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Mr President, honorable members of the Executive Board,

As always, it is a pleasure to join you.

In today’s session, together with my colleagues, I look forward to updating you both on our projects, as well as our reform journey - within our Comprehensive Response Plan and beyond.

Additionally, and similarly to previous updates and interactive dialogues focused on infrastructure, I look forward to providing you with a more detailed picture of procurement practices across the UN system, and more specifically at UNOPS.

Distinguished members,

Seventy-five years ago, Ralph Bunche, a UN mediator in the Middle-East, and a self-described “incurable optimist” described the United Nations as “the only bridge over which nations can come together to settle their differences.”

They were powerful words then - and remain equally true in the perilous times that we find ourselves in today. We should be immensely grateful that this bridge exists.

As we look forward to the Summit of the Future next month - it is urgent and vital to do all we can to strengthen that bridge.

As the Secretary-General has aptly put it: this is “the moment to agree on concrete solutions to challenges that have emerged or grown since 2015.”

At UNOPS, we pride ourselves on being focused on practical solutions.

And we stand ready to join the international community to bridge divides, address gaps, deliver action, and forge a path toward a brighter future.

Our focus remains resolutely on project implementation, in the service of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action and peace and security.

Allow me to start with highlighting some of the impact of our work, including in some very challenging contexts.

In Ukraine, two years and half into the conflict, our colleagues continue to deliver for communities, in a truly challenging working environment.

Ongoing hostilities, with intensified attacks on energy infrastructure, mean that they, like the communities they serve, have to do their best despite power rationing, water cuts and the stress and anxiety of war.

And yet, they remain and deliver tangible results - from bridges and rail repair equipment to renovated schools. From refurbished homes to improved utilities, and better physical safety.

They do this working closely with the Ukrainian government, and with the support of our partners, including the World Bank, the EU, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, and France, and others.

In one recent example, with funding from the World Bank, we delivered 18 modular bridges, worth over $23 million to the Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. These are structures that can be deployed quickly to replace damaged road connections and restore the flow of traffic.

With support from the European Union, UNOPS has restored 33 schools in Ukraine, part of a larger effort to repair over 75 educational institutions damaged by the ongoing conflict.

In the city of Mykolaiv, which is deeply impacted by the war, we are working with local partners to rebuild and revitalize the city, with support from Denmark,

This work focuses on rebuilding vital infrastructure and helping rejuvenate communities.

It means bringing in generators and heating solutions.

It means supporting the transport infrastructure that keeps the city running.

It means repairing people’s homes, establishing shelters at schools.

It means restoring a historical school building downtown that was hit by a missile.

It means all the things that can help make lives better, and restore a sense of normality, even as conflict still rages. 

In Gaza, more examples of our colleagues relentlessly delivering for people, in the most impossible of conditions.

There, UNOPS has delivered winterization and hygiene kits to families that have been displaced, and has contributed to the rapid damage assessment.

We have also been facilitating three critical initiatives that enable the work of the rest of the UN system and humanitarian responders in Gaza.

We play a key role in the challenge of getting fuel for critical humanitarian interventions into Gaza, to support efforts to provide access to water, sanitation, health care and other essential services.

Since December 2023, we have delivered more than 10 million litres of fuel into the territory, to help keep the lights on, power hospitals, and enable humanitarian actions. And we continue to monitor fuel deliveries under the humanitarian fuel mechanism, in support of the critical work of our sister agencies.

On behalf of OCHA, we continue our work to facilitate the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza and West Bank through the Access Coordination Unit.

And, since 23 December 2023, we have been working tirelessly to support the UN 2720 Mechanism on behalf of the Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator, which aims to increase and speed up the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

The mechanism is currently working to boost aid delivery from Cyprus and Jordan and remains focused on supporting the aid delivery via Egypt.

To date, nearly 13,000 Metric Tonnes of humanitarian aid have reached Gaza through the Cyprus Corridor. Through the Jordan corridor, nearly 11,000 pallets of aid have come through to date. More aid is on its way, including fresh food and blood donations.

We are thankful to all of the partners supporting the Mechanism, including the Netherlands, the UAE, Australia, Denmark, Estonia, New Zealand, and the Minderoo Foundation. The United States, too, has made a stand-alone contribution of $70 million to expand aid provision through the Jordan Corridor. This will among other things facilitate hundreds of trucks to deliver humanitarian aid and increase warehouse capacity to store supplies in Jordan.

Our efforts also continue within the broader Middle East region, which has been experiencing an extraordinary amount of violence, instability, and human tragedy. The effects of this as you know have been felt not only in the region, but also beyond.

