6th meeting - Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS (Annual Session 2025)

Good afternoon, colleagues. As we announced this morning, we are resuming this afternoon session to turn back to the list of speakers. Speakers still pending. I'd like to just remind you that I don't actually have control over the clock, which means that you'll be automatically cut off after 3 minutes. I'd also like to recall that at the end of the list of speakers, the administrator will have the opportunity to react to what has been said during this session. Let's begin then, and I'd like to give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Switzerland, To be followed by the DPR of Mexico.

Thank you, President, Administrator, dear colleagues. It is an honor to participate in this annual session and to reaffirm our shared commitment to sustainable development. Switzerland associates itself with the statement, the joint statement that has been delivered by Denmark, and we wish to deliver the following remarks. In addition, in our national capacity, over the past four years, UNDP has achieved significant results in key areas including crisis response, climate action, democratic governance, as well as poverty reduction. The support of UNDP has also helped numerous countries as they have accelerated their digital transition. This reflects the agility and the impact of the organization despite. The successive global crises. As we look towards the future, there's a critical need to reaffirm the mandate, the normative mandate of UNDP. This mandate is anchored in the principles and purposes of the UN Charter as well as international human rights standards. UNDP plays a critical, albeit delicate, role by supporting governments as they implement SDGs in a way that is aligned with international standards to bring in all people, particularly those who are most vulnerable. The principle of leaving nobody behind needs to remain a priority. This is both a moral imperative and operationally necessary. To fulfill the mandate, UNDP needs to focus on the achievement of concrete results. This requires a culture of robust management rooted in accountability, collaboration, as well as a healthy working environment. These principles need to be embodied at all levels of the institution. Furthermore, we wish to recall the role of governance of member states as members of the United Nations and the Board of Audit and the Board. Their commitment is critical to fulfill the vision of UNDP. Predictable financing that is flexible and pluriannual remains a key leverage to allow UNDP to fulfill its mandate. We will continue to champion high-quality financing. Distinguished colleagues, we wish also to recall the importance of the Geneva international ecosystem as a global hub, which is key to multilateralism as well as human rights and humanitarian law. We encourage UNDP to harness the assets of Geneva in order to fulfill fully its mandate. To conclude, we sincerely thank Achim Steiner for his commitment at the helm of UNDP. His contribution in such areas as financing development and digitization has marked the work of the organization and shaped it, and we wish him every success in his future endeavors. Thank you.

Gracias.

Thank you. Thank you, Switzerland. I now give the floor to Mexico.

Thank you very much, Chairman— or rather, President. And allow me to just break from protocol briefly. I'd like to tell you, Mr. Steiner, that it's a real pleasure to see you here. Distinguished Administrator Achim Steiner, on behalf of Mexico, I'd like to thank you for the presentation of that latest report. My country acknowledges the work which over 60 years UNDP has undertaken to alleviate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion. And to support countries in developing resilience schemes and projects, bringing us closer to Sustainable Development Goals. In the case of Mexico, we're very pleased because UNDP works hand in hand with agencies, funds, and programs of the UN system and in consultation with our government in developing a country program document in which It is stated how the cooperation agreement's goals will be met. We hope that among other relevant elements, gender equality will prove cross-cutting as a result of your actions, as well as the contextualization of work and meeting the specific needs of the host country, in my case Mexico. I'd like to highlight that we welcome the fact that this country program is also aligned with our national development program. For 2025-2030, and we hope that it will be approved by the Executive Board in January 2026. Administrator Steiner, your leadership at the helm of UNDP has been remarkable. We praise you for your efforts to push ahead with the 3 priorities you established when you entered into office. We note concerns over financing and the highlight— the importance of revitalizing UNDP, taking into account development priorities and the reduction of duplication or fragmented projects, strengthening our work with more coherent and future-oriented protocols. You have guided with sensitivity and strength our program. We hope that your successor will be just as fully committed to development, taking into account intersectionality in a way which prioritizes accountability and transparency. We are concerned by the decline we have seen in official development assistance and given— as well as gender concerns. With that concern in mind, I'd like to ask you what comprehensive solutions you see to the recent policy changes surrounding grave humanitarian crises. In addition, I'd like to ask about UNDP and digital technologies.

The speaker's microphone is cut off.

Gracias.

Mexico—

I thank you, Mexico. I now give the floor to the United Kingdom, who will be followed by the United States.

Thank you, Mr.

President, and to the Administrator for his remarks. UNDP was founded 60 years ago to end poverty and promote democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions. Since then, its mission has become harder as global challenges have become more complex. Today, amid rising inequality and stalled SDG progress, UN80 offers a chance to modernize the UN, making it more representative, focused, and impactful. As Member States, it is in our common interest to shape a UN that delivers real value and transformative change where it is needed most. For the UN Development System, the 2024 QCPR has already laid out clear roadmap for delivering more impact, coordination, and efficiency, and progress must be made. UN80 is the opportunity to turbocharge reform efforts to deliver a more consolidated and focused UN country footprint, brought together through an empowered Resident Coordinator. We welcome the steps UNDP is already taking in this regard, and its commitment to driving efficiency agencies through common premises, common back offices, and the implementation of global shared services. We encourage UNDP to continue to enhance collaboration, breaking down silos and adopting joint approaches, so the system can be more than the sum of its parts and can maximize delivery on the ground. As UNDP looks towards 2030 and develops a strategic plan which marks the final push to achieving the SDGs, it's more important than ever to clearly articulate its comparative advantage, including its strong commitment to advancing human rights, gender equality, and leaving no one behind. For the UK, UNDP's ability to deliver integrated and cross-sector solutions, particularly in fragile and crisis-affected contexts is its unique advantage in the development system. We welcome the renewed commitment to stay and deliver in the draft Strategic Plan. We agree with your assessment that we need to approach development differently. However, UNDP also needs to be adaptable in an increasingly constrained funding environment. While the 4 strategic objectives outlined in the draft Strategic Plan are reflective of UNDP's broad mandate, and we welcome the strong emphasis on governance, climate, conflict, and climate resilience, the current context simply does not allow for UNDP to do everything, everywhere, all at once. Clear prioritization, strategic partnerships, and improved coordination, as well as monitoring and evaluation, will be key. I thank you.

Thank you very much to the United Kingdom. United States, please.

Thank you, Mr. President. Administrator Steiner, the United States thanks you for your 8 years of service leading UNDP and appreciates your stewardship of this organization and member states' contributions. This annual session of the Executive Board comes at a pivotal time for the reform of the UN and the UN development system. As we look to the coming months with UN80 and the next round of UN funds and programs strategic plans on the horizon, the United Nations and indeed UNDP must focus on effective delivery where it matters most— individuals. To achieve a service-responsive organization that prioritizes improving the standards of living for the world's most vulnerable people, we insist on improving coherence across all parts of the UN system and support country teams' efforts to work more efficiently and effectively under the leadership of resident coordinators. The United States expects UNDP and all funds and programs to achieve greater efficiency and transparency, eliminate duplication, consolidate functions, and return to core mandates. These considerations are vital specifically during the drafting of UNDP's next strategic plan, which should depart from the old ways of doing business. The United States underscores the importance for UNDP to consider these factors as as the 2026 to 2029 Strategic Plan is being finalized, and to avoid promoting policies that benefit a particular country's agenda, national development initiatives, or priorities. We also encourage prioritizing the integration of stronger oversight, better governance, and risk management mechanisms, along with strengthened evaluation functions and joint results reporting. We also stress that the Strategic Plan under consideration should reflect limited funding realities, changing fiscal environments, and build in flexibility, private sector collaboration, and innovative financing. The United States expects UNDP to ensure that its programming and documents use terminology that clearly refers to only 2 genders, women and men, girls and boys. We also strongly encourage the United Nations documents and programming to avoid using diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts and terminology, and instead refocus programming. In lieu of rigid casting of climate change as a root cause of threats, we encourage UNDP to focus on specific environmental threats, common-sense conservation approaches, and sensible environmental protections. The United States rejects the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and we stress that UNDP should focus on specific development objectives such as eradicating poverty, addressing corruption, and improving health, promoting food security, or improving education, among others, and delink its activities from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or the SDGs framework. We encourage UNDP, among all other funds and programs, to remain focused on its founding principles. The United States looks forward to working with member states and the UN in the development of UNAID reform and the next UNDP strategic plan. Thank you.

Thank you, United States. I now give the floor to New Zealand, to be followed by Jamaica.

Thank you, President. New Zealand thanks you, Administrator, for your thoughtful and forward-looking remarks this morning, and we acknowledge your leadership over the past 8 years. We also thank UNDP staff around the world for their dedication, especially in some of the most complex and challenging contexts. As UNDP marks its 60th As we celebrate UNDP's 70th anniversary and as the United Nations approaches its 80th, we welcome the momentum behind the UNAID Initiative. As you said on Friday, Administrator, we, the member states, have a responsibility to ensure the UNAID process continues to serve those most in need. We believe that UNDP's efforts alongside this initiative can help ensure the whole system is fit for purpose, one that remains adaptive, trusted, and equipped to deliver development results that are locally led and globally relevant. As a Pacific country, New Zealand is deeply committed to ensuring that the voices and priorities of Pacific Island countries are heard and reflected in global processes. We will continue to work alongside our Pacific partners to ensure that issues of particular importance to our region are considered in major decisions and negotiations across the UN system, including those shaping the future of development cooperation. At this inflection point, we encourage you to use the QCPR and its principles in developing your next strategic plan. New Zealand remains committed to protecting the norms and values of the UN, and we support action that will enable the UN system to deliver on its core mandates in this fiscally constrained environment. In that regard, New Zealand is pleased to confirm multi-year core funding to UNDP at current levels for the next 3 years, and we call for a renewed global commitment to core, predictable, and flexible funding. the bedrock of UNDP's ability to respond quickly and strategically. New Zealand stands ready to work with UNDP, Member States, and the wider UN family to realize the full promise of sustainable development and to ensure that the future of multilateralism is inclusive, Pacific-informed, and fit for purpose.

Thank you. Thank you, New Zealand. Jamaica has the floor, followed by Indonesia.

Jamaica, please.

