States Call for Movement on System-wide Coherence by September

New York, 26 June 2009 – Member States met on Monday, 22 June, to take stock of recent discussions and work towards consensus on three aspects of System-wide Coherence (Gender, Governance and Funding), as well as to identify ways forward on those issues.

An Executive Summary of the discussions was presented by the co-Chairs for System-wide Coherence, Ambassador Kaire Mbuende of Namibia and Ambassador Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo of Spain.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the plenary and urged Member States – among other actions – to create the UN composite entity during the 63rd Session of the GA.

It is expected that the 22 June meeting was the last plenary on System-wide Coherence before September. In the meantime, the co-Chairs plan to meet in bilateral consultations with regional groupings and delegations to “find common ground and build consensus on the main areas” of the reforms.

Overview of States’ Positions

In the last few months General Assembly members have met to discuss three Discussion Notes by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, regarding reforms to the UN’s Gender Architecture (issued 5 March), its Governance of development work (issued 16 April) and Funding system for development (issued 5 May). Delegations offered feedback and requested further information on many aspects of the papers. States also received a briefing from UN representatives on the “Delivering as One” initiative.

On Gender, the vast majority of Member States reportedly have expressed support for strengthening the gender architecture through the creation of a “composite entity.”

On Governance and Funding, according to many delegations speaking on 22 June, an enhanced UN governance system and funding architecture is crucial, but more work is needed on the proposals for reform.

As for next steps, many Member States have requested a Resolution on the key areas of System-wide Coherence by the end of the 63rd Session of the General Assembly.

Executive Summary of Consultations

The co-Chairs briefly summarized the consultations on each of the three issues.

Gender Architecture

To strengthen the UN’s gender architecture, the Secretary-General recommended four options, including the establishment of a composite entity that would consolidate the four existing UN agencies working on gender issues (OSAGI, DAW, INSTRAW and UNIFEM). As summarized by the co-Chairs, ”the entity would have strong and strategic field presence and maintain and strengthen collaboration between Member States, the UN system and civil society”.

The co-Chairs’ observations, including possible ways forward:

The composite entity remains the most promising option for meeting the UN’s mandate on gender equality;

The GA should take action on establishing the entity within the 63rd Session;

Two areas, namely funding for the new entity and the intergovernmental oversight mechanism, require further discussion; and

A future decision by the GA on gender should be taken in the context of a comprehensive and integrated approach to the main issues in the System-wide Coherence process.

Governance

The Secretary-General’s note identified a range of gaps and weaknesses in the governance of the UN operational activities for development, “including weak prioritization, overlap of functions, policy inconsistency across the UN system, coordination deficit and great difficulty in assessing system-wide performance of the UN at both global and country levels.”

To strengthen the governance architecture, Secretary-General Ban made ten recommendations, including the creation of a central repository of information on UN operational activities for development.

The co-Chairs’ observations, including possible ways forward:

There is vast support for strengthening the capacities of the GA and ECOSOC to play a “strategic overview” role, providing effective guidance, coordination and monitoring for UN development activities.

Several Member States needed more information on the proposed central repository of information, including anticipated expenses and staffing needs, methods of data collection and working modalities. The proposed repository would ensure the provision of effective and high-quality information to the main UN bodies.

Member States had acknowledged the central role of the quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR), but they warned that any changes in the QCPR process should not weaken the leadership role played by the GA in providing policy guidance.

As ECOSOC plays a key role in system-wide coordination of the UN, the GA could consider “further strengthening the coordination and monitoring role of the Council’s operational segments,” including by establishing an Advisory Group.

To enhance system-wide performance reviews and evaluation at both the global and country levels, the GA could establish “the proposed independent evaluation capacity taking into account the experience with existing mechanisms.”

The GA could ask to “to be informed at the earliest on modalities for conducting an independent evaluation” of the Delivering as One pilot initiatives.

The GA could request the UN Development Group (UNDG) and Chief Executives Board (CEB) to hold periodic briefings and sessions with the membership.

Funding

Ban’s Discussion Note summarized the gaps and weaknesses of the UN funding architecture as follows: “volatility of resource flows, long-term decline in the share of core resources of overall contributions, fragmentation of non-core funding, and uneven burden-sharing among donors.” He recommended that donor countries “renew their commitment to the quantity and quality of the resource flows”, while UN entities should “enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of country-level operations.”

“Core resources” are the contributions for the general support of the organization, with no limitations imposed their use, while non-core funds are applied to a specific purpose.

The co-Chairs’ observations, including possible ways forward:

The GA could recommend that donor countries allocate a minimum of 50% of system-wide contributions to development, as core/regular resources;

To improve the UN’s ability “to pursue coordinated implementation of national and global development goals”, the GA could advise allocating 50% of system-wide, non-core/extra budgetary contributions to thematic funds (contributions to support a specific issue or effort, such as prevention of HIV/AIDS);

To ensure that intergovernmental bodies and their Member States can provide an improved “strategic overview” of the funding system, the GA could request the Secretary-General to provide comprehensive statistical reports on core and non-core contributions;

To enhance the UN’s efficiency at the field level, the GA could request the UNDG, through a participatory approach involving all relevant actors, “to formulate a common standard to assess organizational and operational effectiveness.”

