UNHCR Standing Committee 70th Session: UK statement
This UK statement was delivered at the 70th session of the UNHCR Standing Committee on 21 September 2017.
UNHCR's headquarters are in Geneva.
Madame chair, Deputy High Commissioner, let me start by expressing our gratitude for the work of UNHCR staff, who put themselves in harm’s way to ensure that the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable are met.
We welcome the recommendations made in the report and the progress made by UNHCR in responding to previous audit reports. There are a few areas that the UK would like to highlight for further consideration.
We note that the financing gap in 2016 remained high at 58%. As a 0.7% donor, the UK is an outward facing and generous nation that will continue to play its part to supporting those most in need. It is important, however, that UNHCR diversifies its funding base beyond traditional donors, to raise resource from across its member states, and to bring in private investment. We also call on other donors to deliver their commitments on 0.7%.
Transparency is a top priority for the UK and effective management of downstream partners is crucial to ensuring this. Moreover, it is essential for programmatic performance and delivery.
We note that there are some areas of good practice in in UNHCR systems, such as the partner portal. However, as noted in the audit report, implementation of these is variable at the country level. We welcome UNHCR’s commitment to strengthen this and hope that we can work with you to this effect.
While we welcome the commitment to adopt a risk-based management approach, it is important that this is adopted effectively by staff in country. UNHCR should invest in increasing the awareness and use of this by staff. Increasing staff capacity and fostering a risk-based culture is also important and senior management can play a key role in setting out the parameters and expectations of staff.
We note that the audit report recommends that plans for monitoring partnership agreements specifically consider the risk of fraud and enhance checks to ensure accountability for the use of assets. It is important that UNHCR considers how to strengthen their engagement with partners, particularly down the chain, to ensure that they are not missing potential fraud.
The report reiterates the Board’s previous recommendation on taking a structured approach to undertaking evaluations. We agree that these should be done systematically. Could UNHCR advise on the allocated budget for evaluations and provide the plan of work from the evaluation office
Finally, let me emphasise our support for the change management process and we look forward to working with you on this.