22 July 2015: The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) endorsed a resolution adopted by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), on revising the ESCAP conference structure to be “fit for the evolving post-2015 development agenda.” Among the provisions of the Resolution, ESCAP decides to review the continued “substantive relevance and financial viability” of each regional institution, every five years.

ESCAP adopted Resolution 71/1 at its 71st session, held 25-29 May 2015, in Bangkok, Thailand.

According to the Resolution, ESCAP Member States agree to establish a Committee on Energy that will meet biennially, and to reconstitute two of its existing committees. The Committee on Information and Communications Technology becomes the Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation, while the Committee on Macroeconomic Policy, Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Development becomes the Committee on Macroeconomic Policy, Poverty Reduction and Financing for Development.

The committees will meet biennially, as do other ESCAP committees. The committees review and analyze regional trends, and monitor the implementation of ESCAP decisions. ESCAP has nine committees that address specific areas of work, including statistics, social development, and disaster risk reduction (DRR).

The following regional institutions also operate under the auspices of ESCAP: the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology in New Delhi, India; the Centre for Alleviation of Poverty Through Sustainable Agriculture in Bogor, Indonesia; the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific in Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture, Japan; the Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Beijing, China; and the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication in Incheon, Republic of Korea.

The ESCAP resolution encourages all ESCAP Member States and associate members to make voluntary annual contributions to fund the operation of the regional institutions.

ECOSOC endorsed the ESCAP resolution at its 54th plenary meeting, on 22 July 2015 (E/RES/2015/30). [E/RES/2015/30] [ESCAP Committees] [ESCAP Regional Institutions]