A/64/PV.104 General Assembly

Members will recall that the General Assembly held the debate on agenda item 114, jointly with agenda items 48, 120 and 121, at the 47th plenary meeting on 16 November 2009. Members will also recall that under this item, jointly with agenda items 48 and 53 (b) and (f), the Assembly adopted decision 64/555 at its 82nd plenary meeting, on 15 April 2010, and resolution 64/265, at its 86th plenary meeting on 13 May 2010. (spoke in English) I should like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the following corrections to draft resolution A/64/L.56. Paragraph 14 should read as follows: “Emphasizes the principle of national ownership and leadership, and supports the initiative of some countries to use, on a voluntary basis, common country programme documents, as well as its support for all countries that wish to continue using the existing frameworks and processes for country-level programming.” Paragraph 16 should read as follows: “Invites those countries presenting a common country programme document on a voluntary basis to prepare it consistent with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, where it exists, and to present in the common country programme the critical actions that will be taken to achieve the agreed results with available or indicative resources, as well as actions to ensure coherence of the assistance provided by the United Nations system at the country level, attaching, as an annex, a brief description of the agreed results and indicative resources of each of the relevant United Nations agencies.” Paragraph 49 should read as follows: “Decides to establish, by the present resolution, as a composite entity, a United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to be known as UN Women, by consolidating and transferring to the Entity the existing mandates and functions of the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat, as well as those of the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, to function both as a secretariat and to carry out operational activities at the country level, to be operational by 1 January 2011.” Paragraph 90 should read as follows: “Decides to review the work of the Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women at its sixty-eighth session, and requests the Secretary-General to present a comprehensive report in that regard to the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session.” (spoke in Arabic) In connection with draft resolution A/64/L.56, I now give the floor to the representative of the Secretariat.

In connection with draft resolution A/64/L.56, entitled “System-wide coherence”, on behalf of the Secretary-General and in accordance with rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, I wish to place on record the following statement on financial implications. Under the terms of operative paragraphs 76, 77 and 85 of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly for its approval during the main part of its sixty-fifth session a report containing a revised proposal for the use of regular budget resources approved for the biennium 2010-2011 for the normative support functions of the new entity, in accordance with all relevant United Nations rules and procedures, including a detailed organizational chart of the entity and options for administrative arrangements for the regular budget of the entity. The draft resolution would also request the Secretary-General to appoint the Under-Secretary- General by the beginning of the sixty-fifth session in order to oversee the transitional arrangements of the entity before its operationalization, and decide that the position of the Under-Secretary-General would be funded from existing temporary assistance funds pending the submission of the report on the revised regular budget required to be submitted to the Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. The draft resolution would further request the Under-Secretary-General to submit a report to the Executive Board, including the organizational chart referred to in paragraph 76, together with a revised draft strategic plan and proposal for the use of voluntary resources for the support budget for the biennium 2010-2011. As requested in the draft resolution, the Secretary-General, in consultation with all United Nations entities concerned, would present, during the main part of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly, the revised proposals on the use of regular budget resources approved for the 2010-2011 biennium for the normative support functions of the new entity, including a detailed organizational chart of the entity and options for administrative arrangements for the regular budget of the entity. In that connection, it is expected that the proposals presented by the Secretary-General would include the necessary programmatic changes and resource requirements needed for their implementation. Any programme budget implications would therefore be considered at the time that proposals are considered and subsequently endorsed by the General Assembly. In accordance with the established practice, the proposals of the Secretary-General would also contain summary information on the voluntary — that is, extrabudgetary — resources of the new composite entity. In order to ensure the compatibility of this information, including a detailed organizational chart of the entity, with that requested to be submitted to the new Executive Board, the Secretary-General would rely in that regard on the results of transitional arrangements. Accordingly, should the General Assembly adopt the draft resolution, details on the programmatic changes and resource requirements in the biennium 2010-2011 would be provided by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly during the main part of its sixty-fifth session in the context of the report on the revised proposal for the use of regular budget resources for the 2010-2011 biennium that is requested in the current draft resolution.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/64/L.56, entitled “System-wide coherence”, as orally corrected. May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/64/L.56, as orally corrected?

We have just adopted a resolution on system-wide coherence. The strength of the United Nations is reflected in the goodwill and commitment of its Members. The resolution we have just adopted illustrates the dedication and joint efforts of Member States and the Secretariat to move forward together with a stronger and more efficient Organization. The Organization’s shortcomings are well known. Its operational activities are fragmented, costly and, at times, duplicative. Improving the coherence and effectiveness of the United Nations in delivering its services is vital to ensuring that the Organization remains at the heart of the global multilateral system. Today is an important day for all of us. System- wide coherence has been a central theme of the General Assembly’s agenda for the reform of the Organization since the 2005 World Summit. Since the beginning of my presidency, it has been my priority to facilitate the finalization of an agreement on the establishment of the new gender entity, as well as on other aspects of system-wide coherence, by June of this year. I am therefore very pleased that today we have adopted a resolution that will enhance the performance of United Nations operational activities by making their funding system more coherent and by harmonizing their governance structure. For instance, the resolution requests that United Nations agencies that administer multi-donor trust funds report annually on their administration so as to ensure better complementarity between funds. Reforms to the governance structure of the Organization’s operational activities also include establishing informal coordination meetings with their governing bodies to increase the coordination of their work and the circulation of information on the agendas, calendars and programmes of work of the governing bodies of United Nations operational activities with a view to enhancing the coherence of both agenda-setting and programmes of work. The resolution also seeks to institutionalize our joint efforts to empower one of the world’s greatest assets, namely, women. I am delighted that the resolution establishes UN Women, a United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women will consolidate and take up all the existing mandates and functions of the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, the Division for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. The entity will be both a normative and an operational body, acting as a secretariat and carrying out operational activities such as guidance and technical support at the country level. Importantly, the resolution also charges UN Women with the additional mandate of coordinating the United Nations system on gender issues, including gender mainstreaming. The United Nations is uniquely placed to take a leading role in advancing the status of women. I have no doubt of the significance of this resolution in making progress in that vital area. A strong organizational structure will undoubtedly better serve us in improving our work, particularly when it comes to results on the ground. But our work does not stop there. Excelling in our efforts to provide aid and development, secure global peace and protect the rights of the world’s most vulnerable people requires constant reflection and continuous institutional improvement. Today, we have taken a major step to that end. I would like to thank the co-facilitators, Her Excellency Mrs. Tiina Intelmann, Permanent Representative of Estonia, and His Excellency Mr. Ghazi Jomaa, Permanent Representative of Tunisia, for their great efforts during this process. Let me also thank His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro for their important work in supporting these reform efforts. I now give the floor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Allow me to warmly congratulate Member States, which today have adopted a landmark resolution on system-wide coherence and established UN Women, a new composite United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. This is truly a watershed day. By bringing together four parts of the United Nations system dedicated to women’s issues, Member States have created a much stronger voice for women and for gender equality at the global level. It will now be much more difficult for the world to ignore the challenges facing women and girls, or to fail to take the necessary action. Member States have combined global norm- setting responsibilities in one United Nations entity and given it the means to provide operational support to countries to implement those norms and standards. The United Nations system will now be able to significantly step up its support for national efforts to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. I thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership. I also wish to thank co-facilitators Ambassador Tiina Intelmann of Estonia and Ambassador Ghazi Jomaa of Tunisia for the successful outcome of their important consultations. I am sure that all Member States will agree that the consultations on system-wide coherence were conducted in the most inclusive, transparent and efficient manner. Let us give credit where credit is due. Ambassador Intelmann and Ambassador Jomaa and their excellent staff have shown exemplary leadership and dedication to this demanding task. I would like to place on record our sincere appreciation. I am also grateful to Member States and to Permanent Representatives for having taken this major step forward for the world’s women and girls. I know that their negotiations on certain issues have been difficult. I greatly appreciate their spirit of compromise and I pay tribute to the great efforts of all Permanent Representatives and their experts, who have been so engaged in this process. I also wish to thank Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri of India for his able facilitation of the meetings of ambassadors at the last stages of the process, where some critical issues relating to the gender entity were resolved. And I am sure all members will join me in expressing our gratitude to the previous co-facilitators of earlier rounds of General Assembly consultations on system-wide coherence, who laid the ground for this landmark resolution. I would also like to recognize the support and encouragement that all delegations received from civil society organizations. Their determination sustained the necessary momentum to establish this long-overdue outcome. Finally, but importantly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff of the Division for the Advancement of Women, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women for their great efforts on women’s issues and their work in preparing for the establishment of the new gender entity. The strength of the United Nations lies both in its intergovernmental agreements and in the wonderful women and men who work for our goals and values around the world. We have seen much collaborative spirit among the staff of the four entities in recent months. We will depend on that as they now embark on the task of making UN Women operational. We will work to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible, while the staff of the four existing entities continue to perform their usual functions. As the Assembly is aware, the new resolution establishes the post of an Under-Secretary-General to head the new entity. I am working to identify the most suitable candidate. Until the post is filled, I have asked Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro to guide the transition process. I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her leadership of the process that has brought us so far. This resolution will always be strongly associated with the establishment of the new gender entity, but we should not forget that Member States have also adopted today many important decisions in other areas of the system-wide coherence process. In the area of funding, Member States have agreed to introduce a new approach to determining the critical mass of core funding for funds and programmes. Rather than relying on ad hoc bilateral negotiations to address resource requirements, better links will be established between core contributions and the cost of carrying out key mandates. I believe that the critical-mass approach to funding offers a new and powerful vision for improving the quantity and quality of funding for operational activities. Member States have also realized that the voice of programme countries is not always heard in governing bodies. The resolution addresses that critical issue by requesting governing bodies to identify how to strengthen the participation of national policymakers in meetings of the executive boards of funds and programmes and the operational activities segment of the Economic and Social Council. Such measures will enable programme countries, particularly the least developed, to participate in governing bodies on a more equal basis. The adoption of this resolution on system-wide coherence sends a strong signal that Member States are determined to make the work of the United Nations system for development more coherent, effective and efficient. The Assembly has taken a bold decision to make the United Nations much better able to support progress for women and men. I encourage the Assembly to ensure that the new gender entity is well funded so that it can deliver. I am aware that many Member States face resource constraints due to the recent economic and financial crisis. But I am confident that UN Women will receive strong financial backing from donor countries and other partners. The newest member of the United Nations family has been born today. The Assembly’s generous support is essential for it to grow up to be the champion for gender equality and the empowerment of women we need.

