EU Statement - ECOSOC Operational Activities Segment: Improving UNDS Governance, oversight and coordination

EU Statement - ECOSOC Operational Activities Segment: Improving UNDS Governance, oversight and coordination

3 June 2026, New York - Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States by Renaud Savignat, EU Ambassador to ECOSOC, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, at the ECOSOC Operational Activities Segment on Improving UNDS Governance, oversight and coordination among Governing bodies, including Executive Boards, with ECOSOC at the core

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Mr Chair, Excellencies, colleagues,

The theme before us-Improving UNDS Governance, Oversight, and Coordination-goes to the heart of what this body must deliver: a more accountable, coherent, and effective UN development system, with ECOSOC at its core.

This OAS session is timely because it focuses on the issues Member States are currently addressing within the ECOSOC - HLPF review under the excellent stewardship of François Jackman, Permanent Representative of Barbados and Natasha Meli, Permanent Representative of Malta. We are seeing progress and convergence, when it comes to the need for ECOSOC to assume it role of oversight of the UN development system.

In this sense, allow me to address 3 areas of importance for EU and its MS:

First, strengthening ECOSOC's oversight of the UNDS. The QCPR provides the mandate, but implementation remains uneven. Operational Activities Segment is the ideal platform to monitor progress-not just through reports, but through direct, interactive dialogue with the Development Coordination Office (DCO) and UN entity leaders. We strive for OAS to become an annual stocktaking session, where we assess system-wide performance against QCPR commitments - a real-time mechanism to identify gaps and demand corrective action.

Second, deepening the connection between this Segment and the Resident Coordinator system. The annual RC meeting later this year brings critical insights from the field-but too often, those lessons fail to inform ECOSOC's governance discussions. That is why through the ECOSOC - HLPF, we are encouraging that the OAS and the RC retreat take place back-to-back in the spring. This would make the OAS more outcome-focused and ensure that ECOSOC's oversight is grounded in reality. We are pleased to see a considerable number of RCs present in person during our discussions in the last three days (12 expected), which is an improvement compared to the previous years.

Third, enhancing transparency and accountability among governing bodies. The fragmentation between Executive Boards and ECOSOC weakens our collective ability to hold the system to account. To address this, we believe that ECOSOC in one of its segments should provide space for Boards to present their strategic priorities, followed by an interactive exchange on alignment with the QCPR and UNDS-wide goals. This would provide greater coherence and mutual accountability.

Mr Chair,

ECOSOC and its OAS should be the backbone of UNDS governance, ensuring that oversight is not just theoretical, but transformative.

So let me pose a question: What is the one concrete step this Operational Activities Segment can take in 2026 to strengthen ECOSOC's oversight role in a way that is visible, measurable, and impactful?

I look forward to our discussions.

Thank you.