LORD MALLOCH-BROWN: UN CONFERENCE ON WORLD FINANCIAL & ECONOMIC CRISIS AND ITS IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT: VIDEO & FULL-TEXT: 28/06/2009 (MaximsNews Network)

UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 28 June 2009 - The following is the full-text of the statement by Lord Mark Malloch Brown, UK's Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the United Nations, that was delivered at the UN Conference on World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development at the UN General Assembly on June 2009:

"I would like to thank the President of the General Assembly and the delegates and co-facilitators that have worked to produce the excellent outcome document which we will adopt tomorrow.

I believe that our ability to come together in this way at this time is a testament to the determination of each of our counties to tackle the crisis that faces us, and to the value of the United Nations as a forum for our collective endeavour.

I speak today as a British Minister in a government that has championed reform in the Iris and the UN, that has made the most significant commitments to the MDGs in our history, and that is delivering on those commitments every day, increasing our ODA to record levels and acting in every field to support the interests of developing countries.

I speak as a European in an EU that is making the reduction of global poverty a primary objective of its international action. And I speak as a lifelong supporter of strong international institutions that have the capacity to support all of us in times of crisis and drive forward international efforts to reduce poverty.

But it is essential that the reforms that have been started are carried through so that all countries are equitably represented, and so that the IFIs are as responsive as possible to the developing countries whose needs they are helping address.

Third, we need a more effective UN. More effective at country level and more effective at headquarters revel.

We know what steps are needed at country level: streamlined operations that coordinate analysis and response effectively across the UN system and help countries respond effectively to the challenges they face.

At headquarters level we must be ready to take bold action to reshape funds, programmes and agencies so that they fit today's challenges and reduce overlap and costs.

The more effective and efficient the UN is the more it can focus on giving all of us the voice and the forum we need to address concerns and find common ground.

Fourth, members of the UN, all the counties represented here today, need to take responsibility. All of us must play our part by providing resources, by committing to action and then taking that action, by sharing power so that we can all be better off, by building responsive institutions at home.

That applies to reforms at national level, to efforts to achieve an agreement on climate change at Copenhagen later this year, as well as to action to deliver on the commitments we have made to increase ODA. Global action will not happen without national leadership.

Our work here will not change anything and the political energy we brought here will fade unless we use it to build momentum to deliver bigger change and tackle big challenges.

Some of those challenges are a crisis, but others have remained the same through the aim We need to protect the poor during shocks, we need to strengthen health care systems to reduce maternal and child mortality, we need universal education and we need better infrastructure and regional integration to build trade and growth.

We need to achieve the MDGs and provide the political, economic and social rights that we have promised to all the people of the world.

Divided we will fail in our efforts and break our promises.

Together, in the spirit of this conference and as united nations we will achieve the reforms we have long been working for and provide the leadership our communities need to end global poverty, tackle climate change and build the stable and prosperous countries that we all want."

[Check against Delivery.]

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