United Nations Development System Must Work Flexibly Across All Sectors, Delegates Say, as Economic and Social Council Opens Operational Activities Segment
The United Nations must reform its development system by adapting its silo structure to work flexibly across sectors, tailoring programmes to specific country priorities and diversifying its funding sources in order to meet the unprecedented multisectoral demands of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, delegates stressed today, as the Economic and Social Council opened its 2016 operational activities segment.
During the segment, which runs through 24 February, the Council will examine the longer-term positioning of the United Nations development system in the context of the 2030 Agenda. It will also assess the implementation of General Assembly resolution 67/226, on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review — the mechanism through which it evaluates the coherence, effectiveness and funding of the United Nations 27 programmes, funds and specialized agencies for development. The next Assembly resolution on the policy review of operational activities for development will be negotiated and adopted in the coming months.
In opening remarks, Council Vice-President Alejandro Palma Cerna (Honduras) said the United Nations development system was at an “inflection point”, where significant changes were needed to enable it to respond effectively to the Agenda’s integration demands. Calling for “organizational renewal”, he said the 2016 policy review must reflect the universal and integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda. “We may need to consider redesigning the instrument we have in our hands, in terms of its name, content and applicability,” he said.
In that context, it was important to ask whether the structure of the policy review mirrored the priorities required to deliver on the Agenda, he said. There was a critical window of opportunity to gauge whether the right instruments were in place to steer the course ahead. Now was the time to lay a solid foundation for guiding, monitoring and assessing operational activities for development.
Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, agreed that the Council’s deliberations over the next 10 months would be critical in charting a new course for the Organization. “Bold and imaginative” decision-making was required. Indeed, the results, impact and cost-effectiveness of development activities could be greater if implemented in a coordinated fashion, as the needs of programme countries were increasingly differentiated.
Mogens Lykketoft, President of the General Assembly, said Governments must develop national action plans and take concrete actions to deliver. No single entity working in isolation could contribute to the implementation of globally agreed goals. Creating partnerships with the private sector, academia and civil society would be crucial for success. The Organization should support States with their national implementation, through effective, efficient and coherent use of resources.
Offering a national perspective, Claver Gatete, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda, recalled that his country had been among the first eight to pilot the United Nations “delivering as one” approach. Today, its partnership with the Organization had “come a long way”. Joint planning — across agencies and with the Government — had made the most progress. The United Nations Development Assistance Programme was fully aligned with Rwanda’s economic development and poverty reduction strategy.
However, he said, such coherence was lacking at the regional and global level. An assessment was needed to identify areas where the United Nations could harmonize its work to support existing reforms, citing the joint mobilization and pooling of resources, capacity-building, and leveraging internal expertise on critical issues, such as malnutrition, disaster preparedness, climate change and peace and security. “These are global issues where lessons learned through the global network and presence of the United Nations can make a difference,” he said.
The morning featured a panel discussion, titled “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: What are the implications for policy, programming and operational cooperation and coordination in the United Nations development system?”. Panellists and delegates alike examined whether existing country-level coordination, programming and operations instruments — such as the standard operating procedures for “delivering as one” countries, the Resident Coordinator system and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework — were equipped to advance work across sectors.
In the afternoon, delegates took part in a dialogue with Heads of United Nations funds and programmes, engaging with the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Executive Directors of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and World Food Programme (WFP), on needed changes. Speakers examined ways to fill funding gaps and adapt service delivery to country needs and capacities.
Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 67/226, on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of United Nations system (document A/71/63–E/2016/8).
The Economic and Social Council will reconvene at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 23 February, to continue its operational activities segment.
Opening Remarks
ALEJANDRO PALMA CERNA (Honduras), Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, said that the 2016 segment had two overarching objectives: to fulfil the Council’s role in reviewing implementation of General Assembly resolution 67/226 on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR) of the operational activities of the United Nations, and to discuss the implications of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The segment also marked the start of intense dialogue on operational activities, he said, which would continue through the year, as States and other stakeholders discussed how to adapt the Organization to the 2030 Agenda’s requirements. “Member States recognize that the United Nations development system is at an inflection point,” he said, with “significant” changes required to enable an effective response to the Agenda’s integration demands. That called for an “organizational renewal”, he said, which should transcend previous reforms to become transformational in nature.
