Deputy Secretary-General's Opening Remarks to 20th Session of the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa [As prepared for delivery].

Your Excellency, Sarah Anyang Aagbor, Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology of the African Union Commission,

Your Excellency Ambassador Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations

Representatives of organs of the Africa Union at continental and regional levels,

Colleagues of the United Nations system family,

Distinguished participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to address the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa and to co-chair today's session alongside the AU Commissioner Human Resources, Science and Technology.

In creating this Mechanism in 1998, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations had entrusted its chairmanship to the newly created position of Deputy Secretary-General.

This was an acknowledgment of the importance of the regional dimension for development.

And it was a response to the vision and reforms of our late Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who had proposed to the General Assembly that a Deputy Secretary-General position should be established to help coordinate the development activities of the United Nations.

Two decades after the creation of the DSG position, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has taken steps to reassert the aspirations of the General Assembly. In taking office, he requested me to coordinate our UN development assets in support to the 2030 Agenda.

And as I honor this responsibility, you can count on my personal commitment to accompany and support your work at the regional level.

It is why, this year, I have made a priority to attend RCMs in all regions. I am starting in Marrakesh, in a journey that will take me to all continents within few weeks. It is great to see first-hand what is expected of our leadership globally and in the region, in the hands of Vera Songwe.

Excellencies,

2019 will be a defining year to deliver the promises we made to humanity through the 2030 Agenda and Africa's 2063 Agenda.

We are heading quickly towards the first stocktaking on the SDGs at the General Assembly in September.

And this will be our first opportunity to assess progress and galvanize action, 4 years into the new Agenda.

But the data that starts to emerge suggests that we are not on track to meet the 2030 Agenda.

Put in simple terms: we need to accelerate to meet the ambitions that we have set for ourselves.

Action on the SDGs is still to reach the scale required to address the increasingly complex and interlinked challenges facing humanity and our planet.

Climate change, rising...