Plenary Discussion (22 June)

Addressing the plenary meeting on 22 June, Secretary-General Ban noted that all Member States unanimously had agreed to continue the system-wide strengthening of the UN in five areas – governance of development activities, funding of development activities, gender architecture, Delivering as One, and business practices.

Speaking on each area, he further noted that:

On Funding, Member States had acknowledged fragmentation and weaknesses in the current system. It would be important to:

Streamline and enhance funding at both donor and UN system levels;

Ensure that funding is adequate, predictable and stable; and

Convene high-level meetings on enhancing the system’s assistance to developing countries.

On Governance, there are four priority areas:

Fostering common project programs. Member States have an opportunity to accelerate the process in this direction.

Comprehensive policy review (which will be undertaken every four years from now on) should be part of the legislative process.

Improved coordination between UN bodies, agencies and ECOSOC. During the discussion Member States underlined the important role of ECOSOC and the need to strengthen its role in guiding development operations.

System-wide performance review and evaluation. The UN’s operational activities for development, as well as the strategic overview provided by the UN main bodies, need to be strengthened.

On Gender, there had been significant progress since the March 2009 panel discussion. The Secretariat had provided additional information on the new entity, which had gained strong support by the membership. The new entity will contribute to:

Enhanced policy research capacities, and

Improved communication within different entities and actors, including UN agencies, civil society groups, and women’s groups.

Ban urged Member States to create the UN composite entity during the 63rd Session of the GA, as well as to allocate appropriate funding for its establishment. He said, “it is time to act,” and emphasized that the UN needed to do everything it could to ensure women’s empowerment and gender equality.

On Delivering as One, the mandates of the project had changed in the past two years, and considerable improvements in its operational activities had been made. The emphasis of the “Delivering as One” pilots was on developing national priorities.

On Harmonization of Business Practices, he said that the best way to improve the system was to increase the predictability of funding.

Following the statement by the Secretary-General, delegations reiterated their earlier positions. Members of the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) emphasized their preference for an “integrated” approach to considering the various issues. They also rejected any “artificial deadlines” in the process. Other States noted that the discussion on gender architecture was at a more advanced stage and should be taken forward, including by establishing a new composite entity.

On Gender:

Many States reiterated their support for the objectives of gender mainstreaming and for the establishment of a new entity. However, some stated that the financial implications of creating a new entity should be carefully examined, with a preference for building on existing funding resources (Japan).

For some delegations, although the UN Secretariat had provided additional information on the options for a new gender architecture, there remained a number of questions, and more information was needed (JCC, CANZ, US, Russia).

In welcoming the composite entity, some States said that it would contribute to more efficiency and transparency in the UN’s work, decrease duplications, and positively impact UN responsiveness in the field (Brazil, others).

The vast majority of Member States said that the work on strengthening the gender architecture needed to be continued.

On Governance and Funding, many emphasized the interconnection of the two issues. It was observed that the level of understanding on the two issues had not reached to the same level as with gender architecture (JCC).

On Governance:

Some mentioned that a comprehensive statistical analysis on the matter should be provided to GA and ECOSOC (South Korea).

More information was requested on some of the recommendations, including to establish an advisory group (Brazil).

Some delegations emphasized the central role of ECOSOC in both policy and operational activities (Pakistan).

Member States expressed their widespread agreement on the importance of national ownership and governmental leadership.

Many argued that strengthening governance at headquarters level should be in full agreement with what is foreseen at country level and changes at central level should take into account the “no one size fits all” principle (Czech Republic). Some States added that improved country programming would enhance national ownership and leadership.

Member States unanimously agreed on the importance of TCPR’s role.

On Funding:

Member States reiterated their calls for increased funding. Pakistan noted that no progress could be achieved without more funding.

The others emphasized that it is crucial to reconsider the ways current resources are being spent (CANZ).

Japan noted that increased funding, a focal point of the Secretary-General’s Discussion Note, as well as the issues of core versus non-core contributions and thematic funds, needed to be examined in detail. Common country funding, too, should undergo a thorough assessment. Furthermore, unrealistic decisions that could harm the credibility of the UN system must be avoided.

Speaking on Delivering as One and Harmonization of Business Practices, many delegations recognized the importance of these two areas of System-wide Coherence.

They requested more information on the coming evaluation of pilot projects. Colombia stressed that an independent evaluation of the pilots would be the fundamental role and mentioned that a clear road map would facilitate this process, especially with regard to the projects’ financing.

In their concluding remarks, delegations stated that the ultimate goal of System-wide Coherence is to eliminate duplications and inconsistencies in the UN system and thus strengthen UN operational activities at both headquarters and field levels. Pakistan noted that progress in one area would promote development of the other. Further, many States called for the GA to move towards a decision. This decision should take into account all five areas and do justice to what has been achieved during the 63rd Session (Rwanda on behalf of United Kingdom, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Netherlands, Norway).

Many requested a Resolution on the matter.

Next Steps

In the coming weeks, the co-Chairs will hold bilateral meetings with regional groups and individual delegations. These consultations will be followed by a plenary meeting with Member States, presumably in early September 2009, to discuss the way forward on System-wide Coherence.

The 63rd Session will end on Monday, September 14.

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