Thank you, Mr. President, and I thank Administrator Steiner for his presentation. Jamaica aligns itself with the statements delivered by Iraq on behalf of G77 and China, as well as Palau on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island Developing States. The Government of Jamaica's relationship with UNDP has been a longstanding and valid one. Together, we have collaborated on matters related to good governance, poverty— poverty reduction, sorry— climate change, energy, and more. Most recently, UNDP rendered valuable assistance to Jamaica in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl a year ago. On behalf of the Government of Jamaica, we sincerely thank UNDP and encourage them to continue to strengthen the resilience and recovery capacity of countries, particularly SIDS. Mr. President, we thank UNDP for the first draft of the 2026 to 2029 Strategic Plan and commend them for their consistent consultations with Member States during its development. We support UNDP's continued focus on climate change and welcome their commitment to work with countries to identify the right mix of policies, institutions, and financial frameworks to scale up climate and nature action, as well as their commitment to support countries to assess their options for achieving just and sustainable transitions. Jamaica endorses the call for a redoubling of international cooperation and action to accelerate mitigation and adaptation. In this vein, we also welcome UNDP's commitment to support the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS. Abbas, truly, we do recognize you as a lead connector at the nexus of planet and development. Mr. President, despite the declining core resources from 16 percent to 12% of total funding between 2018 to 2024. We note with appreciation that 92 cents of each dollar reached programs in 2024. Though mindful of the worsening decline in regular resources and— I'm sorry, though mindful of the worsening decline in regular resources and understanding the reality of the impact that this may have on the ground, we strongly encourage UNDP to continue its efforts to diversify its funding source. In terms of development finance, we note that in the annual report it was mentioned that in 2025 UNDP expects to slightly exceed its $1 trillion moonshot target for leveraging and aligning finance to achieve the SDGs. This is particularly significant given that improved access to development financing is critical for SIDS, which are particularly off track in attaining the SDGs. Lastly, Mr. President, my delegation extends our sincere appreciation to Achim Steiner for his notable leadership. He has guided UNDP with a sense of— deep sense of responsibility, commitment, and vision, and we wish him success in his future endeavors and look forward to building on the strong foundation he will leave behind. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Jamaica. Indonesia has the floor. Indonesia, please.

Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, at the outset, Indonesia would like to extend its most sincere appreciation to Mr. Achim Steiner for his outstanding leadership and unwavering dedication as UNDP's Administrator for these past 8 years. His vision and commitment have strengthened UNDP's role in advancing sustainable development and improving lives across the globe. Indonesia would like also to extend its appreciation to UNDP's Administrator's presentation delivered this morning. The report highlights UNDP's integrated approach in driving systemic changes across 170 170 countries, including sustained efforts in connecting public and private to collectively address development challenges, as well as leveraging innovations as solutions to unlock new pathways to progress. As we look ahead, the need for a robust, adaptable, and responsive UN development system is more pressing than ever, particularly for developing countries. In this context, UNDP has played a pivotal role, not only as a trusted development partner, but also a leader in reforming the UN development system to ensure it remains fit for purpose in today's complex development landscape. In Indonesia, our longstanding partnership with UNDP prioritizes integrated solutions that safeguard the environment while advancing inclusive economic growth and social development, including in remote regions. Together, we have mobilized over $12 billion through innovative instruments such as Green Sukuk, SDG bonds, and blue bonds, which have enabled tangible results, including COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, scholarships for underprivileged children, and improved agriculture outcomes for 470,000 farmers. As you pointed out in your annual report, Mr. Achensteiner, Indonesia's collaboration with UNDP in health innovations such as the SMILE application has revolutionized medical supply chains, enhancing real-time vaccine tracking and biohazard waste management across Indonesia. Excellencies and distinguished delegates, as we have 5 years remain before 2030, we must continue to uphold a work forward-looking. There are many good stories and workable solutions that we can all learn from each other amidst the challenges we face. That should be our source of hope and boost our positive energy. Indonesia looks forward to continuing our strong collaboration with the UNDP to build a more resilient and inclusive future and ensure no one and no country is

Thank you, Indonesia.

Italy, who will be followed by Germany.

Excellencies, Mr. Administrator, on behalf of Italy, it is a true privilege and a profound honor to extend our sincere farewell as your remarkable tenure as UNDP Administrator comes to a close. Throughout your mandate, our cooperation with UNDP has grown grown steadily and proved extraordinarily fruitful through innovative partnerships and ambitious joint initiatives, greatly enriched by your leadership and vision. Under your guidance, we have built a partnership with great value, particularly through the extraordinary expertise of the UNDP Rome Centre. During Italy's G7 Presidency, we have trusted UNDP as a knowledge partner to launch groundbreaking projects in non-traditional fields of cooperation, notably in infrastructure development, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence. Among these, the AI Hub for Sustainable Development that you have mentioned this morning will be inaugurated in 2 weeks from now with an annual budget of €5 million. This has been developed through the participation of the African Union, and the app will contribute to fostering local AI ecosystem, empowering young entrepreneurs and accelerating sustainable AI-driven industrial growth in Africa. In parallel, the UNDP Italy Digital Flagship with Africa initiative will support digital transformation in and with Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, and Senegal, thereby boosting sustainable economic growth. I would also like to mention our cooperation within the UN SDG Action Campaign and our support to the Integrated Nation International Financing Framework, INFF, to further highlight our shared commitment to financing sustainable development priorities and accelerating progress towards the SDGs.

Mr.

Administrator, your tenure as UNDP has been marked by vision, dedication, and tangible achievement. We would like to express our appreciation and extend our gratitude also to your staff, with whom we have had an excellent collaboration. So please count on Italy for continued support in building upon your exceptional legacy.

Thank you.

Grazie, Italia.

Thank you, Italy. Germany, please.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, Administrator, distinguished members of the Board. Germany strongly commends UNDP for its unwavering commitment to advancing sustainable development. There's no other UN entity that offers such a comprehensive portfolio and makes such a multifaceted contribution to achieving the SDGs, and also with a great capacity to drive innovation in support of sustainable development. UNDP's contribution goes beyond its programmatic reach. At a time when multilateralism is under pressure, UNDP shows how effective and how essential strong partnerships can be, working with governments, civil society, the private sector, and very importantly, with many parts of the UN development system. At the same time, and despite these achievements, we must voice our concern about declining financial support. Last year, expenditure already exceeded income, and this is an unsustainable situation for the organization and a matter of grave concern for us. Despite fiscal constraints and cuts in our national budget, Germany chose intentionally to increase its support in 2024, and this reflects our strong belief in UNDP's essential role within the UN development system. We see core resources as essential. They offer flexibility, stability, and long-term impact. Looking ahead, we thank UNDP for sharing the draft of the new strategic plan, and we welcome in particular the inclusive process behind its development and the integration of evaluation findings. The plan builds well on existing work while adapting to new challenges. But with only 5 years left to deliver on the 2030 Agenda, we also expect the plan to be very clear on alignment with SDG implementation, and we would like to see a clearer articulation still of UNDP's core mandate and unique strengths and how they connect with those of partner organizations. This is also key to support the UN process in the context of UN80 with its aim of a development system system, one UN that delivers through the Resident Coordinators and the country teams more coherently and effectively for the people. Finally, on a personal note and on behalf of the German government, I would like to thank you very sincerely, dear Achim, for your dedicated leadership and your commitment, deep commitment to UNDP and the UN system. And speaking as compatriots, it was an honor to have you as the most prominent German in the UN for the past years. Even in challenging times, UNDP always remained our reliable partner that delivers outstanding work. Under your leadership, structures have been made more efficient and important modernization processes have been initiated. You leave the organization well-equipped and well-prepared to continue providing excellent services in the future, and we wish you all the very best for your personal future. Thank you.

Gracias.

Thank you, Germany. Ukraine and then Nepal. So Ukraine first, please.

Uh, thank you, Mr. President. At the outset, I would like to sincerely thank the UNDP team for its unwavering support to Ukraine during the most challenging time in our modern history. We are particularly grateful to UNDP Administrator Herr Steiner, for your outstanding leadership and personal commitment throughout your tenure, including your visit to Ukraine and active participation in Ukraine recovery conferences. Under your guidance, UNDP remains a leading UN development agency providing critical assistance to countries in crisis, and Ukraine is a key example.

Thank you.

example. The full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine continues to bring immense human suffering and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Despite these challenges, we remain determined to defend our sovereignty and rebuild our nation. In these efforts, UNDP has proven to be a vital and reliable partner. We value UNDP's comprehensive support in different areas, from restoring schools, hospitals, and residential buildings to supporting people with disabilities and digital transformation. In particular, we acknowledge the critical assistance in the energy sector, including providing transformers and other vital energy equipment. We commend the ongoing collaboration on mine action, as Ukraine now faces one of the gravest contamination crises in the world. In the context of the UNAID initiative and the broader reform of the UN development system, we underscore the importance of ensuring continuity in UN project activities on the ground. We expect that this reform will not diminish but rather enhance the effectiveness of such activities by addressing existing gaps and avoiding duplications. UNDP should play a key role in this process, particularly as a member of the UNHCR task force. Ukraine relies on the continued expanded support from UNDP and the broader UN development system. Together, we can turn today's crisis into an opportunity for sustainable, inclusive recovery. Let me also emphasize that over 20 UN agencies are currently operating in Ukraine. This gives us a unique and practical perspective on how the UN delivers on the ground, not theory, but in the midst of full-scale war. For us, this is not an abstract discussion. It is our daily reality. In conclusion, we express our deep appreciation to all donor countries whose generous contributions make work of UNDP and other UN agencies in Ukraine possible. Your solidarity improves— empowers our resilience. I thank you very much.

Thank you.

Gracias.

Thank you, Ukraine. I now give the floor to Nepal, to be followed by France.

Nepal, por favor.

Nepal, please.

Mr. Administrator Steiner, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, it's a privilege to join this dialogue today. On behalf, I'd like to extend my deep appreciation to you, Mr. Steiner, for your outstanding leadership over Over the past eight years, your commitment to global development, sustainability, and leaving no one behind has left an enduring legacy. Under your leadership, UNDP has become more agile, innovative, and responsive, especially for the global south. We are truly grateful. As this is your final interactive dialogue as administrator, I want to take a moment to reaffirm how critical a strong and responsive UNDP is, especially now. Pressing on the SDGs is. Off track. Global geopolitical tensions, the climate emergency, and debt distress are putting immense strain on developing countries. The next 5 years, therefore, will be decisive. I also want to highlight the importance of core resources, predictable and flexible funding, which is vital to allow UNDP to stay ahead of emerging challenges and maintain its global reach. In Nepal, UNDP continues to be a close and trusted partner. Your support in disaster preparedness, early recovery, especially after our recent earthquakes and floods, have been invaluable. We deeply appreciate UNDP's advocacy on the Mountain Agenda and our access to climate finance. We hope to take this opportunity to further partnership further through a flagship initiative on glacial lake outburst floods, with GCF consideration expected next month. UNDP's integrated approach has made a real difference supporting resilient livelihoods in remote areas, by combining renewable energy, local governance, and inclusive partnerships. We also welcome UNDP's role as a principal recipient of the Global Fund in partnership with our Ministry of Health to strengthen our national health systems. Thank you again, Mr. Steiner, for your leadership and for being a true partner to countries like mine. We wish you continued success in your next chapter. Thank you.

