UNITED NATIONS (CMC) — Outgoing president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Ambassador Inga Rhonda King, has urged the UN agency to remain “a formidable tool” for development cooperation.

In passing the gavel to the new ECOSOC president, Mona Juul, of Norway, the St Vincent and the Grenadines diplomat highlighted strides made during the council’s 2019 session.

She also voiced conviction that “much more can — and will — be done in 2020”.

Describing ECOSOC’s recently-concluded High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and its Voluntary National Review process as the “jewels” of the council’s agenda, she said discussions at the 2019 Forum revealed that countries are not yet on track to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

However, King said, the two-week-long meeting that concluded last Thursday also demonstrated that there is still time to change course.

“It is our mandate to use [the Economic and Social Council] to guide the work of the United Nations system,” King said.

She said while it may not be the UN’s “most glamorous organ, ECOSOC remains “a formidable tool”, urging it to deepen collaboration with other agencies and charter bodies.

In concluding the HLPF last Thursday, King urged the global community to “stay together and step up” action in order to attain the SDGs.

“Even though the global picture is mixed, we have made encouraging progress, sometimes despite political and other headwinds”, said King.

During the past two weeks, King said the UN’s chief global forum for reviewing successes, challenges, and lessons learned on the road towards reaching the 17 SDGs mobilised and inspired action towards fulfilling the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

But she lamented that “we are currently not yet on track to achieve the SDGs by 2030”.

“To deliver, we need to move out of our comfort zones in pursuing new ways of collective action and we need to adapt and transform at a much swifter pace.”

In her inaugural speech as ECOSOC president, Juul said the body’s mandate remains “as relevant and compelling” as it did back in 1945 when it was tasked with “fostering international cooperation on economic, social, and cultural issues”.

Having served as one of the four ECOSOC vice-presidents, Juul was elected by acclamation on Thursday morning.

Juul said the council should promote “universal respect and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion”.

“Today, we also have the overarching 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” she stated, which “guides our efforts to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all”.

Juul said ECOSOC offers “a multitude of opportunities” to assist the global community in reaching the UN’s 17 SDGs, noting that “ECOSOC and its intergovernmental structures make up a whole ecosystem”, with each component providing a specific function.