Madame President,

Germany fully aligns with the statement made by the EU.

Mr Secretary-General,

Thank you very much for today´s briefing and your report
on Workstream 3.

Germany commends your strong leadership. It is of utmost importance that all three workstreams of your UN80 Initiative are now being fully operationalized. We encourage you to continue to proceed on the reform path. Germany fully supports you in your goal to make the UN “more effective, nimble and fit for today’s challenges.”.

Germany wants a UN that is strong – both operationally and normatively.

Mr. Secretary-General,

with regard to your report “Shifting Paradigms” I would like to point out three concrete aspects:

• First
  UN80 is about adjusting the UN to new realities. We need to focus and consolidate structures and programs. If mergers and realignments are leading to added benefit, then we should look favorably at such steps. For us the main principle is “form follows function”. At the same time, we are mindful that not all instances of broadened UN mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues across entities should be seen as mere duplication.
  When talking about necessary adjustments, we are talking about structures. The normative core of the UN needs to be safeguarded.

• Second
  Germany is engaged system-wide, in UN Executive Boards and with a broad portfolio of financial contributions. We are ready to do our part to support UN80 across the entire UN family. We wish to be an enabling partner to carry your work into the other parts of the UN family including the specialized organizations. In this context we are interested to learn about your ideas on the role of Executive Boards and would like to know if the Clusters continue to play a role going forward in the process?
  
• Third
  Mr Secretary-General,
  We support creative ideas as a foundation for bold reforms. We hope you can soon go into further details especially with a view to implementing the proposals and action points suggested in this report.
  Grateful for any information about the process envisaged that continues to allow member states to engage in a meaningful way.

Madame President,

Mr Secretary-General,

Germany is and will be a reliable supporter of a strong UN. We will continue to do our part and we encourage you to continue to do yours.

I thank you.