Today we pay tribute to 136 United Nations personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty last year.We are deeply grateful to be joined by many of their family members — both here in New York, and online around the world.Your presence reminds us that for every life lost, there are people left behind: bonds of love and friendship that endure.Our thoughts are with you today, and every day.Please join me in a moment of silence to honour our fallen colleagues.[PAUSE]Thank you.The women and men we commemorate today include 97 civilian personnel and 39 uniformed peacekeepers – military and police.They came from 32 countries: diverse in background, but united in purpose.Among them, 80 served with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza.More UN colleagues have been killed in Gaza than in any other conflict or disaster in the history of the United Nations.Some died alongside their families in their homes, or in the places they sought refuge. Others were killed while carrying out their duties – in offices, in shelters, and in the communities they served.These tragedies weigh heavily on us all – and should  be remembered by the entire world.Let me be clear. UN personnel must never be targeted. Attacks on peacekeepers and humanitarian workers are a violation of international law, including international humanitarian law.We reaffirm our unwavering commitment for the security and safety of UN personnel everywhere, and we will never stop demanding accountability.In keeping with long-standing practice, we have sought the consent of families to read aloud the names of those we honour.Tragically, in the case of many who served with UNRWA, we could not reach those families, because they too have been killed or forced to flee.Instead, we remember these staff through their work:They were teachers educating children.Medical workers healing the sick and injured.Drivers delivering aid.And many, many more.Dear friends,The United Nations was founded on a simple truth: that working together – to advance sustainable development, to promote human rights, to secure justice – makes the world more peaceful and humane.It is also a promise that when bombs fall, or floods rise, or children have nothing to eat – someone will reach out their hand.It takes a special kind of person to uphold that promise.The colleagues we mourn today chose to serve in some of the most difficult and dangerous places on Earth – because they understood that the world does not improve unless someone strives to improve it.It has been the privilege of my life to work alongside people like them – and people like you.Dear colleagues,This is my final annual staff memorial as Secretary-General.For ten years, I have seen our Organization face down challenge after challenge.A global pandemic.Economic upheaval.Climate chaos. And some of the most brutal conflicts in years.But through it all, the constant has been the women and men of the United Nations: people prepared with open eyes and open hearts, to risk it all in the name of others.We live in a moment when multilateralism is under attack. When powerful forces would have us believe that the United Nations – that unity itself – is a pipedream.The people we commemorate today prove otherwise.Amidst all the fear and the doubt, they knew exactly how to live:We must be brave enough to take a stand.Kind enough to care for others.And dedicated enough to keep showing up.Courage, compassion, and commitment.These are the qualities that defined your loved ones. These are the highest instincts of humankind.Today, we commit to carrying forward their work.To our departed colleagues and friends: thank you.You made our world a better place.We will remember you – now and always.Thank you.*****[source]

 Excellencies,The report I present today reflects a shared journey over nearly a decade.A journey marked by change.By difficult choices. And by steady, determined transformation. We began in 2017 with a clear objective: to ensure that the UN development system could support countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.The reports I presented at that time provided a candid diagnosis.The system was too fragmented when coherence was required.Too internally competitive when collaboration was essential.Too limited in structure and capacity to effectively respond to the needs of countries and people.  Reaching our objective required ambition.It required:Closely aligning the UN development system with the Sustainable Development Goals themselves;Using the Pact for the Future to guide us, particularly its emphasis on better use of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence;Better aligning functions to country priorities;Strengthening capacities to deliver on country needs, enabling UNDP to focus on operational delivery;  And ensuring effective leadership and coordination within UN Country Teams.Together, with the strong support and guidance of Member States and colleagues across the system, we have reshaped how we operate. At the centre stands a strengthened Resident Coordinator system — empowered, independent, accountable and equipped to meet Member States’ expectations.Cooperation Frameworks are enabling the system to work more closely around national priorities.The UN development system has strengthened its coordination and responses.And we’ve reinforced accountability and transparency across the system.Together, the UN and Member States agreed on a Funding Compact — to provide more flexibility and predictability of resources to allow the system to work better together.The report I am presenting today demonstrates the results of these reforms.Recent surveys show that 94 per cent of governments now assess UN development system support as effective.The share of host governments recognizing Resident Coordinators as effective entry points to the UN system increased from 62 per cent in 2019 to 90 per cent in 2025.And 80 per cent of host governments report solid UN support in transformative areas — from food, health and education, to digital learning and climate action. These results are reflected in people’s lives:More people receiving food assistance.More children gaining access to education.More individuals and families benefitting from social protection.And more national institutions better able to deliver on development.We have also made progress on efficiency.In 2025 alone, UN entities reported well over $900 million in efficiency gains, including by streamlining services and supply chains, increasing the use of shared services and other measures. We will continue to relentlessly ensure sound financial stewardship of funds in the most effective and impactful way possible. Excellencies,The United Nations development system today is more coherent, more accountable and more closely aligned with national priorities than it has ever been before.But with less than 1,700 days until the 2030 deadline, many countries face growing pressures — slowing growth, rising vulnerabilities and debts, greater exposure to shocks, and shrinking fiscal space.

At the same time, development financing is declining at an unprecedented pace.The system is better equipped — but increasingly under-resourced. This is a defining moment.The direction we choose will determine whether the progress of the past decade holds — or unravels.I see four areas where action is essential to ensure the UN can deliver with the scale and urgency needed. First — more effective alignment with country and regional priorities.Despite best efforts, the UN development system remains fragmented.This limits the ability of UN Country Teams to provide integrated responses.Capacities present in country are not always the capacities needed to deliver the support required — including because Country Teams are responding to earmarked funding and project-based approaches.The work of regional teams often remains disconnected from needs on the ground.Missed opportunities persist to unlock development resources by working together more efficiently.This is why we must bring reforms to the finish line — and raise their ambition.At the country level, we will continue reconfiguring Country Teams around Cooperation Frameworks with clear, sequenced targets and strategic funding pathways.This also means more and better expertise that is easily accessible and better able to support governments in their development efforts.At the regional level, we will bridge the gap between regional capabilities and country-level impact.Regional Platforms for Integration will unite capacities across development, humanitarian, and peace and security into light, responsive mechanisms — built to provide timely, agile support to countries.This means no change in — or confusion of — mandates.Our goal is to ensure countries can access assets across the UN system to deal with complex challenges.To do this, we are recalibrating the leadership and capacities of the Resident Coordinator system.We must ensure that Resident Coordinators can optimally lead Country Teams in fast-evolving contexts and apply the full extent of the UN development system’s support on key issues, including climate change.  We are also assessing potential mergers — between UNDP and UNOPS, and UNFPA and UN Women — to strengthen our ability to advance sustainable development and gender equality, while advocating for the rights of women, girls and youth.At every step, we will respect mandates, consult with Member States and ensure that reforms do not affect ongoing UN operations.  Second — we are continuing the next phase of reform under the UN80 initiative.UN80 contains key proposals to identify efficiencies and ensure a greater share of our resources — human and financial — are allocated for development results.These include:Joint knowledge hubs to streamline knowledge in priority areas;An expertise-on-demand mechanism for countries to access specialized UN capacity;A unified service roadmap to expand shared services;And a technology accelerator platform and a system-wide data commons so countries can access the tools and information they need.These are practical measures designed to channel more resources and capacity towards results on the ground. As we push forward on these important reforms, we will continue counting on the full engagement and support of Member States.Third — funding.Contributions to the UN development system suffered the highest cuts among all development partners and are projected to decline further this year.Core funding remains well below agreed targets.Most funding continues to be short-term and tightly ear-marked — limiting flexibility and undermining collective priorities.And the RC system remains underfunded and dependent mostly on voluntary contributions — and facing a $46 million shortfall in 2025.This places coordinated delivery at risk. While the provision of $53 million from the regular budget for the RC system was a step in the right direction, it is not sufficient.Sustainable structural change cannot rely on temporary measures.We need more stable, predictable and flexible funding.I urge Member States to reach the 30 per cent core funding target called for by the Funding Compact, and help equip the system to deliver and succeed. Excellences,Excellencies,Quatrièmement : dans les dernières années qui nous séparent de 2030, les États Membres doivent continuer à tout mettre en œuvre pour réaliser les Objectifs de développement durable.And fourth — in these final years towards 2030, we need Member States themselves to continue the push to achieve the SDGs. Alors que se poursuit la réforme de l’Organisation, les États Membres doivent donner des orientations cohérentes aux organes directeurs du système des Nations Unies pour le développement.While the UN is reforming, Member States need to give coherent guidance across governing bodies of the UN development system.Ils doivent également veiller à ce que leurs budgets nationaux soient axés sur le développement, la création d’emplois, l’éducation et l’élimination de la pauvreté.They also need to ensure their national budgets are targeted to development, job-creation, education and poverty-eradication.Face à l’augmentation incontrôlée des dépenses militaires, les pays doivent redéfinir leurs priorités en investissant davantage dans les instruments de paix et de développement et moins dans les instruments de destruction