Before giving the floor to speakers in explanation of position following the adoption of the resolution, may I remind delegations that explanations are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.

It is my great honour and privilege to address the General Assembly on behalf of the 135 States members of the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) of the Group of 77 and China and the Non-Aligned Movement on this historic day, when the international community has declared its resolve to ensure that women, who represent more than half of the world’s population, enjoy their full rights. The adoption of resolution 64/289, entitled “System-wide coherence”, illustrates the resolve of Member States to invest in one of its most precious resources — women. The establishment of UN Women is the crowning achievement of a five-year process of negotiation in which we strived to honour our collective commitments as articulated in the World Summit Outcome document (resolution 60/1). In that regard, I would like to underline the following with respect to the different clusters. First, on the newly established entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, the adoption of this resolution is a huge step in the long process of United Nations reform and one of the most exciting achievements of the past 10 years. Today, following years of tough and prolonged negotiations, we are witnessing the establishment of a new entity that belongs to all the women of the world and that will be headed by a woman, in the best interests of all women. Mandated by the women of 135 countries, under the leadership of Egypt and Yemen, the JCC actively engaged in a series of long and constructive negotiations with open minds and hearts and a spirit of flexibility, tolerance and understanding. We were determined to achieve our goal, and together we did so. Today is a key milestone in our collective efforts. Today, we established UN Women for our women and for all women — a strong, universal entity within the United Nations system, determined to help women achieve their dreams and address their challenges and to commit all stakeholders, Governments, civil society, private sector and the entire international community to come together to solidify their efforts towards the advancement and empowerment of all women so that they might fully and equally enjoy their rights without any discrimination. UN Women puts women at the forefront of the international agenda, pledges its support to strengthen national capacities towards the advancement of their status, and is committed to the fulfilment of their rights to develop, lead and prosper. Realizing that we needed a more proactive approach to bring about a significant change as early as March 2010, the JCC was proud to be the first among all negotiating partners to submit a detailed, concrete and comprehensive set of elements dealing with all aspects of establishing the entity. Our intention was to institutionalize such concepts as universality, national ownership and equitable geographical representation, which are among the cardinal principles of the United Nations, in the creation of the new entity. The highlight of all of these proposals was the proposal to establish a new Executive Board that would be strong, independent and appropriately and adequately mandated and funded, and, most importantly, that would abide by the equitable geographical distribution of the General Assembly in the distribution of its seats. In a major step forward, the JCC was not oblivious to the contemporary realities of today’s world and recognized also the role of the contributing countries. The JCC was willing to give contributors their due role and responsibilities in the new Executive Board. I am confident that the contributing States will provide adequate core funding to the entity in order to empower it beyond being a mere catalyst, so that it might emerge rather as a key international body for women, a strong voice, an advocate and a programme- implementing entity of the United Nations in the field. This has been demanded by civil society in general, and women’s organizations in particular, and I am happy that we were able to acknowledge this fact in the resolution. The entity will be relevant and truly universal only if its activities successfully provide support and assistance to all women of the world, in developing and developed countries; women from all regions and corners of the world, including those suffering in armed conflicts and under foreign occupation. This is a core concern of the JCC. We look forward to the establishment of a focal point within the entity for assisting women living under foreign occupation. Moreover, we will be supportive of the new Under-Secretary-General in establishing appropriate mechanisms to address all 12 critical areas of concern, as identified in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 15 years ago. Critical areas deserve due attention and require that focus not be diverted to issues that are important to only a few while ignoring other important issues that concern all of us. As we turn an important page in the cause of women’s rights, we are eager and hopeful that the Executive Board will be able to devise innovative mechanisms to implement the mandate in developed countries and in other areas that do not have a United Nations field presence. This was one of the JCC’s reasons for suggesting the entity be called “UN Women”, that is, a United Nations for women or nations uniting for women. In order to ensure continuity of the work of the new Executive Board and enhance institutional memory, it is our understanding that the Economic and Social Council will follow its established practice of applying a staggered mechanism in electing members of the Board during the first election, thus guaranteeing a smooth transition and the institutional stability of its work. Accountability and oversight are as important for the entity as for any other part of the Secretariat. We request the Secretary-General to put in place a proper accountability framework based on the guidelines recently defined in resolution 64/259. It is important that these concepts be set in stone and duly institutionalized in the operational philosophy of the new entity from the very beginning of its existence. Accountability — accountability of the entity to Member States and accountability of Member States to their women — is of crucial importance to the JCC. On behalf of the JCC, I would like to seize this opportunity to express our deep appreciation for the excellent work and most fruitful programmes being carried in the field by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW). We stress in particular the importance of ensuring the continuation of all current operational activities, field offices, staff and facilities, as well as existing and new country programmes and contractual obligations until appropriate new arrangements are put in place. With this in mind, we request the Secretary-General to ensure that all personnel matters related to the transition be addressed in a sensitive manner and dealt with efficiently and with due respect for the existing staff rules and regulations of the United Nations in such cases, both at Headquarters and in the field. To the JCC, dissolving the two entities and transferring their mandates and functions to the new entity does not mean that we will establish the entity without the expertise of the current organs and staff, whose efforts are highly appreciated and essential to the success of the new entity. The JCC looks forward to a smooth transition without programme interruption or staff suffering from the change. We hope that all the existing activities of the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) and the Division for the Advancement of Women will also be continued till new arrangements are put in place. After all, UNIFEM, the Division, INSTRAW and OSAGI are the building blocks of this new entity, and they will be our assets during the transition period and when the entity is operationalized on 1 January 2011. The JCC looks forward to the new entity commencing its activities as soon as possible, which will strengthen the United Nations ability to support Member States in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. In addition, we look forward to the early appointment of the new Under-Secretary- General at the head of the entity, who we understand will be a woman from the South. We hope that her leadership capabilities and clear vision will provide added value to the full implementation of the mandate given by the resolution we have just adopted. We also hope that the staff who are recruited in the entity will represent all the regions of the world in an equitable manner in order to empower the entity with a solid understanding of different cultural sensitivities. We also recognize that there is still work to be done by the Fifth Committee regarding funding, budget and resources, as well as the organizational chart of the entity, and we look forward to the Committee convening soon to deal with these issues. Secondly, on governance, the system-wide evaluation mechanism, common country programmes, “delivering as one”, the funding of operational activities for development and the harmonization of business practices, the JCC welcomes the progress made through this resolution in the areas of governance and funding of operational activities. In that context, the JCC attaches great importance to the full implementation of the resolution’s provisions aimed at enhancing the coherence of the work of the United Nations development system and the transparency of the activities of the Chief Executives Board for Coordination. Furthermore, the JCC would like to stress what the Assembly has emphasized with regard to the principles of national ownership and leadership and United Nations support to all country programmes. The impact of the international economic and financial crisis and other crises, which have hampered the efforts of developing countries towards achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, makes United Nations operational activities more important than ever. As they also support the efforts of country programmes to address the devastating repercussions of those multiple crises, the JCC has stressed from the outset the importance of improving funding for United Nations operational activities in order to ensure their adequacy, predictability and sustainability. In that context, while acknowledging the increase in overall funding for United Nations operational activities, the JCC strongly supports the resolution’s emphasis on the need for adequate quality and quantity of funding for operational activities and the clear mandate stipulated in the resolution for the governing bodies of funds, programmes and relevant specialized agencies to explore the definition and arrive at a critical mass of core resources. The JCC looks forward to their reports on this matter and considers it an important step towards ensuring the balance between core and non-core funding. Finally, the JCC would like to express its sincere appreciation to you personally, Mr. President, for your leadership and commitment to the cause of United Nations reform and the empowerment of women. We also thank His Excellency Vice-President Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, Permanent Representative of India, for the great work he has done in steering our consultations on some of the most difficult issues during the past few days and for his ability to bring about different compromises and creative forms of agreement. Our appreciation also goes to the co-facilitators of the process, Her Excellency Mrs. Tiina Intelmann, Permanent Representative of Estonia, and His Excellency Mr. Ghazi Jomaa, Permanent Representative of Tunisia, for their dedication and effective management of the consultation process. I would also like to make special mention of our appreciation of our partners in development for the constructive atmosphere that has prevailed throughout the negotiating process. Our thanks also go to Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, her team and that of the Secretary- General, and everyone in the Secretariat who helped and supported Member States by facilitating our agreement today. We thank them very much. Their services and support are always appreciated. Last but not least, I would like to thank His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless efforts, the least of which was his full support for the JCC proposal that the new baby must have a name, a simple yet expressive one that epitomizes what the new entity is all about. We believe that UN Women says it all. (spoke in Arabic) Having spoken on behalf of the JCC of the Group of 77 and China and the Non-Aligned Movement, it is now my pleasure to address the Assembly briefly in my national capacity and on behalf of all Egyptian and Arab women, underlining the priority that Egypt and the Arab world attach to women’s full enjoyment of all human rights without distinction. That remains one of the goals of the Arab Women’s Organization, which was established upon the initiative of Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt. This initiative was supported and strengthened by the first ladies of every Arab States, as was the initiative of convening two NAM summits for first ladies, a precedent that stressed the importance that Egypt and NAM member States attach to gender equality, the empowerment of women, the full enjoyment by women of all their human rights without distinction and their advancement in all areas, whether political, economic or social. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the United Nations on the establishment of this new entity for women, as well as all Member States, both developing and developed, that participated in negotiating its establishment. I am honoured that my country was one of the Member States that actively and effectively participated in those successful efforts. The Government of Egypt pledges to extend its full support to the new entity in order to help it to achieve its goals. We welcome the great achievement of strengthening United Nations work in all issues related to women, and we all pledge to work together for its success. The success of the entity in fulfilling its mandate will require comprehensive coordination by all United Nations agencies and organs, cooperation with all treaty bodies, especially the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and assistance to committees aimed at coordinating their efforts and supporting Member States from both developing and developed countries, as well as all regional and subregional organizations and political communities. In that regard, Egypt pledges to continue its determined efforts, both nationally and regionally, with the Arab region and with NAM countries, in coordination with Yemen as the current Chair of the Group of 77 and China. Let us all resolve to eradicate all forms of discrimination and marginalization against women and to help make the most of their capabilities and capacities to the benefit of all humankind. Together, God willing, we will meet the expectations of women around the world.