In that context, the “ECOSOC [Economic and Social Council] Dialogue” on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations development system would drive momentum, he said, noting that the recently established independent advisory team, which would provide States with proposals for strengthening the development system, would hold its first substantive session in two days in New York.
More broadly, he said the Secretary-General’s report on the policy review offered an update on the implementation of resolution 67/226 and analysis of elements that had emerged from the first phase of the ECOSOC Dialogue, towards preparation for the next cycle’s policy review in the fall. The next resolution would lay the foundations of operational activities for development in the first years of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The report noted that while the United Nations development system was the “partner of choice” of programme country Governments, it must adjust.
The 2016 policy review must reflect the spirit of the universal and integrated 2030 Agenda, he said, raising questions around whether its current structure mirrored those priorities, enabling integrated approaches “across the system”. “We have a critical window of opportunity to gauge whether we have the right instruments to steer the course ahead,” he said.
MOGENS LYKKETOFT (Denmark), President of the General Assembly, said Governments needed to develop national action plans and undertake concrete actions to deliver on the post-2015 agenda. Drawing attention to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate change, he noted that no single entity working in isolation could make a contribution to the implementation of the globally agreed goals. In that regard, creating partnerships with the private sector, academia and civil society would be crucial for success. For its part, the United Nations should support countries with their national implementation, he said, adding that resources needed to be used effectively, efficiently and coherently.
WU HONGBO, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said that Member States in 2015 had adopted three landmark agreements, including the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement. The adoption of those agreements represented a seminal moment for the United Nations, which would significantly impact the work of the Organization in the post-2015 era. In that regard, the operational activities segment was taking place at an opportune time. The Council’s deliberations over the next 10 months would be critical in charting a new course for the work of the Organization for development in the post-2015 era. Achieving that objective would require bold and imaginative decision-making by Member States.
On the changes inherent in the 2030 Agenda, he noted that an integrated and coordinated approach to the implementation process would be needed. Recalling the findings of analytical scenarios undertaken by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he stressed that the results, impact and cost-effectiveness of development activities could be greater if implemented in a coordinated fashion. Further, he said that the development needs of programme countries were increasingly differentiated. Among other things, middle-income countries increasingly faced complex development challenges, which would require targeted international support. In States encountering protracted crises, it was especially important to strengthen the linkages between the development, humanitarian and peace and security pillars of the Organization.
On the Secretary-General’s report on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities, he noted that the United Nations development system remained a preferred partner for programme countries. It was considered the best provider of support in addressing global challenges that required collective action. Further, the development system needed to deliver on the expectations of the 2030 Agenda as it required a more horizontal and unified approach than the Millennium Development Goals.
Keynote Address
CLAVER GATETE, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda, said his country had been among the first eight to pilot the “delivering as one” approach in 2007. Today, its partnership with the United Nations had “come a long way”, especially at the country level. Joint planning across agencies and with the Government had made the most progress.
Further, he said, the United Nations Development Assistance Plan was fully aligned with Rwanda’s economic development and poverty reduction strategy, and numerous reforms were being carried out under the guidance of the “One UN” Steering Committee, including the “One Leader” and “One Voice” reforms whereby the Resident Coordinator engaged with the Government on behalf of other United Nations agencies. The Government had allocated land for the construction of the “One UN House” and was currently mobilizing resources.
However, such coherence had not been seen at the regional and global levels, he said, stressing that an assessment was needed to identify areas where the United Nations could harmonize its work to support existing reforms, notably in the joint mobilization and pooling of resources, capacity-building, and leveraging internal expertise on critical issues, such as malnutrition, disaster preparedness, climate change and peace and security. “These are global issues where lessons learned through the global network and presence of the United Nations can make a difference,” he said.
At the global level, he said, that meant developing a common understanding of the goals, priorities and implementation mechanisms across United Nations institutions. New challenges must also be addressed, which in turn required joint planning and the mobilization of resources across shared goals. More support should be directed towards building capacity to increase trade and attract investment across regions. At the country level, replenishment of the “One UN Fund” was negatively impacting programme delivery. A pooling of resources would address the lack of funding for critical areas, reduce fragmentation and increase accountability.