et de mort.In the context of today’s out-of-control military spending, countries need to reprioritize, and spend more on the instruments of peace and development and less on the instruments of destruction and death.Je demande une fois encore aux États Membres de soutenir nos efforts visant à réformer l’architecture financière mondiale et à apporter un véritable allègement de la dette aux pays qui en sont accablés.And I renew my call to Member States to support our efforts to reform the global financial architecture and deliver meaningful debt relief to countries swamped by debt.Adopté l’an dernier, l’Engagement de Séville a montré la voie à suivre. J’invite tous les pays à tenir cette grande promesse pour les pays en développement.Last year’s Sevilla Commitment pointed the way forward, and I call on all countries to translate its great promise into reality for developing countries. Excellences,Excellencies, Ces dix dernières années nous ont montré que le changement était possible.Our experience over the past decade has shown that change is possible. Le système que nous avons construit est plus solide, mais son succès exige des efforts, un engagement et un soutien continus.The system we have built is stronger — but its success depends on continued effort, commitment and support.En bref, pour que la réforme aboutisse, nous devons continuer à travailler ensemble.In short, reform can work — but we need to keep working together.Poursuivons l’édification d’un système de développement plus solide et plus efficace, qui soit au service des pays et des populations du monde entier.Let’s continue building a stronger and more effective development system that delivers for countries and people everywhere.Je vous remercie.Thank you. *****[source]

 Your Excellency, Vice-President of ECOSOC,Excellencies,We meet at a moment of extraordinary pressure and rising expectations for sustainable development and our UN system.Countries are grappling with escalating crises, rising debt burdens and widening inequalities across regions, even as the urgency to deliver on the 2030 Agenda intensifies.Just as demands are escalating, sharp declines in official development assistance are forcing difficult decisions on UN operational presence and capacity across the globe.In many countries, entities are scaling back their presence, which makes access to the UN’s specialized capacities all the more important.It is precisely in such a moment that coordinated support matters most. It is what ensures Member States continue to have access to the UN’s expertise whether or not the entity sits in their country.Eight years ago, Member States tasked the Resident Coordinators with leading this effort. And the Secretary-General reiterated the progress in this regard earlier today.The evidence in the reports leaves little room for doubt: dedicated, independent, and impartial development coordination delivers.Under the leadership of Resident Coordinators, the UN development system scaled up its support to meet ever-higher expectations, and grew more effective at it.93 per cent of host governments affirmed that Resident Coordinators provided strengthened leadership, an increase of nearly 30 percentage points since the reforms in 2019.Recognition of Resident Coordinators as the entry point to the entire UN system rose from 62 per cent to 90 per cent over the same period.We have continued to empower Resident Coordinators to strengthen their leadership. We have increased the representation of Resident Coordinators from programme countries – now 59%. And 55% of Resident Coordinators are women.These results are down to your leadership, the guidance given to the system through successive resolutions since 2019, and your robust engagement with the system at every level.Let me turn to the road ahead. Through UN80, there is a clear imperative to keep strengthening the Resident Coordinator system. The Secretary-General and I heard resounding support for this last week at the meeting hosted by the PGA.The success of many of the UN80 packages will rest with the Resident Coordinators and their teams putting these changes into practice in country: from shaping UN country teams in close coordination with national governments, to bringing in non-resident capacities through expertise on demand mechanisms.Resident coordinators will have a vital role in delivering on the ambition of UN80, and helping the system deliver these changes in over 160 countries.They stand ready to work with the system to leverage the opportunities presented to better connect to the regional architecture through the regional reset, harness the work of the data commons, and bring in thematic knowledge and analysis through the Joint Knowledge Hubs.Excellencies,We must also be attuned to the challenges before us and the imperative to address them.Let me start by highlighting four ways the RC system has supported more effective system-wide responses to needs in countries.First, Resident Coordinators drew on the system’s policy expertise to drive shifts to advance national development priorities and the SDGs.Resident coordinators worked with UN country teams across diverse country contexts from LDCs, LLDC, MICs to SIDS, and more.And across all developing countries, UN country teams, under the leadership of Resident