It is my privilege to address the General Assembly as we adopt today the landmark resolution 64/289 creating UN Women, a composite entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women within the United Nations. I congratulate you, Mr. President, on your leadership in this transformational reform at the United Nations. I say this with particular pride, as India has the distinction of giving the General Assembly its first woman President, Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. I am of course happy that my delegation, under the leadership of Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, played a very active role in the success of the negotiations. I offer my congratulations also to the co-facilitators, the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and all others involved in the process. India is home to more than half a billion women. Our Constitution enshrines gender equality and affirmative action to ensure women’s empowerment. That has been a key focus of our socio-economic policies. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said, “no society can claim to be a part of the modern civilized world unless it treats its women on par with men”. India has also taken major strides in the area of the political empowerment of women. Today, more than 1 million elected women representatives participate in political decision-making at the grassroots level. A move to provide a similar reservation of seats for women in the Indian Parliament is at an advanced stage of the legislative process, already having received the approval of the upper house of our Parliament. India welcomes the creation of UN Women as a significant victory for the cause of women worldwide. It is a reflection of our collective commitment to the pursuit of gender equality and empowerment. Our decision here today also takes a step towards restoring the faith of those Member States, including mine, that often regard the United Nations as an anachronistic body resistant to organizational reform and innovation. We of course hope that it creates momentum for much needed reform in other areas as well. I would like to take this opportunity to pledge India’s full support to UN Women. We urge the early operationalization of the entity so that the international community can work with renewed vigour and commitment for gender equality and women’s empowerment. In conclusion, I would like to recall the words of Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance and the leader of my party: “Complete gender equality, nothing less, must be our over-riding goal. There must be neither compromise nor complacency. The struggle is joined. It must be brought to full fruition.”

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The candidate countries of Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, as well as the Republic of Moldova, Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia and Iceland, align themselves with this statement. On behalf of the European Union, I want to thank the two co-facilitators, my colleagues Ambassador Jomaa of Tunisia and Ambassador Intelmann of Estonia, for their tireless efforts in bringing Member States to this consensus decision on the establishment of a new gender entity and for bringing about progress in other important areas within the system-wide coherence process. I would also like to thank you personally, Mr. President, and the Secretary-General for the commitment and leadership you have shown in this negotiation. I also wish to thank my colleague Ambassador Puri, Permanent Representative of India, for the crucial role he played in very ably steering the consultations of the past few days that led to this result. Our gratitude also goes to the Deputy Secretary- General and all others involved in this process. The European Union welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence, and in particular the establishment of UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, which is to be operational by 1 January 2011. After four years of negotiations, the merger of several bodies into one, new strengthened gender entity is a new milestone in the reform of the United Nations. It demonstrates the willingness of the membership for reform. The European Union encourages the United Nations system to carry on in that direction. From an early stage in this process, the European Union strongly supported the creation of a composite entity in order to strengthen the capacity, accountability and effectiveness of the United Nations system in the area of gender equality. The entity will be in a position to close the current gap between the normative and operative work of the United Nations in this area, promote effective system-wide mainstreaming in the United Nations system and strengthen accountability. Through this new body, the United Nations will be in a stronger position to meet the urgent and ever-increasing requests by Governments in support for gender equality and the empowerment of women. With regard to the governing body of the operational activities of the new entity, the European Union still believes that an independent segment of the United Nations Development Programme or the United Nations Population Fund would have been most appropriate for ensuring efficiency and coherence. However, in the spirit of compromise and flexibility, we have accepted the establishment of a new executive board. Smooth efficient functioning by the board and strong performance by the entity will ensure the level of funding required for its operational activities, to which the European Union and its member States remain fully committed. Strong leadership will be essential in order to implement the provisions of the resolution unanimously adopted today. Therefore, the European Union calls on the Secretary-General to urgently advance the appointment of the new Under-Secretary- General of UN Women so that she or he will be in a position to lead the development of the new entity from the early stages. In the next few months, the four entities will come together under the leadership of the future Under-Secretary-General. During the transition period, it will be particularly important to ensure that all activities currently carried out by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) can continue and that the dissolution of UNIFEM as a separate entity does not translate into any disruption in the field or at Headquarters. The European Union wants to recognize the essential contribution of civil society throughout the negotiations for the new gender entity. The resolution before us underlines the vital role of civil society organizations in all its future work. The new Under- Secretary-General will have the important task of ensuring that effective means are established for ensuring meaningful consultations with civil society organizations at all levels. With regard to other areas of the system-wide coherence process, the European Union welcomes the progress made so far in the areas of the funding and governance of operational activities for development. The final purpose of the reform in all these areas should be to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to deliver better assistance for poor and vulnerable people according to their needs and priorities. In particular, the European Union warmly welcomes the support that the General Assembly gives to the initiative of some countries to use common country programmes on a voluntary basis, thus responding to the needs and demands emerging at the country level. In addition, the General Assembly welcomes the ongoing process in the Delivering as One pilot initiative, as recently recognized in the Hanoi intergovernmental meeting and in Kigali. The European Union is encouraged by that positive trend and looks forward to a swift start to the independent evaluation of that experience, as mandated of the Secretary-General in previous General Assembly resolutions. The European Union believes that during this process we have developed an improved understanding of the implications of various forms of funding. We need to continue to build on that and to improve the funding architecture of United Nations operational activities for development, in order to make it more effective, transparent and accessible and more in line with the national priorities of developing countries. While we explore new ideas and concepts, we must reiterate that it is increased coherence, efficiency, transparency and accountability in the management and delivery of United Nations development cooperation that in the end will translate into the increased quantity and quality of funding flows. The European Union will continue to work actively in all those crucial areas of United Nations efforts in future sessions of the General Assembly and in all relevant forums.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Canada, Australia and New Zealand appreciate the leadership and support of the Secretary-General and of the Deputy Secretary-General and her team throughout the journey to achieve this resolution. Of course, we also appreciate the efforts of agencies, Member States and civil society partners. We particularly thank and congratulate the co-facilitators, Ambassador Intelmann and Ambassador Jomaa, for their significant work in fostering consensus. We would also like to express our appreciation to you, Mr. President, and especially to Vice-President Ambassador Puri for the leadership necessary to delivering the final agreement. Of course, as the Secretary-General has noted, we should not forget the vital contribution made by co-facilitators from previous sessions — including, over the past two years, our colleagues from Spain, Namibia, Ireland and Tanzania, as well as by previous General Assembly Presidents, especially Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann during the sixty-third session. Coming to a consensus has obviously been a challenge. We all know that, and the collective efforts of many have brought us to the adoption of today’s outcome. As a result, however, the resolution strongly demonstrates the commitment of Member States to United Nations operational activities and the will to make progress on reform efforts, ensuring a stronger and more effective role for the Organization in the area of development. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are fully committed to working with all partners to strengthen the United Nations development system so that it can respond more effectively to the needs and requests of programme countries. It is our hope that key proposals in the governance section of the resolution will help to achieve more informed, responsive and committed decision-making from the relevant intergovernmental bodies. The relevance of the operational work of the United Nations to today’s development challenges vitally depends on that. We look forward to the results of the independent evaluation of the Delivering as One pilot initiative during the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly so that we can collectively improve our understanding and, in turn, our support to those countries. We look forward to seeing that evaluation carried out in line with the highest standards of independence and professionalism, and with United Nations norms and standards for evaluation. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are obviously particularly pleased that the Assembly has acted decisively to establish and operationalize the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. This is a key, historic milestone that we have been working towards for a long time — since the Beijing Declaration — and it is important that we have achieved this in the lead-up to September’s Millennium Development Goals summit. UN Women will strengthen the voice and action of the United Nations on gender equality and women’s empowerment. It will also strengthen United Nations operational support to Member States for the effective delivery of our collective commitments, including the promotion and protection of women’s rights under national ownership and national leadership. We all know that the empowerment of women is an indispensable element in eliminating poverty. As we have heard this week repeatedly in the Development Cooperation Forum, empowering women legally, financially and through education has significant positive impact on the whole community, including healthier and better-educated children, more responsive governance, improved agricultural productivity and improved newborn and maternal health. Strong leadership of the new entity will have an enormous impact globally, not just on women but on girls and boys, women and men. We must not lose momentum in following through decisively on this resolution. We would ask the Secretary-General to accelerate the recruitment for the head of UN Women through an open and transparent process, and we urge Member States to submit their best candidates quickly to the Secretary-General. We urge all Member States to lend their full support to UN Women to ensure a smooth transition period over the coming months, including through the new executive board. We look forward to a strong, strategic and technically skilled executive board to support UN Women through the transition and beyond in its full operations. In conclusion, UN Women can certainly count on Australia, Canada and New Zealand for strong support over the coming years.

The process of negotiation that has taken several years and a lot of dedication on the part of many has reached an outcome this afternoon. It was a privilege to be closely involved in the final stretch and to build on the outstanding results achieved by the previous co-facilitators on system-wide coherence. Estonia hopes that the implementation of resolution 64/289 will improve the response of the United Nations development system to countries’ needs. We also hope that the creation of UN Women will ensure greater coherence, help to overcome previous fragmentation and create a strong advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women. During the negotiations we witnessed the active engagement of all Member States, for which we would like to thank them sincerely and acknowledge that without their flexibility and results-oriented mindset we would not have reached a successful conclusion. My sincere thanks go to the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, the Office of the Deputy Secretary-General and the entire Secretariat for their support and valuable help. I would like to convey special thanks to the President of the General Assembly and his Office and to the Vice-Presidents for their engagement, support and leadership. Once more, I would like to express my gratitude for and highlight the outstanding work done by the Chairs of working groups and all other delegations that have facilitated our work and helped us on the way to reaching consensus.

It is a pleasure to address the Assembly today and to offer my congratulations on its adoption of resolution 64/289, on system-wide coherence. This is a historic occasion and a milestone in the work of the Organization and its efforts to develop its working methods and adopt reform measures that respond to the needs and expectations of Member States and of every country of the world in order to elevate our Organization to the heights we all expect. I would like to highlight the importance of this occasion and to acknowledge the participation of all of those who have contributed to this achievement. I shall therefore try to use all the official languages of the United Nations I can in expressing my gratitude. I apologize for not having mastered all of them. I would like to express my appreciation for the great support of the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, during the negotiations on the resolution. I thank him for his continued readiness to provide support and encouragement during the negotiations to achieve the results we have attained. I also wish to thank the members of his staff and the Director of his Office, who provided us the necessary facilities to further the negotiations. (spoke in English) I would also like to seize this historic opportunity to extend my warmest thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon for his personal commitment, especially to the reform process and generally for his tireless efforts to improve the working methods of the Organization and enhance its effectiveness and efficiency in all areas and at all levels. At the same time, I extend my warmest thanks to Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General, who has accompanied us in this process with a clear perspective and provided all the help we requested from her. I cannot neglect to deeply and sincerely thank all Member States, ambassadors, experts and advisors. In particular, I would like to thank Ambassador Puri of India for his incredibly committed, steadfast and hard work, during which he put in late nights to enable us to achieve this historic result. I also wish to express my deep gratitude to the members of the Secretariat, the men and women who work in various United Nations agencies and organs and several United Nations departments, who advised us and provided us, generously and in a timely manner, with the necessary information and needed clarification when pessimism and doubt sometimes overtook the process. I would honestly like to name them one by one. In the interest of time, however, Ambassador Intelmann and I would like to thank them all collectively. Without sincere and transparent cooperation between Member States and regional groups, including their willingness to get things done and reach tangible results, this process would not have been successful. I therefore thank the Ambassadors of Yemen and Egypt as co-Chairs of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement, the Ambassador of Spain as acting head of the delegation of the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and, in fact, all Member States without exception. (spoke in French) Among other things, resolution 64/289 provides us with an entity on gender equality that will allow us to make a difference with regard to all aspects of women’s programmes. An entity of this scope will add a new dimension to the work of the United Nations. Our efforts henceforth should focus on practical aspects of establishing the entity and implementing its ambitious agenda. My country, which has conferred privileged status on women and a valued role as active and fully participating partners, welcomes this result that brings credit to us all. Tunisia, through its leadership and based on its cutting edge initiatives in this area and its extensive experience, will always fully support and faithfully and actively contribute to supporting those issues in its strategic choices. With this resolution, governance of the operational activities for development of the United Nations will take place in an institutional and legal framework that will be more harmonized, and therefore more effective. We thus hope to have positive results in the very near future. (spoke in Spanish) I would like to conclude by emphasizing that the United Nations has demonstrated that, with the sincere will of its Member States, the Secretariat and all of its partners, reform is possible and that improving the services of the Organization is our priority in order to respond to the national needs of Members and all social segments. This exercise, which we are concluding today with great success, is the best illustration of that fact. Despite our differences, we as Member States have together sent a clear message to the entire world that we are capable of reconciling our differences, make mutual concessions and establish as our absolute priority the common interests of our peoples and of the Organization.

