Permanent Representative of Belarus to the UN chaired the ECOSOC Integration Segment
08.07.2019On July 8, 2019, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the UN, Valentin Rybakov, as a member of the Bureau of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), chaired the ECOSOC Integration Segment, held at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Integration Segment is held within one day immediately before the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the auspices of ECOSOC. This segment contributes to the coordination of the work of the subsidiary bodies of the Council, ensuring a clearer division of responsibilities among them and harmonizing policies and activities of the specialized agencies on Sustainable Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals.
The 2019 Integration Segment was held on the general theme of ECOSOC and the High-level Political Forum “Empowering People and Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality”. It was its first meeting after the revision of the Council’s mandate, including the Integration Segment, by the UN General Assembly in 2018.
In his opening statement, the Belarusian diplomat noted the importance to review the work of all subsidiary bodies of ECOSOC and to ensure coordination among them and within the UN system, as well as to examine interlinkages among Sustainable Development Goals through the lens of people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres took part in the segment and presented to the Council the annual overview report of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination. Chaires of several subsidiary bodies of the Council, representatives of the UN system presented their recommendations on the theme of this year’s Council.
Alena Kupchyna, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the international organisations in Vienna, chair of the 28th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (ССPCJ), took part in the segment as a keynote speaker. A. Kupchyna spoke at its meeting on “Prosperous and peaceful societies in an era of Sustainable Development Goals”.
The discussions demonstrated the rich experience, technical and expert analysis of the main bodies of ECOSOC and the UN development system and the need to use them to accelerate progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In his closing remarks, V. Rybakov stressed that the segment had made an important contribution to the preparation of thematic reviews to be held at the High-level Political Forum under the auspices of ECOSOC, and contributed to increasing coherence among the UN system to achieve SDGs.
On July 9, at the opening of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the auspices of ECOSOC, the Belarusian diplomat will present key messages and results of the Integration Segment.
A. Kupchyna, in her capacity as the chair of CCPCJ, also took part as a keynote speaker in a thematic session to launch the 2019 Global Study on Homicide and on preparations for the 14th Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, to be held in April 2020 in Kyoto, Japan.
