EU Statement – UNICEF Executive Board: Opening Statement

Check against delivery 

Chair, Madam Executive Director 

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union as a donor.

In this unprecedented period for the humanitarian system, I would like to reiterate our support to UNICEF and our appreciation of its staff and partners in the field, who continue to respond to children’s needs all over the world with fewer resources and much uncertainty. Despite funding cuts, it is crucial that UNICEF can continue protecting children, including those on the move, and ensuring that the rights of any child are upheld. 

We welcome UNICEF’s commitment to the Humanitarian Reset and UN 80, which are key processes to join up capacities, remove duplications, achieve economies of scale and increase cost-efficiency, notably with regard to supply chains. We look forward to Management’s brief during this Board and would appreciate receiving regular updates about their implementation. 

We have followed closely the bold internal reorganisation which is being put in place by your organisation, with decentralisation of core functions and the creation of centres of excellence. We hope this will allow UNICEF to pursue its mandate in a qualitative way and continue being a driving force in child protection, notably for children affected by armed conflicts or the climate crisis and children in migration, as well as in education in emergencies and gender equality. We would appreciate receiving reassurances from you that these priorities will continue to be at the core of UNICEF activities, in synergy with EU actions and policies. 

In the context of the current prioritisation exercise, we would also like to recall the good work done these past years by UNICEF on the protection from sexual violence and abuse, and encourage you not to lose momentum and continue contributing to wider UN and global work on this crucial topic. 

We understand that the humanitarian system is under unprecedented strain, and public funding alone will not meet the scale of the crisis. In this regard, the EU has taken action, and has committed an initial €1.9 billion in humanitarian aid for 2026. We welcome UNICEF’s commitment to further develop its outreach to the private sector, including through innovative tools, and to make humanitarian funding from the private sector a strategic priority. In parallel, we encourage UNICEF to continue diversifying its donor base and attracting new public donors. We support UNICEF’s commitment to further its localisation efforts, as country ownership and domestic resource mobilisation are crucial for sustainability. We also encourage UNICEF to continue strengthening coordination across humanitarian, development and peacebuilding work.

The EU will remain a major and principled donor to UNICEF and we look forward to continuing working together. We stand committed to child protection, gender equality, human rights, principled humanitarian action and multilateralism, delivering on the Agenda 2030 commitment to development assistance that leaves no one behind. This includes the inclusive participation of children, youth, girls and women, persons with disabilities and LGBTIQ+ persons. We count on your support to continue upholding these principles. 

Thank you.