Further, he said, while the United Nations country teams had reduced internal operational costs, more needed to be done to reduce transaction costs through the increased use of country systems. Such change must be initiated at the global level for it to be effective at the national level. Finally, support for countries in domesticating the Sustainable Development Goals was critical to their success.
Panel Discussion I
The Council then held a panel discussion on “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: What are the implications for policy, programming and operational cooperation and coordination in the United Nations system?” Moderated by Sarah Cliffe, Director of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, it featured presentations by Zhanar Aitzhanova, Minister for Economic Integration of Kazakhstan; Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations; Joan Clos, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat); and Alain Noudehou, United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in China.
Opening the panel, Ms. CLIFFE said the 2030 Agenda carried “game-changing” shifts for development work, with its universality, scope and commitment to leave no one behind. All Goals and targets would require work to be done across sectors. As the United Nations had been set up to tackle issues sectorally, it must grapple with how to best meet needs.
Ms. AITZHANOVA said the Agenda added new urgency to enhance coordination among the various United Nations agencies working in the field, noting that the President of Kazakhstan had proposed that Governments allocate 1 per cent of their defence budget to the United Nations Special Fund for Sustainable Development. From a beneficiary country perspective, it was not important which United Nations agency provided the help. Most important was that policy advice and technical assistance were relevant to country priorities and strategies. “There are no standard recipes for development,” she said, noting the importance of work at international, regional and country levels. “As countries, what we need is relevant policy advice on issues where we lack our own expertise and knowledge.” It was also important that programmes were developed in the beneficiary country and that coordination among United Nations agencies was enhanced. Each agency should bring its comparative advantage to joint efforts. Flexibility and speed in the delivery of policy advice also mattered. Countries could not wait until all in-house recruitment and competitive bidding procedures took place.
MR. KAMAU said the Agenda represented a “quantum leap” from how development work had previously been carried out, raising questions about how the United Nations would pivot its programmes. Questions centred on, for example, how to reorient staff towards the new Agenda, how to carry out work without losing time, and whether the “delivering as one” model would work with country-led, multi-organizational coordination systems. Other questions were about whether the Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) systems could deliver on the Agenda, or whether new systems and mandates were needed. As it would be politically difficult to revamp old systems, there needed to be recognition that things would change radically and that some practices might become redundant. He supported a “new operational standard” that integrated economic, social and environmental dimensions. The United Nations must function as an integrated system at the global, regional and country level. United Nations support must take a longer-term strategic perspective that was better aligned with country priorities. Systems must develop stronger capacities to pool knowledge for cross-sectoral collaboration, which would present a huge challenge. Creating space for fostering experimentation and innovation was also important, as was exploring ways to diversify and increase funding sources.
Mr. CLOS, drawing attention to the formal recognition of current problems by all agencies and programmes, noted that change was possible through dialogue. The 2030 Agenda provided for a timely opportunity to improve efficiency and avoid overlapping. “We can learn from available knowledge to make improvements,” he said. On overlapping, he noted that the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes were guided by mandates open to interpretations, stressing that the system needed to be improved.
Mr. NOUDEHOU said to ensure effective delivery of results, the United Nations development system should provide differentiated support at the State level. It was important for country teams to have the flexibility to work with host Governments in order to develop and adapt the United Nations Development Assistance Framework. On the greater integration of efforts, he noted that the planning of humanitarian work, support for peace and security, and development of activities should be done all together. Achieving better results required a predictable and increased level of funding, a capable and well-resourced resident coordinator system, and strong support for enhanced integration across all parts of the development system. He hoped that the deliberations would be useful for the quadrennial comprehensive policy review process and the implementation of required changes.
In the ensuing discussion, delegates drew attention to the short timeframe in which to implement important reforms across the United Nations development system. Some advocated choosing strategic focus areas, while others described partnerships that were needed with other institutions — such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) — to target specific needs. A number of speakers said the development system must tailor its support to countries, based on their specific needs. Several spoke to the challenge of sparking transformative change in a way that did not tie up the system for years.
Many commended the United Nations for its notable successes and at the same time stressed that the range of issues covered by the Sustainable Development Goals meant that it must reorient its system to better target country needs. The representative of the Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States, said multi-country offices and regional United Nations Development Assistance Framework were being tested in small island States. A high degree of coordination and coherence was needed in such cases.
