2012 is to be 'action packed' year: UNDP
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E-mail Xinhua, February 3, 2012
Helen Clark, administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), said here Thursday that the UN agency will be quite busy over this year in facing important international development challenges.
"2012 will be an action packed year for UNDP and for development," said Clark. "By driving forward our change agenda, our determination to achieve and demonstrate results, and to lead in key areas of development discourse, UNDP will demonstrate its worth as a leading development organization."
Clark's statement came as she addressed the first regular session of the UNDP Executive Board for 2012. She said that she supports UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's action agenda for his second term, which focuses on five major priorities: sustainable development, building a safer world, upholding human rights and democracy, supporting countries in transition, and empowering youth and women.
"The UN's efforts overall all must help meet the immediate needs of people, build the resilience of communities, and strengthen the institutions required to advance and sustain human development," Clark said. "Through its mandates across crisis prevention and recovery, governance, and the three pillars of sustainable development, UNDP can play a significant role in the areas prioritized by the secretary-general."
The UNDP administrator explained that her agency will be emphasizing acceleration of progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a "high priority" for 2012 and after.
The MDGs are a set of eight development goals that the international community has agreed to meet by the year 2015.
"The MDG Acceleration Framework we developed, and which the UNDP endorsed, is being rolled out in a growing number of countries," said Clark. "More than 30 will have developed their acceleration action plans and be in the process of implementing them by the end of this year."
The framework identifies ways in which countries have been unable to achieve particular MDGs and suggests solutions to accelerate goal achievement.
In addition to the MDGs, Clark also focused on the UNDP's commitment to the success of the coming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The conference, to be held in Rio de Janiero from June 20-22, will bring together stakeholders from around the globe to evaluate sustainable development success thus far and chart a new course for the future.
"With a world population of 7 billion which is expected to grow by a further 2 billion by 2050, Rio+20 must focus on how to promote green and inclusive growth within the boundaries of our planet's ecosystem," said Clark.
She said that UNDP is supporting 72 countries in their preparation for the conference and stands ready to play an "active role" in implementing in the meeting's outcomes.
"Sustainable development does not occur in the abstract in global fora; it must be built, brick by brick, in countries and communities," noted Clark. "The outcome from Rio must drive change at the community, country, and global levels, to ensure that a green and inclusive economy reduces poverty, inequality, and ecosystem degradation."
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