Economic and Social Council

2014 Substantive Session

5^th & 6^th Meetings (AM & PM)

Persisting Challenges Marked Early Successes of Initiative to Coordinate

United Nations ‘Deliverables’, Economic and Social Council Told

Delegates Hold Panel Discussions with Specialized Agencies, Country Teams

An initiative to coordinate United Nations “deliverables” still faced many challenges despite early successes, senior officials of the Organization’s specialized agencies and country teams told the Economic and Social Council as it held three panel discussions today.

The first panel focused on issues relating to standard operating procedures prepared by the United Nations Development Group for countries wishing to adopt the “Delivering as one” approach.  Eugene Owusu, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ethiopia, said that country had been one of the first to adopt a business operation strategy set forth in those procedures, and lessons drawn from its experience included the need for strong Government commitment, support from agency headquarters and hard steps by the latter to harmonize procedures.  If 26 United Nations agencies could tap each other’s resources, including rosters and funding, significant savings could be realized in terms of time, energy and costs, he said.

Bruno Pouezat, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Morocco, said that the experience of that country’s Government with the “Delivering as one” pilot programme had been highly satisfactory.  United Nations departments and agencies working together on joint programmes had been able to mobilize their competencies in an integrated manner, while responding to needs more quickly, he said.

The second panel explored how to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and results of the United Nations, specifically within countries in transition from relief to development.  Ameerah Haq, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, recalled that, during her time as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative of for Timor-Leste, the whole notion of security had depended on the capability of the national police.  Building that capacity while United Nations missions were present was essential to ensuring a seamless transition from relief to development, she emphasized.

Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, who moderated the panel, said what ailed the United Nations system was the inflexibility of funding windows — the inability to mix assessed and voluntary contributions — and the internal incoherence of Governments.

Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a keynote address that the biggest threats to development were now much more complex and challenging.  They could no longer be addressed by the health, education, energy, or food sectors acting alone, she added.  WHO was reforming to make itself more fit for purpose in addressing the unique challenges of the twenty-first century, she said, adding that many recommendations of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Periodic Review were highly convergent with the agency’s reform measures, including its focus on country needs and impact, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness, as well as improving coordination and coherence.

The third panel addressed the question of what the changing development landscape would mean for specialized agencies after 2015.  Laurent Thomas, Assistant Director-General for Technical Cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said the vision of a world free of hunger and malnutrition was achievable.  However, complex challenges and changes in the context of development cooperation called for a strategic repositioning and major review of the agency’s operations.  Today’s world was different from that of 2000, and would be even more different in 2050, requiring the global community to produce more with less, and to adopt a “climate-smart” approach to agriculture.  The challenges were simply too big for any single Government or organization to tackle on its own, he emphasized, adding that there was a need to partner and coordinate with, as well as to complement one another.

In the ensuing interactive dialogue, several delegates highlighted obstacles to the “Delivering as one” approach.  Ethiopia’s representative said agency headquarters did not feel the same level of urgency as their country offices.  As a result, their responses were not as timely, whereas country offices were not empowered to address issues themselves.

Nepal’s representative stressed that it was difficult and time-consuming to bring global dialogue and agreements into national mechanisms due to a lack of national consultation among elected officials.

Also participating in today’s discussions were speakers representing Belarus, Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Russian Federation, Morocco, Switzerland, Viet Nam and Australia.

Background

The Economic and Social Council continued its operational activities segment this morning, holding three panel discussions.

Panel Discussion I

Moderating the first panel discussion, titled “Standard operating procedures for delivering-as-one”, was John Hendra, Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Programme, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).  It featured the following panellists:  Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, Deputy Executive Director for Management, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); Eugene Owusu, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ethiopia; Bruno Pouezat, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Morocco; and Florence Bauer, Representative, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr. HENDRA opened the discussion by stating that the elaboration and rollout of standard operating procedures for “Delivering as One” was an important step in implementing the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review mandate.  The United Nations Development Group had finalized a comprehensive plan of action to better facilitate implementation of the initiative’s second generation, and “Delivering as one” would only grow more important in ensuring system-wide coherence, he said, adding that the United Nations would need to maximize all its comparative advantages and ensure joint policy support on key development challenges.  The panel would cover three questions:  whether the standard operating procedures had met their objectives in the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review mandates; whether they had led to the harmonization of business practices; and whether they were flexible enough to be adopted by countries not taking part in the “Delivering as one” approach.

