Bi-Annual Civil Society Briefing

Chers représentants d'organisations non gouvernementales,
Chers collègues et amis :

Je suis très heureux de poursuivre notre tradition de nous réunir au début de chaque année afin d’avoir une conversation sur notre travail à Genève pour la promotion de la paix, des droits et du bien-être de tous.

Je voudrais commencer par vous informer des différents projets de réforme de notre Secrétaire général.

Sa réforme du pilier de la paix et de la sécurité des Nations Unies vise à rendre les opérations de paix plus souples, efficaces et cohérentes. Elle vise également à réorienter la gestion des crises et des conflits vers la prévention. Un cadre général de réforme a été présenté dans son rapport à l'Assemblée générale en octobre 2017. L'accent est mis sur le changement des structures existantes pour consolider le travail de plusieurs entités en les fusionnant en seulement deux nouvelles structures: un Département des affaires politiques et de consolidation de la paix et un Département des opérations de paix. Une telle réorganisation permettra une meilleure prévention, une médiation renforcée et une plus grande efficacité dans les opérations de maintien de la paix.

Un autre objectif de ces efforts est d'améliorer la formation et l'équipement des forces de maintien de la paix et de renforcer les efforts de médiation. À cette fin, le Secrétaire général a créé en septembre dernier un Conseil consultatif de haut niveau sur la médiation.

L'Assemblée générale a exprimé son soutien à la vision du Secrétaire général et a demandé une proposition complète avec les coûts qu’elle implique. Le Secrétariat prépare actuellement une telle proposition pour la discussion de la Cinquième commission de l’Assemblée générale en mai.

Un autre projet de réforme concerne le pilier développement, l'accent étant mis sur l'ajustement du système de développement pour mieux soutenir la mise en œuvre des objectifs de développement durable, où les progrès pour atteindre les objectifs d'ici 2030 sont beaucoup plus lents. L'objectif est de créer un système plus cohérent et intégré, avec un leadership renforcé à tous les niveaux, une plus grande efficacité sur le terrain et une plus grande responsabilisation au regard des résultats. L'ECOSOC examine actuellement les propositions contenues dans les rapports du Secrétaire général de l'année dernière. Les principales recommandations figurant dans les rapports du SG sont les suivantes :
- Nouvelle génération d'équipes de pays des Nations Unies, avec des compétences améliorées, une présence physique optimisée, un soutien administratif consolidé et efficace.
- Approche systémique des partenariats.
- Nécessité d'un nouveau pacte de financement entre les États membres et le système de développement des Nations Unies.

Ces recommandations sont actuellement examinées par les États membres de l'ONU, qui ont une chance unique d'élaborer une gouvernance plus appropriée et de renforcer la collaboration horizontale aux niveaux international et national.

Les propositions de réforme dans les domaines de la paix et de la sécurité et du développement sont complétées par des propositions de réforme de la gestion interne. Ils visent à simplifier les procédures et à décentraliser les décisions, ainsi qu'à accroître la transparence, l'efficacité et la responsabilité, et à réduire la micro-gestion par les États membres.

Le rapport du Secrétaire général avec les propositions détaillées qu’il contient sera discuté plus tard cette année à la Cinquième commission.

Notre Secrétaire général s'est également fortement engagé en faveur de la parité entre les sexes et il est passé de la parole aux actes. En septembre dernier, il a lancé une nouvelle stratégie sur la parité homme-femme comme point de départ d'une campagne à l'échelle de l’ensemble du système des Nations Unies pour faire progresser cette priorité au sein de l’organisation. L'année 2021 est la date limite pour atteindre la parité à la plupart des échelons supérieurs, mais déjà au début de cette année, les 44 membres du Groupe de la haute direction des Nations Unies ont atteint la parité. Le plan consiste à atteindre la parité dans tout le système bien avant 2030.

Tous les projets de réforme ont été conçus en plaçant la prévention au premier plan des efforts déployés par les Nations Unies pour instaurer la paix, parvenir à un développement durable et respecter les droits de l'homme.

