EU Presidency Statement - United Nations ECOSOC: Triennial policy review of operational activities for development

Summary: 11 July 2008, New York - Statement by Mr Philippe Delacroix, EU Presidency Coordinator in New York, Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union, at the United Nations Economic and Social Council General Discussion on the progress on and implementation of General Assembly resolution 62/208 on the triennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system

Mr. President,

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova and Armenia align themselves with this declaration.

Following the triennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, we are once again meeting to take stock of the progress achieved less than one year after the General Assembly adopted Resolution 62/208 in 2007.

As mentioned in one of the reports submitted to us today, since 1997 the General Assembly has called for strengthening the coordination of the United Nations development system via the creation of the resident coordinator position.

Considerable progress has been made and the Resolution adopted this past December furthered the process aimed at improving the overall coherence of UN development actions in order to achieve better aid effectiveness. Hence, the system will be even better suited to respond to countries' needs and priorities, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The system will therefore contribute to countries' achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and bolster their capacities to this effect, as well as mobilize the stable and predictable resources required for the system to play its full role. Today, it is our responsibility to focus on the progress achieved and find the best way to continue moving forward.

In this regard, the European Union would like to commend the Secretary-General's presentation of three reports.

The management process report for the implementation of General Assembly Resolution 62/208 (E/2008/49), is intended to set goals, timetables and specify the respective officials in charge of implementing the Resolution. It is the fruit of extensive consultations with United Nations system development agencies and inter-agency mechanisms. This effort deserves to be recognised . However, this management process as described in the report does not fulfill all the requests in term of measures, objectives, criteria and deadlines as specified in the paragraph 141 of the resolution 62/208.

The triennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities is indeed a unique tool, allowing the United Nations to run and implement its development activities in a coordinated and practical manner. This is why the tools facilitating its implementation must be designed in the most operational way possible and shall define the expected results in a way that make possible their monitoring. We hope that this kind of presentation will be made next year in particular with the activity reports that the specialized funds, programmes and institutions will provide for the implementation of the Resolution.

We have also noted the efforts made by the CEB, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and the WFP as regards the application of the TCPR Resolutions and we encourage them to continue moving ahead in this direction while complying with the roadmap annexed to the management process report.

We have also noted the CRP on the measures taken by he specialized agencies on simplification and harmonisation and would like to ask them to accelerate their efforts in this area.

Mr. President,

The report on the functioning of the resident coordinator system, including costs and benefits (E/2008/60), also prepared for the first time, provided a clear presentation of the resident coordinator system, its organization, operations and recent developments.

It recalls two basic principles on which this system relies: first, the operational activities of the United Nations are carried out upon the national authorities' request and in accordance with their policies and priorities; second, the system of resident coordinators is part of the United Nations system as a whole and should work in a participatory, collegial and accountable way.

Notable improvements have been made to the resident coordinator's authority, which is a prerequisite for strengthening his/her two-fold responsibility towards countries and the system.

Good leadership of the UN at coutry level is vital for successful UN operations In this regard, we welcome the efforts undertaken by the Chief Executives Board (CEB) to improve the selection, recruitment, training and assessment procedures for resident coordinators and humanitarian coordinators and for the establishment of an accountability framework. The improvement in the management system, which was completed in a relatively short period, as well as the integration of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) into the structure of the Chief Executives Board, facilitated this progress with a view to coherence.

Further significant progress has been made, especially by UNDP, in recruiting country directors, thus reinforcing the firewall between the activities carried out by the resident coordinator on behalf of the system as a whole and the UNDP operational activities themselves.

We also welcome the strengthening of the coordination systems including with the Bretton Woods institutions in a number of countries and the improvement in dialogue between the specialized funds, programmes and institutions.

Mr. President,

These efforts should be continued in order to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to effectively respond to developing countries' needs and make the resident coordinator system more open and transparent.

It appears particularly important to:

- Ask UNDP and other UN headquarters, including the Specialized Agencies to finalise the arrangements to set up an effective fire-wall and to strengthen the RC so that he/she can fulfil their role in helping the UN deliver more effectively and collectively as One by embracing the development strategies of programme countries,

- to promote incentive mecanisms that encourage the RCs and Country directors to focus on the goals defined within the UNDAF,

- Improve the diversification of recruitment and emphasize training efforts, and raise awareness of the activities of non-resident agencies, which would facilitate access to their services by affected countries while strengthening the resident coordinator's legitimacy,

- Establish broad codes of conduct and mechanisms for settling disputes in order to give more responsibility to Country Teams and facilitate their work on the ground,

- Strengthen results-based management to promote improved assessment of the implementation of the United Nations framework action plan,

- Enhance harmonization of administrative and business practices to reduce transaction costs, thus allowing savings that could help finance development programmes,

In addition, further consideration should be given to the role of resident coordinators in post-conflict situations, given the essential role they play in the transition phase between emergency assistance and development activities, or in terms of security management.

In this regard, we await with interest the upcoming reports on these issues.

This trend, which has been underway for a year, is moving in the right direction. It should continue in order to allow the resident coordinator to carry out fully his/her task by integrating into all development agencies of the United Nations system, including specialized agencies.

Mr. President,

The report on the comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for 2006 (E/2008/46) indicates a small increase in nominal terms in aid to United Nations agencies in 2006 and a slight decline in real terms.

It also underscores that 2005 was an atypical year due to the resources required following the two humanitarian crises in Asia. Comparisons with 2006 must thus be made cautiously, given the exceptional character of 2005. The increase in contributions from non-DAC/OECD countries is also an encouraging development.

In addition, for the first time since 2002, the relative share of core resources in contributions as a whole was up slightly. This is an important fact that should also be noted, although results have proved to be mixed depending upon the agency.

Irrespective of this modest improvement, core resources remain too limited compared with overall system resources. And yet since they are unallocated, they form the cornerstone for the coherence and harmonization of operational activities, while underlining the virtuous circle and interrelationship between the improvement of the effectiveness and coherence of the system and better funding .

In this sense the EU calls donors to remain mobilized so that the system receives the sufficient, stable and predictable resources required to fully assume its role and meet the growing global challenges to come.

Mr. President,

We would like to express our great appreciation for the work carried out by DESA to improve the compilation of statistics and reliability of financial data and highlight that the improvement and standardization of data systems increases system-wide coherence. For the first time, detailed figures on contributions from specialized agencies were included in the report. The first steps towards the harmonization of data systems have been taken, and we support ongoing efforts to this end, because differences in the way the UN and the DAC/OECD define, categorize and present contributions to United Nations agencies remain too great.

We have also noted with satisfaction the measures taken and considered to create a global data publication system.

Mr. President, it is essential that the strenuous efforts taken in this area continue with the same vigour as in 2006. In this regard, the report provides us with specific and valuable information on the challenges that remain and the work that needs to be done in order to keep moving forward in this direction.

Mr. President,

By adopting Resolution 62/208, the General Assembly showed its commitment to strengthening the capacity of the United Nations development system and working more coherently and efficiently to respond to the needs of its Member States and to tackle future international issues.

Reports from countries where UN agencies are made more progress in improving their programmatic and operational coherence confirm these efforts are leading to a better contribution from the UN system.

The progress achieved is proof that Member States are aware of these issues and that all efforts should be continued.

Thank you.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

Ref: PRES08-207EN
EU source: EU Presidency
UN forum: ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council), (including functional Commissions)
Date: 11/7/2008

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