Ms. ALBRECTSEN said the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review was a landmark resolution, as it carried a voluntary mandate to adopt the “Delivering as one” business model.  It also called on the development system to address bottlenecks at Headquarters that prevented country teams from delivering as one.  The standard operating procedures had been endorsed by all United Nations Development Group members in the middle of 2013 and introduced to all 40 countries rolling out the new United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks, she said, adding that more than 80 countries would be developing the frameworks over the next two years.  Additional guidance linking to each pillar of the standard operating procedures was being formulated with a view to rollout in the next month or two, she said, adding that the Group had also adopted an action plan on 6 February for eliminating Headquarters bottlenecks.  The next step would be to come up with a monitoring and evaluation framework to track whether “Delivering as one” contributed to greater relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and coherence.

Mr. OWUSU said that standard operating procedures provided United Nations country teams, Governments, as well as other national stakeholders and partners with an integrated package of clear, straightforward and internally consistent guidance on programming, leadership, business operations, funding and communications for country-level development operations, in full consideration of the mandates, rules and procedures governing United Nations agencies.  Describing how standard operating procedures had led to sufficient simplification and harmonization of business practices while reducing transaction costs and efficiency gains in Ethiopia, he said the country had become one of the first to adopt a business operation strategy set forth in the standard operation procedures.  Prior to that, the country team had lacked the ability to measure costs and benefits.  Lessons to be drawn from Ethiopia’s experience included the need for strong Government commitment, support from agency headquarters and hard steps by the latter to harmonize procedures.  If 26 United Nations agencies could tap each other’s resources, including rosters and funding, significant savings could be realized in terms of time, energy and costs, he said.

Mr. POUEZAT, recounting his experiences in Morocco, said that, although there had been many successes in the “Delivering as one” pilot effort, its one major drawback was that it did not have any more money available for future activities.  Overall, however, Government officials in Morocco had indicated that their experience with the pilot programme had been highly satisfactory.  United Nations departments and agencies working together on joint programmes were able to mobilize their competencies in an integrated manner, while responding to needs more quickly and monitoring ongoing activities more efficiently, he said.  They were also more accountable to stakeholders and better able to communicate their achievements.  United Nations teams felt, however, that the definition of “Delivering as one” could be made clearer to Governments before they committed to the process, since many of them were unclear as to how it would be to their benefit.  Participants from across the Organization had taken a very active role and expressed unexpected satisfaction at being able to meet across cross-sectoral or administrative lines through their work, he said.

Ms. BAUER said that the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina had created a streamlined United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks which focused on four pillars and had 16 indicators, much fewer than the previous one.  That would make monitoring easier.  The Government was preparing to validate the framework all at once following inclusive consultations involving all stakeholders.  She also stressed the importance of developing joint programmes where they made sense, describing how the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF worked together to increase immunization rates in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Raising funds together was also beneficial, and it was important for the “Delivering as one” initiative, especially in middle-income countries, to move from a process-oriented model to a results-oriented one.  Emphasizing that leadership mindsets must change, she said that, when leadership and all agency headquarters supported initiatives, results followed.  Standard operating procedures were flexible to allow each country to adopt them as they saw fit, she said, comparing them to a “menu” from which each country could choose how it wished to operate.

Interactive Dialogue

The representative of the Dominican Republic said progress in applying the resolution on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review was crucial to placing the United Nations system in a strategic and effective position to undertake negotiations on the post-2015 agenda.  It was important to focus on results and accountability, which would strengthen both national and international efforts to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development.  New financing sources and mechanisms would require renewed political will, particularly in relation to South-South cooperation, he noted.

The representative of Ethiopia said “Delivering as one” had achieved a number of positive results in terms of making the Organization’s efforts more effective and relevant to his country’s needs.  For example, United Nations agencies operating in Ethiopia had harmonized their annual work plans to align with the Government’s calendar cycle from July to June.  The world body was helping Ethiopia deliver its medium-term vision, in terms of both planning and actual delivery, he said.  The United Nations had become a catalyst in helping the Government deliver on promises to its citizens, and the result was the Organization enjoyed unprecedented cooperation with Ethiopia.

