process, it is especially important that staff trust, psychological safety, and well-being are monitored carefully and addressed transparently. Organizational transformation will only succeed succeed if it is carried out in a way that brings staff with it, listens to concerns, and mitigates risks to morale, inclusion, and delivery. Our support for this decision should therefore be understood as support for UNICEF staff, UNICEF's leadership, and UNICEF's mandate. UNICEF's dedicated and hardworking staff are the organization's most valuable asset. We encourage UNICEF to continue its work, to achieve a diverse and inclusive organizational culture where staff members respect, enable, and empower each other, which in turn enables UNICEF to achieve impactful and sustainable results for children. We remain committed to engaging constructively with UNICEF and all board members on these issues, and we hope that the board can return to consensus on this important agenda item in future sessions. Thank you. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Iceland. If there are no other requests, I take it— may I take it that the Executive Board wishes to adopt the decision? If there is no objection, it is so decided. Does any delegation wish to make a statement on the decision or raise Any other matters at this time? Since there are no other matters to be discussed, this concludes our action on the draft decisions. Distinguished delegates, we are now approaching the end of Executive Board session. The Executive Director, Ms. Catherine Russell, has kindly requested to use this occasion as an opportunity to announce the UNICEF staff team awards. I now invite Ms. Russell to take the floor. Her remarks will be followed by the screening of a video. Madame, you have the floor.

Great. Well, thank you all very much, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues. This is actually a really positive announcement, and I always love doing the staff awards, so thank you very much for your indulgence. The awards recognize the extraordinary achievements of UNICEF teams around the world, but really more than that, they celebrate the dedication, the professionalism, the compassion, and the humanity that really define UNICEF at its best. This year, perhaps more than most, it's important to pause and recognize the people who are behind the results that we've reported during this board meeting. Around the world, UNICEF colleagues continue to serve children and communities under exceptionally difficult difficult circumstances. They do so in places affected by conflict, disease, displacement, climate shocks, growing resource constraints. They work long hours, they make personal sacrifices, and they confront challenges that often go unseen. And yet every day they continue to show up for children. The teams we recognize today exemplify that commitment. Through courage, innovation, collaboration, and determination, they've helped improve the lives of of millions of children and their families. Their work reminds us that behind every statistic is a child who is healthier, safer, learning, protected, or given a better chance for the future. Today we extend our deepest appreciation to the recipients across our 3 award categories. Those are Exceptional Circumstances, Collaboration for Impact, and Innovation. The leadership, creativity, and service demonstrated by these colleagues—

Refle—

reflect the very best of UNICEF. In the exceptional circumstances category, our colleagues in the Afghanistan country office demonstrated extraordinary dedication in delivering integrated humanitarian assistance under exceptionally challenging circumstances. Through operational agility, sustained advocacy, and steadfast commitment, the team reached more than 20 million people through integrated humanitarian programming. The achievements The stories of these colleagues are a testament to an unrelenting determination to continue delivering for children even in the most difficult circumstances. Our colleagues in the Chad office similarly demonstrated the same remarkable resolve in delivering critical service for children in the eastern part of that country. Operating in a very complex humanitarian context marked by insecurity, climate shocks, and constrained access, the team there sustained UNICEF's life-saving support for children with professionalism and determination. Through coordinated multisectoral action, they delivered meaningful improvement in children's lives, demonstrating exceptional courage and compassion—

Excuse me.

