18 January 2016: UN Member States were briefed on the implementation of the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development (QCPR) 2012, the status of the UN Development System (UNDS), UNDS’ alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the future of QCPR. The briefing centered on the recently released Report of the UN Secretary-General on the QCPR’s implementation, and was organized by the Office for Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (OESC/DESA).

Addressing UN Member States and other participants on 18 January 2016, in New York, US, Navid Hanif, OESC Director, said teams were sent to Rwanda, Colombia, and the Pacific Islands to ensure the report was based on solid data from the ground. He said its points on the way forward are expected to be “crystallized” by June or July 2016. Hanif said the report finds that the UN Development System remains the preferred partner for national actors, especially with regards to policy advice on strategy and plans, institutional capacity development, and peace and security. However, on promoting regional and interregional integration, he said the UN has lost its rank as preferred partner by a significant margin.

On the funding of the UN’s operational activities for development, he highlighted that that UNDS is dependent on its three largest donors – the US, the UK and Japan – which provide 45% of the total funding. He cited the importance of expanding the donor base. He also noted that contributions from developing countries increased by 26% compared with 2011, and said overall financing increased by 7%, but core funding declined by 4.5%. On the Delivering as One initiative, Hanif said its success depends on the availability of resources, and the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) remains understaffed and underfunded.

On alignment of UNDS with the 2030 Agenda, Hanif underscored the need: to find new ways and funding sources to reduce fragmentation; for the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC) to support the 2030 Agenda’s priority of eradicating extreme poverty; for UNDS to support capacity building at the national level, beyond holding trainings and workshops; and to adopt results-based management and a “culture of results,” by making results part of project design, changing behaviors, and improving systems and tools to build capacity. Hanif suggested that: UN Member States could undertake an agreement on how the UN System should support 2030 Agenda implementation; partnerships will become one of the key tools in implementing the 2030 Agenda; many national governments need support for monitoring results on the ground; and an effective funding architecture will be key to an “integrated mindset” for the UNDS. He added that the current funding base for operational activities for development – which comes largely from OECD countries – will need to be revisited and aligned with the new funding architecture.

Hanif also highlighted that governments must make a decision on the future of the QCPR by October 2016, when negotiations on QCPR 2016 will begin. He said the two options for its future are to have QCPR become a system-wide framework, or have Member States develop a new framework or mandate the UN system to design a new framework.

Among the Member States that took the floor, Norway expressed concern that the report shows little improvement with regards to the Resident Coordinators, and asked clarifications about the exact functions that the UN system performs in developing countries where the national resources are rich or have significantly increased. Canada welcomed the progress on resource management, and expressed a “very positive” reaction towards the robustness of the report, which she said is evidence-based and has a robust monitoring framework that should be retained for the next QCPR. [Meeting Webcast] [IISD RS Story on Report of Secretary-General] [IISD RS Sources]