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The Royal Government of Bhutan and the UN system in Bhutan are represented at an international conference to take stock of the UN reform efforts at the country level. The conference takes place in Ha Noi from 14-16 June 2010.

 The event brings together over 260 participants from eight countries piloting the ‘Delivering as One’, eight counties – incl. Bhutan – having voluntarily adopted the Delivering as One approach and 22 countries that have funded and are interested in the UN reform process.

During the meeting, participants will share findings and conclusions of the experiences. Based on the lessons learned, the conference will set out an agenda for further actions required to enhance, deepen and expand the ‘Delivering as One’ approach. The Conference is also a forum to communicate to donors the progress as well as challenges in adopting the ‘Delivering as One’ approach.

In 2007 eight countries (Albania, Cape Verde, Pakistan, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay and Viet Nam) agreed to become ‘Delivering as One’ pilots in an effort to improve the coherence, effectiveness and relevance of the United Nations system.
The Royal Government of Bhutan and the UN agencies operating in Bhutan also agreed to voluntarily take on the ambitious task of being among the first to implement changes and demonstrate the benefits of closely coordinated actions across UN agencies supporting the country. Tremendous commitment and energy has gone into making the UN reform a reality, and Bhutan’s participation reflects the commitment of the Royal Government of Bhutan to promote a more coherent, effective and efficient UN at the country level through the implementation of one common framework, one common action plan signed by 15 UN agencies and one UN Bhutan Country Fund for joint resource mobilization.

The High Level Tripartite Conference officially opened on 14 June under the chair of Mr Nguyen The Phuong, Vice-Minister for the Ministry of Planning and Investment of the Government of Viet Nam, and the Chair of the UN Development Group, Ms. Helen Clark.
Participants will on 15 June take part in discussions with a view to adopting an action agenda for further improvements of effective and efficient implementing. The Secretary of the Gross National Happiness Commission, Mr. Karma Tshiteem, will be on the panel of one of these discussions, focusing on national ownership and leadership.

The conference is expected to arrive at Ha Noi Statement charting a clear way forward for the “Delivering as One” initiative, reiterating the commitment of the Government of the pilot countries; countries voluntarily adopting ‘Delivering as One’ approach; donors and UN system in further action to ensure that the UN development system delivers as one more effectively at the country level.

Read the full Hanoi statement here

For more information:
Ms. Lise Abildgaard Sorensen, Office of the Resident Coordinator, UN Bhutan
Email: lise.sorensen@one.un.org, Tel:+975 322424 Ext. 152

The Royal Government of Bhutan has received support from the UN System to develop the National Disaster Risk Management Framework. The Framework spells out sectoral mandates and responsibilities to strengthen a systematic and effective approach in reducing the risk of disasters. Read the UN Resident Coordinator’s remark for the Parliamentarian Disaster Risk Reduction Orientation workshop held on 17 May 2010 here.

Following the tragic earthquake in Haiti where a number of United Nations staff members, friends and colleagues have been seriously affected, the UN staff in Bhutan showed their solidarity and respect to the affected UN staff members in Haiti through a small cash contribution of US$ 373 towards the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Staff Council-led appeal for assistance.

The UN Staff members, families and friends from Bhutan extend their condolence and wishes to the affected UN families in Haiti and the people of Haiti for a faster recovery in the aftermath of the disaster

The disaster in Haiti shows once again something that we, as human beings, have always known: that even amid the worst devastation, there is always hope. I saw that for myself this week in Port au Prince. The UN suffered its single greatest loss in history.Our headquarters in the Haitian capital was a mass of crushed concrete and tangled steel. How could anyone survive, I thought? Yet moments after I departed, with a heavy heart, rescue teams pulled out a survivor – alive, after five days, buried, without food or water.
I think of it as a small miracle, a sign of hope.

Disasters such as that in Haiti remind us of the fragility of life, but they also reaffirm our strength. We have seen horrific images on television:
collapsed buildings, bodies in the streets, people in dire need of food, water and shelter. I saw all this, and more, as I moved around the stricken city. But I also saw something else — a remarkable expression of human spirit, people suffering the heaviest blows yet demonstrating extraordinary resilience.