The United States welcomes the adoption of this landmark resolution creating UN Women — a new, consolidated agency that will give one powerful voice to United Nations efforts to strengthen gender equality and empower women around the world. Resolution 64/289 is the product of years of effort and months of intensive negotiations on the final details. It shows what we can accomplish when we transcend traditional differences and work across boundaries towards a common purpose. Let me express our deep appreciation for the skill and dedication of the two co-facilitators — the Permanent Representatives of Estonia and Tunisia — and for the guidance that you, Mr. President, and your designated representative, the Permanent Representative of India, provided in the crucial final stages of the negotiations. Our efforts have also built on groundwork laid by co-facilitators from the sixty-first, sixty-second and sixty-third sessions of the General Assembly. They also benefited from the personal commitment of Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and Deputy Secretary-General Migiro. We thank them along with all of the experts who laboured so hard to create this new body. Let us be clear as to why this agency is so needed. So many women and girls around the world face daunting challenges — some common to all women, some particular to their own unique circumstances. So many women and girls will have high expectations for this vital new agency. The United States looks forward to working with UN Women, which has an impressive mandate to deal with the full range of issues that affect women’s lives — from women’s rights to women’s economic empowerment; from women, peace and security to women’s political participation — to ensure that these high expectations are realized. This new agency must be a catalyst within the United Nations system, ensuring that United Nations funds and programmes and the Secretariat fully address the issues within their mandates that affect women and girls. We also expect UN Women to undertake new activities on the ground to support women in areas that have not yet been fully addressed by the United Nations system. To play that challenging and ambitious role, UN Women will need a dynamic, strong and innovative leader who will bring fresh perspective, great energy and extensive skill to United Nations efforts to improve the lives of women in the twenty-first century. We urge the Secretary-General to appoint such a leader before the start of the next session of the General Assembly in September, as mandated by the resolution we have just adopted. While we have naturally focused today on the establishment of UN Women, we should also take note of the significant progress that this resolution represents in other areas of the system-wide coherence agenda. The resolution recognizes the importance of improving the system for funding operational activities and expanding the donor base. It also highlights the need to improve executive board oversight by making it easier for national policymakers from developing countries to participate. The United States will continue to work with our partners on those issues as they arise. The creation of this important new agency has been a collaborative effort involving many actors over many years, but, in a sense, our work has just begun. Now that this entity is a reality rather than an aspiration, we will all be put to the test. Now we must demonstrate our collective commitment to making UN Women a success and to improving the lives of women and girls around the world.

At the outset, allow me to congratulate the two co-facilitators, the Permanent Representatives of Estonia and Tunisia, and their respective delegations for their patience and able stewardship of the process that has led to the adoption of resolution 64/289. Let me also extend our appreciation to the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and their staff for their commitment to this process. Finally, I would like to congratulate you, Mr. President, and your able Vice-President, the Permanent Representative of India, for urging on us throughout the process. We warmly welcome the adoption of resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence. Our deliberations and negotiations at the United Nations can at times appear tedious, thankless and of minimal transformative effect. That is not the case today. This is indeed a pivotal moment in the reform of the United Nations. The establishment of a United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women is of critical importance, as it brings together for the first time the organizational structures, high-level leadership and resources necessary to enable Governments and the United Nations system to significantly increase their efforts to fulfil their promises on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights. For Rwanda, which has emerged as a global leader in the fight for gender equality and has the highest percentage of women parliamentarians in the world and a continuous commitment to promoting, accelerating and sustaining gender equality, UN Women offers us the opportunity to augment our achievements. We expect UN Women to bring the necessary leadership to shape and implement the policies needed to empower women, advance equality in a meaningful way and to hold us accountable to the goals and aspirations we set for ourselves. We look forward to the appointment of a strong Under- Secretary-General to give the entity the leadership it deserves. My Government stands ready to support the entity in every way possible. The outcome document of the intergovernmental meeting of the programme country pilots on “delivering as one”, held in Kigali in 2009, stated that the “delivering as one” approach had provided benefits for achieving better development results through increased national leadership and ownership in the development partnership with the United Nations system. It also stated that there was no going back to doing business in the manner in place prior to the “delivering as one” initiative. The programme country pilots, of which Rwanda is one, had the opportunity to present their country-led evaluations in Hanoi a few weeks ago. They all showed that implementing the “delivering as one” approach had brought about valuable opportunities to further strengthen the relevance, currency and comparative advantages of the United Nations system in direct support of the priorities and interests of programme countries. They also reaffirmed that there was no going back to doing business as usual and that “delivering as one” was the future of United Nations development activities. In that regard, we call on the Secretary- General to proceed with the modalities for the independent evaluation of lessons learned in “delivering as one” pilot countries. In conclusion, let me once again express our gratitude to all those who have contributed to this process. I urge everyone to ensure the swift implementation of this resolution.

At the outset, my delegation sincerely welcomes the adoption of resolution 64/289. We believe that the resolution will reinforce gender equality, the empowerment of women and the governance of operational activities for the development of the United Nations system in the context of system-wide coherence. I would also like to applaud the laborious efforts of the co-facilitators and of Ambassador Puri of India in bridging the various gaps among Member States during the long and arduous negotiating period. More than anything else, however, the commitment and aspirations of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Deputy Secretary-General Migiro for the realization of the UN Women composite entity should be fully recognized. Their commitments on the issue of system- wide coherence are integral to making the Organization more effective and coherent. As a strong supporter of the “delivering as one” approach, Korea welcomes the decision of particular countries to use common country programme documents, consistent with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework and other initiatives, to move forward discussions on “delivering as one”. As a new member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee, my country is planning to increase its overall official development assistance, which we plan to disburse through multiple channels, including the United Nations, in the knowledge that the United Nations will effectively deploy our resources. At the same time, we expect the United Nations to continue to enhance its accountability so that we can be convinced that our resources are being used effectively. As for the decline in core contributions against non-core contributions to the United Nations development system, we feel that the Organization should continue to examine ways of how non-core contributions can better meet development needs on the ground, while making efforts to increase core contributions. In that regard, the Republic of Korea has been enthusiastic about the creation of a new gender entity. We look forward to close coordination with it as it sets out to fulfil its mandate. I assure you, Mr. President, of my delegation’s full and unwavering support as we move forward. We are confident that the establishment of this singular, synergistic gender entity will go a long way towards fostering women’s empowerment throughout all parts of the United Nations system.