Throughout the past year, UNOPS has been delivering critical interventions in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, in order to respond to the pressing challenges affecting the overall peace, security, stability, and future development in the region.

UNOPS presence in the region has addressed some of its most pressing challenges.

Electricity, road and municipal services access in Yemen; recovery and reconstruction of neighbourhoods in Beirut; rehabilitation of Iraq’s towns and communities to facilitate their revival; supporting the health sector in Syria; and cash for work interventions in Jordan.

These are some of the examples that demonstrate my colleagues’ dedication to improving lives and building hope, even as the situation remains unstable, the climate crisis wreaks havoc, and fragilities mount.

Conflicts - wherever they occur in this world - destroy lives and livelihoods. Beyond the immense human suffering they cause, they also reverse progress on human development. Despite this, many conflicts are so under-reported they risk being forgotten.

In June, I visited Mozambique, where the northern region of Cabo Delgado continues to be plagued by an armed insurgency.

Here, too, the impact of the violence on people’s lives and livelihoods - now seven years into this conflict - is very visible and distressing.

Over a million people have been displaced over these years. Many face a daily struggle to find food, security and shelter. Mozambique’s climate vulnerability - despite its minimal emission - has only made these challenges worse.

Here too I witnessed the life-changing work of UNOPS, as it works with the government and the World Bank to address response and recovery needs.

This work includes improving basic infrastructure, supporting sustainable livelihoods, increasing access to public services and encouraging social cohesion. And it will benefit over 680,000 people across 13 districts in Cabo Delgado.

We have a moral responsibility to respond to the urgent needs of these communities, and help build a more peaceful future - and in the meantime, we have a moral responsibility to remind the world about its many forgotten conflicts too.

Elsewhere too, our focus is on building a resilient, sustainable and inclusive future.

In Papua New Guinea, UNOPS is supporting broader efforts by the government and international partners to connect 70 per cent of the population to electricity by 2030. Here, funded by Australia and New Zealand, UNOPS is working to improve renewable energy solutions across many provinces.

In the Philippines, my colleagues are supporting peaceful, cohesive, and inclusive development in Mindanao. Together with other partners, and with funding from the European Union and Spain, we are working to establish an environment where democratic governance can flourish in the region.

In one strand of this work, UNOPS is building key infrastructure projects that contribute to sustainable development and community resilience. One such initiative is the new Indigenous People’s School of Living Traditions. This will help preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples, serving as a hub for cultural activities, conflict resolution, skills training, and community gatherings while promoting the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples.

And in Brazil, UNOPS is managing a four-year social programme to support communities impacted by the consequences of mining along the coastal state of Alagoas. Years of mining caused the ground above the mine to sink in 2018, damaging buildings and streets across five neighbourhoods in the city, displacing around 60,000. Through this work, UNOPS is helping to promote livelihoods and the economic development of the region and improve the quality of life of the affected communities.

Internal reforms

Distinguished members,

Allow me to now proceed to various aspects of our internal reforms.

Over two years have passed since our reform journey started.

In this time, under your guidance, we have demonstrated meaningful progress:

The work on the Comprehensive Response Plan is now in its final stages. Of the 43 recommendations, only three are left to complete in 2024. One - our multi-year initiative on process innovation and digitalization - will continue to 2027.

Assurance about the successful delivery of these reforms is of utmost importance.

To this end - UNOPS Internal Audit and Investigations Group has submitted the terms of reference for a second external third-party review on the implementation of the Comprehensive Response Plan.

This will be conducted in early 2025 - and will cover the recommendations that have been concluded by the end of 2024.

Allow me also to share some more details on our Process Innovation and Digitalization Programme.

This as you know is a five-year initiative (2023-2027), which seeks to simplify and digitalize our processes, allowing us to improve our evidence-base for decisions, enhance controls, and deliver more efficiently - all with the goal of better serving our partners and beneficiaries worldwide.

My colleagues have already shared with the Executive Board an implementation strategy and a roadmap for this programme.

Currently, a review of all of our processes and systems is underway. It will result in the delivery of an enhanced enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for UNOPS, along with specialized systems in areas such as Human Resources, Procurement, Finance, and Project Management.

Elsewhere, we continue to make progress in our lengthy efforts to negotiate the settlement process of excess reserves with some of the remaining key partners. We have now settled more than $115 million, out of the overall amount, around 93 per cent of the total.

Honorable members,

Our reforms - guided by you - are having an impact.

Our work is in demand - and we are regaining the trust of our partners.

As you know, every other year, we commission a third-party to conduct our partner survey. This is an important tool to help us understand how effectively we meet our partners’ expectations and identify ways to better serve their needs. The insights gained from this year’s survey will also inform our thinking as we prepare for our 2026-29 Strategic Plan.

