Chief of the UNCTAD office in New York, Chantal Line Carpentier, addresses a high-level session marking the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in February 2020.
UNCTAD New York office intensified its support to member States in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, while expanding its regular activities.
It played a key role in shaping UNCTAD’s contribution to the UN framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19, and the UN’s multi-donor trust fund to support the fight against the pandemic.
It also supported member States’ deliberations on financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the era of COVID-19, under an initiative co-led by Canada and Jamaica, joined by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Following discussions by heads of state, UNCTAD was mandated to lead a cluster on finance and technology.
UNCTAD also supported the president of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in his priorities on financing for development, technology and innovation, identifying areas where UNCTAD’s expertise could contribute to his mandate.
In addition, UNCTAD supported the president of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in preparing for his mandated meetings on culture and digital cooperation, to be held in 2021.
The president of the 75th UNGA session appointed the chief of the UNCTAD New York Office, Chantal Line Carpentier, to serve on the newly established Board of Advisors on least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS).
UNCTAD’s New York office facilitated briefings by its Geneva-based experts on the impact of COVID-19 to member countries of the Group of 77 (G77) and China, covering various UNCTAD analyses on the impact of the pandemic. It also organized briefings for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, including one on the productive capacities index.
Chief of the UNCTAD office in New York, Chantal Line Carpentier, moderates a panel discussion during the Global Leadership in the 21st Century conference in December 2020.
UNCTAD's chief statistician, Steve MacFeely, briefs member states in New York on the work done in compiling statistics for sustainable development goals' indicators in February 2020.
The office also facilitated a briefing for member States on the methodology jointly developed with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to measure illicit financial flows during a session of the UN Statistical Commission.
At the request of delegations, the office also prepared background notes for member States’ consideration on the ongoing revitalization of the Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) of the UNGA and on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of the UN’s operational activities for development.
The New York office continued supporting negotiations for UNGA resolutions on international trade, information and communication technologies, entrepreneurship, sovereign debt, investments for sustainable development and the plight of seafarers in times of COVID-19.
Contributions to inter-agency work
In addition, the office continued representing UNCTAD in inter-agency task forces and teams focused on: financing for development; science, technology and innovation; and social and solidarity economy.
It was also actively involved in the network on youth development; round tables on the implementation of the UN’s Digital Cooperation Framework; and in the process of reform of the UN’s development work.
UNCTAD contributed actively to the work of the UN Network of Economists, tabling a proposal to promote new economics for sustainable development, which was adopted as the basis for the network’s 2021 work programme. It also helped review projects for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Fund.
Partnerships and awareness-raising
UNCTAD strengthened collaboration with the UN Office for Partnerships, leading to joint activities in the areas of financing the SDGs, economic empowerment of women and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and innovation.
The New York office also co-organized celebrations of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, MSMEs Day and promoted several UNCTAD events to increase online attendance from New York, including the 2020 Empretec Women in Business Awards.
It also raised awareness on UNCTAD’s work by contributing to consultations and activities by civil society organizations to mark the UN’s 75th anniversary.
Chief of the UNCTAD office in New York, Chantal Line Carpentier, fields interview questions from the CPA Journal in January 2020.