The high-level dialogue United Nations System-wide Coherence: The Next Steps, organized by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), convened from 4-5 March 2008, in Vienna, Austria, gathering representatives from governments, the “Delivering as One” pilot countries, aid agencies, and the UN system.

The objective of the dialogue was to focus discussions on the development aspects of system-wide coherence and the “Delivering as One” initiative, as well as reviewing the status of inter-governmental consultations on system-wide coherence and the next steps to be taken. Co-Chairs Augustine Mahiga (Tanzania) and Paul Kavanagh (Ireland) of the UN General Assembly consultations (UNGA) on System-wide Coherence outlined experiences from their recent visits to three of the pilot countries, Tanzania, Mozambique and Cape Verde, emphasizing that the ‘Delivering as One’ projects are resulting in significantly greater alignment of UN system activities to national plans and priorities, and highlighting the political commitment of the governments concerned. They also stressed the need for various headquarters to catch up with progress at country level and for granting greater flexibility to the UN country teams. The recognition and popularity of the project is reportedly growing, with some 30 small and medium-sized states having asserting their interest in joining as pilot countries.
In related news, on 26 February 2008, Co-Chairs Mahiga and Kavanagh put forward a preliminary programme of work for the UNGA consultations on System-wide Coherence, where they suggested holding consultations on 28 March to consider the topic delivering as one at country level, and on 7 and 17 April to discuss issues relating to funding and governance, respectively. Furthermore, the Co-Chairs expressed their intention to invite the UN Secretary-General to brief delegations on the efforts toward greater coherence being made under the auspices of the Secretary-General and the Chief Executives Board in early May 2008.
Links to further information
UNIDO High-level dialogue website
Statement by Co-Chairs Augustine Mahiga and Paul Kavanagh, 4 March 2008
Co-Chairs’ letter to UN member States, 26 February 2008