The representative of Viet Nam said his country had implemented aspects of “Delivering as one” since 2006, and at times it had been both time-consuming and somewhat painful.  However, the programme’s long-term benefits outweighed the short-term difficulties encountered in its implementation.  Success depended on a number of elements, including commitments from Governments, country teams and headquarters.  There also a need for funding, which was a challenge, given recent cuts in official development assistance (ODA), he said.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of El Salvador said there were two main players in terms of “Delivering as one”:  Governments and the United Nations system.  There must be clear specifications about the types of internal reforms that must take place within the United Nations, particularly at the headquarters level, he emphasized, adding that there was also a need for flexible standard operating procedures that would include mandates for bringing “Delivering as one” to the next generation.  Governments needed incentives to take part in the programme, with the understanding that participation would result in a clear and unique partnership with the United Nation.

The delegate of Brazil said “Delivering as one” was a model to be implemented on a voluntary basis.  The goal should be to match national capabilities with the skills and expertise of the United Nations.  Brazil welcomed coherence in the United Nations development agenda, including the creation of flexible standard operating procedures, bearing in mind the voluntary nature of all efforts.

Ms. ALBRECTSEN said the standard operating procedures were designed to be flexible, in accordance with the needs of specific Governments.  Many countries, including middle-income and small island States, had yet to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by “Delivering as one”, he said, pointing out that, to date, only 36 countries had signed up for it.

Mr. OWUSU said it was clear in today’s world that failing to deliver as one was not an option.  The greatest benefit realized in Ethiopia was the shift in the country team’s mindset.  It was also clear that, for the United Nations to be relevant, there must be coherence in its work.  The Government and people of Ethiopia expected so much of the Organization in terms of policy development and implementation that the United Nations really had no choice but to align behind the Government’s priorities.

Mr. POUEZAT said that, although the United Nations One Fund was not a success in Morocco, it was important to bear in mind that it was only one of many supplemental funding sources.  The Government itself was by far the largest single source of funding, he pointed out.  Demand in middle-income countries was quite high and their national dynamics posed unique challenges for country teams.  There must be a strengthened participatory approach to planning, an emphasis on coordination and results verified through monitoring and evaluation, he stressed.

Ms. BAUER said it was important to have a combination of funding sources for joint programmes, with funds coming both from donors, as well as from individual agencies.

Also speaking were representatives of Morocco, Switzerland, Belarus, Australia, Russian Federation, New Zealand and Germany.

Panel Discussion II

Moderated by Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, United Nations, the panel discussion titled “How to improve United Nations effectiveness, efficiency and results in countries in transition from relief to development?”, featured the following panellists:  Ameerah Haq, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Field Support; Thomas Alexander Aleinikoff, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees; Peter de Clercq, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), United Nations Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative; and Joseph Cornelius Donnelly, Permanent Delegate to the United Nations, Caritas Internationalis.

Ms. CHENG-HOPKINS said that, while she expected the panellists to focus on the work of the United Nations, Governments were the other side of the coin.  Without internal coherence within a country, there was not much that external coherence could achieve.  Much was said about policy coherence, but further discussions were needed on programmatic coordination and eventually integration, she said.

Ms. HAQ stressed that security was fundamental in the transition from relief to development, and quoted former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata to the effect that policy and institutions must find new ways to respond to many rapidly emerging dangers, and that fragmented responses could not be effective.  Ms. Ogata had also said that human security required a stronger and integrated response.  Incremental steps had been taken, but “somehow, total integration has eluded us”, said Ms. Haq, adding that, whenever she met the people with whom she had worked in Afghanistan in 2002, she asked them the one wish she could grant them, to which they all answered “security”.  They wished to feel safe, she said, recalling that during her tenure as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste, the whole notion of security had depended on the capability of the national police.  Building that capacity while United Nations missions were present was essential for seamless transitions from relief to development, she emphasized.

Mr. ALEINIKOFF said the goal behind United Nations development work was the eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development.  In States that had experienced shocks, whether due to a natural disaster or conflict, there was generally the initial response from humanitarian agencies, followed by efforts to help the State recover and return to normality.  It was not necessarily accurate to describe such a process as a transition from relief to development, he said.  Instead, relief and development should take place in an overlapping, rather than a consecutive fashion.  For example, in the current situation in Syria, there was a role for development agencies in the emergency phase of responding to the crisis.  One of the major challenges facing the international community was how to build a holistic and comprehensive approach to addressing shocks.  There must be comprehensive plans in place, with integration rather than aggregation as the focus, he stressed.