Thank you, Nepal. France next, please. To be followed by the EU, France.

Monsieur le Président.

President, Administrator, ladies and gentlemen. UNDP, the cornerstone of the UN development system, is today more essential than ever. Against an unstable global backdrop, it still embodies partnership-based, solidarity-based, action-based multilateralism with action in the field. Its role in supporting States' public policies and developing countries has been decisive. While the agency will still soon adopt its 15-year plan, France would like to make the next 4 points. We are attached to an effective UNDP which can serve the world. Thanks to your leadership, Administrator, it has become more agile, closer to the work in the field. This has bolstered legitimacy. Second, France believes that the digital transformation fostered by UNDP is very important. The digital sector, improving digital capacities of states, is going to be even more central to the success of states. That's thanks to you, Administrator, and it will be the case going forward. Third, in the context of the financial situation and the legitimacy which has been questioned of multilateral institutions, we must show pragmatism and ambition. Your efforts, Administrator, in bolstering budgetary transparency and heightening impact in the field have been exemplary. The objective isn't to do less, it's to do— to work better and to do so together, focusing our efforts on the most vulnerable countries, maximizing the concrete cut-through of projects, using private and innovative sources of financing to do so and bolstering synergies with other agencies as well as development banks. With that in mind, France supports the next proposed administrator's candidacy and believes that this will mean the— that this will be more effective going forward. We believe that UNDP must be And we are convinced of this, borne by the UN80 initiative, which is an opportunity to look at coherence and ensure that accountability is at the center of our efforts. Development is and will remain under our leadership a pillar of the UN, ensuring that it is forthcoming whenever states require it. Administrator, France would like to sincerely thank you for your 8 years at the helm of UNDP. Your dedication, work, and vision will make an indelible— leave an indelible mark for the better on our agency. Thank you.

Thank you, France. The last speaker will be the EU, and then I will return the floor to the Administrator. You have the floor.

Excellencies, Mr. Administrator, I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union as a donor. Today, on behalf of the EU, it is my profound privilege to extend our deepest gratitude to Mr. Achim Steiner for his outstanding leadership as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme since 2017. The European Union is proud to be a close and longstanding partner of UNDP, promoting sustainable, inclusive, and equitable development worldwide in an ever-changing political landscape. Our collaboration has spanned nearly 140 countries, with joint initiatives totaling close to €2 billion in areas such as crisis and fragility, governance, climate change, and sustainable energy. Today, together, we have worked to support access to clean energy for millions, develop sustainable finance solutions, and strengthen local economies and livelihoods in conflict-affected regions.

Mr.

Administrator, you've been at the core of expanding this relationship to achieve Agenda 2030, most recently engaging in a high-level strategic dialogue last year, which marked 20 years since the the signature of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between our organizations. We look forward to continuing this collaboration to implement the Pact for the Future, including by strengthening our cooperation in line with the Global Gateway strategy, and the EU will remain a committed supporter to the organization. UNDP has been and remains indispensable in advancing sustainable development on the ground, delivering integrated development solutions tailored to specific country priorities. Nonetheless, we stress the importance of an effective and efficient UN system, including at the country level. In this regard, we support increased alignment, integration, and collaboration among UN entities in line with the One UN approach and under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator. The European Union will remain a predictable, reliable, and credible partner and welcomes the UN80 initiative to ensure that the UN remains effective, cost-efficient, and responsive. We remain staunchly committed to multilateralism, the universal values of the UN Charter, and the rules-based international order. Mr. Administrator, throughout your tenure, you have been an exemplary leader on sustainable development, climate resilience, promoting economic growth, and advocating for equality and the vulnerable across the world. As you conclude your term as UNDP, the European Union thanks you for your extraordinary dedication, visionary leadership, and unwavering commitment to a sustainable future. sustainable, just, and peaceful world. We look forward to building on the foundation that you have established towards strengthening our relationship with UNDP for the people and planet.

Thank you.

Thank you, European Union. Administrator Steiner, the last word goes to you.

You know, Mr. President, that's a dangerous offer to make when you have a full agenda, but I promised you this morning that I I would commit myself to a listening session and, as you are familiar, I will prepare together with our colleagues a written response to some of the questions, because you asked also a number of specific questions. But let me first of all say, I mean, there is a moment when sitting here together with my colleagues and listening to the wonderful comments you make about the journey we have taken together, Thank you very much. Your generosity is very moving and I can only say to you it's a privilege to be on this side of the receiving end of those remarks and to do so really— and this is not just by way of false modesty— every leader may be visible, but there is no leader when there are no people behind him or her to follow. I have on my podium here my colleagues, some of them sitting up there, Behind each one of us are literally thousands of colleagues out there— our resident representatives, our country teams, our experts, the support staff, our Global Services Centre in Malaysia, and I could go on. It is really an extraordinary group of people who deliver much of what you have spoken to today. Yet, yes, leadership matters, and I do appreciate the very Thank you very much for the kind remarks you have made. I felt that when the Secretary-General invited me and you elected me to lead UNDP, that it was going to be a time to, in a sense, rethink and reinvent the development agenda. I think it's proven to be a lot more difficult. We have had many more, let's say, unplanned events in our lives, and in some ways they became a distraction from a more underlying question, which is, how on earth are we going to live together on this planet when, you know, on so many fronts we are faced with challenges? And yet, to me, the reason for embracing this opportunity of leading UNDP at this stage in my life is that in some ways, yes, this is a moment where we are resetting systems, where we have to come up with smarter answers, But as you've heard me say before, I also genuinely believe we live in an age of extraordinary possibility, and the ability, even in some of the darkest moments that some of our countries and communities and even colleagues are living through right now, I think, as you once saw put on the front of our headquarters across First Avenue, development is about hope, and I hope that in many ways Perhaps if you think back in a few years to those years that you had to walk with me and with us and we together, that this idea that development is about hope is not just a slogan. It is to so many citizens and people something extraordinarily real, because the more desperate the situation is, the more you actually depend on some sense that it could change again and that the world could turn into something better. And in some ways, whether it is my and our humanitarian colleagues, whether it's the NGOs that are right there, whether it is our neighbour who steps up when something terrible happens— we just saw again in Switzerland in this terrible incident how neighbours from all over Switzerland, in inverted commas, simply went, got in their cars, and drove to that valley to help the farmers who needed feedstock for their livestock, to help help people with accommodation. The same experience I had here in New York when my street turned from an essentially anonymous neighborhood into one where people used to knock on your door and say, can I help you? Can you help us help this elder person? It's not something very different. We are just the embodiment of that very human, very basic sense that we are here to help one another because we are capable of helping one another. Sometimes it gets more difficult, and I think you have pointed to a number of areas in your comments this morning. We have tried to deal with this funding reality. Let's be honest, it's a contradiction, and history, I think, will judge this episode when we divest from one another as, in the long term, not conducive to where the world needs to be. And this is where I think budgetary realities are absolute, particularly in domestic political terms, so let's not kid ourselves. I know exactly what you say and we know exactly what you are describing, but also I think acknowledging that reality does not mean that you deny the other reality, that if we do not act together on climate change, not act more on preparing ourselves for the next pandemic, protecting ourselves against cyberterrorism, cybersecurity threats, if you're not able to invest particularly in countries that out of their own resources simply cannot make the pivot into a digital and AI-driven next chapter, never mind perhaps having access to electricity— remember, still a billion people on this planet do not have access to electricity— These are differential realities in which an international community can make all the difference, and I genuinely believe that this has to remain, I think, the objective, notwithstanding that, yes, as we are now preparing as a team the budget parameters in principle for next year, let me share with you, we will have to take out over $100 million from essentially the institutional core funding, core programme funding of the organisation. This is not saving money any longer, this is having to figure out beyond squeezing what can you do to redesign, realign, remove, relocate, but also at some point, yes, to stop doing things. But at some point that responsibility will move to you as a board because For us, it is not to decide whether we abandon the small countries, because frankly we can't cover our costs there. If you were to go simply by financial viability, we would be largely working in upper-middle-income countries. It is where the volume of finance and the strategic relevance of UNDP that leads so many of them to invest their resources through UNDP makes it a perfectly viable business That is the case. But you know, and you have set up UNDP as more than just a viable business operation. So we are constantly trying to figure out how to balance the different realities in which our presence, as you have heard time and time again here this morning, from the small island developing state to some of the largest emerging economies, the relevance of UNDP is unquestionably there, but it is very different in these different contexts. I hope that we will, in the next Board meeting in August, be able to engage with you with a realistic set of scenarios. Some of you have said, how are you going to adjust? Well, first of all, in adopting a strategic plan, you are adopting a budget framework. Every year we then set ourselves an expenditure-income budget budget that ensures that this organization does not incur a deficit. And we have done that now for 8 years running and I think we have our systems in place to be able to do that. Yes, we have to be flexible. I mean, if the United States, as of this year, in the current financial year, no longer will contribute the core funding, or if a number of countries, or Australia in the middle of the year, notifies us that it cannot pay its contribution, we have to adjust. I mean, it is just the way it is. Some of you have given us more notice. You have said as of next year. The Netherlands has informed us that it will cut core funding by 70%. These are products of domestic political decision-making processes and in a sense they are reality and we have to work with them. So rest assured, UNDP, I think over the last year has demonstrated that its systems, its anticipatory management, the business model review, the cuts and the efficiency gains that we have put in place have allowed the organization not to face a cliff, but rather to have, as I call it, a glide path towards an increasingly reduced capacity to respond. And yes, I signalled earlier on, on the agenda for next year, at a certain point, have to be maybe the withdrawal from some countries, may have to be reducing other expenditure items, maybe the oversight offices, maybe our hosted institutions. Imagine we provide core funding to the United Nations volunteers, but what an extraordinary multiplier. With our core funding in UNDP, 14,000 volunteers were deployed last year all over the world and, frankly, across the whole UN system. It will be you who will have to make the decision and I'm only alerting you to this already right now because that is my duty as Administrator. You will have to decide, just like in a hospital the triage leads you to make decisions that are uncomfortable in their deepest but may become necessary. Our duty in the Secretariat of UNDP and the management is to make the institution as resilient as possible, maximize the kinds of savings and austerity measures we can put in place, also invest in new revenue streams, which we are doing, and thereby make the inevitable perhaps not become inevitable, but just something that we have to manage very, very tightly. And again, I think we have all taken note, and that's what we are working on, on scenarios where we will first try to do more or better with less, and at some point, yes, it becomes less and less and less. I think what I also tried to— and I just mention this because I want to clarify this— many of you spoke about the continued support of UNDP to the RRC system. It's a given. It's your decision in the General Assembly resolution, it is your decisions in the Executive Board that have essentially defined the parameters within which UNDP will work in our UN development system. But I wrote to you through the President of the Board a couple of weeks ago, as I'm actually mandated to do by your decision, that I need to signal to you when the moment comes where some of the decisions about budget allocations may no longer be feasible as intended, and at that point it is the responsibility to return to you as a Board and ask you, are you going to ring-fence X, are you going to ring-fence Y? And I simply put on paper, because some have interpreted this as if UNDP will not support, not finance, make a contribution to the Resident Coordinator System. But what I ask you to prepare for is, at some point, your decision will mean we fund coordination, but we actually stop the operation. That is the kind of decisions that you will face in this Board and in other Boards. And this is not an everything or nothing, but again, I am signalling to you that the financial outlook of the institution will put you as a Board in a position where you will have to make these kinds of decisions. And that is what an administrator is both mandated to do and I consider it to be also my I'm aware of my obligations. So that's briefly on the funding situation. I just want to reaffirm again very strongly also what a number of you spoke to, the poverty focus of UNDP. This institution, if you look at our portfolio, if you look at over 140 or 160 million people that we helped to escape poverty directly and indirectly just in the last 3.5 years, that remains at the core of our mandate. Mandate, but also of our programmatic focus. But the way that we achieve poverty eradication, poverty reduction, has broadened over time, and that is what UNDP has to be cognizant of, because countries are not only trying to eradicate poverty, they are trying to build prosperity. They are trying to build an economy in which poor people can, through employment and livelihoods, find a way out of poverty. It's where essentially many of the strategies that UNDP today works on are very much at home. Let me reaffirm that on the normative side, you have seen the strategic plan. The mandates that have been given to us either through you, through ECOSOC, or the General Assembly will only change as a result of your decision-making process. Points of emphasis may vary, but I think if you look at the strategic plan, It is an articulation of both our normative role, but also our very practical commitments that we have to put in place. We are not an advocacy organization. We are a capacity-building and operational platform of the UN. Our role is to be agile and responsive to countries' program needs, and that will continue, I hope, to drive the daily decision-making within the parameters that you have given to us. Our continued work in crisis contexts, I think, is a given. I also want to mention here my dear colleague Tom Fletcher. As you know, leading OCHA and being the Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations at this moment in time is an extremely difficult moment. We have lost probably about 20,000 colleagues between February and June of this year. In our broader humanitarian community, just in the UN. And you have, I think, a deep understanding of what this means. Tom and our whole Interagency Standing Committee is now committed to a reset, so to speak, of that humanitarian track in which the complementarity and the synergistic way in which we can work between the so-called humanitarian and the development and also peace pillars of the UN becomes even more critical. I think the collaboration, the approaches, and also the strategies that UNDP has developed with member states over the last decade, our crisis offer and our way of viewing the risks to development as being something that always leads us to first ask not how do we leave an country is in crisis, how do we stay, has been something that you as a Board have embraced. Many of you spoke about UNAID. I spoke last week in our joint Board session and I simply want to reiterate, first of all, the Secretary-General asked me to be part of the task force, something I have done and have taken on, and also together with UNOPS and UN Women and UNICEF to co-lead one of the 7 clusters on development. We have a team— Haoliang, myself, and a number of others in UNDP are providing that— and together with DCO in that group, we are now advancing and contributing to the Secretary-General the kinds of proposals that he is looking for. I can assure you that we are very, very engaged, both with our sister agencies, but also with Guy Ryder and his team, and we hope that within a few weeks' time we will be able to provide them, and through them the Secretary-General, with the kind of analysis but also options. We are developing scenarios, options with which to work. But as I also said last week in our Joint Board Meeting, UNAID is an extraordinarily clarifying not because of the financial and budgetary crisis— that is simply the pressure— but it is also a clarifying moment whether, in all the rhetoric of believing in the idea of the UN and having to reform it and evolve it, whether member states can put aside their, let's say, narrower lenses and truly provide both the Secretary-General, all of us in the UN, but also to the outside world, a reason to believe that this At the same time, the UN of the future is actually being recast. It is a moment and it is more likely to make us stumble, but I think through the many statements you have made this morning— I speak now in my personal capacity— I can only wish you the courage, the energy, the stamina to make UN80 matter, because the UN needs it and through that logic the world needs I end by just taking one moment to, first of all, thank my 2 countries. Vielen Dank, Helge. Muito obrigado, Norbert. Sometimes when I have to cry, I go to one of them because I know they can never close the door, and I want to thank them for that because, you know, sometimes in the UN nationality matters. But I also thank them because they have never treated me as being either one or the other, and I hope that in the way that I've been able to lead this team in UNDP, it has been to truly be an international civil servant. I also want to thank my colleagues who I did not explicitly recognize this morning— Isabelle, Chris, and Alessandro— who I don't see— no, Alessandro is there as well, and Chris, leading our Independent Evaluation Office, our Office of Audit Investigations, and also our Ethics Office. They are an integral part of making UNDP a place where increasingly, yes, we recognize our failures and shortcomings, sometimes in interpersonal relations, sometimes in management, sometimes in our strategic thinking. Their lens, their contribution to allowing you and us to reflect on how we're doing is immensely important, and I thank you all for that as well. Finally, finally— sorry, Mr. President, but I do have to say this at the end— I want to explicitly mention the team that, as I step down on the 16th of June, is a guarantee to you that this organization will make this transition a moment in which you see how resilient it is and how prepared it is to welcome the next Administrator, whoever he or she may be. To Haoliang, amongst the longest-serving staff members of UNDP, to Kani, very close behind or maybe aligned in that time, to Ahuna, to Abdallah, to Ivana, Marcos, Michelle, Linda, and Susan, some of them up here, some them sitting there. I leave you in their hands until you choose a new administrator. And with that, again, thank you so much for today's opportunity to engage with you. Muchísimas gracias.

