Statement at the DPPA´s Annual Donor Meeting
Permanent Representative of Iceland to the UN,
at the DPPA’s Annual Donor Meeting
28 March 2023
Thank you, Under-Secretary General DiCarlo for your report and informative briefing today. As others, let me start by commending the work of the DPPA and the daily impact you are having on people´s life.
As you have described, the world, and by extension the work of the United Nations, has only become more challenging. In recent years, we have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated climate crisis, unprecedented humanitarian needs, refugee movements driven primarily by conflicts, and recently a war in Ukraine.
And as your report illustrates, this has underscored the need for more preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. We fully acknowledge that the DPPA requires more resources and, like the UN as a whole, it needs to be better able to respond to needs in a timely manner. We believe the Multi-Year Appeal addresses many of these concerns and challenges.
Therefore, it was a great pleasure to sign a new contribution agreement earlier this morning with the DPPA, where the Government of Iceland is doubling its yearly voluntary contribution for the period 2023-2026. While it is a modest contribution it signals appreciation for and readiness to support the work of the DPPA.
There are two issues I wish to highlight:
First, we much appreciate the work of DPPA on Women, Peace and Security. Iceland puts gender mainstreaming at the forefront of its foreign policy. We see the importance of these voluntary contributions for the Department and how they enable DPPA to continue its work on this very important file and intensify its efforts to promote inclusion in political processes.
Second, some two years ago, we signed the UN75 Declaration. The New Agenda for Peace is meant to build on the Declaration and its call for using the diplomatic toolbox of the UN Charter to its full potential. It also requires capacity for DPPA to support the developing of the New Agenda for Peace ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Future. We look forward to contributing to the process.
I thank you.