02 September 2010
























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Member States Discussing First Basket of System-wide Coherence Issues

New York, 14 April 2008 – Member States have begun consultations on the first basket of System-wide Coherence issues. Delegates met on 28 March to discuss “Delivering as One at Country Level” and on 7 April to discuss funding structures across the UN.

In both meetings, the General Assembly’s co-Chairs on System-wide Coherence, Ambassadors Augustine Mahiga and John Paul Kavanaugh of Tanzania and Ireland, respectively, shared their impressions of progress so far and made recommendations to Member States on how to move forward. For “Delivering as One”, Member States were inclined to await the outcomes of the eight pilot projects before making any definitive assessments. For Funding, it was generally agreed that the latest Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review (TCPR) document should provide the framework for next steps.

Consultations on governance and institutional reform will take place on 17 April. Gender-related discussions are also part of the first basket of issues but have not yet been scheduled.

The themes “Delivering as One”, Funding, Governance and Institutional Reform, and Gender emerged from the November 2006 recommendations of the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence (SWC). (Click here for the Panel’s report.)

For background and recent updates on System-wide Coherence, see Latest Development Issue # 242.

Delivering as One at Country Level

Delivering as One at Country Level – also called “One UN” – was recommended by the High-level Panel on SWC to fundamentally restructure UN development work with the establishment of one leader, one program, one budget and where appropriate, one office, at the country level. Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay and Vietnam have been operating as pilot countries for this initiative. The co-Chairs recently visited the pilot countries and shared their observations with delegations at the meeting, summarized below.

In her opening address, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro stressed that pilots should be nationally owned, that no single model can be applied to all countries, and that the pilots should serve to align UN goals with those of the involved governments. She also noted that an independent evaluation of lessons learned should take place.

Co-Chairs Mahiga and Kavanaugh made the following observations about the Delivering as One program. (Click here for their statement at the meeting.)

  • The programming and delivery of development assistance have reinforced national ownership and leadership.

  • No new conditions have been set on national partnerships as a result of the program.

  • The principle of “No One Size Fits All” is being observed, and no “straightjackets” are being imposed on countries.

  • The burden of labor and time traditionally incurred by national administrations in dealing with a proliferation of UN entities has been reduced. The co-Chairs said, “It was a great relief for these governments to deal with the UN country team principally through One accepted leader for a One program with One funding arrangement.”

  • Governments and institutions in developing countries were experiencing increased empowerment as a result of dealing with a single UN country team, instead of a fragmented system of powerful individual agencies, “which sometimes in the past have had the cumulative effect of overwhelming the state administrations concerned.”

  • The program must seek to “strike a judicious balance between the ‘oneness’ of UN delivery and the strength and roles of individual agencies.”

The co-Chairs also highlighted the need for greater “synergy” between country-based and UN-headquarters-based operations, recommending that:

  1. UN rules should be amended to allow financial savings resulting from Delivering as One to be “ploughed back” into the development account.

  2. The building of country-based national capacities should be matched by increased UN Headquarters responsibility for the country.

  3. Both Headquarters-based and country-based UN teams must take responsibility for ensuring that inter-agency politics does not have a negative impact.

In their responses, many Member States noted the success of the One UN pilot programs and the importance of national ownership of the process. Additional comments included:

  • Japan: Savings gained through boosting efficiency and reforming the UN system should be placed into an “empowerment fund.” Steps must be taken to increase incentives for efficient programming, including personnel evaluations and the channelling back of financial savings into the same country.

  • G77 + China: There should be no systematic changes to the methods of formulating, approving, or financing of country programs without open and inclusive inter-governmental consideration.

  • European Union: The role of the country-based Resident Coordinator must be enhanced, to ensure delivery of results.

  • Switzerland: “Implementation gaps” remain in a number of key areas, including the role of the Resident Coordinator; business practices among funds, programs and specialized agencies; and determining which resident or non-resident UN organization is best placed to respond to specific priorities of individual countries.

Several pilot countries also addressed the meeting.

  • Pakistan noted that it remains too early for any definitive assessment of the pilots but expressed confidence that the outcome will be a positive one.

  • Vietnam noted that positive results from its experience with Delivering as One cannot be mechanically replicated in other settings.

Funding

The High-level Panel on SWC found that in order to achieve coherence across the UN system, the organization should work towards increased scrutiny of UN financing.

Click here for the statement of Ambassador Kavanagh at the meeting. He noted that:

  • The OECD-DAC report of 2007 found that “most donors are not on track to meet their stated commitments to scale up aid and will need to make unprecedented increases to meet the targets they set for 2010.” (OECD-DAC: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - Development Assistance Committee.)

  • These results are “not an encouraging backdrop for our work”, and System-Wide Coherence cannot be achieved without increased financial commitment by Member States.

Kavanagh urged Member States to refer to the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review (TCPR) of March 2008 to set an overall strategic policy direction for funding. The TCPR makes recommendations for:

  • Funding for Operational Activities of the UN Development System, and

  • Transaction Costs and Efficiency at the UN.

Member States’ comments included:

  • European Union: A prerequisite to improving finance coherence is to improve the balance between core UN funding and country-based, non-core funding.

  • G77 and China: Supports the recommendation that programs should align their multi-year funding cycles to increase coordination.

  • Japan: The comparative advantages of each UN agency should be considered as projects are implemented. A rise in core UN funding will not necessarily mean a decrease in country-based, non-core funding, and vice versa. The positive experience of “pooled funding” in other UN areas should serve as an example to the current project.

Antigua and Barbuda: Reiterated the importance of “buy-in” from Member States. Urged against “artificial deadlines”.

Egypt: The issue of funding is much broader than the process of System-wide Coherence and could be the key to the success or failure of the initiative. There can be no real reform of UN work at operational level without reform of funding. The price of poor performance should not be borne by program countries, but by management and institutions.

Bangladesh: The lack of adequate, predictable and reliable funding over the years has undermined the UN system.

Cape Verde: Concerned that its “guinea-pig” status as a Delivering as One pilot country allowed undue criticisms to be expressed against its financial management.

In conclusion, Kavanagh reiterated that the UN’s development system must be ready to face the challenge of funding reform if it is to benefit from System-wide Coherence.

Next Steps

Member State consultations on Governance and Institutional Reform will take place on 17 April.

Gender consultation dates have yet to be confirmed.

The consultations on these four issues (the first “basket”) will culminate with a report by the co-Chairs to General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim in early June.

Documents

Co-Chairs’ Statement on System-wide Coherence: Funding (7 April 2008)

Co-Chairs’ Statement on System-wide Coherence: Delivering as One (28 March 2008)

Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review (14 March 2008)

Co-Chairs’ Letter Proposing “Basket” Consultations for System-wide Coherence (26 February 2008)

Delivering As One - Report of High-level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence (9 November 2006)

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