Mr. DE CLERCQ said that, immediately after a crisis, there was often an influx of foreign actors who took control of what was left of basic social services.  In places like Haiti and Somalia, such actors often took over the functionality of fallen institutions.  It was important that, immediately following a shock, Governments manage the roles of external actors, particularly non-governmental organizations.  Managing transitions meant taking risks, including testing and trusting Governments again through direct financial support.  There must be efforts to empower them through direct financial support, and to work with them to increase implementation capacity.  It was generally important to ensure that confidence-building measures in the transition process started out simply and visibly, and also to consider the issues of public financial management and taxation early on, he said.  Governments needed to examine the long-term funding of activities already in place, and to ensure the existence of credible frameworks for cooperation between themselves and the international community.

Mr. DONNELLY, speaking on behalf of civil society, stressed the importance of participation by non-governmental organizations and of a people-centred approach.  Discussions on “Delivering as one” presented a good opportunity to figure out ways in which to integrate civil society into United Nations policies and activities.  Recalling that one of the eight Millennium Development Goals was on global partnerships, he said any individual or organization could be partners, even they were poor, remote and uneducated, adding that people wanted to be seen and heard.

In the ensuing dialogue, the delegate of Switzerland asked about the global focal point on the rule of law, while the representative of El Salvador sought an update relating to integration initiatives in the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Field Support and Political Affairs at Headquarters.

Ms. HAQ said in relation to the global focal point that the function was crucial for accurate assessment of situations on the ground, which fed into the planning of United Nations field missions.  One big funding challenge was that missions were financed through assessed contributions while funds and programmes were funded through voluntary contributions.  Resident coordinators in non-mission settings had to spend much time on finding the necessary support, instead of dwelling on substantive issues, while at Headquarters the Secretary-General brought different work together, with members of his senior team sitting around the table.

Mr. ALEINIKOFF said the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Bank had worked together in Lebanon, and the refugee agency’s efforts was reflected in the reconstruction plan created by the Bank.  Another important factor was that Governments must define the problem and plan for the solution.

Mr. DONNELLY emphasized that it was incorrect to assume that civil society did not invest.

Mr. DE CLERCQ said it was not enough to make a joint plan, stressing instead the importance of creating a joint work unit bringing missions and agencies together by putting staff in one location.  A joint work unit must be matched with a joint oversight unit under an integrated resource management strategy.  One challenge was that resident coordinators in mission settings could “piggyback” on mission resources, but those in non-mission settings could not, he pointed out.

Ms. CHEN-HOPKINS concluded the discussion by saying that what ailed the United Nations system was the inflexibility of funding windows — the inability to mix assessed and voluntary contributions — and the internal incoherence within Governments.

Keynote Address

MARGARET CHAN, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that in pursuit of the health-related Millennium Development Goals, her agency as and the international health community had produced many good results, useful lessons and best practices to guide post-2015 efforts.  Innovative facilities and mechanisms, like the Global Fund and UNITAID, mobilized funds for purchasing and distributing life-saving commodities, and for developing badly needed new products for diseases afflicting the poor.  Health had profited from a new breed of results-driven multi-stakeholder global initiatives, like “Every w oman, every child”, with built-in mechanisms for ensuring transparency and accountability to build the confidence needed for Governments and development partners to invest in health.

Noting that the AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria epidemics had peaked and begun a slow decline, she said the number of childhood deaths, stuck for decades above 10 million a year, had dropped by nearly half.  The biggest threats to development were now much more complex and challenging, and could no longer be addressed by the health, education, energy or food sectors acting alone, she said, emphasizing that discussions on the evolving roles of Governments, United Nations agencies and other stakeholders were urgently needed for sustainable development in the post-2015 era.  WHO was reforming to make itself fit for purpose in addressing the unique challenges of the twenty-first century, she said, adding that many Quadrennial Comprehensive Periodic Review recommendations were highly convergent with the agency’s reform measures, including its focus on country needs and impact, efficiency and effectiveness, and on improving coordination and coherence.

Reform was not easy, but it must be done, and in a thoroughly inclusive process, she stressed, before pointing out some worrisome trends.  Growing social and economic inequalities were bad for development, she said, citing Credit Suisse estimates that the world’s poorest 3.5 billion people possessed less than 1 per cent of global wealth, while the richest 1 per cent accounted for nearly half.  Put another way, the combined wealth of the world’s richest 85 people equalled the combined wealth of the world’s poorest 3.5 billion people, she said, stressing that the world did not need any more rich countries full of poor people.  The rise of chronic non-communicable diseases was another cause for concern, she said, pointing out that 80 per cent of premature deaths from such diseases was concentrated in low- and middle-income countries.  Left unchecked, those costly ailments had the power to devour the benefits of economic gains and to move development backwards.  The influence of stakeholders, especially the private sector, in multiple sustainable development arenas was growing rapidly at a time when the institutional and regulatory capacity of many countries remained weak, she said, warning that there was reason to worry when private economic operators had more say over domestic affairs than the policies of sovereign Governments.