The Cuban delegation fully supports the statement delivered by Mrs. Moushira Khattab, Minister of State for Family and Population Affairs of Egypt, on behalf of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 and China. The resolution we have adopted today is the outcome of an arduous process with which we are satisfied. Transparency, inclusiveness and respect for the opinions of all Member States have prevailed. We are therefore grateful for the work of the co-facilitators of the negotiating process, Ambassador Tiina Intelmann of Estonia and Ambassador Ghazi Jomaa of Tunisia. We would also like to express our gratitude for the work undertaken by Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri of India in facilitating the achievement of a satisfactory agreement for all of us in the final phase. The creation of a new gender entity constitutes an historic step in the fulfilment of the commitments made at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 aimed at achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women in the world. Cuba’s active participation and innovative proposals in the negotiation of the new entity, whose establishment we support, reflect our country’s tradition as a defender of the advancement of women. Together with the Joint Coordinating Committee, Cuba encouraged most of the governing principles of the new entity that are included in the resolution. In particular, we defend the principle of universality because the advancement of women must be a reality in all countries and all regions. In the negotiations, we championed the creation of a new Executive Board as a governing body for the new entity, which will support the efforts of Member States on the ground. Furthermore, we promote the equitable geographic composition of the Board based on the percentage of the current membership of the General Assembly. We hope that the new entity, in accordance with the provisions of the resolution adopted today, will develop specific mechanisms in the follow-up to Beijing, including focus on the matter of populations affected by the imposition of unilateral coercive measures contrary to international law. It is important that the transitional agreements guarantee the continuity of the projects and programmes of the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women until the entity starts its work. Furthermore, aspects relating to the regular budget of the entity, as well as the financial regulation to be adopted for operational activities, must be preceded by analysis by the relevant specialized bodies. Although the resolution makes a clear appeal for strict respect for the national priorities of the recipient countries, the adaptation of the work of the United Nations on the ground to these priorities and the intention to impose single models of development and assistance were specific reasons for the delay in the negotiations that we have concluded successfully today. For Cuba, the main purpose of the funds, programmes and specialized agencies must be to achieve the objectives of the recipient countries in strict respect for the intergovernmental mandates established and avoiding bias towards specific groups of States. In this context, full transparency in the work of the United Nations Chief Executive Board for Coordination is essential. Cuba has taken due note of the modality that certain sister countries that are members of the Joint Coordinating Committee have adopted in order to carry out the work on the ground for the funds, programmes and specialized agencies — the so-called “delivering as one”. For our part, we are paying special attention to the independent evaluation of this exercise, which will be completed in the coming months. Cuba believes that the process for the selection of experts will be the exclusive responsibility of Member States of each regional group, without interference from the Secretariat or from other regional groups. We hope that the evaluation will take place with the clarity that the case deserves and that Member States will receive due information on the implementation of the evaluating process, its terms of reference and its results. The section of the resolution referring to financing makes a clear appeal for ensuring that the non-earmarked funds of the budgets, programmes, funds and specialized agencies be the basis of its operations. We are convinced that the critical mass of resources to be mobilized will represent only a small fraction of the exorbitant funds that are wasted on weapons of all types in the world today. Allow me to conclude by reaffirming Cuba’s commitment to the implementation of the resolution and our firm intention to continue to actively promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the world.

Colombia aligns itself with the statement made by the representative of Egypt on behalf of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the States members of the Group of 77 and China and the Non-Aligned Movement. We express our special gratitude to the Permanent Representatives of Egypt and Yemen and to the teams of their Missions for their efficient work in coordinating the position of the two main groups of the developing world, which allowed us to constructively contribute fundamental elements to the resolution that we have adopted today (resolution 64/289). My delegation welcomes the conclusion of the negotiations of the General Assembly on system-wide coherence that have taken place over several years. We trust that this resolution will allow us to strengthen governance and the financing of the operational activities of the United Nations for development and to harmonize specific institutional practices. We look forward to seeing the report that we have requested from the Secretary-General on the independent evaluation mechanisms, and we will follow up developments in the “delivering as one” model and to the common country programmes. Colombia especially welcomes the conclusion of the process of reform of the gender architecture and the creation of the new gender entity of the United Nations, UN Women. We are convinced that, with the establishment of the entity, we have taken an historic decision and a fundamental step towards strengthening the ability of the United Nations to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the world. My country values the work that has been done to date by people who have committed themselves to the four different entities that now have mandates in women’s affairs. We must recognize, however, that the reform adopted will allow us to put an end to institutional fragmentation that has limited opportunities for collective action. Today, we are demonstrating that, with a constructive dialogue, it is possible to find consensus on the reform processes required by the United Nations in order to restore coherence and strengthen the participation of all States in the work of the Organization. The new entity being established offers a unique opportunity to raise the political profile of gender equality and the empowerment of women at the United Nations and in the international context. The designated institutional set-up ensures the autonomy of the entity in the normative operations and policies defined in the instruments and resolutions of the United Nations. It will at the same time strengthen intergovernmental dialogue on the operational and international cooperation aspects of gender issues through the new Executive Board. Colombia hopes that the operationalization of the entity will enjoy the necessary financial, technical and human resources to achieve the goals of incorporating the gender perspective into all relevant activities of the United Nations, as well as to give greater support to States in their national efforts, which will allow us to make progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the world. We hope that the new entity will demonstrate constructive and effective leadership based on efficiency, transparency and accountability, and that it will be fully capable of respecting the crucial purpose of the United Nations — achieving international cooperation in the different areas relating to its mandates. To conclude, I would like to express my delegation’s gratitude to all Permanent Representatives who acted as facilitators in that process at recent sessions of the General Assembly. In particular, we acknowledge the efforts of the Permanent Representatives of Tunisia and Estonia and the excellent work of the Permanent Representative of India, whose mediation skills made it possible to resolve the most critical issues at the final stage of the consultations that we have completed today. Colombia declares its backing for the new gender entity and hopes that all States will support it resolutely so that the principles, objectives and hopes reflected in the resolution become a reality that benefits all the women of the world.

My delegation joins in welcoming the unanimous adoption of resolution 64/289. We align ourselves with the statement made by the Minister of State for Family and Population Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt on behalf of the Joint Coordinating Committee. We would like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro and you, Mr. President, for the valuable guidance, contribution and commitment to the general reform process. On behalf of my delegation, I would like to thank the facilitators, my colleagues Mrs. Tiina Intelmann, Permanent Representative of Estonia, and Mr. Ghazi Jomaa, Permanent Representative of Tunisia, for their tireless efforts in bringing Member States to this consensus decision on the establishment of a new gender entity. The decision follows almost three years of extensive consultations and negotiations on the structure and operational modalities of the entity. I am pleased to say that the facilitators rose to the challenge, personally investing a great deal of time and energy in exploring the issues thoroughly and in seeking the views of Governments, civil society representatives and officials of the United Nations system through an extensive series of thematic consultations. We recognize the importance of a strengthened United Nations gender architecture in advancing women’s rights and the need to improve gender equality and the empowerment of women in order to build sustainable, just and developed societies. We also recognize that gender equality is a prerequisite to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals. In that regard, my delegation warmly welcomes the General Assembly’s strong and unanimous support for the establishment of a United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, to be known as UN Women and to be operational by 1 January 2011. We strongly believe that the new entity will bring about an important shift in the United Nations work in the area of gender equality and the empowerment of women, and will enable it to respond better to the challenges and more effectively to support countries in their efforts to achieve their development goals. We also welcome the fact that the entity will provide guidance and technical support to Member States on gender equality and the empowerment and rights of women, as well as gender mainstreaming, through its normative support functions and operational activities. Botswana’s commitment to issues concerning the empowerment of women continues to be inspired by its accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol, among other things. In that context, our country has developed a number of national gender-responsive instruments to guide its efforts. In conclusion, I wish to reiterate my delegation’s unwavering commitment to the promotion and protection of equal rights for all. We remain convinced that we must all do our part in taking the actions needed, as set forth in our common endeavour to meet universal goals.

