Remarks at the UN Lao PDR – the Philippines signing ceremony

A warm welcome to Ambassador Deena Joy Amatong, Ambassador of the Philippines to Lao PDR, her team from the Embassy, and UN colleagues.

I’m happy to witness the ceremony for two contributions from the Government of the Philippines to the UN in Lao PDR – for the UXO and Women’s Empowerment (to be implemented by UNDP), and for the Lao Disaster Information System (to be implemented by UNDRR).

This is an exciting development given the growing weight and significance of South-South Cooperation. These two projects are good examples of solidarity among developing countries, and of sub-regional collaboration within the vibrant ASEAN community of nations.

As Resident Coordinator, I welcome these partnerships and express my thanks to the Government of the Philippines for its support to the UN System in two strategically chosen focus areas dealing with resilience and empowerment that are crucial to Lao PDR’s SDG journey.

I would like to recognize the Philippines’ role as a regional leader in disaster risk reduction (DRR), in particular. The Philippines’ collaboration with UNDRR has been exemplary, as demonstrated by the successful organization of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) in Manila last year.

The LaoDi project involves the digitalization of Lao disaster information system, which effectively localizes the regional leadership at country level by helping Laos improve disaster loss and damage data collection, management, analysis and application.

The Embassy of the Philippines' support is timely, as it builds on ongoing LaoDi enhancement works. The UN will ensure that this pilot activity in will lay the foundation for scaling up to other provinces in the coming years with the support of other partners.

The UXO and Women’s Empowerment initiative will bring the Women, Peace and Security Agenda into the UXO sector through briefings with parliamentarians and capacity building for women deminers.

The Women, Peace and Security agenda initiated by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (adopted in 2000) emphasizes the equal and full participation of women in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding.

Women’s participation in the Lao security sector, in particular the humanitarian demining, will be a focus of visit to the Philippines to witness first-hand Filipino leadership in advancing the ASEAN Women, Peace and Security Regional Plan of Action.

I would like to once again thank the Embassy for spearheading these partnerships, and to Ambassador Deena Joy Amatong in particular, for her foresight and stewardship of these projects, and for her commitment to multilateral solutions.

Let me add my best wishes to Ambassador Deena as she assumes her important new role in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Manila. We are privileged to have this ceremony as one of her last official engagements on post.

Thank you!