Coordinators, continued to support the SDG acceleration through integrated policy advice.Second, Resident Coordinators brokered partnerships to scale up development support and unlock catalytic financing.They worked with country teams and partners to open the door to public and private investment, and continued to bring together diverse sets of stakeholders to advance national SDG efforts.They unlocked resources of the Joint SDG Fund and other pooled funds to deliver more coherent programming.This past year, the Fund supported the expansion of social assistance to more than a million people in Uzbekistan, delivered over a million health treatments for adolescent girls in Kenya, and launched Jordan’s first national food-security information system.Third, Resident Coordinators bridged development, humanitarian and peacebuilding action in countries beset by compounding crisis, risking their development trajectory.Across the world, 28 Resident Coordinators also serve as humanitarian coordinators or Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General in mission settings.When disaster struck - Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, wildfires in Chile - Resident Coordinators led the first response while humanitarian assistance was being scaled up.In Cameroon, the Resident Coordinator’s convening role produced a single support framework coordinating humanitarian, development and stabilization efforts.And where missions closed - in Iraq, Mali, and Sudan - Resident Coordinators have taken the lead guiding UN country teams with fewer resources at a critical juncture.The RCs are reinforced by DCO’s surge capacity, which has been critical.Based in the regions, this surge capacity lets DCO give rapid support to countries when the context changes, bringing in the skills needed.Fourth, Resident Coordinators helped the UN development system deliver efficiencies and greater transparency for Member States.         In 2025, the share of UN buildings operating as common premises in countries rose to 33 per cent, accommodating 57 per cent of UN personnel.Part of these efforts contributed to the $981.1 million in efficiency gains in 2025, more than three times the target set at the outset of reform, and the highest total ever reported.While this figure is striking, and has been triple checked, our journey does not end there. Resident Coordinators will be at the forefront of efforts to keep bringing UN entities together in country behind the system wide efficiency initiatives.Last but not least, transparency on the work of the RC system and UN country teams was unprecedented.Digital platforms and annual reporting by UN country teams now provide a clear window in progress advancing Cooperation Frameworks in countries.Importantly, all Member States today have visibility and can guide the work of the RC system with unparalleled oversight through ECOSOC and the General Assembly.Excellencies,The Resident Coordinator system has undoubtedly delivered on the guidance you have given for their leadership in country. However, the demands placed on it, the evolving global context and the stark diagnosis of what is needed to deliver on the 2030 Agenda necessitated a review of the system.The recalibration is meant to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of the system, and to sharpen its ability to respond to the mandates you – Member States - have set.Your feedback and insights are shaping its design, and we will keep engaging with you as it advances.We envision change across three reinforcing levels.At country level, RCO profiles of core functions will be tailored to specific country needs; and the share of national staff raised.The aim is to bring in the right capacities for the specific country context. Reflecting on the specific needs of LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS, and complex settings, more specific capacities will be brought in to match – for example a specialist in World Bank collaboration, or convening for SDG Financing.At the regional level, DCO teams will be reconfigured to deliver faster and more targeted support to RCOs, support to subregional priorities, and enable better policy coherence, particularly for SDG financing.At headquarters, DCO will streamline its leadership structure, consolidate data and digital capacities, step up support for efficiency efforts across the UN development system, and strengthen accountability to Member States.Across all three levels, the focus will be on embracing innovation and stepping up efforts to make better use of data, digital solutions, and foresight to inform decision-making.This is about delivering an RC system that can support countries as they respond to not only today’s challenges but future ones.Excellencies,A word, now, on what is making this harder. The system has never been fully resourced to $281m, and has had to keep implementing cost mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the shortfalls. The system remains largely dependent on voluntary contributions, which in 2025 fell to their lowest level since the system was established.The 1% levy on earmarked resources has structural flaws, low compliance rates, high administrative costs, and an over-reliance on aid flows. The variability of these two streams continues to hamper the ability