The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania welcomes the consensus adoption of resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence. We align ourselves with the statement made by Minister Moushira Khattab, Minister of State for Family and Population Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, on behalf of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Group of 77 and China and the Non-Aligned Movement. We join others in congratulating our two facilitators, Ambassador Intelmann of Estonia and Ambassador Jomaa of Tunisia, for the achievements that we have registered in all areas, in particular in strengthening institutional arrangements for the support of gender equality and the empowerment of women. In adopting the resolution, we should applaud our achievement in the decision that we have taken today to establish UN Women, an entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. The establishment of UN Women should usher in a new era in our efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women. In that regard, we expect the gender entity to have a strong presence in the field and to be better resourced to support the efforts of Governments, in particular those of developing countries, in promoting gender equality and the advancement of women. It is our expectation, too, that UN Women will ensure the coordination and coherence of efforts to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women within the United Nations family in the field and at Headquarters. Furthermore, the establishment of UN Women and the expectations placed in it should motivate Governments to provide more voluntary contributions to enable the entity to meet the needs of women in the field. We look forward to the operationalization of UN Women, and therefore call on the Secretary-General to appoint a competent Under-Secretary-General of UN Women as a matter of urgency. In that regard, we also welcome today’s announcement by the Secretary- General on the appointment of the Deputy Secretary- General to oversee the transition period until a new Under-Secretary-General is appointed. That will ensure continuity in the process of putting in place the new entity. Women in the field have been eagerly waiting for such a gender entity. Let us not delay them further. As a pilot country for the “delivering as one” initiative, we welcome the fact that the Secretary- General is encouraged to proceed with the modality for an independent evaluation of country pilots under the initiative, and we wish to underscore the need for a speedy execution of the independent evaluation of pilot countries. We further welcome the support given through the resolution to those countries that wish to present a common country programme document to do so. That is the path that the Government of Tanzania wishes to take as, for our part, it will further strengthen the coherence of United Nations programmes at the country level. We therefore encourage Member States to continue to support the Government of Tanzania and other countries wishing to do that. In conclusion, allow me also to recognize the leadership that has been provided by the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General for the successful conclusion of the negotiations.

The Dominican Republic fully associates itself with the statement made by Mrs. Moushira Khattab, Minister of State for Family and Population Affairs of Egypt, who took the floor on behalf of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 and China. The Dominican Republic shares the delight of the Member States celebrating the adoption of resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence, which creates a new entity, UN Women, to bring together hereafter the work previously carried out by four other institutions. Millions of women and girls around the world await us to recognize their rights and their needs, protection and support for their families, justice, opportunities to learn and grow without limitation or fear, to hold important positions in the world and to enjoy equal opportunities in their homes, classrooms and at work. The Dominican Republic hopes that working with and for them from a single institution will enable us to address the many needs that have for so long been unmet in so many corners of the world. For this reason, the Dominican Republic commends and thanks the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly for their leadership, as well as the Vice-President of the General Assembly, the Permanent Representative of India, for guiding us through the difficult process of these past few days. The Dominican Republic extends its appreciation to the Permanent Representatives of Estonia and Tunisia for their dedicated and tireless work at the forefront of this process and for maintaining a constructive spirit throughout, and to the chairs of the regional groups for their work and spirit of flexibility. We also extend our thanks to the members of the Secretariat, whose assistance has been instrumental to this process. My country would like especially to thank and recognize the Ambassadors of Egypt and Yemen, representing the Joint Consultative Committee, and members of their respective delegations for their tireless sacrifice and outstanding work, their great negotiating skills, their spirit of solidarity in defence of the interests of all members of our group, their determination to see our concerns reflected in the text we have adopted today, and their endless efforts to achieve the necessary agreements both within our group and with other colleagues, all of which have made it possible to reach this happy conclusion. The Dominican Republic has a long tradition of fighting for gender equality and the rights of women. For that reason, since 1983 our country has hosted the headquarters of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), providing it with suitable physical facilities and unflagging support, given the developing countries’ high political interest in the Institute. From the Dominican Republic, INSTRAW has done important work with regard to gender training and research. If this were not enough, INSTRAW houses technology support teams that have allowed the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to continue to function after the earthquake of 12 January devastated its facilities in Haiti. Since then, INSTRAW’s premises have housed MINUSTAH’s logistical support operations, which could not function in the neighbouring country. The Dominican Republic believes that the establishment of UN Women will raise the importance of the gender issue to the same level as that of other priority issues of the United Nations, including development, human rights, peace and security. The Dominican Republic trusts that the integration of INSTRAW’s mandate into the functions of UN Women will be effective, resulting in training and research work with greater impact, supported by generous and predictable resources and managed by efficient and able personnel. The Dominican Republic hopes that UN Women will pursue its training and research work from its physical location in the Dominican Republic for the sake of preserving the geographic balance of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77. The Dominican Republic is confident that the experience and knowledge acquired by INSTRAW’S staff will be recognized by UN Women, as they deserve consideration within the same categories as other United Nations personnel working in other agencies, even though they have been working for many years based on temporary contracts due to the lack of predictable resources. May the spirit of compromise that helped us throughout the negotiation process show not only that improving the United Nations system is not a mere exercise in organizational engineering or spending cuts, but that, with coherence, we can efficiently fulfil the dreams of millions of girls and women worldwide with dignity and without discrimination.

The delegation of the Russian Federation was pleased to join the consensus adoption of resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence. Like other speakers, we thank the current coordinators of the negotiation process, the Permanent Representatives of Tunisia and Estonia, and their predecessors in those positions. My delegation is convinced that, without their sustained combination of diplomatic tact and assistance, we would not have achieved this result. We give the highest possible commendation to India’s efforts under Mr. Puri’s very professional and effective chairmanship; he was able to resolve problems that seemed at times to all of us insurmountable. We further welcome the political will and spirit of compromise shown by all participants in the negotiation process, including individual States Members and groups of States. This was to be expected when the issue at stake was the harmonious functioning of the United Nations system, including the important issue of ensuring gender equality and expanding women’s rights. The resolution provides for a number of important measures aimed at improving system-wide coherence and avoiding duplication. First and foremost among those measures is reform of the United Nations gender architecture and the creation of a new hybrid body on that topic. This step is unprecedented in all its aspects, as similar structures do not exist within the structure of the Organization. We are satisfied by the agreement reached on that question. We feel that the compromise outcome will enable us to resolve the task of improving the effectiveness of the United Nations in this field. We also believe that one guarantee of the effective functioning of the future hybrid instrument is the universal geographical scope of its mandate covering all countries and all regions, for no State in the world today is entirely free of violations against women’s rights. Another important element is this instrument’s accountability to Member States. Its functioning will be reviewed three years after the resolution’s adoption. It is therefore important to prevent any disruption of work during the so-called transition period. The Russian delegation believes that the provisions of the resolution will avert any such situation. We also welcome the balanced wording of the resolution regarding the management, financing and assessment of the operational activities and harmonization of procedures. We support the decision to enhance transparency and accountability in the work of the United Nations Chief Executives Board for Coordination. We believe that this will serve as a sound basis for enhancing the efficiency of cooperation among Member States in the Economic and Social Council and the Committee for Programme and Coordination. A serious step forward has been made in regard to the procedures for adopting common country programmes. It was important that a realizable and practical option was chosen, affirming the mandate and prerogatives of the executive boards of programmes and funds. Of course, at the same time, the Chief Executives Board will of course continue to act as a platform for discussion of the issues common to all bodies at the country level, but it must preserve its strictly unofficial status. We welcome the “delivering as one” pilot initiative. A great deal will depend on the precise fulfilment of the agreements achieved on the establishment of assessment bodies. We are ready to participate actively in developing the format and modalities of a future possible independent assessment system, with a thematic scope of work to be defined in the United Nations operational activities. We believe that the proposal submitted to the Secretary-General will ensure agreement within the United Nations and the involvement of all interested entities. We believe that future discussion of the issue of enhancing the effectiveness of the United Nations system will take place within the framework of a regular four-year review of its operational activities, for which we should start preparing at the sixty-fifth session of the Assembly. In this way, the process of consultations on system-wide coherence has reached its conclusion. Finally, the resolution we have adopted today is as yet only a document. When it comes to translating its provisions into practical measures, its effectiveness will depend on all of us. We States Members of the United Nations are responsible for the decisions we make and for the effectiveness of our Organization.

