20 September 2013: The UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) consultations on strengthening the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resulted in Resolution A/68/L.2, which the 68th session of UNGA approved during its first meeting. The resolution outlines recommendations for the UNGA, the ECOSOC and the UN Secretariat to reaffirm the role of Council, reorganize its work and position it within the broader process of the post-2015 development agenda.

The resolution re-establishes the Council’s relevance as a principal UN body and strengthens its role in coordinating UN activities. This role includes: following up on outcomes of major conferences and summits in environmental, social and economic fields; ensuring coherence in reports of intergovernmental and inter-agency bodies; preparing Council meetings using an issues-based approach; and supporting integration of the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainable development.

ECOSOC will base its annual programme of work on a main theme. This theme will take into account the Council’s role in promoting the three dimensions of sustainable development and the post-2015 development agenda.

The resolution restructures the Council’s work segments into: a coherence session in February/March; a humanitarian session between March and June; an integration session; and a high-level segment in June/July. The high-level segment will include the ministerial segment of the HLPF and a biennial Development Cooperation Forum (DCF). The resolution encourages ECOSOC’s Bureau to alter its election schedule to facilitate a July-July work cycle. The sessions will be held at UN Headquarters in New York, US, except the humanitarian affairs segment, which will alternate between Geneva, Switzerland, and New York. Meetings may be held in other UN locations on ad hoc basis.

Other reforms include: strengthening the Council’s relationships with international financial institutions and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); addressing the needs of countries in special situations, including least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS); engaging stakeholders in the Council’s work, including through partnerships and youth forums; calling on the UN Secretary-General to strengthen support to the Council and its President; coordinating ECOSOC’s work with the work of the UNGA’s Second and Third Committees; and strengthening reporting formats of subsidiary bodies, funds and programmes.

The resolution also encourages ECOSOC to “consider ways to improve its public profile” and the communication of its role and achievements. The 72nd session of the UNGA will review the arrangements of Resolution 68/L.2.

Resolution 67/199 mandated UNGA consultations on the strengthening of ECOSOC, which have taken place since December 2012 under the leadership of Jan Grauls, Permanent Representative, Belgium, who was succeeded by Bénédicte Frankinet, and George Talbot, Permanent Representative, Guyana. These discussions considered the simultaneous processes to establish the High-level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF), the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the intergovernmental expert group on sustainable development financing. The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) Outcome Document reaffirmed ECOSOC’s role in the follow-up of major UN Conferences and the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development. [Publication: UNGA Resolution A/68/L.2] [IISD RS Story on 61/16 Consultations] [IISD RS Story on HLPF Outcome] [IISD RS Sources] [UN Meeting Summary]