Resident Coordinator
UN Reform in a Pioneering Nation
Welcome to the website of the United Nations (UN) in Cape Verde. The UN Country Team and myself appreciate the opportunity to share with you some of the progress on UN reform and how reform is shaping UN operational activities in the country.
But first a few words about Cape Verde. Despite, or maybe because of its limited size, Cape Verde is a nation with wide horizons, grand ambitions, considerable courage and tenacity as well as a bold pioneering spirit. With its crioule culture, its links with several continents, its tradition of migration, some call it the cradle of globalization. What is clear is that this environmentally fragile, and in natural resources terms poorly endowed nation, has proven to the world that positive development is possible even against the harshest of odds. The recent graduation from LDC status on 22 December 2007, its Special Partnership Agreement and its Mobility Partnership with the European Union, its recent membership of WTO, its very positive performance towards MDG achievement even before 2015, all attest to quite remarkable progress since independence just over three decades ago. This progress is to a great extent rooted in a climate of stability and security, good governance, democratic institutions, and systems, transparency and accountability. As a result of its development success, Cape Verde is indeed establishing itself as a model and best practice meriting replication.
A testimony to Cape Verde's commitment to breaking new ground is also its engagement and leadership role in UN reform at country level. In January 2006, the Executive Committee of the United Nations Development Group and the Government of Cape Verde established the first Joint Office for United Nations Funds and Programmes, meaning that UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP agreed on One Common Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP), sharing the same office and using a single set of business practices, one single budget, and one organizational and staffing structure, including One Representative for the four Funds and Programmes. While the experience has been challenging, it has already reaped rewards in terms of reduced transaction and administrative costs and increased coherence in programming and programme delivery.
In November 2006, the Cape Verde Government further demonstrated its intent to be a significant player in UN reform efforts when it volunteered to be part of the Delivering as One UN pilot exercise as recommended by the High Level Panel on UN System-Wide Coherence and responding to the call for increased aid effectiveness contained within the Paris Declaration. Since 2007, Cape Verde is thus one of 8 pilot countries implementing the concept of "Delivering as One UN" tailored to the national context. As many of the elements of the "Delivering as One", such as harmonized business practices, were already present in the Joint Office, much of the focus has been on the development of the "One UN Programme". The process of designing the One Programme, under the leadership of the government, has already resulted in increased UN engagement in Cape Verde and consequently in increased overall UN capacity to support the Government's response to emerging needs and priorities. The One Programme counts on the participation of 19 UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes and it is closely aligned with national development frameworks. It was designed to address the implications of the Graduation of Cape Verde from the group of Least Developed Countries and its intent is to ensure more strategic, more coherent and more effective UN support to the country's development and transition needs.
The Programme which was launched on 1 July brings together a broad spectrum of normative advice, advisory services and expertise existing in the UN system in support of Cape Verde's ambitious and continuing economic transformation agenda. The Programme still has a considerable financing gap and additional partners are needed. Today, the Governments of Austria, Norway and Spain have pledged contributions. Financing the programme would appear a good investment. It would help support Cape Verde in meeting its transition and transformation needs and help sustain the country's bold leap in development. Despite its success, Cape Verde remains a natural resources poor and fragile insular nation, and as such extremely vulnerable to external shocks. The global shocks of recent times, that hit small, import-dependent and insular nations like Cape Verde particularly hard, gives an added imperative to find ways to reduce the country's vulnerability and promote continued sustainable development progress. The world is wanting in terms of development success. Investing in development success, such as Cape Verde's, is an effective way to combat aid fatigue and serves to prove that well managed and effective aid can have real and tangible benefits on people's lives. Investing in the One UN Programme in Cape Verde has the added benefit of promoting UN reform and more coherent and effective operational activities for development, where the sum of joint activities are truly greater than the parts. This is how the UN can deliver better results in support of national efforts to tackle the multidimensional problem of poverty and improve the lives of every man, woman and child in Cape Verde.
Petra Lantz-de Bernardis
UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP Representative in Cape Verde