Throughout. In the second category, Collaboration for Impact category, the Nepal Country Office exemplified the transformative power of partnerships in advancing HPV vaccination Vaccination for Children and Adolescents. Working closely with the government of Nepal, the World Health Organization, and with support from GAVI, the team helped protect 1.46 million adolescent girls against HPV, achieving an astounding 94% coverage. This achievement demonstrates how integrated approaches and strong partnerships can strengthen public health systems and expand opportunities for girls at scale. Thank you. Similarly, our colleagues in the Sierra Leone office demonstrated the power of advancing child rights and legal identity through landmark legislative reform. Their efforts significantly strengthened the national framework for child protection and legal identity with the potential to benefit nearly 4 million children. These achievements were made possible through evidence-based advocacy, trusted partnerships, and coordinated action across sectors and institutions. Institutions. They reflect UNICEF's unique ability to drive change for children. Finally, in the, in the last category, innovation, our colleagues in the Côte d'Ivoire office demonstrated how innovation can help bridge longstanding gaps in access to education for children in remote and underserved communities. Through the Teach Is Reach initiative, motorbike-riding teachers travel to isolated cocoa-growing regions to deliver quality education education directly to out-of-school children living in communities without permanent schools. In areas where geographic isolation and barriers to civil registration continue to exclude children from the education system, the initiative provided an innovative and practical solution for reaching the most marginalized children. The program delivered strong learning outcomes, underscoring its potential to expand equitable access to education for children. In the Peru Country Office, the same spirit of innovation inspired colleagues to reimagine traditional corporate engagement through a new donor acquisition model. The team achieved transformative results by redesigning its approach to partnerships to create a more sustainable and mutually beneficial model. The initiative now generates more than 30% of the Peru Country Office's new monthly donors and has significantly outperformed the previous model. Just as important, it has redefined engagement with the private sector by aligning social impact with business incentives. It has also created new pathways for collective action in support of children. The extraordinary work we recognize today reminds us that progress is possible, whether responding to humanitarian crises, strengthening systems, advancing children's rights, or developing new solutions to old challenges, UNICEF teams continue to demonstrate what can be achieved when talented and committed people come together in service of children. To all of this year's awardees, just a huge, huge thank you. Thank you for your dedication, thank you for your perseverance, thank you for the care and professionalism you bring to your work every single day, and thank you for reminding us what UNICEF looks like at its very best. Thank you. Please join us in congratulating the 2025 Staff Team Award recipients. This upcoming video, I think, will show their remarkable accomplishments. Thank you.

[FOREIGN LANGUAGE] I thank Ms. Russell for her remarks. Thank you also for this video, and I congratulate the winning teams. And I invite Executive Director Ms. Russell to take the floor to share with us for her closing statement as we wrap up the session.

You have the floor.

Thank you so much, Mr. President. My remarks will be very brief. I know you've all been incredibly patient today. As we conclude this annual session, I want to thank everyone, first of all. The delegations have just been incredibly impressive— the active engagement, the thoughtful interventions, and most of all, your really admirable commitment to children. I think there have been some bumps in the road for sure, some disagreements this week, but I think all in all, I've just been really grateful for the way everybody has come together to really try to sort through the issues that we're dealing with on this board, and I appreciate that very much. There have been very rich discussions, including— and it was interesting to me to see the comments that we heard from the countries where we do programming, and I really very much appreciate I appreciated that. I thought that was very helpful for us to understand exactly what the challenges are and what our ability is to address those challenges in different contexts. I think they were a good reminder also of what we've been saying during the week, which is, as we talk about reform of the system, you know, for us, the really— the true question is, will any reform make our work better, stronger, so that we can address issues that children are facing, because as you have all seen and as you all know well, the children we work with every day are facing enormous challenges. For us, you know, is it helping children is really the north star of what we're doing, and we very much appreciate the support of this board in those efforts, helping us to navigate the reforms in a way that always keep in mind how we can support children. We've had rich discussions on our UNICEF results on the humanitarian action, on financing oversight, and our priorities for the year ahead. I was reflecting last night, I was just thinking about, you know, in the context of our discussions, trying to imagine a world where UNICEF didn't exist, and I think it reminded me of how grateful I am to all of you for your support for what we do, for the work we do, for our staff. I appreciate, again, I said this to you the other day, when all of you, you know, ask about the staff, inquire about the staff, express your concern about the work they're doing. It means a lot to me personally, and it means a lot to them as well. I think throughout the week we also reflected on the achievements of the strategic plan that concluded at the end of 2025. Despite conflict, climate shocks, economic pressures, and an obviously constrained financial environment, UNICEF and its partners continue to deliver for children at scale, and that's thanks in large part to to the support of all of you here. At the same time, our discussions have reinforced a clear reality, which is that children's needs are immense and they're growing. And as we move forward with implementation of the new strategic plan, we have to remain focused on accelerating progress for the most vulnerable children. One of the most powerful aspects of this session was hearing directly from young people, which we always try to do here at UNICEF. Their voices remind us our work is not ultimately about budgets or reports or processes. It's about children and young people, their opportunities, their futures. We very much appreciate your support of that, that work. We also appreciate the Board's engagement on country program documents, on oversight and accountability, all of which we take very seriously. We have taken very careful note of your comments and recommendations throughout the week. Before closing, I would like to recognize— this is always the This is the most bittersweet part of these board meetings for me, but I would like to recognize several colleagues whose service to UNICEF is coming to an end. To Bo Victor Nyland, to June Kanugi, and Rob McCouch, I can't see who is where. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] Just a huge, huge thank you. You have collectively dedicated decades of service to UNICEF and to advancing the rights and wellbeing of children all around the world. Through your leadership, your expertise, and commitment, you have helped shape UNICEF's work and strengthen our impact for children across countries and communities. On behalf of everyone at UNICEF, I extend really our deepest gratitude and warmest wishes to each of you as you begin your next chapter, whatever that may be. I also would just like to say, you know, a huge thank you again to all the UNICEF colleagues around the world. I'm sure many of them are watching today because of the staff awards. As I said earlier, you know, many of you acknowledged their dedication during the session, and I really want to echo those sentiments. From headquarters to some of the world's most difficult and remote locations, UNICEF personnel continue to serve children with professionalism, with courage and determination. And this year, as you probably have all heard, UNICEF marks its 80th year. The commitment of the staff reminds us why this organization continues to matter. For 8 decades, UNICEF has adapted to meet the changing needs of children. What has never changed is our belief that every child deserves the opportunity to survive, thrive, reach their full potential. Finally, I would like to thank the President and the Bureau, the Executive Board for their tremendous leadership and patience this week, the Office of the Secretary of the Board, the interpreters, the conference service colleagues, and all of those who worked behind the scenes to make this session possible. Thank you all once again for your partnership, your engagement, and your commitment to children. I look forward to continuing our work together. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] I'll see you— hopefully everybody gets a nice break over the summer and we'll see you back here in September. Thanks, everyone.