Dialogue with Specialized Agencies

The afternoon also featured a dialogue on “The changing development landscape:  what will it mean for specialized agencies in a post-2015 era with focus on sustainable development?”  Moderated by Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-agency Affairs in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the dialogue featured presentations by:  Gilbert Houngbo, Deputy Director-General for Field Operations and Partnerships, International Labour Organization (ILO); Hans d’Orville, Assistant Director-General for Strategic Planning, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and Laurent Thomas, Assistant Director-General for Technical Cooperation, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  Amina J. Mohammed, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Post-2015 Development Planning, was the lead discussant.

Mr. HOUNGBO discussed the changing dimensions of globalization, saying the supply chain had grown more complex over the last 15 years.  In the early 1980s, for example, garment sector exports from Bangladesh represented $1 billion, but today, they were valued at close to $80 billion.  The sector had also provided 4 million jobs, 80 per cent of them for women.  Yet, Bangladesh was struggling to recover from the building accident of 2013.  “We cannot afford having 1,200 people die on their worksite or working in poor conditions,” he emphasized, saying Bangladesh should not be seen as the exception.  The tension between actions to lift people out of poverty, and pressure to follow international norms would increasingly challenge ILO, he said.

Mr. D’ORVILLE, noting that United Nations specialized agencies were involved in such issues as climate change and social transformations, said the post-2015 framework should cover their agencies’ technical competencies.  In addition, areas of the Organization’s soft power — education, health, water and oceans — must be seen as standing apart from peacekeeping, trade and finance; they deserved special consideration.  Specialized agencies addressed all countries in a universal spirit, and were well-placed to contribute to the universal post-2015 agenda.  Many of their activities were normative and value-based, wrapped in the common commitment to combating poverty.  Such aspects as non-violence and reconciliation were underfunded and under-recognized, he said, stressing that States must address the needs of women, youth and the marginalized across all sectors.

Mr. THOMAS said the vision of a world free of hunger and malnutrition was achievable, but the complexity of challenges, as well as changes in the context of development cooperation called for a strategic repositioning and major review of FAO operations.  Hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition could be ended sustainably within a generation, but the task would be unsustainable the way it was today, with some 1.3 billion tons of food, one third of production, lost or wasted each year.  Today’s world was different from that of 2000, and would be even more different in 2050, requiring the global community to produce more with less, and to adopt a “climate-smart” approach to agriculture.  The challenges were just too big for any single Government or organization to tackle alone, he emphasized.  There was a need to partner and coordinate with, as well as to complement one another.  FAO had aligned a set of five new strategic objectives with the most relevant and urgent development problems faced by its member countries and the development community.  The immediate priority was to complete the unfinished business of meeting the Millennium Development Goal on hunger by 2015, he stressed.

Ms. MOHAMMED said that, amid emerging economic powers, donors and technologies, “it’s a totally different world than where we were in 2000”.  In formulating the development framework, no one would make the excuse that they had not been consulted.  She said her office had conducted outreach over the last 18 months on how transformational the development agenda would be.  While it was difficult to talk about a universal agenda, the Millennium Development Goals were the starting blocks, she said, adding that a number of lessons could be learned in the transition from one agenda to another.  Another question to consider was how much the new agenda would take on core mandates, such as peace and security.  United Nations agencies should lead such transformative shifts, she said, underlining the need for a holistic and integrated approach.  After recapping the panellists’ presentations, she said that playing the “honest broker” would be among the most difficult role for United Nations agencies to accomplish, given their reduced core budgets and increased earmarked funding.  They must ask themselves whether they were responding to people or to governing boards and mandates, she said.

In the ensuing interactive dialogue, participants asked about the implementation of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Periodic Review, the empowerment of country offices, the disconnect between national and global consultation and the role of specialized agencies in norm-setting, among other issues.

The representative of Ethiopia said agency headquarters did not feel the same level of urgency as their country offices.  As a result, their responses were not timely, whereas country offices were not empowered to address issues on their own.

The representative of Nepal stressed that it was difficult and time-consuming to bring global dialogue and agreements into national mechanisms due to a lack of national consultation among elected officials, saying he did not know how to address that disconnect.

