Mohammed advises holistic approach to address North East crisis

Mohammed advises holistic approach to address North East crisis

Wednesday, March 1, 2017 8:46 am


 

Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed addresses the Operational Activities for Development Segment of ECOSOC. Cristián Barros, Vice-President of ECOSOC is at right. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe 

The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Amina Mohammed, on Tuesday in New York, said holistic approach was required to address the complex humanitarian challenges currently facing Nigeria’s North East.

She gave the advice at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) 2017 Segment on Operational Activities for Development, her first task after taking oath as UN Deputy Secretary-General.

She said the solution to the northeast crisis could also be replicated to resolve similar crises in other conflict regions of the world.

She added that “the need for holistic approach to peace, development and human rights is plain to see in the region that I come from.

“In the northeast of Nigeria, an integrated approach and aligned action is needed from stakeholders to address the interlinked challenges of environmental degradation, resource scarcity, prevailing inequality, persistent poverty, conflict and violent extremism.

“All these challenges are not peculiar to my country. They are shared, to varying degrees, by all regions.”

Mohammed said she would take the lead in coordinating the work on the UN Secretary-General’s reports, in collaboration with other UN development system entities.

“In addition to formal meetings, I hope to  engage member states in more informal settings to discuss forward-looking ideas.

“And I will make sure this remains an open, transparent and inclusive consultative process.”

The deputy scribe said the UN development system had a proud history of delivering results and had proven its capacity to reinvent itself – time after time – to keep up with the evolving priorities of partners.

According to her, there is ongoing work to empower Resident Coordinators and implement standard operating procedures for UN Country Teams.

“We now face new challenges. The 2030 Agenda requires that we reinvent ourselves to better service member states.

“We have a joint responsibility to bring about transformational change.

“People around the world are looking to the UN as symbol of peace, a beacon of hope and a provider of essential needs.

“Governments honour us with their trust. We have a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver better future for all humanity. We cannot afford to squander it.”

She added that the task ahead was challenging and assured member states and humanity that “you can count on our utmost commitment to ensure that the UN responds in a way that honours the level of ambition of the 2030 Agenda.” (NAN)


Join The Conversation

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.