Gracias.

Thank you very much, Administrator. We're now going to have to move on, but I would like to say, Administrator, that your heart may be in 2 nations, but the way in which you have led the organization has been

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Your team is to the credit of your organization, and let us continue to take steps forward. I'd like to inform the board that we're preparing a draft decision on item 9 of the agenda on the subject of the annual report of Administrator Steiner, which will be presented for the board's consideration at a later time in the session. So now we will close this segment and move on to the next item of the agenda. Allow us just one moment to rearrange the podium, please.

Muchas gracias.

Thank you very much.

Distinguished delegates, please take your seats. Colleagues who don't want to remain in the room, please.

Move on.

Intense, a bit.

I'm intense?

Colleagues, distinguished delegates, we're going to move on with the next segment. Please, thank you, take your seats.

So good afternoon. Under a new president now, the meeting is called to order.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon again. So this afternoon segment is being held in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Executive Board and the approved annual work plan. It's already in your hands. We now continue with the UNDP segment and take up Agenda Item 11, UNDP Evaluation, under which the Board will consider: 1, the Annual Report on Evaluation for 2024 and the associated management commentaries; and 2, the evaluation of the UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and the corresponding management response. I am pleased to welcome to the podium Ms. Isabelle Mercier, Director, Independent Evaluation Office, UNDP, Mr. Marcos Neto, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. We will begin with the presentation of the Annual Report on Evaluation and the corresponding management commentaries first. We will proceed as follows. This is the housekeeping processes. Ms. Isabelle Mercier, Director, Independent Evaluation Office, will introduce the Annual Report on Evaluation 2024. Mr. Marcos Neto, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, will then present the management commentaries to the Annual Report on Evaluation 2024. Following these presentations, the floor will be open for discussion. So without further ado, we proceed with the presentations. And now I invite Ms. Mercier to deliver her presentation. You have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Distinguished delegates, it's a pleasure to present to you the 2024 Annual Report on Evaluation, which captures the work of the Independent Evaluation Office and the broader decentralized evaluation function of UNDP. 2024 was, no doubt, an active and productive year, marked not only by volume, but by the strategic depth of our work. As UNDP began shaping its next Strategic Plan for 2026-2029, my Office concentrated on helping the Organization take an objective, insightful look at its performance at the global, regional and country level, and using that reflection to draw drive further progress towards sustainable development outcomes. In one year, we delivered a substantial body of work, including a thematic evaluation of the current Strategic Plan, which of course we'll discuss in more detail later in the session; 27 independent country programme evaluations, which offered forward-looking recommendations to strengthen UNDP performance at the country level; 4 regional and global syntheses; and 5 evidence meta-analyses drawing insights from across evaluations. My office also continued to work closely with our partners across the UN and the broader evaluation community to develop new strategies that built on each other's strengths and widen our outreach as much as possible. I'm particularly proud of our role in facilitating an investment of $74 million by UKRI and the Wellcome Trust to bolster the Global SDG Synthesis Coalition, which we co-founded a few years ago. These funds will support digital tools and enhance platforms to make the Sustainable Development Goals more actionable. But beyond the numbers, I'd like to highlight a few moments that define the year, moments that illustrate not only what we did but why we do it. One of those was the National Evaluation Capacities Conference in China, which is our largest to date. It brought together over 500 participants from 106 countries— government officials, UN partners, financial institutions, and civil society actors— who came together to share their experiences in building evaluation systems that truly serve national development priorities. To me, to us, this was a signifier of the growing momentum behind national evaluation leadership, a testament to the importance of capacity development and a reflection on the power of collaboration to drive progress. The conference ended with the adoption of the Beijing Action Plan for 2030, which is a roadmap to strengthen national evaluation systems, promoting inclusivity and integrating climate, environmental, and resilience-building strategies into evaluations. Another defining development in 2024 was the launch of my office's new engagement and communication strategy. As evaluators, we've always known that generating high-quality evidence is only part of our mandate. Evidence must be heard, understood, and used. It must reach the right hands at the right time and in a form that drives learning, decision-making, and real development impact. So this strategy for us is about closing the gap knowledge and action by engaging stakeholders from the very beginning of the evaluation process, understanding our audiences more deeply, and then tailoring our messages more effectively. To reduce the gap between the production and use of evaluation in 2024, we also expanded our physical presence beyond headquarters. The IEO now has 3 regional evaluation advisors based in Addis, Bangkok, and Istanbul. Who are leading and supporting country programme evaluations, contextualizing our global evaluations at the regional level, and helping improve evaluation capacities in line with the Executive Board's expectations. 2024 was also an important year as we saw tangible progress in decentralized evaluations. Thanks to the sustained capacity development efforts by my Office and other UNDP colleagues, the overall quality of decentralized evaluations improved, and critically, so has the quality of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. This, to me, is more than a technical achievement. It signals that we are building systems and a culture for better evidence to guide decisions. I'm also encouraged by a shift in the types of evaluations being conducted. In 2024, UNDP undertook nearly 10% more strategic evaluations that look beyond individual projects and focus on outcomes, cross-cutting issues, and joint contributions. These evaluations still make up a relatively small share of the overall portfolio. However, however, that's why IEO is working with UNDP to understand why project-level evaluations continue to predominate, with the aim of finding more balanced and strategic mix of evaluations. Decentralized evaluation quality Quality also varied across regions, with the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States and for Asia and the Pacific sustaining higher standards of evaluation quality and setting a strong example for all others. Looking ahead to 2025, our agenda is both ambitious and focused. We have launched 2 major thematic evaluations on UNDP support to electoral capacities and on UNDP thematic funding windows, which will be presented to the Executive Board in 2026. We have also begun work on a new evaluation of UNDP's role in the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, a subject that is both complex and timely, and which is scheduled for presentation in 2027. This year, we also plan to conduct 22 country programme evaluations, including 3 of UNDP's multi-country offices. As I mentioned in our informal dialogue a few weeks over the past 8 years, we've worked hard to ensure that every country program document was accompanied by an evaluation. But this 1-to-1 ratio has come with trade-offs. In some years, it's left little room for anything else— no thematic evaluations and no deep dives where there was an opportunity for greater learning and a need for more inquiry. This is why we're transitioning to a different model where we conduct approximately 20 to 22 ICPEs each year, chosen through a clear prioritization process. This will allow us to go deeper where it matters most while still upholding our commitment to evaluating each country at least once every 2 CPD cycles. Finally, in the next Executive Board session, we will present a revised evaluation policy building on the recommendations of the review we shared with you in September of last year. Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, in a world where priorities are shifting and resources are under greater pressure, evaluation is more essential than ever. It helps us see clearly where needs are greatest, what works, and where we must course correct so that every investment we make delivers the greatest possible value for the people and communities we serve. I look forward to continuing this dialogue with you, and I stand and ready to respond to any questions. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Ms. Mercier, for your presentation. It's a worthy presentation and we've allowed it to go over time.