of the system to plan and deploy resources. Only 64% of RC offices were fully staffed in 2025.Despite funding cuts, UNSDG entities paid their shares of the cost sharing arrangement.The 53 million dollars from the regular budget granted in 2024 and renewed in 2025 provides an essential backstop for the system.But it did not close the funding gap.In 2025, the system faced a shortfall of $46 million US dollars.Funding reached just $236 million against a requirement of $281 million.The comprehensive review of the funding model, which the General Assembly takes up in the fall at its eighty-first session, is the moment to act and strengthen the RC system.Initial analysis was already presented to you in the Secretary-General’s QCPR report, and will be detailed further in his forthcoming report to the General Assembly.The RC system is the most cost-effective investment we have for delivering sustainable development at scale, at roughly 1.3 per cent of total UN operational expenditure – a very modest cost for system-wide coherence and impact.Excellencies,We have entered the final stretch of the 2030 Agenda, and simply cannot afford to lose ground.The UN80 Initiative offers fresh momentum to consolidate the system’s support to countries and turn the page on the unfinished business of the 2018 reforms.The question before us is no longer whether coordination works.The question is whether we will equip our coordination system to deliver with the scale and urgency you need.Thank you.*****

[as delivered]Professor Manukid Parnichkun, Vice President for Academic Research at the Asia Institute of Technology,Professor Abhishek Datta, Acting Dean, Faculty of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Mr. Jo Kyu Song, Director, Department of Science and Technology, Central Bureau of Statistics of the DPRK and Head of Delegation,Mr. So Kyong Won, Director, Department of External Affairs, Central Bureau of Statistics of the DPRK, and all other members of the CBS DPRK delegation,Mr. Sheikh Ahaduzzaman, Deputy Representative of the FAO in the DPRK,Colleagues and friends,Good morning.I am delighted to join you this morning for the opening session of this study visit and training program.Thank you, first of all, to our hosts, the Asia Institute of Technology, represented here by Professor Parnichkun, and the FAO, especially my friend and colleague Sheikh Ahaduzzaman.I also wish to thank our guests, Mr. Jo Kyu Song and his colleagues from the Central Bureau of Statistics of the DPRK, to whom goes my warm welcome to Bangkok. I am especially happy to have you here in person, for the first time after more than 5 years.As you know, the United Nations system works in over 160 countries around the world, by deploying its agencies at the invitation of the host governments, with the mandate to support country’s national priorities.In the case of the DPRK, 13 UN agencies have co-signed a Strategic Framework of Cooperation with the DPRK government, and, of these, six UN agencies are meant to be resident in Pyongyang. However, UN international staff left DPRK at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has not been able to return since. These circumstances make today’s in-person meeting all the more significant. As the UN Resident Coordinator in the DPRK, the message I bring you is the same I always bring to the representatives of any member state of the United Nations: direct dialogue is critical to belonging in the international community, to building trust and managing differences, especially at this juncture of the geopolitical landscape.For us of the United Nations Country Team in the DPRK, it is especially important to meet colleagues from the Central Bureau of Statistics. The UN work in country is meant to support governments’ efforts to realize the Sustainable Development Goals, in line with all international norms and standards. Our work needs data. Since the SDGs were first discussed, mobilising a “data revolution” has underpinned international efforts to achieve them. And indeed Data Management is one of the key priorities of the Strategic Framework for Cooperation agreed between the UN and the DPK. Because data are the lifeblood of decision-making and accountability. Without high-quality data providing the right information on the right things at the right time; designing, monitoring and evaluating effective policies becomes impossible.Nowhere is this more relevant to the DPRK and its people than in the agricultural sector, where the introduction of international standards to statistical methodologies, including on openness and transparency, will lead to the production of more efficient and accurate data for the successful implementation of the country’s agricultural policies. I commend the Central Bureau of Statistics for seizing the opportunity of this training for statistics capacity building in agriculture, fishing and forestry, which marks the resumption of the collaboration between the United Nations and the Central Bureau of Statistics after five years. May it also mark the beginning of a renewed and reinvigorated overall partnership between the UN and DPRK, one based on trust and mutual respect, in line with international norms and standards, and in pursuit of shared objectives.My warmest wishes for a successful program. **END**