Outre la nécessité pour les États membres de soutenir le paquet de réformes, ces projets de réforme arrivent à un moment de sévères restrictions financières, soulignant le besoin d’accorder décisions politiques et financières. Leur succès dépendra en grande partie des partenariats stratégiques renouvelés entre tous les acteurs concernés. Notre tâche à Genève sera de soutenir le Secrétaire général dans ses efforts de réforme. Les réformes auront un impact significatif sur les activités à Genève en modifiant notre façon de travailler.

Where is civil society in these efforts? It is right in the middle. The expertise and experience of civil society organizations in monitoring, campaigning, defending, delivering services, researching and building solidarity are vital in supporting all three pillars of the United Nation’s mandate. Civil society is an ally of the United Nations. We need to shoulder each other in defending the universal values and in tackling the difficult and complex challenges of sustainable development, peace, justice and human rights. This is all the more important at a time when civil society actors experience restrictions and strong push-backs in many national situations, which in turn reflects in multilateral level.

Geneva being a home for hundreds of non-governmental organizations plays a vital role in nurturing this relationship, which is growing in substance and in numbers. In 2017, 981 NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC were accredited to UN Office at Geneva. It is 13.5% more than in previous year. This means that 4,875 NGO representatives had access to the Palais des Nations to participate in events and organize discussions. I am pleased with this enhanced engagement. Building partnerships with non-governmental organizations and sustaining space for your vital work at the Palais des Nations remains one of my priorities.

Let me say a few words about some projects and initiatives that we pursue at UN Office at Geneva.

The Strategic Heritage Plan – the renovation of this building and the construction of a new one – is going well and within the planned timeline. The General Assembly re-confirmed the project budget (836.5 CHF), scope and schedule. It also fully endorsed flexible workspace strategies for the new permanent building, but recommended against a feasibility study for flexible workspace and cooling system in the old building. The construction of the new building is progressing. All efforts will be made to diminish the effects of the construction and renovation phases on daily activities at the Palais. I hope I can count on your understanding and patience in this endeavour.

Turning now to the issue of access to the Palais, 2017 has seen a gradual introduction of a new online conference management platform, InDiCo, which helps all events organizers at the Palais, including NGOs, to manage their meetings in a more efficient and technologically modern way. It also allows a faster accreditation process and access to the Palais as issuing access badges through InDiCo now takes only a few seconds. Access to all events at the Palais des Nations is now managed through this platform. Other duty stations – New York, Nairobi, Bangkok - started using it as well, which makes our systems more coherent. We are aware of issues that come up in the context of InDiCo, such as availability of the platform in different languages or online access in remote locations. We continue addressing those issues and constantly improving the platform, and your feedback in this regard is helpful and welcome.

Let me outline also some of our substantive priorities at UN Geneva.

Our Secretary-General has put disarmament on the top of his agenda, with renewed determination to focus on prevention. In this context, there is a new momentum to make progress in this area with the new High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and the new Head of the Office of Disarmament in Geneva. I hope that this momentum will be used by UN Member States to revive the Conference on Disarmament, which as you know has been under increasing pressure. It is my firm belief that in order to renew its relevance, the Conference needs an updated agenda, methods of work and the engagement with non-State actors. As part of efforts to modernize the Conference, I am organizing a third CD-Civil Society forum later this year that will focus on the impact of new technologies on international security.

Our outreach efforts continue through the International Geneva Perception Change project, which connects over 100 partners and aims to highlight the impact of the work done by all relevant actors in Geneva.

The booklet “170 actions to transform our world” (available here) with 10 actions each and every one of us could do for every Sustainable Development Goal, is becoming more and more popular. It is now available in some nine languages.

The #YouNeedToKnow campaign at airports continues. Following the airports of Geneva, Zurich and Heathrow, the campaign was also showcased across Greece, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Algeria. Together with Dufry (duty free shops worldwide), we are working on the expansion to other destinations.