During my brief visit, I met with many ordinary people. A group of young men near the ruins of the presidential palace told me of wanting to help rebuild Haiti. Beyond the immediate crisis, they hope for jobs, a future with dignity, work to do. Across the street, I met a young mother with her children living in a tent in a public park, with little food. There were thousands like her, patiently enduring, helping one another as best they could. She had faith that help would soon come, as did others. “I came to offer hope,” I told them. “Do not despair.” In return she, too, asked the international community to help Haiti to rebuild — for her children, for the generations of tomorrow.

For those who have lost everything, help cannot come soon enough. But it is coming, and in growing amounts despite very difficult logistical challenges in a capital city where all services and capacity are gone. As of Monday morning, more than 40 international search and rescue teams with more than 1700 staff were at work. Water supplies are increasing; tents and temporary shelters are arriving in larger numbers. Badly damaged hospitals are beginning to function again, aided by international medical teams. Meanwhile, the World Food Program is working with the U.S. army to distribute daily food rations to nearly 200,000 people. The agency expects to reach as many as one million people within the coming weeks, building toward two million.

We have seen an outpouring of international aid, commensurate with the scale of this disaster. Every nation, every international aid organization in the world, has mobilized for Haiti’s relief. Our job is to channel that assistance. We need to make sure our help gets to the people who need it, as fast as possible. We cannot have essential supplies sitting in warehouses. We have no time to lose, nor money to waste. This requires strong and effective coordination— the international community working together, as one, with the United Nations in the lead.

This critical work began from the first day, both among UN and international aid agencies as well as among key players—the United Nations working closely with the United States and the countries of Europe, Latin America and many others to identity the most pressing humanitarian needs and deliver what is required. These needs must be grouped into well-defined “clusters,” so that the efforts of all the various organizations complement rather than duplicate one another. A health cluster run by the World Health Organization, for example, is already organizing medical assistance among 21 international agencies.

The urgency of the moment will naturally dominate our planning. But it is not too early to begin thinking about tomorrow, a point that President Rene Preval emphasized when we met. Though desperately poor, Haiti had been making progress. It was enjoying a new stability; investors had returned. It will not be enough to rebuild the country as it was, nor is there any place for cosmetic improvements. We must help Haiti build back better, working side by side with the government, so that the money and aid invested today will have lasting benefit, creating jobs and freeing it from dependence on the world’s generosity. 

In this sense, Haiti’s plight is a reminder of our wider responsibilities. A decade ago, the international community began a new century by agreeing to act to eliminate extreme poverty by the year 2015. Great strides have been made toward some of these ambitious “Millennium goals,” variously targeting core sources of global poverty and obstacles to development from maternal health and education to managing infectious disease. Yet progress in other critical areas lags badly. The bottom line: we are very far from delivering on our promises of a better future for the world’s poor.

As we rush to Haiti’s immediate aid, let us keep in mind this larger picture. That was the message I received, loud and clear, from those people on the streets of Port au Prince. They asked for jobs, dignity and a better future. That is the hope of the all world’s poor, wherever they might live. Doing the right thing for Haiti, in its hour of need, will be a powerful message of hope for them as well.

Ban Ki-moon is Secretary-General of the United Nations

As part of its emergency response to the earthquake in Haiti, the United Nations is now delivering supplies for survivors of the earthquake as the
full scale of humanitarian need becomes apparent.

 ocha-press-release-haiti-15-january-2010

 On Tuesday afternoon, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, devastating the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Tens of thousands of people are
feared dead and about 3 million are affected.

The international humanitarian community is mobilizing its resources urgently to provide assistance to people who have been affected by this
disaster, in support of the Government of Haiti’s response efforts. Needs are likely to be great as we gain a better understanding of the
dimensions of the crisis.

The overall security and public order is being maintained. The UN has over 3,000 peacekeeping forces in and around Port-au-Prince to help
maintain order and assist in relief efforts. They have been working day and night to reach those trapped under the rubble.

