UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001920

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SOCI PREF PREL UNFPA
SUBJECT: UNFPA SEGMENT OF THE SECOND REGULAR SESSION OF THE
2006 UNDP/UNFPA EXECUTIVE BOARD

REF: STATE 140666


1. Summary: At the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board meeting in
New York on September 11-13, UNFPA Executive Director
Obaid stressed the importance of equity and human rights
for the world's poorest and most disadvantaged people.
She said reproductive health, women's empowerment,
and gender equality remain UNFPA's priority
concerns. Obaid presented UNFPA's annual budgetary review
for 2005, noting that total income rose 12.5% to $565
million, including $365 million in regular resources.
Obaid also briefed the Board on UNFPA's $28 million draft
proposal for regionalization, in which UNFPA seeks to
increase its impact and effectiveness by placing more of
its staff overseas in regional centers, with less emphasis
on country missions. UNFPA Deputy Director Waki presented
UNFPA's draft strategy for increased participation in
emergency preparedness, humanitarian response, and
transition and recovery. Finally, UNFPA presented draft
country programs for 22 countries. End Summary

Executive Director Statement



2. United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA)
Executive Director Dr. Thoraya Obaid told the UNFPA
Executive Board at its Second Regular Session for 2006
that there is apprehension about the implications of UN
reform for the development agenda. UN reform is
essential, she stressed, but it should produce tangible
benefits for the poorest and most disadvantaged people on
earth and improve prospects for the least developed
countries. According to Obaid, putting people first and
focusing on human
rights - including the "right" to sexual and reproductive
health - will help meet international development goals
and contribute to achieving peace and security.
Developing national and local capacity, unleashing the
talents of people, slowing the spread of sexually
transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS, improving
reproductive and maternal health, and reducing social
conflict and poverty require progress in equity and human
rights.


3. Universal access to reproductive health, women's
empowerment, and gender equality remain UNFPA's priority

concerns, Obaid stated. Strengthening gender
mainstreaming and addressing the specific needs of women
will help reduce the gender based violence (GBV) that
continues in many countries, she said. Obaid noted other
recent or impending international efforts to improve the
situation of women, including: the Brussels International
Symposium on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Beyond - held
in June to enhance efforts to reduce GBV; UNFPA's Global
Campaign to End Fistula; upcoming conferences in Maputo
(September) and Bangkok (November) that would focus on
expanding access to sexual and reproductive health; the UN
General Assembly's September 14-15 High Level Dialogue on
Migration; and UNFPA's just-released annual State of the
World Population report that focused on women in
international migration.


4. Obaid also spoke at length about UNFPA's draft


proposal for regionalization (discussed in paras 9-10
below) and reviewed UNFPA's recent cooperative efforts
with other international organizations and UN bodies,
including the World Bank, UNICEF, and WHO. She noted that
UNFPA is seeking funds for the Global Programme to Enhance
Reproductive Health Commodity Security, which would ensure
the availability of life-saving supplies.

Funding



5. Obaid presented UNFPA's Annual Financial Review to the
Board. UNFPA total income in 2004-2005 increased by $62.8
million (or 12.5%) to $565 million, including $365.8
million in regular resources. UNFPA hopes to increase
funding from regular resources to $400 million in the very
near future. Total expenditures increased by $71.9
million (or 15.9%) to $523.3 million in 2005. Program
activities accounted for $68.1 million (or 95%) of the
increase. Unexpended regular resources carried forward
from 2005 to 2006 totaled $48.6 million, or 13.3% of
income for the year. Two new donors (Monaco and San
Marino) contributed to UNFPA in 2006, bringing the total
number of donors to 172 - a record high for UNFPA.

Emergency Preparedness, Humanitarian Response, Transition
and Recovery



6. UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Kunio Waki introduced
UNFPA's three year draft strategy for integrating the
Programme of Action (POA) of the International Conference
on Population and Development (ICPD) into emergency
preparedness, humanitarian response, and transition and
recovery. The strategy would incorporate the ICPD POA
into all relief and transition programming of UNFPA's
partners. UNFPA believes it would strengthen - not
duplicate or replace - existing tools such as the Central
Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Consolidated
Appeals Process (CAP) to build a leveraged and
mainstreamed approach to crises. It would also, according
to UNFPA, build national capacity and encourage
incorporation of ICPD into national policies and
frameworks. Finally, the strategy would build UNFPA's
institutional capacity to offer support in crises. UNFPA
requested that the Board authorize $8 million for core
resource requirements for 2007-2009, encourage
co-financing contributions of $13.6 million, and maintain
the emergency fund level at $3 million.


