Statement by the Republic of Maldives

on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States

ECOSOC Operational Activities Segment

 

24 February 2016

Panel 5: Partnership approaches: How to ensure accountability, coherence and evaluation of impact?

Good morning Distinguished Moderator, Panelists, Excellencies and Colleagues,

1. I have the honour of delivering this statement on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Let me begin by thanking all the panellists for such a rich discussion, and for providing a great platform for further dialogue on this very important topic.

2. In the Post 2015 era of the SDGs, we have all acknowledged that the process is more people centric than ever before. The implementation of SDGs will require ownership of actors at all levels. And we have seen an uptake for these ideas. We are on a path where development cooperation matchmaking and partnerships forums are fast catching up to traditional aid practices. The question now is how to harness the momentum, how to ensure follow-up to these partnerships and how to manage the ever increasing number of partnerships.

3. The often quoted phrase remains extremely relevant to our conversation here - you can't manage what you can't measure. Allow me to share some of our experiences from the SIDS Partnerships Framework, which was established in 2015 following the call in the SAMOA Pathway. For one, we have been deeply humbled by the outpouring of support that we have gotten so far from partners ranging from UN agencies, private sector and others. Around 300 partnerships have been launched so far, specifically in the priority focus areas of SIDS.

4. Our experience has shown the urgent need to establish common reporting templates for easier comparison, but also to encourage reporting of progress. We are currently in the process of developing a standardized, uniform reporting template for this purpose.

5. In closing, I would again like to stress the importance of durable and genuine partnerships to meet our common objectives.

I thank you.