The UN is mobilising an emergency response team to help coordinate humanitarian relief efforts. Supplies have arrived and are continuing
to arrive by airlift. Rescue is already on the ground, with more to come.Approximately 150 UN staff remain unaccounted for. Roughly 100 of them were likely in the UN headquarters building, the Christopher Hotel, when it collapsed. So far, we know that 9 UN police officers have been
injured and 4 killed. Another 18 remain missing.

Three Bhutanese (Ms. Gelay Wangmo, Ms. Karma Yeden and Mr. Bhanu Bhakta Acharya) are working for the UN in Haiti, and they are all
confirmed safe. Ms. Wangmo and Ms. Karma were on leave and were luckily out of the country. Mr. Bhamu who was in Haiti when the earthquake struck, is also confirmed safe.

Our thoughts are with our colleagues and the people of Haiti. For updated information on the Haiti earthquake please visit
http://www.reliefweb.org or http://www.un.org/news/

On 21-22 November, the UN system in Bhutan delivered 374 large family tents to the earthquake-affected communities in the eastern Bhutan. The provision of this assistance recognizes the remaining needs for temporary shelter in the eastern dzongkhags and is in direct response to the request of the Royal Government of Bhutan.

Following the tragic earthquake of 21 September 2009, the UN system has so far provided 574 tents. The first consignment of 200 tents was provided in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and has been distributed to families and public service institutions in the affected areas along with blankets, tarpaulin sheets, emergency family kits, tools for debris removal and other safety equipment.

The new consignment of 374 tents delivered to Trashigang and Yongphula last weekend are winterized in view of the onset of cold weather. The tents will be distributed shortly to the affected families by the local Relief Camp in Trashigang.

The September 21st earthquake destroyed or damaged more than 4,614 homes in 12 districts and left over 7,000 people without adequate shelter. Aftershocks and minor earthquakes continue to occur, the most recent one recorded on 18 November. According to the Joint Rapid Assessment conducted by the Royal Government of Bhutan, the United Nations and the World Bank, the earthquake inflicted damages worth Nu 2.500 billion.

For more information, please contact the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Thimphu at +975-2-322424.

The Joint Rapid Assessment Report for Recovery, Reconstruction and Risk Reduction prepared by the Royal Government of Bhutan, the World Bank and the United Nations has been released.  Bhutan Joint Rapid Needs Assessment Report 

The report provides an overview of cost estimates for loss and damage following the devastating earthquake that hit eastern Bhutan on 21 September killing 12 people, injuring 47 others and damaging more than four thousand homes.

As part of the UN Day commemoration in Bhutan, the final of the UN Bhutan Inter School Quiz competition was held in Paro on 24 October 2009.
 Nine participants from three schools namely Dawakha Lower Secondary School, Shaba Higher Secondary School and Katsho Lower Secondary School competed in the final round.  Katsho LSS emerged as the winners closely followed by Shaba MSS. The three schools were selected from among a total of fourteen schools from Haa and Paro dzongkhags.

Speaking at the event, the chief guest, the Chief Curriculum Officer of CAPSS, Wangchuk Rabten congratulated the United Nations on its 64th year of successfully contributing towards world peace and development, and also for the assistance that the UN has provided to Bhutan and its developmental activities, particularly with reference to UN’s assistance during the recent earthquake in eastern Bhutan.  Dr. HSB Tennakoon, UN representative at the event said that Bhutan has made great progress in achieving socio-economic progress. He added that “certain Millennium Development Targets in Bhutan that require our common attention.” These include youth unemployment, food poverty, equal access to schools for both boys and girls and ensuring both men & women are equally represented in the Bhutanese society. paro-statement-final
The quiz which is focused on the United Nations and its work in Bhutan is an annual event organized in schools across Bhutan since 2002.
The main objective of this joint programme between the Ministry of Education and the UN System in Bhutan is to educate and inform the youth
about the United Nations and its work including recent developments taking place in the country. The programme is expected to enhance the knowledge and learning of students with some fun and entertainment.  A video titled ‘UN – It’s your world was also screened as part of the event.

With this, more than five-four lower and middle secondary schools from eleven Dzongkhags including Thimphu, Trashigang, Lhuentse,
Mongar, Trongsa, Samtse, Pema Gatshel, Bumthang, Tsirang, Haa and Paro have participated in the programme.