Joint Statement delivered by H.E. Ms.  Anna Johannsdottir,
Permanent Representative of Iceland to the United Nations
Second Regular Session – UN Women Executive Board
Item 2: Strategic Plan 2026 – 2029
9 September, 2025

Madam President, 
Madam Executive Director,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and my own country, Iceland. 

We thank you for your presentation and commend UN Women’s continued commitment to delivering on its triple mandate to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. In the context of growing global challenges and limited resources, we welcome the efforts to strengthen operational effectiveness and to pivot to regions and countries, while maintaining UN Women’s leadership in advancing gender equality norms and its coordinating role on gender equality throughout the UN system.

While we appreciate that relocating posts to Nairobi and Bonn may bring UN Women closer to the women and girls it serves, enhance cost-efficiency, and strengthen field-level impact, this must not come at the expense of UN Women’s core normative leadership in New York and Geneva

In times of increasing complexity and uncertainty, we stress the urgent need for a more agile UN system that can adapt quickly to changing realities and urgent needs. This process must not marginalize or dilute the very mandates that enable the UN to deliver for women and girls and on gender equality. As member states we are convinced that courageous reforms are possible and that accelerating the implementation of existing reform mandates is essential to strengthen the impact of the multilateral system.

Efficiency and accountability are not just managerial concerns, they are political imperatives, essential to maintaining the trust of Member States. Reforms must improve impact on the ground for women and girls and not be mere cost-cutting exercises. In light of broader reform efforts - including UN80, the Humanitarian Reset, and the UNDS Reform - we wish to raise the following points:

• Strategic Coherence: Post relocations and business model changes must align with UN Women’s strategic direction and broader UN reforms. We encourage UN Women to articulate how these changes contribute to a “One UN” approach and to coherence, efficiency, and impact, while maintaining its normative leadership at the Security Council, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Human Rights Council, and the UN General Assembly. 
• Financial Sustainability: We note the projected savings from post relocations and commend the efforts to maximize impact per dollar spent. However, we remain concerned about the decline of core resources and reckon the importance of adequate and predictable funding.
• Continuity of Core Functions: In fragile contexts, operational continuity is vital. We encourage close coordination with Resident Coordinators and other UN entities to ensure restructuring does not hinder collective delivery.
• Mandate and Comparative Advantage: UN Women’s coordination mandate is central to its role in the UN system. We encourage the organization to continue identifying and leveraging its comparative advantages.
• Defending UN Women’s Unique Mandate: We are firmly committed to defending UN Women’s triple mandate throughout the UN80 reform process. It is our shared responsibility - as Member States and as UN Women - to vigorously uphold this mandate and ensure that gender equality remains a central. We must collectively guarantee that gender equality will not become the overlooked casualty of UN80. 

In closing, we call for a renewed commitment from Member States to support UN Women’s mandate. We reaffirm our support for bold, transparent, and evidence-based reforms that reinforce UN Women’s operational effectiveness and its unique coordination and normative roles across the UN. We look forward to being regularly updated and consulted on the overall strategy to navigate these challenging times.

I thank you.