No problem.

I now invite Mr. Netto to deliver his remarks on the management commentaries. You have the floor, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President, distinguished Delegates, Excellencies, it's a pleasure to be here. Let me start by, on behalf of UNDP, to thank Director Isabelle Messier and her team at the Independent Evaluation Office for the insightful Annual Report on Evaluations for 2024. As highlighted in the report, UNDP welcomes the overall policy and positive trends in evaluation, including an independent revision of evaluation policy, deployment of IEO regional evaluation advisors, completion of 27 independent country program evaluations and 3 systematic evaluations, and notable improvements in the quality of decentralized evaluation. I would like to inform the Board members that UNDP is already taking concrete steps to incorporate the lessons from the evaluation in its programs and projects, as well as addressing issues and challenges highlighted in the annual report. UNDP management welcomes the findings and recommendations of the independent evaluation policy review conducted in 2024. While the independent review affirms the strength of the current evaluation policy, it also identifies areas for improvement, including expanding evaluation criteria to align more closely with UNDP program standards, incorporating a theory of change, developing impact evaluation guidelines, and placing greater emphasis on thematic and strategic evaluations. UNDP management is working closely with IEO to further strengthen the evaluation policy, particularly in the areas identified by the independent review. In alignment with ongoing efforts to enhance the results-based management systems and update programming policy procedures and guidelines, UNDP welcomes the appointment and deployment of IEO Regional Evaluation Advisers at the regional hubs for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Their presence will strengthen and support our regional bureaus and country offices in planning, managing, and using evaluation. Let me now move on to UNDP's performance on decentralized evaluation. I'm pleased to report that UNDP has made steady progress in overall planning, management, and implementation of decentralized evaluations, especially on investment in M&E capacities and the quality of decentralized evaluations. UNDP completed 68% of planned decentralized evaluations in 2012. 2024, in comparison to 63 in 2023. The second positive trend is the planning of decentralized evaluations was a doubling of the number of strategic evaluations in 2024 compared to the previous year. In 2024, 13% of the decentralized evaluations were strategic in nature, while it was only 7% in 2023. Quality of decentralized evaluations for 2024 reached a 50% satisfactory rating, which is a 10% increase in comparison to 40% in 2023. This positive trend was made possible by the Regional Bureau's efforts in strengthening quality assurance systems at regional and country levels, including capacity development initiatives, as well as the expansion of vetted evaluators rostered by my Bureau, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. As of 2024, the implementation rate of management actions for decentralized evaluations I would like to emphasize the critical importance of core and annual earmarked funding in enabling UNDP to conduct more strategic and impactful evaluations. These evaluations are better suited to measuring broader development impact and are more cost-effective, as they assess multiple projects and interventions collectively rather than individually. Looking ahead to our strategic priorities for 2025, UNDP, in collaboration with the the IEO will focus on strengthening evaluation planning, improving quality, and increasing the utility and use of evaluations and beyond. More specifically, UNDP will collaborate with IEO on revising the evaluation policy. UNDP will strengthen decentralized evaluation strategies as a structural approach for continuous improvement in evaluation planning, management, and use. UNDP will continue to improve evaluation quality. By working with IEO to address key bottlenecks, with targeted support to regions that record less than 50% satisfactory in 2024. UNDP will increase the use of evaluations in designing new programmes, portfolios and projects, as recommended by the Independent Review of the Evaluation Policy. For 2024, the implementation rate of management actions for decentralized evaluations stands at 93%, maintaining our consistently high rate from previous years. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, thank you again for the opportunity to introduce UNDP's management commentaries on the Annual Report and Evaluation. With this, I'll hand the floor back to you, Mr. President.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Netto, for your presentation, and you were on time. We will be fair because we cut off member states and we can't do otherwise to Yeah, you were on time. So it's discussion time now. I open the floor for comments, questions. Okay, 2 like this?

And 3, yes, sorry.

I have 3 requests for the floor. Before I close my list, if there is any further request? If not, I have Belgium, the Netherlands, and the and EU on my list and I will give the floor accordingly in that order. Belgium, you have the floor, to be followed by the Netherlands and then by the EU.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Excellencies, colleagues, I share this statement on behalf of Austria, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, and my own country, Belgium. We thank the Independent Evaluation Office for the 2024 annual reports and evaluation of the Strategic Plan. These evaluations are more than internal exercises. They provide critical insights that help us collectively ensure that UNEP delivers relevant, equitable, and transformative results in a rapidly evolving global context. We are pleased to see that several positive developments are reported on, and they are worth building on. UNDP's continued work on digital public infrastructure, especially in fragile and underserved contexts, is a clear strength. When grounded in rights-based principles and focused on last-mile connectivity and data privacy, this work helps bridge digital divides, increases access to public services, and enhances trust between citizens and institutions. We also welcome the shift towards strategic, thematic, and portfolio-level evaluations, which offer a clearer picture of how UNDP contributes to complex challenges like climate resilience, governance, and digital transformation. This approach moves us from measuring projects to understanding real, systemic impacts. We also welcome improvements in decentralized evaluation quality, and strengthen support from regional evaluation advisors. We encourage UNDP to further ensure that evaluation findings are used to shape country-level programming. On gender equality, we'd like to note our concern. The evaluation of the Strategic Plan points out that gender transformative action has not been adequately integrated across programming. Moreover, this gap was not met with a specific recommendation or management response. At the same time, the upcoming strategic plan proposes to address gender primarily as a cross-cutting enabler, relying on integration methods that the evaluation itself finds underdeveloped. This creates a strategic gap If the proposed approach is not yet delivering, we risk limiting the potential for meaningful results. We would welcome greater clarity on how UNDP intends to ensure that gender integration is supported by the necessary tools, institutional ownership, and accountability mechanisms, and how this will be measured. We further wish to underline the importance of governance in UNDP's efforts. Evaluations of UNDP's support to transparency, anti-corruption, and crisis preparedness are vital to ensuring sustainable progress and reinforcing public institutions. Finally, we echo concerns raised about fragmented funding and the importance of core resources for sustaining systemic impact. In least developed countries facing structural vulnerabilities, and in middle-income countries facing multidimensional challenges. Strengthening the predictability and flexibility of UNDP's funding base remains essential to delivering long-term results. Mr. Chair, these evaluations are a reminder of what is working and where attention is still required. We thank the Evaluation Office and UNDP management for their transparency, and we look forward to continuing this dialogue as we prepare for the next Strategic Plan. I thank you.

Thank you, Belgium, for this insightful intervention. On behalf of the Group, I now give the floor to the distinguished delegate from the Netherlands. You have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and we align with the joint statement delivered by Belgium. We thank the Director and all staff of the Independent Evaluation Office for the important work done and presented. We reiterate the relevance of their efforts as a critical part of the system of internal oversight that gives us the assurances needed to support UNDP. We value the contribution and cooperation with IEO and the constructive dialogue that we hope will continue to grow over the years to come. Whether it's about the evaluation work plan, institutional learning, identification of risks, or innovations, we rely on an honest dialogue with you for us to be able to perform our governance responsibilities and support you. That is why we find it important to reiterate our expectation that UNDP's evaluation function retains full operational independence, adequate, dedicated, and sustainable staffing, expertise, and resources, and direct access to the Board. As mentioned before, we understand that resources in today's funding environment are constrained, but in turbulent times of reform and the approaching implementation of the new Strategic Plan, evaluation work is more relevant than ever. We therefore ask UNDP to be mindful of the evaluation function in their budgeting. Allow me to also ask 3 questions. How do you assess the cooperation between IEO and UNDP on strengthening UNDP as a responsive organization that learns from its evaluation and feeds lessons back into operations and programs. And we look forward to the revised evaluation policy, as well as the discussions on the new multi-year work plan for 2026-2029. Given the focus of the draft strategic plan for 2026-2029 on integrated programming and systems change, it'll be interesting to continue the conversation on how to measure results of this type of work? Are IEO and UNDP ready to capture results of and evaluate properly UNDP's efforts on systems change? And do you have reflections on how to communicate these results optimally? And finally, we're curious to hear more about the possible expansion of IEO's artificial intelligence capacity towards a multi-institutional platform for evidence-based decision-making. What would this look like, and is this building towards a more central UN system resource under the UN Evaluation Group or something different? Thank you.