The key preliminary results from our 2024 partner survey reveal a significant increase in global partner satisfaction and trust in UNOPS as a reliable implementation partner.

Notably, more than 80 per cent of respondents reported satisfaction with our services, and expressed interest in working with UNOPS again.

Partners continue to express demand across all our service lines, and signal an opportunity for UNOPS to deliver more advanced and integrated solutions.

Preliminary results also indicate that our partners acknowledge UNOPS as a potential implementing partner across all SDGs, particularly highlighting health; infrastructure; and partnerships for the goals.

On procurement

Honorable delegates,

Responding to today’s multifold challenges depends on our ability to deliver goods and services to those who need it most.

And I want to use my statement today to bring more attention to the topic of procurement, both across the UN system, and more specifically at UNOPS.

Procurement is simply a reality of nearly every sustainable development activity - but it is also true that public procurement has a huge impact on the climate, and plays a key role in efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

The sheer scale of public spending gives it the potential to create jobs, drive equality and reduce carbon emissions.

The same principles apply to our own UN practices. To quote the Secretary General: "The United Nations oversees the spending of billions of dollars every year – on medicines, safety equipment, vehicles, and other goods and services. It is essential that this money is spent efficiently, effectively, and sustainably, and contributes to our efforts to be more agile and responsive.”

The Annual Statistical Report on UN Procurement is testament to the scale and impact of this critical discipline. This report, compiled by UNOPS on behalf of the UN system, analyzes the combined annual spending on goods and services across the UN family.

The 2023 Report showed how 32 UN organizations spent $24.9 billion on goods and services last year.

Now in its 40th year, the report shows the continued emphasis that organizations place on sustainable procurement. In 2023, almost all agencies reported on the inclusion of environmental, social and economic considerations in their procurement activities - which is testament to the increasing acknowledgment of the potential that procurement practices can have to contribute to our global goals.

Health was the largest procurement category, with the 32 reporting UN agencies procured $4.8 billion worth of health-related goods and services in 2023.

And while the UN has a truly global supply chain, suppliers in Asia were responsible for the largest proportion of procurement by region, followed by Europe, whereas Africa increased its share of total UN procurement and represented one-fifth of the global total.

In addition, the report provides crucial insight into the UN procurement practices in least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states. These are crucial trajectories: we know that through our procurement practices, we have an opportunity to build capacity among local goods and service providers, and to foster local economic opportunities. 

There are many more details in the report and I encourage all members to read the full report. You can find a link to it on our website.

Excellencies,

I have provided an overview of procurement practices across the UN system.

Allow me to briefly also speak about our own practices at UNOPS.

Procurement - as you know - is our largest service line in terms of delivery volume. In 2023, 35 per cent of UNOPS delivery was in procurement services. 

From procuring emergency shelter, medical supplies and water purification systems to address the devastating floods in Pakistan, to providing essential medical supplies, equipment and logistical support in Ukraine. We responded to the ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa, complex emergencies in Afghanistan, Gaza and Yemen, and natural disasters in Madagascar and the Philippines.

In 2023, UNOPS procured about $1.6 billion of goods and services from more than 5,700 suppliers, on behalf of 184 different partners.

Sustainable procurement is a key priority for UNOPS and our procurement practices continue to highlight our commitment to supporting local economic growth, advancing equality and accelerating the SDGs.

In 2023, this included procurement activities in:

• 43 least developed countries,

• 31 landlocked developing countries,

• 28 Small Island Developing States.

UNOPS respects and supports national ownership while empowering countries to procure for themselves. Beyond our direct procurement on behalf of partners, we provide advice for governments to accelerate project delivery and strengthen national capacity. In 2023, we provided more than 5,500 work days of procurement technical advice. And 40 per cent of our new public procurement and infrastructure projects include a capacity development component for national institutions.

In a world of ever-increasing and compounding crises, the need for our procurement services is paramount. At UNOPS, procurement is about responding to needs now, while building the foundations for a better future.

Dear members,

As we look forward to the remaining months of this year, there will be many debates, and many decisions, that will chart a future path for people and the planet.

I think we all agree that we stand at a unique inflection point - where meaningful - and urgent - actions are needed, on climate, on peace and security, and on sustainable development.

These are truly perilous times - yet I, too, am an incurable optimist.

Together, I believe that we do have the resources, and the ability to forge a path towards a peaceful and prosperous future, for people and the planet.

That future depends on practical solutions and actions, now.

UNOPS stands ready to support these collective efforts, for a better future for all.