2023 United Nations Economic and Social Council Operational Activities for Development Segment. Mr Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator, Republic of Moldova

Mr Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator, Republic of Moldova

May 24, 2023

I truly believe that the investments made by Member States to strengthen the leadership, impartiality, accountability and effectiveness of the Resident Coordinator system are yielding clear returns in enhancing the UN development systems impact, with the Minister’s and UNDP interventions a testament to this.  

A well configured UN Country Team, in line with government ambitions, has no equal in terms of the ability to bring the right support, at the right time, with the required expertise and critically at the right speed to align our support behind government priorities and to be intentional, predictable.

From my humble perspective, having a well-resourced RC Office is crucial to success.

In the current environment, I cannot fail to mention the government response to the more than 800,000 Ukrainians who have crossed into the Republic of Moldova and where more than 100,000 are currently seeking refuge.  

From day one, the collective approach of government and the UN was clear.  

Everything that we do to support refugees, and those families and communities who have warmly opened their doors to support their neighbors, will be based on an approach to further develop and strengthen national systems and will have long-term and sustainable benefits.  

Having a Resident Coordinator, and an RCO team, with the uniqueness of purpose to support government and the UN Country Team on this was crucial for success. This is unusual for an emergency response at its outset, and I do commend the government for their foresight and leadership.  

This was also supported by the Joint SDG Trust Fund Development Emergency Modality, launched in 2022 which many of your countries contributed to. The Joint SDG Fund allows Resident Coordinators to work with our UN Country Team to deliver immediate and tangible results. In our case, with ILO supporting Government to adopt new regulations regarding the minimum wage and with UNDP to provide technical support for the public administration and social protection reform. 

The ambitious social protection and labour reforms highlighted by the Minister are supported by 10 UN entities and I am very proud of the coordinated and mutual reinforcing programmes that are being planned and delivered under the Minister's leadership. I am also proud to be co-Chairing the coordination council with the Minister on social protection and assisting UN, partners, and member states to better understand key priorities.

To conclude, I would wish to thank member states, as well as the Government of the Republic of Moldova, for their continued trust and support to the Resident Coordinator System and to the UN Country Teams who are working very hard every day to support governments around the world.

With this Ambassador, may I pass the floor back to you.