During the general debate of the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly on Item 25: Operational Activities for Development, the Cuban diplomat stressed that the United Nations Development System should focus on the eradication of poverty, in all its forms and dimensions including extreme poverty, as the greatest global challenge and indispensable requirement for sustainable development.
On what she described as an ambitious reform of the System, she pointed out that it shall strictly observe the principles guiding the operational activities of the System in the countries, namely its neutrality, its intergovernmental nature and its strictly development-related objective.
On this regard, Leyva Regueira said that the repositioning process should focus its efforts on strengthening the development pillar, while ensuring the decisive participation of developing countries in the governance of the System, and promoting flexible and inclusive policies based on the principle of voluntarism, respect for sovereignty and leadership at all levels of the receiving State. She added that it should not be forgotten that developing countries are the ones that know their needs best and it is up to them to determine the assistance priorities they can receive.
She concluded by reiterating Cuba's readiness for effective development assistance to sustainably promote the progress of peoples.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations.