Brussels, 11 June 2010: By making a difference in the lives of tens of millions of people in over a hundred countries, the United Nations team in Brussels is showcasing the concrete results of an increasingly dynamic partnership between the United Nations and the European Union.
With the motto, “Improving Lives” the UN Office in Brussels released Friday its fifth annual report on joint actions undertaken with its EU partners ranging from crisis prevention, through humanitarian action and promoting sustainable development to building democratic and just societies.
Rich in detail, this year’s report puts a human face to the UN-EU partnership with a wide array of concrete examples spanning the globe from: mine clearance projects in Albania to hygiene improvement initiatives in Uganda.
The global mandate and impartiality of the United Nations offers an unmatched legitimacy for action whilst the near universal reach of the UN’s country presence provides a broad coordinating platform that allows the pooling of resources from a wide variety of actors into a common effort.
These, together with a wealth of expertise of humanitarian and development specialists on the ground offers unique advantages for making the best use of the European Union’s strong commitment, willingness, resources and expertise to engage in global problem solving. Working together has allowed the UN and the EU to achieve results that go beyond what could have been achieved if both organizations were acting alone.
Building on a wealth of experience and reflecting on lessons drawn from the 2009 achievements, the Report underscores a number of key elements that continue to give the partnership its unique strength.
These include the importance of combining a policy dialogue, exchanging expertise, agreeing on and promoting common methodologies and tools that benefit the broader international community, as well as improving coordination at all levels – within the framework of concrete actions on the ground.
The EU’s sustained political and financial support to help the UN reforms is also highlighted as a significant driving force within the partnership.
This year’s Report comes at a crucial time with only a few months before the September summit of world leaders convened by the United Nations to reassert their commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
In looking at the challenges ahead, the Report is clear in stressing that “the UN and the EU must be able to respond and use the strength of their existing partnership to accelerate their contribution to the MDGs” in a concerted way. In this regard, the Report points to the many and varied entry points that the EU and the UN share that can be leveraged towards that goal.
The Report highlights the fact that the partnership has both broadened and deepened. Broadened to encompass virtually all human rights, humanitarian and development issues within the UN’s mandate, and deepened to maximize the synergies of interventions in these fields with the achievement of sustained peace and security.
By showcasing the numerous achievements of joint UN-EU work, the Report gives concrete evidence of a deepening partnership in humanitarian assistance and sustainable development.
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Kilde: United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC), Brussels, Belgium