Also participating in the discussion were speakers representing Sweden, Bangladesh and Switzerland.

Ms. CHAN, responding, said the norm-setting role of specialized agencies was more important than ever in the universal application of the post-2015 agenda.  Issue-based alliances were good, but “we better have clarity on who’s doing what”, otherwise there was a tendency towards duplication and competition, she cautioned.  The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation Alliance comprised countries, civil society, UNICEF, WHO and the private sector, she noted, emphasizing that clarity about the division of labour was critical to activating comparative advantages.  WHO would consolidate, focus on a few priorities and address country needs, she said.

In response to a question by Ethiopia’s representative, she said reform of WHO was being undertaken to empower country offices, with a view to determining how quickly the agency could empower countries to make faster decisions and take on greater responsibility.

Responding to other questions, she said the WHO governing body did, indeed, consider the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review, and would contribute $2.5 million annually for the resident coordinator system.  Nepal was among the “strong” members of the International Health Partnership, the mechanism by which WHO supported national health policies.

Mr. THOMAS, noting the importance of specialized agencies in setting norms and standards, said cited the Zero Hunger Challenge as an example of issue-based alliances.  Partnerships were made for the sake of results and based on comparative advantage.  More broadly, empowering country offices was part of FAO reform.  “We have much work to be done in this regard,” he said, emphasizing that the agency would empower countries to support priority needs.  It had established a new country programming framework, within which it would discuss what it could do with interested countries.

Mr. D’ORVILLE said UNESCO had empowered the heads of its field offices to deal with funds decentralized to them so that the offices did not need to wait.  Any emerging new focus area would need to be reviewed and plugged into the programme exercise.  The UNESCO country programming document outlined UNESCO’S operational framework, and the agency had consulted with States in putting it together, he said.  UNESCO also had the advantage of dealing with national commissions, which consulted with field offices, as well as ministries, universities and non-governmental organizations.

Mr. HOUNGBO said ILO was fully engaged in the issue-based approach.  It was working with FAO in the Philippines, for example, and with human rights colleagues in Mozambique.  “In any case, we do not have a choice,” he said.  “That’s the direction where we have to go.”

Ms. MOHAMMED said successful alliances must find new ways to ensure accountability.  Connecting New York to the country level was also extremely important.

In a second round of questions, the representative of Viet Nam asked about the unique challenges that specialized agencies faced in implementing “Delivering as one” at the country and Headquarters levels.  He also asked about competition for un-earmarked funding.

The representative of Norway requested details of how “Delivering as one” affected the role and relevance of specialized agencies.

The representative of Brazil underlined the need for neutral spaces in which to negotiate common denominators.  While specialized agencies made positive contributions as mediators, their initiatives should reflect a greater recognition of the South-South perspective.

Ms. CHAN, responding, said Governments often asserted that there was no “one-size-fits-all” approach.  That also applied to specialized agencies.  Several States wanted a State-driven process for reforming WHO, but the financing dialogue at the agency centred on delinking national decision-making power, through a multilateral process, from the funding of stakeholders wishing to support it.  In that way, WHO could avoid the criticism that its agenda was dictated by donors, she said, emphasizing that preserving national decision-making power was part of WHO’s reform process.  She added that assessed contributions constituted 20 per cent of the agency’s budget, and 80 per cent came from voluntary contributions.  “We need to consolidate,” she said.  “We should not expand our budget.”  WHO should not be an implementing agency as that entailed liability and duplication problems.

Mr. HOUNGBO said the divide between the United Nations Development Group and the specialized agencies had not yet been bridged, adding that States were asking for greater efficiency.  In terms of norm- and standard-setting, he said there had been no impact on assessed contributions.  ILO helped countries implement its standards, an activity that must take national realities into account.  He added that States provided 80 to 90 per cent of funding for the resident coordinator system, urging better coordination in that regard.

Mr. D’ORVILLE said “Delivering as one” had been a positive development for UNESCO, as it involved the principle of inclusiveness.  To another question, he said 1 per cent of UNESCO’s programme resources were set aside for South-South cooperation.

Mr. THOMAS said reform was a question of relevance, without which “we will not be able to face the challenges”.  FAO had an integrated budget, 48 per cent of which came from assessed contributions and 52 per cent from voluntary contributions.  Preferring non-earmarked funding, the agency had enjoyed a positive experience with pooled funding, particularly at the country level, where decisions could be made closer to the relevant issues, he said.

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