AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Madam Chair.

We thank Under-Secretary-General Ms. Jan Beagle, Ms. Parama Sen, and Mr. Babou Sene for introducing their respective reports. We also wish to extend our thanks to Assistant Secretary-General Chandru Ramanathan for his efforts to implement one of the most important transformation projects undertaken by the UN.

Despite implementation challenges along the way and a steep learning curve in the application of the new enterprise software system, the Umoja user base has expanded across 420 locations and the Organization is steadily demonstrated its ability to adapt to new ways of working. As highlighted by Unger Secretary for Management Beagle, Umoja has also delivered substantial administrative improvements, replaced over 400 legacy systems, streamlined fragmented processes and enabled a greater visibility of global data.

Madam Chair, the United States views Umoja as an integral part of the Secretary-General’s reforms efforts, and expects to see greater benefits through the full deployment of Umoja.

Noting that the implementation of UE2 will extend into 2019, the United States stresses the continued need for strong project governance and risk management to complete the implementation of Umoja as soon as possible and that the resources proposed for 2019 are sufficient to complete the project. It is also imperative that Umoja continue to serve as a catalyst for business transformation beyond 2018. The Organization must pay special attention to improving the qualitative and quantitative Umoja benefits in order to better manage resources and inform decision-making. We look forward to receiving more information on the benefits realized and future benefits Umoja expects to bring during our deliberations.

In closing, Umoja remains an important tool to address the UN’s multifaceted global operations by helping the UN be more transparent and accountable to member states and to the people around the world that it serves. Thank you, Madam Chair.

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