VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0157/01 0591553
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281553Z FEB 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1400
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1149
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 1135
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ALMATY 2249
RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA 0940
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 0070
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0540
RUEHJL/AMEMBASSY BANJUL 0074
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0928
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0834
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 0153
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0789
RUEHCH/AMEMBASSY CHISINAU 0052
RUEHRY/AMEMBASSY CONAKRY 0733
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 0182
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0342
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0236
RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN 0093
RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE 0130
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON 0184
RUEHLC/AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 0081
RUEHLS/AMEMBASSY LUSAKA 0088
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 0052
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 0141
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 0095
RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO 0047
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN 0070
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0738
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0767
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 0160
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR 0125
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 0088
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 0083
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0793
RUEHTG/AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA 0122
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0094
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 0471
RUEHVN/AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE 0046
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2541

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000157 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID KUNR KWMN UNDP UNFPA
SUBJECT: UNFPA SEGMENT OF THE 2007 FIRST REGULAR SESSION OF 
THE UNDP/UNFPA EXECUTIVE BOARD 
 
REF: USUN 106 
 
¶1.  Summary: The UNDP/UNFPA Joint Executive Board First 
Regular Session for 2007 took place on January 23-26. 
Opening the UNFPA segment, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya 
Obaid announced that UNFPA,s financial situation had 
achieved record highs in total core income, number of donor 
countries, and number of multiyear funding pledges.  The 
segment included an informal discussion of UNFPA,s 2008-2011 
draft Strategic Plan and an oral presentation on UNFPA,s 
role in emergency preparedness.  UNFPA also explained its 
role in implementing the cluster approach.  The Board 
approved UNFPA,s 33 country program proposals (including one 
for North Korea) and adopted a resolution on UNFPA,s 
proposed Strategic Plan.  End Summary. 
 
Executive Director Statement 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  In her opening statement to the Board, UNFPA Exec. Dir. 
Obaid discussed the status of UNFPA,s regionalization plan. 
The proposed plan  would move UNFPA,s geographical divisions 
from its headquarters in New York to their respective 
regions, expand the functions of existing UNFPA country 
technical services teams, and strengthen existing area 
offices to ensure a more strategic, timely, integrated, 
efficient and flexible response to the needs of countries and 
UNFPA country offices.  However, many Board Members as well 
as the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget 
 
Questions had expressed strong concerns about the proposal. 
UNFPA has heard those concerns, she said.  In order to be 
responsive, UNFPA postponed formal consideration of its 
regionalization plan, originally scheduled for the January 
Board meeting, until September.  Instead, UNFPA would hold an 
informal discussion of its proposed 2008-2011 Strategic Plan 
during the Board meeting, she stated. 
 
¶3.  Obaid asserted that a new Millennium Development Goal 
(MDG) target, universal access to reproductive health, had 
been added to the MDG matrix.  (Mission note.  This is just 
an assertion. Former SYG Annan proposed such a target in his 
last report on the MDGs, but the U.S. objected formally in 
the UNGA Plenary and the report was simply "noted."  We are 
also watching carefully in the Statistical Commission to 
ensure that no "matrix" or other product related to the MDGs 
is approved with such a target included.)  Gender 
mainstreaming, gender equality, women,s empowerment, and 
eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls are 
central to UNFPA,s focus, she stressed.  Youth are also key 
to UNFPA,s strategic plan, especially their sexual and 
reproductive health, Obaid said.  UNFPA uses culturally 
sensitive approaches to promote human rights, create 
alliances, build capacity, promote South-South cooperation, 
and work with parliamentarians and civil society to advance 
the International Conference on Population and Development 
(ICPD) agenda, she said. 
 
UN Reform/Accountability 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  UNFPA officials emphasized their commitment to 
strengthening program accountability and oversight.  ExDir 
Obaid said UNFPA fully supports UN reform, including the 
report of the High Level Panel on UN System-Wide Coherence. 
UNFPA is implementing a system of checks and balances to 
enhance accountability and to prevent and detect fraud. 
UNFPA has also instituted an Audit Advisory Committee, 
established a whistleblower hotline, is conducting anti-fraud 
workshops for staff members, and is working to improve 
monitoring and evaluation, according to Obaid. 
 
Funding 
---------- 
 
¶5.  UNFPA,s financial situation in 2006 exceeded 2005 in 
three areas, Obaid reported: number of donors, total core 
income, and multi-year pledges.  A record high 180 countries 
pledged financial support in 2006 - eight more than in 2005 - 
including all countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and 
sub-Saharan Africa.  The top ten contributors to UNFPA were 
the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, Japan, 
Denmark, Germany, Finland, Canada, and Switzerland.  Total 
core income was $362 million, slightly more than in 2005; 
non-core income remained the same at slightly below $162 
million, for a total of $524 million.  In addition, 73 
countries made multi-year pledges, up from 55 in 2005. 
 
Country Programs and Resolutions 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  The Executive Board approved UNFPA,s proposed country 
programs for Central African Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, 
Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Mozambique, Sao Tome & Principe, 
Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Algeria, 
Egypt, Morocco, Moldova, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, Democratic 
People,s Republic of Korea, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, 
Thailand, Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, English- 
and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries, Honduras, Panama, 
Paraguay, and Uruguay. 
 
¶7.  Several delegations made statements regarding UNFPA,s 
program for the DPRK after the country programs were 
approved.  Although the Joint Board had reached agreement the 
previous day to suspend the launch of the new UNDP  DPRK 
program, Member States felt that the UNFPA program which is 
smaller scale and more closely monitored, did not raise the 
same level of concern.  The U.S. delegation stressed the need 
for strong oversight of UNFPA,s DPRK program, as did Japan. 
 
