UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s report “Recommendations contained in the report of the High-level Panel on United Nations System-wide Coherence in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and the environment” (A/61/836) was released on 9 April 2007, offering views and suggestions on the High-level Panel’s recommendations.

In his report, the Secretary-General stresses his support for a stronger, more coherent UN and for the recommendations contained in the report. He suggests that, although the main consideration of the report’s recommendations will be elaborated by the General Assembly, other policymakers and actors should be brought into the discussion to “build a deeper understanding and ownership of the proposals.” The Secretary-General also notes that many of the recommendations are consistent with existing mandates and processes for reform, such as the 2007 triennial comprehensive policy review of the UN’s operational activities for development, the “One UN” pilot programme, and the General Assembly informal consultative process on the institutional framework for the UN’s environmental activities, while stressing that other areas will require fuller discussions and deliberation.
Regarding the environment-related recommendations, Ki-moon notes these could be raised by the General Assembly’s informal consultative process, while taking into account relevant discussions and decisions in other intergovernmental forums, including the Global Ministerial Environmental Forum of the UN Environment Programme Governing Council, the Council of the Global Environment Facility and the conferences of the parties to relevant multilateral environmental agreements. The Secretary-General states that he will “be giving due attention to the Panel’s recommendation that I commission an independent and authoritative assessment of the current United Nations system of international environmental governance.” He also emphasizes that there should be clear delineations of responsibilities in the form of an internal “firewall” in the UN Development Programme, separating its role as manager of the Resident Coordinator system from its programmatic role. The Secretary-General has asked Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro to oversee and support the implementation of the system-wide coherence reform agenda.
Links to further information
The UN Secretary-General’s report
The UN Secretary-General’s letter to the President of the General Assembly