Relatie EU-VN van grote waarde voor het oplossen van problemen in ontwikkelingslanden (en)

To help solve the developing world's problems, the European Union and the United Nations need to work closely together, MEPs heard on Monday. The EU-UN relationship was warmly praised by the UN Deputy Secretary-General, who described cooperation between the two as being “already solid, varied and extensive”

“The European Union has repeatedly stated its commitment to building an effective multilateralism with a strong United Nations at its core, and it has backed this commitment both politically and financially," UN Deputy Secretary-General Dr Asha-Rose Migiro - on her third visit to the European Parliament - told a joint meeting of the EP Foreign Affairs and Development Committees.

Turning to the specific problems of poorer countries, she added "The current crisis demonstrates powerfully that global public goods are not a luxury but a necessity. Without climate stability and an equitable financial order, progress on human development may slow or stall in most developing countries".

Annual EU-UN Partnership report

An EU-UN report presented at the meeting (see link below) takes a closer look at the partnership between the United Nations and the European Commission in assisting countries to recover from natural disasters or man-made conflicts through achievements such as:

• - 

  removal of unexploded landmines, safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons,
• - 

  restoring access to food and nutrition, health, water, sanitation and education,
• - 

  reconstruction of infrastructure, environmental recovery,
• - 

  restoring the legitimacy of state institutions and building dialogue capacity across institutions and civil society.

Reform of the UN: new agency dealing with rights of women

Replying to MEP Corina Cretu (S&D, RO) and José Ignacio SALAFRANCA (EPP, ES) concerning the UN's internal reforms, Dr Migiro mentioned the working group dealing with the reform of the Security Council but stressed that this was a competence of the UN member states.

As regards the reform of the General Secretariat, she welcomed the creation of a gender entity within the UN, headed by an under-secretary-general to deal with issues concerning women.