I thank Edie Russell for her closing remarks. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, Executive Director Russell, ladies and gentlemen, let me add —few words on my side. As we conclude the Annual Session, I would say that together we made— we made some progress over the past few days, including the adoption of 12 important decisions. Today, amid an increasingly complex world of escalating conflicts, climate shocks, and environmental risks, steepening inequality, record humanitarian needs, debt distress, sharp reductions in development and humanitarian financing, and erosion of child rights, UNICEF continues to stay and deliver. Over the past few days, we have heard highlights of the results UNICEF achieved for children in 2025. We also received updates on key areas of work for the organization, providing us with a broad overview of the challenges and risks, as well as achievements, strategic priorities, and innovations. We are grateful for these comprehensive updates, which will facilitate the Board's deep engagement with and strong steer of the work of UNICEF. On behalf of Executive Board, I extend my sincere appreciation to the delegations and to the Executive Director, senior management team, and UNICEF leadership and staff, especially staff, for excellent quality of discussions and the results. Achieved in a spirit of dialogue and partnership. There were some results. I sincerely thank my colleagues on the Bureau, some of whom kindly stepped in and chaired some of the meetings over the past few days, so I was able to run and wear my AI hat in different parts of this building. Many, many thanks to you. And thank you to the Secretary of Executive Board and his office for the teamwork and behind-the-scenes efforts. I'm encouraged by the clear direction provided to UNICEF through its discussions, and we have adopted— and the ones that we have adopted during this session. A special thanks to the facilitators of the draft decisions, the UNICEF technical focal points, and to my colleague. Thank you. Greta Vatter, for her role as overall coordinator. You gave everything, Greta. Thank you. To the United Nations Conference Management staff and of course to the interpreters, I say thank you very much. Your professionalism, dedication, and support are integral to our success. I look forward to continuing to work with all of you throughout the coming months and hope that I can count again on your support as we further immerse ourselves in this year's important business for children. Let me remind maybe, before I conclude, something that I said during one of the sessions, I believe in February. Yes. I asked colleagues to reflect how the fact of the vote in this chamber would help us collectively to advance children's rights, how this vote in this chamber would help us collectively to make progress when it comes to to helping children around the world, and how this vote helps us to keep the image and integrity of UNICEF in the eyes of our agencies here, but also in the eyes of the general public that is out there and who are watching how we are acting here. Thank you. I would ask you not to lose sight why we are here and what we want to achieve while deeply engaging into the negotiations and trying to defend national priorities. I really want us to reflect on this. And from this point of view, I think that— Thank you.— it was not a good day at the end. We were not able to strike a compromise where we should have been able to do it. Nevertheless, this was my sweet-bitter ending to this Annual Session. I really want to thank all those who sincerely tried and showed flexibility. In order for us to achieve this last element. I also want to thank all those who interfered and tried to steer the discussion towards a compromise. I really thank you for this. It's really important for me as a President to see that there are these voices, constructive voices in this chamber who are trying to help. So we need collectively to reflect on this. We have collectively to make some lessons learned from this. And this brings me to the end of this Annual Session, and this meeting is adjourned. Thank you. I have to run now.