Statement by Ms. Varduhi Melikyan, Counsellor of the Mission of Armenia to the UN, at the Informal meeting of the UNGA on the UN80 Initiative

27 February, 2026

Mr. President,

We thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this informal meeting. We also express our appreciation to the briefers for their comprehensive updates regarding the “New Humanitarian Compact” and the “Training and Research” work packages.

We welcome the progress achieved across the three workstreams and the continued development of the UN80 Initiative Dashboard, which transparently reflects the reform logic /underpinning each stream in a structured manner. We remain hopeful that the Dashboard will soon evolve into a practical and user-friendly tool for delegations and the broader UN system, serving as a single, interconnected and mutually reinforcing platform.

We reiterate our position that meaningful progress in international peace and security and sustainable development is linked to our collective ability to uphold fundamental human rights and advance the prevention agenda. While we share the vision of the New Humanitarian Compact - to deliver faster and maximize impact - we emphasize that the proposed measures must be fit for purpose in strengthening the human rights pillar of UN, including through adequate financing and human resources.

From the outset of the reform process, Armenia has advocated for more integrated approaches aimed at eliminating unnecessary mandates, avoiding duplication, and fostering synergy between normative and operational work. In this regard, we note with interest that the proposed improvements under the “Training and Research” work package seek to enhance efficiency, strengthen policy impact, promote more effective resource utilization, and reduce duplication.

Knowledge and practice are inherently interlinked and mutually reinforcing. For long-term, results-oriented outcomes, capacity-building, technical assistance, and the sharing of expertise with Member States should remain central priorities. At the same time, it is essential to recognize that Member States must take their decisions on reliable data, sound expertise, and rigorous analysis. We therefore trust that proposed mergers and institutional alignments will preserve the integrity and further strengthen the quality of this important pillar.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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