At the outset, my delegation would like to express our sincere appreciation to the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Treki, and facilitators Ambassador Intelmann and Ambassador Jomaa for their dedicated leadership, patience and tireless efforts, which have led us to an agreement on today’s landmark resolution 64/289. We also extend our appreciation to Ambassador Puri for his commitment and excellent coordination during the final stage of the negotiations. Our thanks also go to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Deputy Secretary- General Migiro for their strong leadership. Had we not had that leadership, we would not have achieved the adoption of the resolution today. My delegation welcomes the adoption by consensus of the resolution on system-wide coherence and its creation of a new entity, UN Women. In fact, this is something of an historic moment, as our action unites four currently separate gender-related bodies and ensures that leadership will be provided at a higher level by an Under-Secretary-General. We hope that the Secretary-General will appoint the leader of the new body in a timely manner. For its part, Japan will spare no effort to support UN Women and its head in their efforts to mainstream gender throughout the United Nations system. Throughout the discussions on this issue, it has been Japan’s strong conviction that the United Nations system should tighten the links between its normative and policymaking functions and its operational activities. The system should make the bottom-up and the top-down processes echo one another, mutually reinforcing each other in order to improve the coherence and the effectiveness of the Organization’s work, including in the area of gender equality and the empowerment of women. My delegation will carefully observe and check to see if substantial efficiency gains are achieved in the implementation of this hard-won resolution, and if the savings generated are reinvested into programme activities intended to address the real issues on the ground in support of women in need of protection and empowerment. Finally, my delegation very much hopes that the new entity, UN Women, will cooperate closely with other agencies in a manner that contributes to the mainstreaming of the gender perspective and policies throughout the United Nations system and that enhances the coherence of gender-related activities conducted by various United Nations agencies on the ground.

Like other delegations, we associate ourselves with the statement by Minister Moushira Khattab on behalf of the Joint Coordinating Committee. We welcome the historic adoption of resolution 64/289, creating the long-awaited United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). Almost four years after the publication of the report of the High-Level Panel on United Nations System-wide Coherence (A/61/583), and after prolonged negotiations in which our country participated actively in support, the joint efforts of Member States and civil society have led to the creation of an entity that will enable us to respond effectively to the aspirations of women all over the world. We hope that UN Women will be fully operational as soon as possible and that its funding will be supported. We also call for the transition process to be conducted in a way that will not unnecessarily prejudice operations on the ground or personnel working in the four institutions subsumed into UN Women. We would like to thank the Permanent Representatives of Estonia and Tunisia as facilitators of the process, the Permanent Representatives of Yemen and Egypt for their leadership and contributions, and the Permanent Representative of India, Ambassador Puri, who contributed so much to the success of the negotiations. Clearly, the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General deserve our gratitude and thanks for this result. We also thank the staff of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and the Division for the Advancement of Women, as well as all the experts who took part in the negotiations for so many years. We understand that every delegation has had to make concessions, including us. We believe that the higher good will prevail, and in this case the creation of the entity is a benefit our country has long desired, knowing that through it we are contributing to the greater coherence, efficiency, transparency and accountability of the United Nations system in matters of gender and to its progress towards the gender equality and the empowerment of women to which we all aspire.

Mexico welcomes the Assembly’s adoption by consensus of resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence, establishing the new gender entity UN Women. Its broad mandate and necessary leadership in promoting the gender perspective throughout the United Nations system will give new impetus to a topic that is important to all. I would like to express our gratitude to the Permanent Representatives of Estonia and Tunisia for the way in which they guided our discussions, and to the Permanent Representative of India, Ambassador Puri, who, in his capacity as Vice-President of the General Assembly, was able to give the process the political impetus necessary for its conclusion. Our thanks go to all delegations for their contributions and efforts. The establishment of UN Women reflects the commitment of all States Members of the United Nations to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Moreover, it is an demonstration that we can reach agreement and reconcile various points of view for a higher common good. The recognition that gender equality is a topic of universal scope and the prioritization of the promotion and protection of the human rights of women and girls are encouraging indicators of the impact that the new entity will have on the lives of thousands of women and girls throughout the world. Working on the basis of those principles and defining innovative areas for State participation, we hope that a greater number of countries will support the operational activities of the entity. However, there is no question of reinventing everything. The key to success will be in building on the experience and excellent work carried out for years by such exemplary institutions as the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. In Latin America and the Caribbean, these institutions are widely recognized for their contribution to gender equality in our region. We hope that the entity will seek to strengthen their programmes and actions for the women and girls of our region. Civil society and non-governmental organizations have always been at the forefront with regard to gender equality and the promotion of women’s rights. We are certain that they will continue to be strategic partners of the entity and that the spheres of dialogue and cooperation between States and civil society will strengthen. As we have frequently pointed out, my delegation believes it of the greatest importance to increase the coherence and effectiveness on the ground of the United Nations development work. It is necessary to maximize the benefits of international efforts for development, in particular in a complex economic context, such as that of the current economic and financial crisis. We believe that the adoption of this resolution marks a significant development in that regard, given the inherent difficulties in transforming a complex system. We are convinced that, in the relevant areas, the principles and mandates included in the resolution will greatly contribute to increasing coherence in the Organization’s work.

By establishing the new gender entity, UN Women, today, we are truly rectifying an anomaly. We hope that this will prove to be a historic day for us, and in particular for the more than half the world’s population that is female, whose prospects and possibilities in life are inferior to those of boys and men in all countries. However, I believe that it is also fair to say that it is a historic day for the other half of the human population — those men and boys who benefit from healthy, educated girls and women taking part in all aspects of societal activities. The voluntary presentations of national policies on gender equality and the empowerment of women in the Economic and Social Council this week have revealed that, while progress is under way in most countries, women are still disadvantaged. Now, we are entering a period of transition. The new entity must be given the teeth and resources needed to allow it to serve countries’ needs and expectations. Leadership will be essential in that regard. It is our view that the selection of the Under- Secretary-General to head the new entity is extremely important. We trust that the Secretary-General will be guided by Article 101 of the Charter and that we, the Member States, will assist him in finding the strong and competent leader that we need. During the transition period, it will be particularly important to ensure that all activities currently carried out by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) can continue and that the dissolution of UNIFEM as a separate entity does not translate into any disruption in the field or at Headquarters. Norway is among the countries that have supported the gender structures of the United Nations both politically and financially in the past, and we will follow the appointment of the new leadership and the transition process and assess how we can and will contribute.

My delegation aligns itself with the statement made by Minister Moushira Khattab, Minister of State for Family and Population Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, on behalf of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the States members of the Group of 77 and China and the Non-Aligned Movement. We are pleased to note that, five years after our leaders committed to courses of action in the 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1), we can proclaim — in addition to other achievements, such as the establishment of the Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding Commission — another milestone in the reform of the new United Nations by adopting resolution 64/289 on system-wide coherence. That collective effort bodes well for us, the international community, in that we can look forward to other outstanding areas of reform, including that of the Bretton Woods institutions and the Security Council. We are encouraged by the adoption of the resolution in that it clearly signals to us that the work of the United Nations will be enhanced by a more coherent, integrated and well-coordinated machinery that will continuously monitor how it conducts its business by adopting better practices that will further the development agenda by integrating its governance framework, by further aligning its funding and programmes in a coherent and proactive manner consistent with country programmes and priorities, and by undertaking regular evaluations through a lessons- learned approach. The adoption of the resolution today marks an additional achievement, first, for the women of our world in according overdue recognition by elevating issues that are core to the well-being of women; secondly, for the United Nations as the integral global representative body by taking forward a powerful mandate on behalf of women; and thirdly, for the international community by bolstering our commitment to continuing to empower, advance and protect the interests of women. We look forward to the earliest operationalization of the new entity and count on its head being an ardent champion of the challenges and concerns of the billions of women around the world, especially on pressing social issues, such as poverty, health, education and violence. We also anticipate that the new Under-Secretary-General will amplify the economic and political voice of women. On consolidating the former United Nations gender agencies and programmes into the new body, we recognize that their mandates and functions will continue at the country level. I wish to express my delegation’s sincere appreciation for the sterling work and contributions that those agencies and programmes have made in furthering the interests and concerns of women. South Africa will work closely with the new entity, UN Women, in carrying out its mandate.

We have heard the last speaker in explanation of position. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 114.