The “Fairy Tales for a Fairer World” book has now been translated into all six UN languages.

Our efforts to connect International and local Geneva continued, with the Palais des Nations hosting some 14,000 visitors during the Open Day in October and opening Ariana park for the Escalade training. There is a real interest in the public for the work of International Geneva, and we will continue nurturing this interest.

The SDG Lab in my Office has quickly become a place to go to
for SDG-related information, expertise and best practices. The Lab is a convenor of multi-stakeholder groups in search of creative solutions to SDG implementation challenges, and an amplifier of the work that is already underway in Geneva. It has become a space for innovation and experimentation across silos, domains, and sectors.

In the coming period, the SDG Lab will consolidate activities from the Geneva 2030 Ecosystem by focussing on four themes: funding investments in the SDGs, policy coherence, indivisibility of the SDGs, and power of cities. The Lab will launch a new initiative called “Dare to Share” that aims to amplify experiences that demonstrate impact and share lessons learnt. The Lab will continue establishing strategic connections with other UN duty stations, SDG centres and hubs around the world and other stakeholders. The multi-stakeholder approach is in the essence of the SDG Lab, which is reflected in the team composition comprising representatives of States and NGOs.

Our Library and Archives continue evolving into a “Knowledge and Learning Commons” of UN Geneva. The archives were consulted 900,000 times last year, and we now have a collection of 1.7 million books. With its recently developed online resource guide, the Library is a vital asset for research in support of global problem solving and policy frameworks like Agenda 2030.

The Library is also a vital space for intellectual outreach and cultural diplomacy at the heart of international Geneva. Last year we hosted over 100 cultural activities and events organised by Member States and their partners, and more than 35 Library Events, with debates, seminars and book presentations, several of which in partnership with NGOs.

Let me also say a few words about the International Gender Champions Initiative, which was launched in Geneva in October 2015 and has since taken off beyond expectations. Starting as Geneva initiative, it has now expanded to New York, Vienna, Nairobi and Bonn. With our Secretary-General on board as well, we currently have 205 active Champions with nearly 600 commitments. In Geneva, I now rarely receive and accept invitations to panels with only male speakers.

In the context of my own commitments as Gender Champion, 2017 was the first full year of implementation of the UN Geneva Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. We established the first-ever UN Geneva Gender Steering Group, provided training to staff on unconscious bias, empowered female staff with training on leadership, and conducted a survey on gender perceptions. We also opened a second breastfeeding room at the Palais and issued guidance on reintegrating staff after maternity leave. In recognition of their efforts in implementing the gender policy on a daily basis, the UN Geneva team won a 2017 Secretary-General’s Award in the category of gender equality.

I am pleased with our achievements in this area, and we plan to continue building on them to do better. Our gender perceptions survey showed a difference in perceptions between women and men regarding access to career opportunities, sexist behaviour and action needed to address prohibited conduct.

We will also continue taking concrete measures to improve the representation of women at all levels in order to reach 50/50, to establish an inclusive and enabling organizational culture free from gender bias, and to ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women in the work of UN Geneva. Our Office is close to the organization’s target for gender parity, at 46.5% at the end of 2017. The percentage of women at senior levels was 44%, compared to 41% in 2016 or 38.6% in 2015.

On the less optimistic note, let me say a few words about our financial situation. The decision of the General Assembly last December to set the UN budget for 2018-2019 at 286 million USD below the previous budget will have significant impact on UN Geneva. We have already experienced constant decreases of UN Geneva budgets over several years despite increased workload. This year’s cuts heavily affect the Division of Administration, with 7% cut of the total non-post budget, which will impact UN Geneva’s ability to provide sustainable quality services to all stakeholders. Other parts – Division of Conference Management, Library, UN Information Service and my Office - also experienced across-the-board cuts. This situation puts us in more difficulty in the implementation of our mandates. I have been proactively informing Member States about the impact of the budget cuts on the operations of the Palais. This is a challenge we have to address for the coming years.

I will conclude here and open our dialogue.