Emergency Preparedness 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  UNFPA Humanitarian Response Group Chief Pam DeLargy gave 
an oral presentation on UNFPA,s role in emergency 
preparedness, humanitarian response, and transition and 
recovery.  UNFPA has a three-year plan with two components, 
she said.  First, UNFPA must build a knowledge base and 
commitment regarding the importance of gender and 
reproductive health issues in situations of crisis and 
transition.  This would be achieved by intensified advocacy 
to sensitize partners; mapping, collating, and sharing of 
existing tools and resources; developing additional tools and 
resources; and expanding partnerships for knowledge sharing 
and applied research to build evidence-based programs. 
 
¶9.  Second, UNFPA will improve technical and institutional 
capacities to incorporate ICPD into overall emergency 
preparedness, response, and recovery.  This would be achieved 
by building national capacity; establishing technical expert 
networks and mechanisms for rapid deployment; training of 
practitioners; and ensuring data/reproductive health 
expertise as part of overall UN mechanisms. 
 
¶10. DeLargy explained that in the Inter Agency Standing 
Committee (IASC - the UN,s primary mechanism for interagency 
coordination of humanitarian assistance), UNFPA has the lead 
for the reproductive health subcluster within the Health 
cluster, for the sexual- and gender-based violence subcluster 
within the Protection cluster, and for the gender subcluster 
within the Early Recovery cluster.  In addition, IASC has 
asked UNFPA to take the lead on mainstreaming gender (one of 
the identified cross-cutting issues) into all nine IASC 
clusters; UNFPA will accomplish this task through the IASC 
Sub-Working Group (SWG) on Gender and Humanitarian Action, 
which UNFPA co-chairs with WHO.  UNFPA also chairs a task 
force within the gender SWG that focuses specifically on 
gender-based violence (GBV); this task force, which has 
existed for three years, developed the IASC Guidelines in 
Addressing GBV in Humanitarian Settings.  Finally, UNHCR and 
OCHA have recently asked UNFPA to coordinate improving age 
and sex disaggregated data collection and analysis within the 
cluster system as a whole; UNFPA is working to determine how 
best to take on this cross-cutting issue. 
 
Strategic Plan 
----------------- 
 
¶11. Obaid launched informal discussion of a draft outline of 
UNFPA,s 2008-2011 proposed Strategic Plan, which UNFPA had 
posted on its website just a few days previously.  UNFPA was 
now focusing on youth because of the demographic bulge and 
its effects, she remarked.  UNFPA did not want mission creep 
and was not trying to encroach on UNICEF,s authority, she 
assured the Board, but the sharp increase in the number of 
young women with HIV/AIDS has linked UNFPA,s reproductive 
health and HIV/AIDS responsibilities with the issue of youth. 
 UNFPA is trying to focus on ICPD priorities and would seek a 
comprehensive decision from the Board in September on the 
Plan, she noted. 
 
¶12. UNFPA Strategic Planning Office Chief Brendan O,Brien 
said UNFPA had made an effort in the Plan to focus on goals 
that represent UNFPA,s mandate and niche within the UN 
system.  There is a need for clarity to maintain consistency, 
he stressed.  O,Brien also emphasized the importance of 
having goals reinforced as cross-cutting issues.  For 
example, the issue of women and gender mainstreaming center 
around reproductive health and demography but are also a part 
of a larger framework in the Millennium Development Goals. 
Young people are another such issue: young people are clearly 
core to what UNFPA does, he said, but should UNFPA have a 
specific youth goal in its Strategic Plan stating this, and 
if so, what?  He invited input from the Board during the next 
several months. 
 
¶13. Several Board members welcomed the proposed Strategic 
Plan but complained that its release just a few days before 
the Session left insufficient time to study it adequately. 
Many requested another informal meeting soon.  A sampling of 
remarks from Member delegations: 
- Switzerland praised the Plan,s criteria for evaluating 
reform options, and said there should be safeguards to ensure 
effectiveness, transparency, and cost-effectiveness. 
- Sweden encouraged UNFPA to work closely with other UN 
agencies to harmonize approaches to strategic planning. 
Sweden also said that before UNFPA decides whether gender and 
youth constitute focus areas for the Plan, it should consider 
how to establish targets and indicators in these areas to 
ensure results. 
- The Netherlands said discussion of the Plan should lead to 
a clear conclusion on the preferred organizational structure. 
 A decision on the structure should be made on the basis of a 
clear analysis of the current strengths and weaknesses of the 
organization, especially at the country level.  In the 
process of realizing one integrated UN at the country level, 
UNFPA must improve its performance at the field level.  The 
Netherlands expressed doubt about whether gender needed to be 
its focal area in the Plan or should be mainstreamed in other 
areas. 
- Belgium said UNFPA should strive for evidence-based 
measures in the Plan, and requested more clarity on UNFPA,s 
interaction with other UN agencies on gender equality. 
 
¶14. The Board adopted 12 resolutions on the final day of the 
First Regular Session, including one on UNFPA,s proposed 
Strategic Plan that requested UNFPA to: 
- consult widely with Member States and UN partner 
organizations; 
- reflect on lessons and challenges from implementing 
UNFPA,s 2004-2007 funding framework; 
- take the Board,s comments into account when drafting the 
Strategic Plan; and 
- harmonize terminology, definitions, and formats whenever 
possible using UN Development Group-harmonized terminology as 
a basis. 
WOLFF