Statement by H.E. Ambassador YAMANAKA Osamu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, at the First Regular Session of 2023 Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Interactive Dialogue with Administrator (UNDP Segment)

Thank you, Mr. President.
 
Congratulations, Your Excellency Mr. Martin Kimani, Permanent Representative of Kenya, on the assumption of the Presidency.
 
2023 is the midterm year for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its overall goal is to realize a society where "no one is left behind" by accelerating efforts to achieve all the goals of the 2030 Agenda, including by strengthening support that focuses on vulnerable populations. To this end, the viewpoint of human security in the new era is becoming increasingly important.

In the midst of numerous international tensions such as inflation, poverty, debt crises, climate change, and other setbacks in the progress of sustainable development, UNDP published its “Special Report on Human Security: New threats to human security in the Anthropocene” last February. As explained in the Report, it is critical for the international community to take a comprehensive view of all these crises and how they intersect with each other, focus on protection, empowerment and solidarity of individuals, and thereby promote human security through partnership. We will continue to cooperate closely with UNDP to mainstream human security. From this perspective, I would like to ask how UNDP intends to follow up on the findings of the Special Report.

The Government of Japan managed to maintain its core contribution to UNDP for 2023 at the same level as for 2022. We understand that the UNDP budget is decreasing due to the recent global economic situation. Against this backdrop, I would like to ask what kind of measures can be taken to address this. As the need to respond to multifaceted crises increases, so does the demand for funding. Thus, we expect UNDP to strengthen cooperation with the international financial institutions (IFIs) and the private sector to expand its donor base in order to secure its core budget. In this regard, we are interested in the evaluation of UNDP's collaboration with IFIs and the follow-up responses by the UNDP.

In 2021 and 2022, Japan also made contributions towards decarbonization and climate actions. We expect that these contributions will facilitate green transformation and climate actions in adaptation in countries vulnerable to climate risks. In 2022, Japan also contributed approximately $244 million USD to strengthen resilience in various regions. This includes contributions to advance recovery and restoration of human security in Ukraine, and we hope that human security will prevail more everywhere in the country.

Finally, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). We are glad that Administrator Steiner kindly attended TICAD 8 in August last year. We would like to thank UNDP again for its longstanding contribution as a co-organize and look forward to our continued close cooperation.

I thank you.