Peter De Clercq

SudaneseOnline: سودانيزاونلاين

UNITED NATIONS   NATIONS UNIES
OFFICE OF THE RESIDENT AND HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR IN SUDAN



Sudan 2013-2016
Khartoum, 24 January 2012

Distinguished Guests, Members of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today we are officially launching the process, together with the Government of Sudan, to reach a United Nations Development Assistance Framework—fondly referred to as the UNDAF—for the period of 2013-2016. It is a participatory and consultative process, with several key steps and events that will culminate in the signing of a new UNDAF in May 2012. With high commitment and cooperation between the United Nations system and the Government, we will achieve our objective.

It is symbolic and significant that the UNDAF process is being launched together with the Ministry of International Cooperation, led by Her Excellency, the Minister, inside the premises of the Ministry. From the beginning, the United Nations is working with the Government, and the commitment of both is apparent. The process will be based upon consultation and dialogue with the Government, and the United Nations is thankful to have MIC as such a dedicated partner in the UNDAF process.

Sudan is now in transition. It is the right time for the United Nations and the Government to come together to articulate a common agreed vision for the future. The UNDAF process we embark upon together today will be one of the first post-separation statements of joint priorities and interventions in Sudan, and it is important that we get it right.

The UNDAF is intended to be the over-arching umbrella framework for all interventions by UN agencies in the country during the given period, based upon agreed priorities. It is the common strategic framework for the operational activities of the United Nations system at the country level. As a flexible, strategic instrument, the UNDAF should reflect the uniqueness and the diversity of Sudan. It should allow interventions to respond to many needs, recognizing that these needs may simultaneously tend toward humanitarian, recovery, or development. This means it should be flexible enough to address short-term, medium term, as well as long-term needs simultaneously.

But the UN will not try to do everything in Sudan. The primary objective of the UNDAF process is for the Government and the United Nations to commit to the areas where the UN is best positioned to provide support and complement national priorities.
 
The new UNDAF will be based upon UN principles as well as national strategic priorities. It will align to the national planning process. The United Nations in Sudan is committed to cooperating with the Government and to supporting it in meeting its humanitarian, recovery, and development responsibilities toward all the people of Sudan. Most importantly, we are committed to working together with the Government to show the people of Sudan the dividends of peace—to show them a future of progress and development.

Thank you.