Mr. President

Thank you for this opportunity. India associates itself with the statement delivered by the distinguished representative of Ecuador on behalf of the G-77. We also take this opportunity to welcome DSG Ms. Amina Mohammed who spoke in her new capacity for the first time.

While we welcome the significant strides made by UN Development System (UNDS) and its agencies in recent years, we also appreciate the need for the UNDS to continue to adapt and respond to evolving challenges and opportunities for development cooperation. Through the recently adopted QCPR resolution, a number of policy implications can be identified for UNDS in order to provide coherent and integrated support to implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Integration with Agenda 2030 would require a system-wide interlinkages, interoperability and synergy among the each agency of the UNDS for those to harmonize with each other and also to go together with private actors.

Mr. President

For India, the two main takeaways from QCPR are as following: first, UNDS's its strict adherence to the 2030 Agenda with an unrelenting resolve to eradicate poverty and second, practicality in implementation of this resolve keeping in minds the poorest and the most deprived. 

As the Prime Minister of India noted in his address to the special session of ECOSOC when it turned 70 last year, 'While we have seen remarkable progress over the past 70 years, eradication of poverty remains the greatest unfinished business of the 20th century. It is also the most important unfulfilled objective of the United Nations'.

 An unrelenting focus on poverty eradication as the central and primary objective should therefore remain at the heart of UN's operational activities for development. This indeed is the mandate of the QCPR 2016 and this strategic direction must be maintained. The UN System must in fact sharpen its tools to attack the problem of poverty more directly. 

Mr. President

Throughout the QCPR resolution, the critical importance of national ownership of and leadership on the 2030 Agenda is underlined. It is utmost important that the fundamental principles of national ownership and leadership, and deference to national development priorities must be the pivots around which UN development activities are modeled and implemented, and the programming activities therefore, needs to be harmonized with the budgetary and planning cycles of recipient Governments. The operational activities of the UN system must also be responsive to and closely aligned to national development plans. Externally imposed prescriptions should be avoided and national policy space respected. 

Mr. President

The QCPR recognizes that the integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda requires a more sustainable funding approach, and stresses the need for adequate, predictable, and flexible funding for UN operational activities for development. 

The need for better balance between core and non-core funding of the UN System has been dealt by the resolution and the issue enjoyed consensus both from the developed as well as developing countries.

 We clearly cannot talk of balanced implementation of an integrated agenda and yet have funding structures and functional implementation that responds to selective donor priorities.  A related important issue is that of the governance structures of the funds and programmes where imbalance in the representation of developing and developed countries needs to be addressed.

Mr. President

The QCPR resolution stresses the need of enhancing support to humanitarian activities. UNDS should just be conscious that this should not come at the cost of a redoubled focus on promoting growth and development and ending poverty; in other words in creating conditions that reduce the chances of humanitarian crises. The direct links between equitable sharing of opportunities and the benefits of inclusive economic growth, sustainable development, well functioning institutions and the rule of law on the one hand, and lasting peace and security on the other have been established beyond doubt.  There cannot be any peace without development.  The central role of Resident Coordinators (RCs) in ensuring a coordinated UN response in-country, including when they carry the Humanitarian Coordinator hat, is clearly acknowledged in the QCPR. We appreciate that a session in this segment is dedicated to discussing the development, humanitarian and peace nexus.

I thank you.