UN General Assembly debates UNCCD implementation

The Second Committee (Economic and Finance) of the UN General Assembly discussed UNCCD implementation, including activities in support of the International Year of Desserts and Desertification (IYDD) at its meeting on Monday 30 October in New York.

 

Ambassador Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, presented the Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the UNCCD (Document A/61/255), highlighting the importance of the work of the Intersessional Intergovernmental Working Group (IIWG) which is currently elaborating a ten-year strategy for UNCCD implementation, to be debated at COP 8 in Spain in October 2007. Ambassador Diallo also noted that the IYDD activities had effectively advanced the debate on UNCCD worldwide, throughout the year.

 

In a joint statement, The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the GM reported on their individual and collective contributions to UNCCD implementation, illustrating this with examples of their effective cooperation, such as the recent review of land degradation activities in IFAD’s portfolio, undertaken in close cooperation with the GM and which demonstrated IFAD’s increasing support for UNCCD implementation.

 

The statement also highlighted the role played by the GM in mainstreaming the UNCCD into IFAD programmes and the increasing importance of collaboration between the two organizations, in the context of IFAD’s move to align its programmes with country priorities, through its new Strategic Framework and Operating Model.

 

The joint statement was extensively quoted by the spokesperson of the President of the General Assembly during the official news conference held daily at UN headquarters.