Canada National Opening Statement Annual Session of the UN Women Executive Board

June 27-29, 2017

Thank you, Mr. President.

Let me begin by saying that UN Women continues to be a valued multilateral partner for Canada. We recognize and support the central role the organization plays in setting global norms and standards for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

On June 9^th, Canada launched its new Feminist International Assistance Policy, which prioritizes gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as the most effective way to reduce poverty and build a more inclusive, peaceful and prosperous world.

This new approach will enable Canada to provide more integrated and responsive assistance, invest in innovation and research, deliver better reporting on results, develop more effective partnerships, and concentrate our development assistance in the parts of the world where it can make the greatest difference in reducing poverty and inequality, particularly for women and girls.

The UN development system has an important role to play in supporting implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but it must come together to demonstrate that it is effective and results-oriented. This will require a strong coherence of mandates across the organisations; a much more collaborative and issue-based approach, that breaks down bureaucratic silos and reduces fragmentation; and a clear focus on leaving no one behind, central to which must be the advancement of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. We know that policies and programmes that are gender responsive are more effective, sustainable and more likely to reach those furthest behind first.

UN Women has a central role in the UN’s efforts to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda and to advance the Secretary-General’s UN reform agenda, including through its membership on the Secretary-General’s Executive Committee. Both the 2030 Agenda and the UN reform agenda are key priorities for Canada and will advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls across the globe.

Canada, along with other member states, has challenged the UN Funds and Programs to develop strategic plans that will further reforms within the individual agencies and the larger UN Development System, in line with mandates, comparative and collaborative advantages and guided by the provisions of the QCPR. Achieving this requires establishing innovative partnerships, improving coordination and collaboration across the multilateral system, and ultimately to be more effective in achieving development results. While this is not an easy task it is a necessary one.

Canada believes that UN Women’s new strategic plan and results framework is heading in the right direction. We do, however, urge UN Women to do more. As noted in the Executive Boards of UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF, the current common chapter must include more information on the innovative and collaborative ways that you will work together. In the same vein, UN Women’s strategic plan and annexes must be refined to ensure that coherence, efficiency and effectiveness is captured, both in terms of partnerships as well as in the specific areas where UN Women has demonstrated its value added. For Canada, this is the role that you play in setting norms and standards within the UN Development System and in coordination at the global, regional and country-level.

Mr. President,

We look forward to helping move the strategic planning process forward, and to contributing to the effective governance of this Board.