Thank you, the distinguished delegate from the Red Alliance. I now give the floor to the representative of the European Union. You have the floor.

Mr. President, Excellencies, I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union as a donor. The European Union firmly believes that the future of the United Nations development system must be shaped by the momentum created by the 2024 Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review and by the collective vision embodied in the UN80 Initiative. This process is a transformative opportunity for a renewed multilateral architecture that is more effective, transparent, accountable, efficient, and results-driven. We see the Executive Boards not only as governance bodies for individual agencies, but also as joint stewards of system-wide coherence. As the largest non-governmental donor to the UN Development System, the European Union places significant value in reinforcing a strategic and system-wide perspective to delivery on the ground. This requires aligning mandates and capacities, enhancing Resident Coordinators, to support integrated systems-wide action, reducing overlaps and improving financial accountability and transparency. This also requires close coordination and dialogue with the multilateral system. Common solutions for human resources management, IT, logistics, financial services, procurement, and administration must be advanced without delay to enhance coherence, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness across the system. All UN systems and titles Sorry, all UN system entities must closely collaborate and ensure timely and comprehensive data exchange to support effective planning and implementation of the reform process. In the face of complex and interlinked crises, the EU believes that collective, inclusive, and equitable solutions are the only sustainable way to address today's complex challenges on peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights. The UN remains a unique and irreplaceable universal forum for equal participation and global cooperation.

Thank you very much indeed. So now I will give the floor back to the presenters for their response. Ms. Mercier, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the comments and the questions. I think I'll leave some of the responses to my colleague Marcos, but I'll address the questions from the distinguished delegate from the Netherlands that I believe were addressed directly to me. One was about how I assess the relationship between the IEO and UNDP as a learning organization. I think it's very strong. Over 90% of recommendations are accepted, and and and we have management responses. All of this is very transparent. All of the evaluations are published, and you can see as we track the responses to these evaluations, there is a very very high uptake. I would suggest that that is a very positive picture, but it's only part of the picture because what we're learning in evaluation is. is that, of course, part of the evaluation, the value of the evaluation, is seen with its recommendations. But there is another part of our work that I think is actually strengthening a lot, and that is becoming what I call a trusted advisor to the organization. I see that working very nicely and increasing. We are working hard to understand UNDP's decision-making needs and to be there with the advice. that evaluation can provide, we're setting ourselves up to be more responsive to that and more attuned to what the day-to-day decision-making needs of the organization are. You know, doing things like having our AI-assisted database allows us to get insights very, very quickly compared to what we were doing before. I mean, evaluations is a long game. It takes a very long time to do an evaluation. But right now we're able to, and we are being sought after for our advice on all sorts of a range of topics, and we're able to draw from evaluations and all the learning that we do in the course of doing evaluations to be able to advise senior management, and are being asked to do so quite regularly. So I think that's very, very positive. In terms of how are we going to be measuring systems change, we do have some new guidance that we are putting out on portfolio, which is part of that systems thinking, some evaluation guidance there. We are also looking at finalizing our guidance on measuring impact, which we are working with, with BPPS, and, and, and really going to be co-creating, I think, a vision around how we measure impact in the organization. And I think that that will allow us to, to come up with new evaluations and new methods to bring different insights as they are needed and as the organization evolves in its way of doing business. Finally, on the question of artificial intelligence, we all know we have our AIDA platform, which we're very proud of. We have now worked with UNDP, our IT folks, to change the platform to make it into the using the business platform of UNDP. That allows us to not have this bespoke little model that we house ourselves, but have a model that is hosted by the larger UN platform, which will allow us, I think, a lot more flexibility. It's a better platform. It's a little less expensive— a lot less expensive, which is really good. And it also allows us to take on, if other organizations so wish, other organizations to be part of that platform and to have their evaluations in that database if they want to use it. UNEG, as you know, is sort of a voluntary network. There's no— no one's in charge. I'm the chair of it, but I'm not in charge. I can't say what to do, so I could only compel other institutions to work together, and if they're interested in coming onto the AIDA platform, The door is always open. What we're doing on the back end is preparing ourselves to have that be much easier on a technological front. And also, I mentioned in my speaking points the work that we're doing in the Global SDG Synthesis Coalition. You should expect a lot of investment in IT infrastructure around evaluative evidence, and that will— some is something that will benefit all UN agencies, organizations, and also member states. What we hope is to have a global IT infrastructure that can handle all evaluations and do synthesis work in a much, much, much faster and cheaper way than we were able to do that before. So that work is already ongoing. We're working with some of the best partners in the world on this, and happy to give you updates.

Thank you.

updates if you're interested as that goes along. Many of you are already involved in the coalition, and so, you know, we, we, we're all working together to have an AI infrastructure that really helps us do evaluations much faster. I'll leave it there, I think.

Thank you. Thanks to the distinguished delegates. Just to reaffirm Isabelle's point about the relationship that the single delegate from the Netherlands happened. I know you asked for her opinion about the evaluation, but from my point of view, I want to echo what she said. I think we are in a very good place in terms of working together, and I think we can see that becoming even deeper as we jointly review the evaluation policy. To bring it to you in that sense, I think, will be a truly joint exercise. I think we value very much what Isabelle described as this advisory role without losing their independence. I want to reaffirm that that advisory role does not compromise, at least from our point of view, in any shape and has not done so. You see that on the strategic plan evaluation. There has never been a compromise in terms of the independence role that they play, which is very important to us in that sense. Let me tackle the issue of the gender and the strategic plan. There's going to be another session on the strategic plan evaluation, but the senior delegate from Belgium, on behalf of our group, mentioned it. I think we recognize the deficiencies that have been pointed out on the evaluation. If you recall, in the current strategic plan, gender is one of the 6 signature solutions as equal to others, while the revaluation challenges that we encounter is exactly our role to mainstream. Challenges was to mainstream. In the new strategic plan, we're trying to find the right balance, to put as an accelerator, to clearly convey that need for that mainstreaming across everything that we do in terms of having a lens that deals with women's empowerment and gender issues and so on and so forth. But we also don't want to lose the importance of delivering development results to half of the world's population to some degree. The new strategic plan has gender equality as an accelerator. However, Even though it's an accelerator, it has its own outputs, just like the current strategic plan. So it's not losing its own unique outputs for the next strategic plan, while it also has another 12 outputs and indicators on the integrated results framework, which will be sent to you, that have aspects of gender issues. So we're trying to actually learn from the evaluation. Putting it in a different way and trying to find a balance in which we become better mainstreaming across everything that we do, but at the same time not losing the importance of having a vertical, if you want, on the issue by still having outputs that speak only to the gender work. I think that's very important. in that sense. We have a way to bring FENS resources to the gender work out of our program. We have a funding window for gender, which is unfortunately the least supported funding window by our donors, so I welcome anyone to support the funding window on gender in that sense. And we really hope that we don't have the worst-case scenarios in terms of resources, so we can carry on putting more capacity around the world on the aspects of that. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Mr. Netto. So this concludes our discussion on the report part of it— Report 2024, evaluation of the report. Now we move to evaluation of the UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025. We go in the same order like the previous one. We will give the floor to Ms. Isabelle Mercier to do the presentation, to be followed by Mr. Marcos Neto. In that order.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's my pleasure to present this evaluation, which was designed as a foundational input for shaping the next strategic plan. This evaluation offered a critical opportunity for us and for UNDP to reflect on the changes introduced by the strategic plan and understand how they affect affected UNDP programming, as well as its operations and capacity to deliver on its higher-level goals. Such a global summative reflection is especially important in an organization as decentralized and field-driven as UNDP, and it's also timely given the profound transformations in the global context that have happened since the Strategic Plan was adopted. When we compared the Strategic Plan 2022-25 to its predecessor, one of the first things that stood out was the introduction of new terms— directions of change and enablers— signaling a deliberate shift away from siloed sectoral approaches toward more integrated solutions supported by innovation, digitalization, and new financing models. And the evaluation found that this new framing helped UNDP foster systems thinking, particularly at the planning stage. This was especially evident when looking at UNDP's support to inclusive and green transition and the expansion of digital services for governments and individuals. You'll see in our recommendations that we recognize the value of this shift to systems action and encourage UNDP to pursue this approach. The inclusion of resilience as one of the 3 directions of change contributed to a broader, more consistent application of this concept even outside fragile contexts, and this was very relevant given the increasing frequency and severity of climate, health, and economic shocks. Similarly, the elevation of leaving no one behind as one of the 3 directions of change was a major shift. It promoted an intersectional understanding of vulnerability, calling for holistic responses. UNDP supported inclusive policies, expanded access to social protection and basic services, and created livelihood opportunities for marginalized under the auspices of this key SDG principle. The evaluation found, however, that the momentum around LNOB diminished over time. Gaps in internal governance, the absence of an accountability mechanism, and limited incentives led to the diffusion, diffusion of responsibility. In essence, what was meant to be everyone's business risks becoming no one's. We encourage UNDP to bolster the governance and accountability of LNOB work, as we saw value in its introduction, despite it requiring strengthening and the right incentives and resources. The introduction of the 3 strategic enablers— innovation, sustainable finance, and digitalization— were also important. They fostered a culture of experimentation and learning. They also helped UNDP remain relevant in a fast-changing world. However, UNDP's technical capacities in these areas, particularly at country level, remain stretched and didn't keep pace with UNDP's strategic ambitions. Continued investments at the country level will be required for UNDP to be poised to deliver on its commitments with the help of these 3 promising enablers. In some areas, such as digitalization, UNDP successfully leveraged its long-standing strength in governance and government partnerships. In other areas, such as innovations connected to the Accelerator Labs, we didn't widespread integration into country offices and programs, nor was there evidence of sustainable funding and scaling up of results to significant changes. In the last 4 years, UNDP also launched major operational reforms aimed at improving efficiency and effectiveness, including the rollout of quantum service clustering and a centralized cost recovery system. These reforms contributed to greater transparency transparency, standardization, risk management, and a reduction of audit recommendations. Nonetheless, implementation challenges were considerable. Quantum delays created widespread frustration. While payroll savings were achieved through clustering, other efficiencies fell short of expectations. Recruitment bottlenecks continued, and while new personnel arrangements brought flexibility, their use for long-term roles raised concerns about fairness and institutional continuity. Overall, though, what emerged clearly from our document analysis and interviews with over 700 stakeholders is that UNDP is strategically well positioned to address complex development challenges. Its broad mandate, field presence, and ability to stay and deliver in difficult environments are core strengths— strengths that enabled work across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus and helped address transboundary issues.

