25 March 2015
ECOSOC Issues Road Map for Dialogue on UN Development System
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The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) issued a road map for its dialogue process on "the longer-term positioning of the UN Development System." The dialogue will inform the outcome of the next UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) - the mechanism through which the UNGA assesses the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and impact of the UN development system.

ECOSOC27 February 2015: The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) issued a road map for its dialogue process on “the longer-term positioning of the UN Development System.” The dialogue will inform the outcome of the next UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) – the mechanism through which the UNGA assesses the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and impact of the UN development system.

The road map indicates that seven sessions, seven workshops and three retreats will take place between January 2015 and adoption of the QCPR resolution in December 2016.

The first two sessions convened on 15 December 2014 and 30 January 2015. They covered key issues, perspectives of Member States, and relevant UN initiatives. The third session was organized during the ECOSOC Operational Activities for Development Segment, on 23-25 February 2015, and aimed to incorporate perspectives of policy makers from capitals.

The remaining sessions will include: two sessions to review progress and discuss the way forward, on 9 June 2015 (during the ECOSOC Coordination and Management Meeting) and in October 2015; a session on emerging policy issues, in February 2016, during the Operational Activities Segment; and on the dialogue outcome and next steps, in May 2016 during the Coordination and Management Meeting.

The ECOSOC dialogue on longer-term positioning of the UN Development System was called for in ECOSOC Resolution 2014/14, which highlights the need to take into account the post-2015 development agenda, including: the interlinkages between the alignment of functions, funding practices, governance structures, capacity and impact of the UN development system, partnership approaches and organizational arrangements.

According to the road map, these issues will be discussed in the workshops and retreats that will be held in complement to the sessions. [Publication: ECOSOC Dialogue Roadmap] [Resolution 2014/14] [ECOSOC Dialogue Session 1 Webpage] [ECOSOC Dialogue Session 2 Webpage] [IISD RS Story on ECOSOC Dialogue, Session 1] [IISD RS Story on ECOSOC OAS 2015] [QCPR Webpage]

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