NEW HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT TO ADDRESS ROLE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH, UNDP ADMINISTRATOR TELLS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Press Release
ECOSOC/5662
NEW HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT TO ADDRESS ROLE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH, UNDP ADMINISTRATOR TELLS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
19960710 The link between economic growth and human development would be the subject of the Human Development Report, 1996, to be issued next week, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) told the Economic and Social Council this morning, as it continued consideration of United Nations operational activities for development.James Gustave Speth said this year's Report found that, over time, it was extraordinarily difficult to have human development without economic growth. He stressed that any poverty-eradication efforts must take account of the need to promote economic growth by fostering an enabling international environment.
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), called for further streamlining the number and complexity of guidelines, procedures and processes governing operational activities. On the issue of resources, she stressed the need for both developing and donor countries to commit resources for development and to honour the agreements they had made at recent international conferences.
Also discussing the issue of funding, Karin Sham Poo, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the Fund had experienced a decline in core resources. However, there had been increased funding from the private sector; in 1995, more than 30 per cent of UNICEF funds had come from private sector. She stressed that reform was not a one- time undertaking, adding that, as a part of its reform process, UNICEF had launched a broad, participatory management excellence programme.
Reform was being undertaken in a number of areas of the World Food Programme (WFP), its Executive Director, Catherine Bertini, told the Council. One example of the reform undertaken by the WFP had been the transformation of its governing body into an executive board, with a reduced number of members. In response to a request from its Board, the WFP was concentrating its efforts on the poorest people in the poorest countries, and would be phasing out programmes in 20 middle-income States.
During the informal dialogue which ensued, a number of representatives asked for comment on the Council's oversight role. Mr. Speth said the United Nations intergovernmental process needed more reform than its operational activities. "If this Economic and Social Council doesn't straighten itself out, and doesn't become the institution that was envisaged in the Charter, then you will have failed." He recommended that the Council be split into two committees, one focusing on operational activities and the other continuing intergovernmental dialogue and hearing reports from functional commissions.
Ms. Bertini said that the Council had been touted as new and reformed, but that had yet to be seen. She called on the Council to establish a working definition of multilateralism as the basis for its decisions. "You've talked a lot about coordination and coordination and coordination -- we've gotten the message."
Recalling that the Council had asked for a reduction in the number of members of the WFP Executive Board, she said that "blood had been spilled" by governments to implement that decision. Every year, she added, the Executive Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) increased by one or two members. She called for reform to be applied equally to all aspects of the Council's mandate.
Other issues discussed during the informal dialogue included South-South cooperation, management excellence, and emergency preparedness.
The Council will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its discussion of operational activities for development.
Exchange of Views
Among the questions raised during the exchange of views that followed the opening statements, the representative of the United Republic of Tanzania asked about the impact of the country-strategy note on programmes in the field. Mr. Speth said that if a country-strategy note had not been prepared, that would have no bearing on the process of developing a new country- cooperation framework. He stressed the need to address the burden placed by the international development system on developing countries. "I think that we have got to bring the international system together to rationalize all of these planning and documentation requirements."
The representative of the United States asked about the relationship between the country-strategy notes and the country documents prepared by the Bretton Woods institutions. Mr. Speth said that there should be a closer relationship between the two, but they should not be merged.
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The representative of Ireland, speaking on behalf of the European Union, asked for more information on shared premises and common services. Ms. Bertini said that of the 80 countries where the WFP had activities, there were 60 in which it shared offices with the UNDP.
The representative of Brazil asked about the roles of the executive boards in promoting management excellence. Mr. Speth said the UNDP Board's involvement in management processes was appropriate. "There is always a risk of micromanagement, but we do require and appreciate heavy scrutiny."
Ms. Sham Poo said that UNICEF's experience had been very positive in the area of management excellence and had benefited from an ongoing dialogue with the Executive Board. While acknowledging that there was always a potential for micromanagement, she expressed the hope that the UNICEF Board would not be tempted to do that.
Brazil's representative also asked if there was coordination among the different field offices aimed at promoting South-South cooperation. Dr. Sadik replied that the UNFPA had an active programme on South-South cooperation which was generally driven by the field-level staff. Ms. Bertini said that the WFP was concentrating on making more purchases in developing countries and then using them in neighbouring States. That served to foster South-South cooperation, and had the added benefit of providing local food which better suited the tastes of the recipients. Ms. Sham Poo said that UNICEF procured 27 per cent of its goods from developing countries for use in other developing States.
The representative of the Russian Federation asked about the responses of the agencies to crisis situations. Ms. Bertini said there was a WFP/Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) early-warning system in place. Work was also being done to map out areas where food security and emergency problems could arise, she added.
Denmark's representative stated there was a kind of market system governing development activities, whereby developing countries created demand and the international system responded with supply, and asked for comment. Mr. Speth said that the funds and programmes should maintain their own identities, which would lead to healthy competition. But he added that he strongly advocated a single cooperation framework for each country, as well as the use of common premises in each.
Ghana's representative asked who bore responsibility for the costs incurred in the resident coordinator system. Mr. Speth replied that the UNDP was "footing the bill for the system rather heavily". The UNDP had originally been given responsibility for the resident coordinator system because of its broad mandate and large size. Common leadership in the resident coordinator system was critical, he said, adding that he wanted the UNDP to become not
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just another fund or programme, but rather an agency committed to enhancing the functioning of the system as a whole.
The representative of Pakistan asked what could be done to allow the field offices room to operate without feeling stifled by their respective headquarters. Dr. Sadik said decentralization was being carried out in the UNFPA with great success. Ms. Bertini said that the WFP was working not only on delegating responsibility to the field, but was also making efforts to move decision-makers to the field.
Responding to a question by India's representative, Dr. Sadik said much progress had been made in the harmonization of budgets and programmes of the development agencies.
The representative of the Netherlands asked what was being done to avoid overlap among the agencies. Ms. Bertini said it was important to take advantage of areas of specialization while avoiding overlap. The WFP was considering concluding a memorandum of understanding with UNICEF on the division of labour between the two.
The representative of Canada asked about evaluation of resident coordinator activities. Mr. Speth said that the UNDP would evaluate the performance of the resident coordinators, adding that other agencies must do the same.
The representative of the United Kingdom asked how agencies were using World Bank data in their work. Ms. Bertini said that the WFP drew on the expertise of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its carrying out its programmes.
The representative of Argentina asked how discussions on coordination were being translated into action at the field level. Dr. Sadik said that a whole session was required to fully discuss how the Council could function better. There had been much progress in the area of coordination. Agencies had a heightened awareness of the importance of coordination as a result of the Council's emphasis on the issue.
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