UN Resident Coordinator Remarks at Joint Government - United Nations Steering Committee Meeting on UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Uganda (UNSDCF 2021-2025)

The Right Honourable Prime Minister

Honourable Ministers

Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors

Representatives from Civil Society, Private Sector, all development partners

My UN colleagues

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the United Nations system in Uganda, I would like to express our appreciation for the good working relationship we have with the Government of Uganda and other non-state development actors. This relationship is enabling our implementation of the ongoing UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Uganda (UNSDCF) 2021-2025, which aims to support Uganda’s development aspirations as outlined in the third National Development Plan (NDP III) and Vision 2040.

I thank the Right Honourable Prime Minister and all Ministers present here for setting for this first Joint Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperation Framework for Uganda. With the Parish Development Model (PDM) and other priorities, I understand how packed the national agenda currently is.

I also acknowledge and  appreciate the strong collaboration with the donor community – the UN is an important instrument in the current multilateral system, and among its many functions, it supports Governments and their people on their development aspirations. But this instrument, the UN, has no capacity to make its own money. We can not levy taxes like Governments…  All the financial resources used by the UN and all its agencies, is made available by donor Governments and their citizens, who choose to channel resources through the UN. So thank you for your partnership in our common Development work and financing SDG implementation.

I also acknowledge all the international organizations, private sector, academia and civil society organisatons for their support in achieving the outcomes of the Cooperation Framework and advancing, mainstreaming and localisation of the SDGs and Agenda 2030.

The SDG framework – now 7 years old and with barely 8 years left for implementation - offers an inspiring and inclusive vision of our future: a world free from poverty, inequality, injustice, and discrimination; and a healthy planet for present and future generations. It takes a holistic approach to addressing these challenges.

Another important milestone for the SDGs took place in the UN General Assembly in 2018 where UN member states, in the resolution on the repositioning of the UN Development System, identified the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework as “the most important instrument for planning and implementation of the UN development activities at country level in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda)”.

With this background, His Excellency the President in September 2022 launched the Cooperation Framework for Uganda. In line with UN Reform, the Cooperation Framework was formulated through a highly consultative process over several months from 2019 to 2020 involving representatives from Government, non-state actors, including the private sector, academia, religious and cultural institutions, civil society including women, youth  , and organizations representing persons with disabilities.

Right Honourable Prime Minister,

The Cooperation Framework replaced the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2016-2020. With the SDGs at its core, the Cooperation Framework enables 29 UN entities to implement programmes through three Strategic Priorities: 1) Transformative and Inclusive Governance; 2) Shared Prosperity in a Healthy Environment; and 3) Human Well-being and Resilience.

The Cooperation Framework reinforces the mutual accountability between the UN and the Government of Uganda by creating space for the Joint Statement of Accountability at Ministerial and UN Country Team level, which was signed by the Right Honourable Prime Minister, the Chairperson of the National Planning Authority (NPA), UN Resident Coordinator and UN entities. The Joint Statement provides information on the capabilities and contributions of UN entities as well as the UN Country Team configuration.

The launch of the Cooperation Framework was followed by the formulation of Joint Work Plans by the UN and Country Programme Documents by UN agencies with Government and other stakeholders to ensure close alignment to the NDP III action plans and other national policies and strategies.

The Joint Steering Committee is the highest authority for the implementation of the Cooperation Framework and is an accountability mechanism jointly organised by the Government of Uganda the United Nations, along with other partners to the Cooperation Framework.  During today’s meeting, a presentation will be delivered on the 2021 UN Country Results Report outlining progress in 2021, emerging issues and priorities for 2022. We will also hear challenges, lessons and recommendations.

I recognize that since the formulation of the Cooperation Framework in 2019/2020, the context that we live in Uganda has significantly changed – we did not plan with a pandemic in mind. We made efforts to incorporate the COVID-19 response in the 2021 Joint Work Plan. We know there are emerging issues that the Government, the UN, all partners need to be aware of and incorporate into our plans.

Today we hope to hear from Government and all participants and stakeholders your expectations for the ongoing cooperation, particularly given the changing context, so that we can together agree on priority areas for our joint work over the coming year as we implement our Cooperation Framework, and support the Government’s development aspirations.

And also, hopefully we will also be able to discuss how to have a more systemic, a more organized and sustainable engagement with all key partners for the effective implementation of the Cooperation Framework.

Finally, let me conclude by assuring you of the UN Uganda’s firm and continued commitment to the implementation and acceleration of SDGs in Uganda – upholding the principles of leaving no one behind - in partnership with the Government of Uganda and all stakeholders.

Thank you.