Issues.

At the same time, UNDP's expansion into new areas created some confusion about its identity. Partners struggled to connect core areas of expertise like governance, human development, and inequality with the newer emphasis on systems and integration. And in today's competitive development landscape, this lack of clarity risks weakening the organization's positioning. The drive for integrated solutions, while broadly welcome, faced structural barriers. On the one hand, many national stakeholders still seem to prefer sector-specific support, limiting the scope and sustainability of UNDP's integrated efforts. On the other hand, within UNDP internal systems, financial, human resource, and data have not yet evolved sufficiently to support integrated programming, nor is there yet a robust system to track the outcomes of these efforts and demonstrate impact. Before turning to recommendations, allow me one final point, which is of particular importance in the evolving financial landscape of international development. The evaluation raised serious concerns about UNDP's existing business model. Declining core funding and a highly fragmented projectized structure have restricted UNDP's ability to deliver on its strategic vision. Heavy reliance on earmarked funds and governance cost sharing has reduced flexibility flexibility, while systemic and legal barriers have constrained new financing partnerships, especially with the private sector. The 2024 Business Model Review has explored potential adjustments, but it remains unclear whether these will be transformational enough to safeguard UNDP's strategic relevance, particularly given the challenging broader context facing all UN entities. I am well over on time, so I was going to review all the recommendations, but you have them, and I will stop there and pass over to you, Chair.

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Mercer. No, it's worth passing into extra time. And I'll give the floor to Mr. Netto. You have the floor.

He won't go over time.

No, no, you don't.

I don't. The new Strategic Plan. Overall, the period of the current Strategic Plan included the launch of the People for 2030, Digital Strategy 2022-2025, the creation of the Global Policy Network, made it possible for UNDP to offer more coherent, integrated, and rapid responses in an era of polycrisis and uncertainty. Let's also not forget the current Strategic Plan was actually adopted in the middle of COVID In a world of transformative technological development, Like generative artificial intelligence, UNDP continued to adapt and remain responsive to partners' changing needs and demands. Partners' demands for support with digital transformation continued to increase. As a result, by the end of 2024, 50% of UNDP projects included a digital component. Since 2021, integrated national financing frameworks have leveraged $16 billion in new finance and aligned an additional $32 billion with Sustainable Development Goals in 86 countries. By the end of 2024, UNDP has aligned over $764 billion in public and private finance in the Sustainable Development Goals, against our moonshot of $1 trillion. Internally, UNDP continued to make efficiency gains, to generate more funds for development results, investing 92 cents of every dollar in development programming and services. As the operational backbone of the United Nations Development System, UNDP administers payroll for personnel in 70 United Nations entities and hosts common United Nations premises in at least 121 countries worldwide. Overall, the independent evaluation report made 9 recommendations of which UNDP fully accepted 7 and partially accepted 2. The partially accepted recommendations relate to the development of an integrated operations strategy and the promotion of human development through governance. Regarding the recommendation on elevating human development through governance as a catalyst, UNDP acknowledges the critical role governance plays, as you see, as the center of the new draft a strategic plan. But it's important to emphasize that UNDP's approach to advancing human development is comprehensive and is multidimensional. The work on UNDP spans several interconnected areas that are equally essential to contribute to human development: poverty eradication, environmental aspects, access to clean energy, crisis resilience, gender equality and women's empowerment. Through integrated efforts, collectively strengthen our impact on human development outcomes worldwide, and just not only through governance, as much as governance is essential. On the evaluation recommendation regarding systems thinking, a key lesson from implementing the current Strategic Plan is the growing disconnect between the scale and scope of development issues and the largely siloed, fragmented and short-term approaches that continue to inform much of public and development sectors' work. While recognizing that breaking silos is a continuous process, the Organization has already invested in capabilities, systems and ways of working, such as the introduction of portfolio approaches in programming, as well as the introduction of a more rigorous impact measurement approach for sustained development impact. It is our progress on these elements of the portfolio that allow us to advance integrated efforts, as I mentioned above, regarding governance and other aspects. On leaving no one behind agenda, UNDP has elevated this concept as a core direction of change in its current strategic plan and a key programmatic principle both for UNDP and United Nations Sustainable Development Group. UNDP's approach supports the design of programs and enhances vulnerable populations access to economic opportunities, basic services, social protection and other aspects. Regarding the recommendations to leverage UNDP's broader mandate and global presence to enhance regional and global thought leadership on structural transformation and resilience building, UNDP acknowledged the need for a systematic and collaborative approach to research and analytics that will enable the organization to harness its expertise. Finally, on the recommendation regarding strengthening the business model, UNDP has undertaken an independent diagnostic analysis of its current business model to assess how it creates financial and delivers value.

I'm done.

Thank you.

Thank you very much indeed. So I now open the floor for comments and questions. I open my list. So it seems to be very clear to everyone. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you. This one is a very important component as we look forward to the new strategic plan in August. Thank you for your understanding. And any— because there are no questions and comments, we are done.

With this segment.

Thank you both for a very, very enlightening presentation. So the last item, we will have the decision on Agenda Item 11. on UNDP evaluation. It's under preparation and will be presented for the Board's consideration later in the session. That's the last component of our business on this segment. Thank you. So we change podium to the UNFP So I think we will stretch the legs and we go back to our meeting.

Thank you.

Distinguished delegates, we shall now take up Agenda Item 16, UNFTA Evaluation. We have before us for discussion the annual report on the UNFTA Evaluation Function 2024, DP/FTA/2025/5, and the related management commentaries. So I'm pleased to welcome to the podium Ms. Diane Keita, Deputy Executive Director, Programme; Mr. Marco Segone, Director, Independent Evaluation Office; Distinguished delegates, we shall proceed as follows. Mr. Marcos Segone, Director of the Independent Evaluation Office, will introduce the Annual Report on UNFPA Evaluation Function 2024. Following his presentation, the Deputy Executive Director for Programme, Ms. Diane Keita, will present the UNFPA management commentary on the evaluation. Following these presentations, I will open the floor for discussion. So without further ado, I now invite Mr. Sogone to present The Annual Report on the UNFPA Evaluation Function 2024. You have the floor, sir.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, distinguished delegates. It is my pleasure to present the 2024 Annual Report on the Evaluation Function. Amid growing challenges to the 2030 Agenda, IEO is strategically enhancing the UNFPA evaluation function to drive progress towards the achievements of the UNFPA Strategic Plan, the ACPD Programme of Action, and the SDGs. Informed by the Pact for the Future and the 2024 QCPR, IAO is strengthening evaluations to be more responsive and forward-looking. To achieve this, IAO has boosted evaluation capacities, especially in decentralized and humanitarian contexts; increase collaboration with UN entities; pioneer the ethical integration of artificial intelligence into evaluation and provide global leadership; and build strong multi-stakeholder partnerships and prioritize youth engagement in evaluation. Mr. President, implementing the 2024 Evaluation Policy has strengthened evaluation independence, quality, and coverage. The Evaluation Office was rebranded as the Independent Evaluation Office, reinforcing its independent positioning and visibility. The decentralized evaluation function was strengthened and humanitarian evaluation prioritized. The 10 key performance indicators showed that the evaluation function remains strong, with 8 of 10 indicators meeting or exceeding exceeding targets. Building on the positive trends of the past decades, investment in evaluation continued to grow at both decentralized and centralized levels. In 2024, total expenditure on the evaluation function reached $10 million, representing 0.79% of UNFPA total program expenditure. Even if this proportion remained below the target, The total real-term expenditure on evaluation increased by approximately 2.5% compared to 2023, reaching the highest level ever. M&E staffing remained stable, with 98% of offices staffed with M&E officers or focal points. Evaluation coverage was robust, with 96% of offices conducting at least one country program evaluation within 2 program cycles. Despite a more rigorous quality assessment system, all centralized evaluations and 91% of regional and country program evaluations were rated at least satisfactory. While the management response submission rate decreased to 89%, the implementation rate reached 98%, a record high. All country program documents were informed by evaluative evidence. And last but not least, 59% of centralized evaluations were conducted as joint or interagency initiatives, exceeding the commitment under the QCPR framework. Overall, key performance indicators remain strong, thanks to IO restructuring, collaboration, capacity development, and digital innovation. However, challenges persist in the decentralized capacities for evaluation management and quality assurance, supply of skilled national evaluators, humanitarian evaluation capacity, and the timely completion of country programme evaluations. Mr. President, distinguished delegates, 100% of centralized evaluations were completed or on track to be completed Plan to foster UN system-wide coherence. IEO actively participated in joint and interagency evaluations, contributing to managing groups and evidence synthesis exercises across development and humanitarian contexts. IEO also provided vital support to the UN system-wide evaluation and played a key role in shaping the system-wide office. Evaluation policy. IO engaged closely with the UNEP Working Groups, co-convening those focused on data and artificial intelligence, as well as the one on young evaluators, in addition to vice-chairing the network. IO also continued to advance multi-stakeholder engagement for stronger national evaluation capacities, actively participating in global evaluation Mr. President, distinguished delegates, this is my last Executive Board session. As already communicated, effective 31st of August, I will take early retirement due to family reasons. Over the last 8 years, the performance of the evolution function in the FPA has experienced a significant improvement, as reported by the recent MOPAN assessment.

The UNEP independent peer review

Could the speaker please have the microphone? Thank you.

Coherence among evaluation functions in the UN system and fostering multi-stakeholders and intergenerational partnership to develop national evaluation capacities. All of the above has been possible thanks to an exceptional team at IEO and the full support by UNFPA senior management. UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, Chief of Staff Samuel Chouriz, Deputy Executive Directors Diane Keita and Andrew Subberton have always demonstrated commitment to an independent evaluation function, using evidence generated by evaluation to decision-making. Excellency, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Executive Board for its rigorous and consistent support to the independence of the evaluation function in the FPA and to the IO initiatives throughout the years of my tenure as Director. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Marco Sagone. He told us his going to leave us in August, end of August. He has been a very diligent professional. I have been involved in so many of the informals for the last 2 years and I have had the opportunity to work with him. So we wish you all the best and thank you very much indeed. I now give the floor to Mr. Diane Keita for the management commentaries on the evaluation function.

