Economic and Social Council Conference Room

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Wednesday, June 19^th 2013

Wayne Dean Doyle

 The session opened with a clear and concise vision from the Executive Director of UNICEF, Mr. Jeffrey O Malley. “We need a clear articulate plan with attainable goals, within this plan progress can be monitored and measured which is very important to its success”.  

The new UNICEF strategic plan is grounded deeply in Gender equality, the right to an education and opportunities for those who most need them in a changing world. The ever changing global landscape has presented the perfect time and opportunity for more and more countries that have the resources to make a commitment to protect and promote the rights of children. These are our most valuable asset.

According to UNICEF the newly devised plan will encompass “more significant modifications in the mix of programme strategies to support countries to achieve results while retaining enough flexibility to enable UNICEF to develop country programmes of cooperation that respond to the specific needs of each country context”.

The plan is built on seven pillars of positive and measurable change which the executive board and member stated will be instrumental in obtaining the goals set out;

• Young child survival and development
• Basic Education and Gender Equality
• HIV AIDS and Children
• Child Protection from violence, exploitation and abuse
• Policy advocacy and Partnerships for Children’s rights
• Humanitarian action

Multiple delegations placed emphasis on various areas of the plan but particular attention was given to the monitoring and reporting aspects as well as performance management.“ There is still room for improvement; we believe that further efforts must be made in order to produce clearer evaluation tools for each individualistic country where these positive efforts are being made,” stated the Belgian Delegation.  

Implementation of these strategies such and capacity development alongside tangible documented evidence needs to be at the fore of this new plan and evaluation process.  The following comments were made from various delegations;

Belarus stated that it “welcomes plan and noted the importance of a strategic framework which can be evaluation and changed if needed throughout the given timeframe”.

Thailand reiterates its confidence within the new plan and also expresses deep gratuity for the opportunity to be included in the drafting of the document.

The Belgian delegation comments on the “Well established priorities , social protection, division of the current heading , these present golden opportunities in regards to adolescents and the role in which they will play in society further down the line.

Norway delivers a statement on behalf of Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. There are “many good proposals which we support, we welcome guidance in the plan about how UNICEF is going to support the human rights aspects of the plan and framework. There needs to be a clear plan in relation to advocacy, research and monitoring of children’s well being. A theory of change and anticipated outcomes with each heading is needed. A more systematic use of these details and analysis,” concluded the representative.

Guyana V/P– welcomes plan also, “We support the equity plan for the indigenous children of the region. The lack of sufficient data contributes to real success in these areas. Inequalities have still widened in these areas resulting in serious disparities. Social inequality should be a main focus of this plan”.

Russian Federation stated that, “protecting the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children is of the upmost importance. Need to take into account the 2012 development plan and use the data as a tool for this plan. The lack of tangible results and measurement tools is also a concern.  There needs to be plans to harmonise the principals of the plan”.

 Further comments were made by the United States, Armenia, Mexico, UK, Columbia, Australia and World Vision.