7. UNFPA Humanitarian Response Chief Pam Delargy stressed
that support for the most marginalized people in the world
is critical for meeting the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), including reducing maternal mortality and
increasing child survival. Paying special attention to
women during post-conflict recovery is critical for
sustainable development, she noted. There is a serious
need for improved cooperation at the international level
for reproductive health and gender needs, she said. UNFPA
is very small and has few resources, so it is critical
that its partners understand these issues. UNFPA strategy
is therefore to build awareness and capacity for
preparedness at the local level. It is cheaper and more


effective to plan and prepare than to react to
emergencies, she declared.


8. Board members expressed concern that UNFPA activities
in this area could duplicate existing programs, tools,
mechanisms, and efforts by other UN bodies and
international organizations, especially in light of the
new UN cluster approach. The United Kingdom inquired how
UNFPA planned to increase cooperation with other
agencies. Several members requested further clarity on
funding, and wondered if the funds requested would be
sufficient to accomplish the basic UNFPA goal of gender
mainstreaming. Others inquired about monitoring and
evaluation mechanisms. The UNFPA agreed to present
further information at the next Executive Board meeting.

Regionalization



9. Obaid spoke twice to the Board about UNFPA's
Regionalization plan. At an informal briefing the evening
before her formal opening statement to the Board, Obaid
said that UNFPA's staff (210 employees worldwide) is too
small to meet member needs or cooperate successfully in UN
Country Team programs or with other partners overseas
where the need is greatest. UNFPA hopes to better meet
those needs by repositioning more of its staff in
regional, sub-regional, area, and country offices while
still maintaining critical mass in UNFPA's New York
headquarters. UNFPA will seek to minimize costs by
co-locating as many of these offices as possible with
other UN agencies already in place. UNFPA anticipates
four main regional offices, one each in Addis Ababa,
Bangkok, Panama, and (possibly) Beirut that would be
responsible for broad areas covering many countries. For
example, one regional office would cover Eastern Europe,
the Middle East, and South Asia. UNFPA estimates that
regionalization will cost $28 million, which Obaid said
would come from "external sources", not core funds.


10. Several Board members, including UNFPA's strongest
supporters and largest donors, expressed deep concern
about the costs involved and questioned UNFPA's decision
to focus at the regional rather than country level. Some
demanded to know why UNFPA had selected certain countries
as the location for regional offices and expressed strong
doubt that regional offices could cover such large and
diverse areas. Others queried whether UNFPA had
adequately considered other UN bodies' regionalization
models. The Netherlands and Canada accused UNFPA of
presenting the regionalization proposal as a fait accompli
without adequately consulting the Board beforehand. Obaid
rejected the latter accusation. She promised that UNFPA
would hold several informal briefings on regionalization
for the Board before the end of October. During her
formal opening statement the following day, Obaid spoke at
length about the regionalization program, and promised to
keep the Board informed and engaged.

Country Programs



11. UNFPA presented 22 draft country programs (available


in advance of the Board meeting on the UNFPA website) to
the Board for consideration, including for Algeria,
Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Senegal,
South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar,
Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, English- and
Dutch-speaking Caribbean, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and
Uruguay. Deputy Executive Director Waki stressed that
UNFPA country level efforts emphasize and support national
ownership of the programs, reflect national plans and
priorities (including on HIV/AIDS), and reflect
international agreements and directions set by Member
States.


12. Board members were invited to present comments or
questions on the country programs at the Board meeting.
Several members made comments on country programs of
interest to them. Based on information provided by posts
in advance of the meeting, the U.S. delegation read
prepared statements on eight country programs - Gabon,
Zambia, Laos, Mongolia, El Salvador, English- and
Dutch-speaking Caribbean, and Paraguay.

BOLTON