You have the floor, madam. Mr. President, distinguished members of the Executive Board, good afternoon. It is my pleasure to deliver remarks on behalf of UNFP management in response to the Annual Report on the Independent Evaluation Function 2024. Evaluation remains a cornerstone of accountability and learning at UNFPA. It is not simply a compliance mechanism; it is a catalyst for strategic decision-making and a driver for evidence-based programming. At a time when the world faces converging crises, from persistent gender inequalities and rising humanitarian needs to shrinking fiscal space, the role of evaluation is more vital than ever. We especially welcome recent efforts to enhance the role and reporting line of monitoring and evaluation staff across regional and country offices, develop new guidance tools and systems to improve evaluation quality and use, strengthen the quality of humanitarian evaluation, and incorporate the use of artificial intelligence in the evaluation function. We are encouraged by the Independent Office engagement with the UN system partners and global evaluation coalitions. These efforts have strengthened learning, enhanced coherence, and supported national evaluation capacity development, further reinforcing the value of evaluation as a shared, system-wide public good. Distinguished delegates, UNFPA management is pleased to note that evaluation performance in 2024 remains strong across multiple key performance indicators. For the For the 6th consecutive year, all new country programme documents submitted to this board were informed by evaluative evidence. All planned country programme evaluations were conducted for the 3rd year in a row. And for the 10th consecutive year, 100% of evaluation reports were posted on the global database. The 98% implementation rate of management response to evaluation is also encouraging. This is the highest level in a decade and well above the organizational target. We also note that all program-level evaluations were rated as good or very good quality. Evaluation coverage exceeded the 90% target, and the slight dip seen in management response submission was attributable to a single delayed report, an exception to the 100% compliance over the the last 9 years. UNFPA continues to demonstrate its commitment to the independent evaluation function through sustained investment. In 2024, spending reached 0.79% of total program expenditure, the highest absolute amount to date. Likewise, over 95% of country offices have dedicated monitoring and evaluation focal points. UNFPA management appreciates that the independent office continues to ensure that centralized evaluation remains responsive to changing needs and priorities. Management is also pleased to note that all centralized evaluations planned for 2024 were either completed or on track, with nearly 59% conducted jointly or through system-wide evaluation. This exceeds the corporate target of 50%, and demonstrates UNFPA's firm commitment to system-wide coherence and collective accountability. Decentralized evaluations also continue to generate vital evidence to inform country-level programming and play a key role in optimizing and scaling impactful interventions. In conclusion, Mr. President, UNFPA management welcomes the continued progress and innovation of the Independent Evaluation Office, takes note of its proposed program of work and budget for 2025, and reaffirms our full commitment to working with the Independent Office to carry out its important role in supporting organizational results. We appreciate the Board guidance, oversight, and ongoing support. UNFP management would like as well to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Marco Segone for his 8-year Year of Distinguished Service at the helm of the UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office. Over his tenure, Marco has grown the evaluation function at UNFPA, offering actionable insight to ensure that the organization builds on evaluative evidence to improve our programming around the world. Caro Marco, grazie mille, and we wish you well in your future endeavors. UNFPA looks forward to continuing the vital partnership with the Board and IAO to ensure that the independent evaluation function can continue to foster a culture of learning and accountability across the organization. I thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you.

You are exactly on time. Maybe assisted by AI? It's so precise. Thank you very much indeed. I now open the floor for comments and questions. I have one request for the floor on behalf of a group of countries. That's Switzerland. You have the floor while we still scan the horizon for any requests in the meantime. Switzerland, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. Mr. President, distinguished members of the Board, dear colleagues, I deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Norway, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, my own country, Switzerland. We thank the Director of the Independent Evaluation Office for the 2024 Annual Report on the Evaluation Function and welcome the constructive management response submitted by UNFPA. We commend the IEO for maintaining a strong strategic and adaptive evaluation function during another complex year. In particular, we note the high achievement across most key performance indicators, including full implementation of planned decentralized evaluation for the 3rd consecutive year, 98% implementation of management response actions, the highest rate in a decade, and the consistent use of evaluation in new country program development. These outcomes reflect both the robustness of the evaluation function and the growing organizational culture of evidence-based decision-making. We further appreciate management's acknowledgement of these achievements and its demonstrated commitment to making a sustained investment in human resources for monitoring and evaluation. Indeed, we are encouraged by the consistent investment in evaluation, with 2024 marking the highest absolute spending to date. However, we note that evaluation expenditures still fall below the revised target range of 1 to 1.6% of program budget. We encourage UNFPA to continue its efforts to meet this target, including through the development of a well-funded evaluation pooled fund. We expect UNFPA senior management to continue to provide strong support to the IEO in the coming strategic period. It is more important than ever to protect the evaluation function and to continue to strengthen the capacity of the decentralized evaluation function and humanitarian evaluations. We take note of management's clear support for the IEO's innovation efforts, particularly in the responsible integration of artificial intelligence, and we applaud the IEO for its leadership in this evolving area. We also value its active contributions to the interagency evaluations, UNEP, and the system-wide evaluation office. We strongly support the continued prioritization of youth engagement in evaluation, and we recognize the strategic influence of recent centralized evaluations, including the evaluation of the Strategic Plan 2022 to 2025, which is shaping the design of the upcoming strategic plan. Similarly, evaluations of UNFPA's work in data, population dynamics, and youth programming have led to concrete institutional changes, such as the definition of a new outcome. We are looking forward to the results of the evaluation of UNFPA support to the integration of the principles of leaving no one behind and reaching those left furthest behind first, in 2026. Let me close by reaffirming our shared commitment to a strong, independent and well-resourced evaluation function at UNFPA. At a time of reform and change, decisions need to be informed by the evidence. The good relationship between the IEO and UNFPA management continues to drive progress, accountability, evidence-based based decision-making and learning, contributing to the effectiveness of both the organization and the broader United Nations development system. We would also like to pay tribute to the excellent work of its Director, Marco Segone, and are confident that his successor will demonstrate the same professionalism, integrity, and dedication in leading the IEO in its new location in Nairobi. I thank you.

Thank you, Switzerland. I have one more request for the floor, that is the Netherlands. You have the floor, sir.

Yes, thank you, Mr. President.

Netherlands.

Yes, thank you, Mr. President.

Oh, sorry, what a mix-up.

In addition to the joint statement made by Switzerland, uh, we would like to make a few remarks in our national capacity. We would like to thank the Independent Evaluation Office for their impressive work in 2024 and appreciate UNFPA's dedication to implementing the evaluation recommendations. We also recognize the important role that the work of the Independent Evaluation Office has played in helping ensure that the draft strategic plan for 2026 to 2029 is based on lessons learned and evidence. We have 2 questions at this stage. First, as was also highlighted in the joint statement and today's presentations, the evaluation expenditure continues to fall short of the targets set in the 2024 Evaluation Policy. What is the impact of not meeting the 1% target on the work of the Independent Evaluation Office and on UNFPA as a whole? Second, we look forward to the upcoming independent evaluation of UNFPA's support to the integration of the principles of leaving no one behind and reaching those left furthest behind first. We understand that this evaluation will be presented to the Executive Board at the first regular session in 2026. To what extent will the preliminary findings of this important evaluation still be able to be utilized in the development of the next strategic plan or in the implementation We would like to conclude by also expressing our appreciation for Mr. Marco Segone's excellent work as the Director of the Independent Evaluation Office over the last years, and we wish him all the best. Thank you.

Thank you, Netherlands, for your valuable contribution. So now I give the floor back to Mr. Sogonyi first, to be followed by Madame Bienkaita. Mr. Sogonyi, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, and thank you very much to the distinguished delegates. Perhaps I start with the distinguished delegate from the Netherlands. She posed 2 questions. I will leave management to really address the one on the 1%, on the investment on the 1%, but perhaps I can just give my perspective from the Evaluation Office. I fully agree that at a time of challenges, including financial ones, evaluation is more important than ever. say that the 1% invested in evaluation is so important because it makes sure that the remaining 99% is spent in an effective and efficient manner. There was a specific question on what could be the potential impact if this 1% is not achieved, and from the perspective of IEA, there could be, you know, the potential risk in the capacities to gradually include a growing number of project-level evaluations in our quality assurance system. On the second question about the evaluation on Leave No One Behind, I'm pleased to inform that the preliminary emerging findings were already shared internally with senior management, and I'm sure that they will be used along the line that you were mentioning. Moving to the joint statement by Switzerland on behalf, if I counted well, of 25 member states, really appreciates the strong word of appreciation, specifically on innovation and the work that we are doing on the meaningful engagement of young people in evaluation. I'm just back from the Summit on the Future of Evaluation that was co-organized by IEO, the Global EvaluUs Movement, the Global Parliamentarian Forum for Evaluation, and the International Organization for Cooperation and Evaluation, that is the world federation of the national evaluation associations throughout the world. And, you know, it was opened by the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, and also our own Executive Director in video. And it was a true partnership with young people. It was really— it's not about the engagement of young people, it was really about the co-leadership of young people in the organization and implementation of this summit. And this is yet another example of how we are really engaging and supporting the meaningful engagement of young people. All of this, once again, just to reiterate that these important results and progress in the last 8 years have really been possible thanks, on the one side, to the responsiveness of the Evaluation Office to the ever-changing internal and external environments, but also, as already reiterated, thanks to the excellent relationship with management, both senior management in headquarters, but also with Programme Division and the regional offices in the field. And thanks also to the continuous support and guidance by the Board, and I really thank a lot all of you Member States and delegates for this continuous guidance and support. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to thank the distinguished delegates from the Netherlands for the questions. We understand the question. We're going to make sure that the LNOB evaluation process goes along the way as recommended and follows the strict process as the other evaluations to ensure that they can be integrated in our new strategic plan in due time, even if it's at the midterm. I would like as well to mention the percentage, the 0.79%. This is our highest ever. From 2015 to 2024, we have doubled the amount devoted to evaluation. We will continue doing so in the current situation the best we can, knowing that this doubling of the amount represents a substantial amount of information and knowledge that we get from evaluation. For the group of countries represented by the distinguished member from Switzerland, thank you very much for the comment and the support to the evaluation function and to the work of the Independent Office of Evaluation. UNFPA looks forward to reinforcing our close working relation with all of you and make sure that we enhance our evaluation performance as we move along within this transition time and very challenging time in every perspective, especially for trying to leave no one behind in this current world and especially in the humanitarian settings. I thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you.

Thank you. So in the absence of any further request for the floor, I think this concludes our discussion on Agenda Item 16. The Executive Board action will be on Item 16, on UNFPA evaluation decision is under preparation and will be presented for the Board's consideration later in the session. Tomorrow at 10 o'clock, we will continue the Annual Session with the UNDP segment. So I will not keep you any further this afternoon. With that, The afternoon meeting is adjourned. Good evening.

Distinguished delegates, the negotiations will resume now in Conference Room B. Thank you very much.