UN regional commissions key to steering sustainable development, says Migiro

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today stressed that sustainable development is key to United Nations efforts to reduce poverty and raise people’s living standards, and underlined the importance of the Organization’s regional commissions in formulating coherent development policies.

“Sustainable development solutions must be central to our work,” Ms. Migiro said in an address to the Regional Coordination Mechanism Meeting of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.

“Economic, social and environmental goals must be tightly interwoven in all frameworks, policies and programmes,” she said.

Sustainable development, Ms. Migiro said, is especially relevant for the Latin American and Caribbean region, where an increasing number of natural disasters have exacted a high toll in terms of human life and economic loss.

“The earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, as well as the recent floods in Brazil, have underscored the need for infrastructure and housing that can withstand environmental shock and the need for comprehensive, long-term development solutions as these societies rebuild,” said Ms. Migiro.

Referring to next year’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development, dubbed Rio+20, the Deputy Secretary-General called for joint programmes with clear agendas and timelines, saying that the role of regional commissions and ECLAC in particular will be critical for a successful conference.

“The UN system, governments and the business community must work together to create cross-sectoral approaches – the essence of sustainable development,” Ms. Migiro said. “Only then will all stakeholders be satisfied – and ‘win-win’ solutions achieved,” she added.

She commended ECLAC for strengthening policy coherence and creating synergies at the regional and sub-regional levels, which she said is essential for improving people’s lives in the region, particularly those of women and children.