24 February 2016: The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) considered how the UN Development System (UNDS) can “get ready” for implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, during the 2016 session of the ECOSOC Operational Activities for Development (OAS) Segment. The Council also considered ECOSOC’s role in this year’s quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR) of UN operational activities − the mechanism used by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and impact of UN operational activities for development.

The OAS took place from 22-24 February 2016, in New York, US. Participants discussed: the implications of the 2030 Agenda for UNDS policy, programming and operational cooperation and coordination; how to strengthen coordination and integration of development, humanitarian and peace pillars in the work of the UN system; how to strengthen inter-agency collaboration at country, sub-regional and regional levels; and how to ensure accountability, coherence and evaluation of impact in the context of partnerships, among other topics.

In a briefing on the ECOSOC dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the UN Development System, ECOSOC Vice-President Alejandro Palma Cerna (Honduras) outlined the dialogue’s importance for “organizational renewal.” The dialogue seeks to contribute to the QCPR resolution to be negotiated by Member States in 2016. ECOSOC called for the dialogue process in resolution 2014/14, mandating it to explore the interlinkages between functions, funding practices, governance structures, capacity and impact of the UNDS, partnership approaches and organizational arrangements. Palma Cerna reported that during the first phase of the dialogue (December 2014-May 2015), Member States generally recognized that the UN Development System was at an “inflection point” and that the status quo is not an option. They called on the UN system to: focus on translating promises into results; provide effective support tailored to contexts and needs; and align with and provide support to national priorities, based on evidence, data and innovation. Regarding the second phase of the dialogue, currently underway, Palma Cerna highlighted that an Independent Team of Advisers has been established to assist Member States in analyzing and prioritizing options, and will conduct consultations with all stakeholders, beginning with a substantive session of the Advisers on 24 February 2016 in New York.

Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, noted that, according to the UN Secretary-General’s report on the QCPR (A/71/63–E/2016/8), the UNDS remains a preferred partner for programme countries, and is considered the best provider of support in addressing global challenges that require collective action.

Throughout the three-day meeting, most participants said the UN system should: “deliver as one”; improve its efficiency by eliminating overlapping mandates; avoid competition among UN entities and instead support countries based on each entity’s added value; and enhance internal coordination. Brazil remarked that no single UN entity can assume a leadership role on all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On inter-sectoral integration, Ameerah Haq, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support (Bangladesh), said the UN’s humanitarian, peace and development arms still operate as distinct entities, while their strengths need to be united, and integration needs to be as much on the Member States’ agenda as on the UN’s. Noting that the system is deeply underfunded for conflict prevention, she called for investing more in prevention than peacebuilding, and for strengthening political and mediation tools. Helen Clark, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, outlined ways to improve integration at the UN and donor levels, such as joint programme planning, increased pooled financing, and multi-donor funds. India cautioned against shifting the focus to humanitarian operations exclusively, and Brazil said UN reforms must include better integration between development and humanitarian efforts, without weakening the development pillar.

Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, said the changes required by the 2030 Agenda will have programmatic implications on institutions. He called for: reassessing the framework of the UN delivery system for development cooperation; recognizing that some mandates and modus operandi might need to be disqualified; and creating space for innovation and experimentation.

Rwanda and others called for UN reform to start at UN Headquarters before “percolating” to the regional and national levels. Switzerland suggested developing a UN strategy for implementing the 2030 Agenda that clarifies the role and areas of work of each UN entity, and minimizes overlaps and duplications. Canada, also for Australia, called for rationalizing UN agencies’ presence at country and regional levels. Many Member States called for a mapping of existing UN mandates and initiatives.

Many called for a clear timeframe for undertaking UN reform, noting that the 15-year timeframe for implementing the 2030 Agenda does not allow much time for reforms. Argentina remarked that Member States should be “realistic” about the scope of the 2016 QCPR, suggesting that issues that cannot be addressed now could be considered in the subsequent QCPRs that will be prepared before 2030.

Providing additional views on the QCPR, Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said the QCPR should aim to: achieve results for the most disadvantaged; reflect the commitment to universality; and enhance the ability to work together by supporting integration. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), called for the QCPR to give a stronger mandate to the UN system to advance work on gender equality. The US cautioned against “micro-managing” UN entities, and called for the QCPR to be a strategic, concise and high-level document that should offer strategic direction while allowing UN entities to work out technical and operational details.

In terms of UN resources and capacity, Lake said the organization cannot keep up with the increasing demands on staff. Thomas Gass, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), reported that earmarked funding to UN operational activities for development is on the rise, while core contributions declined by 5% in 2014, amounting to only 24% of total UN funding.

Several Member States, including Brazil, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Sweden, and Trinidad and Tobago for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), highlighted the need for adequate or increased core UN funding, while Viet Nam called on countries to meet their commitments to deliver on core funding. Zhanar Aitzhanova, Minister for Economic Integration, Kazakhstan, highlighted her government’s proposal that each country contribute 1% of its national budget to the SDG Fund (SDG-F), which was created in 2014 by UNDP on behalf of the UN system.

Amir Abdulla, World Food Programme (WFP), encouraged looking at multi-stakeholder partnerships and other non-traditional types of funding, and to align funding with the 2030 Agenda. This was echoed by other participants, such as Sweden, which supported strengthening the UN’s role in creating partnerships.

Also on partnerships, Lise Kingo, Executive Director, UN Global Compact, stressed the importance of integrity for partnerships, and outlined observations shared by Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), including the need for the UN to: break down silos and cooperate across issues and goals; engage business partners more strategically; assume greater risks, streamline bureaucracy and “speak the language” of business to scale up partnerships; and build and strengthen local coalitions for SDG implementation.

Norway, Sweden and others called for enhanced support to the UN resident coordinators (RC) system, and some highlighted the importance of increasing its authority. Mourad Wahba, UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), participating via video, said RCs’ authority should be “earned” rather than “granted.” Some called for aligning the UN Development Action Framework (UNDAF) with the 2030 Agenda, and with national planning and budgeting.

Participants also said the UN system should: fully tailor its support to national realities and priorities, and recognize the primacy of national ownership; strengthen institutional capacities for cross-sectoral work, statistics and data collection, quality and disaggregation at the UN level and in countries; be more flexible; offer timely and speedy support in countries in need of immediate assistance; ensure effective accountability, monitoring and transparency; and pursue results-based management and output-oriented approaches.

Additional points raised included the need for: longer-term funding; shifting from supply-driven approaches to demand-driven approaches; moving to multi-year planning and programming; strong political leadership for integration and direction-setting; focusing on the most vulnerable and making stronger efforts in countries affected by conflicts; tailoring support to middle-income countries (MICs) and countries in special situations, and strengthening South-South cooperation; keeping eradication of poverty as the overarching priority; and investing in youth.

The OAS segment of ECOSOC takes place once a year. It seeks to: provide overall coordination and guidance for operational development funds and programmes on a system-wide basis; concentrate guidance on cross-cutting and coordination issues related to operational activities; and focus on improving the overall impact of operational activities of the UN system in support of national development priorities. [OAS 2016 Webpage] [ECOSOC Website] [UN Meeting Coverage, 22 Feb] [UN Meeting Coverage, 23 Feb] [UN Meeting Coverage, 24 Feb] [UN Secretary-General’s Report on QCPR] [IISD RS Story on DESA Briefing on QCPR] [IISD RS Story on Advisers for ECOSOC Dialogue] [IISD RS Sources]