In that context, the representative of Thailand, on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, recalled that poverty eradication was the ultimate objective of the 2030 Agenda. As such, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework must align with national development plans and strategies, taking into account countries’ different levels of economic development. Capacity-building in developing countries should be promoted.
In such work, several speakers pointed to the imbalance between core and non-core resources in funding development work, and the need for diverse resource mobilization, with the representative of Trinidad and Tobago, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), underscoring the importance of core resources in that regard. The system must translate the Agenda — and outcomes of all related major conferences — into a road map that resonated at regional and local levels.
The delegate of Pakistan said earmarked funding could not ensure comprehensive implementation of the Agenda and was bound to leave behind national goals and targets, including those that were priorities. Norway’s delegate, while agreeing that core funding was important, advocated more use of multi-partner trust funds, while Cuba’s representative expressed concern at the emphasis on South-South cooperation as a way for countries to avoid fulfilling pledges to allocate 0.7 per cent of their gross national income towards official development assistance (ODA).
Such change must be induced at Headquarters first, said Switzerland’s delegate, stressing: “If we don’t get it right here, we will continue to have the same challenges.” He proposed that a United Nations-wide strategy guide the Agenda’s implementation. Technical agencies could delegate their activities to lead operational agencies on the ground, while local boards — comprised of national Government, civil society, private sector and United Nations country team members — could agree on a country-level United Nations Development Assistance Framework.
Offering a different perspective, the representative of the Inter-Parliamentary Union underscored the role of Parliaments in deepening peoples’ ownership of the 2030 Agenda. A change in mindset was needed to acknowledge parliaments as a distinct partner separate from the client, which in most cases was the executive branch of Government.
Also speaking in the discussion were representatives of Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, Japan and Germany.
In response, Ms. AITZHANOVA said it was important to make necessary reforms and provide the highest level of political support to achieve successful results.
MR. KAMAU said that the Organization needed to prioritize tasks based on urgency. On the 2030 Agenda, he stressed that the United Nations family should act collectively to address global challenges. “Without change, we will not succeed in moving forward,” he said. Mr. CLOS agreed with speakers on the need for “change”, and welcomed the delegations’ call to provide additional funds to the Organization. On the resident coordinator system, he said there was room for improvement. Reporting was one of the areas that needed to be clarified.
Finally, Mr. NOUDEHOU said that the United Nations system was owned by Member States, which should fully engage in the reform process. He stressed the need to work together to find the right solutions.
In the afternoon, Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 67/226 on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system. Describing the report as an outcome of extensive consultations, he noted that it had benefited from the contributions of all actors in the United Nations system. It reported on progress and provided a strategic analysis, outlining needs and gaps. In that regard, the feedback and conclusions would provide critical elements for the following report. On key messages, he noted that the United Nations development system remained a preferred partner for programme countries in responding to universal challenges. To be relevant in the development landscape, the development system needed to adopt a more horizontal and unified response, taking into account the needs of developing countries.
Panel Discussion II
The round table this afternoon, which was chaired by Mr. Palma Cerna, featured Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP; Anthony Lake, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women); Laura Londén, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); and Amir Mahmoud Abdulla, Deputy Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP). The discussants were Nguyen Phuong Nga, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam; and Geir Pedersen, Permanent Representative of Norway.
Opening the panel, Ms. CLARK said building on lessons learned and best practices had become a top priority to ensure that the United Nations family delivered as one. Expressing support to inter-agency coordination and cooperation, she noted that 88 programme country Governments had expressed their interest in delivering as one. On advancing sustainable development, she stressed the importance of national ownership and leadership. In that regard, she welcomed that 81 Governments had requested United Nations country teams to provide necessary support. Also, she said, a capable and well-resourced resident coordinator system was needed to act in an integrated manner.
Mr. LAKE said only results mattered: for parents living in extreme poverty, the girl denied a seat in the classroom and the boy denied a vaccination. Without reaching those in poverty or humanitarian emergencies, the Sustainable Development Goals could not succeed. The new policy review marked an opportunity to harness new capacities across the United Nations system, give poor children health and education that would help them, as adults, compete with others from rich countries. He cautioned against imposing on United Nations staff new, expensive, bureaucratic layers, or confusing coordination with conformity. “We must all play our positions,” he said, caring more about the goal than who scored it. If structural reform allowed for doing jobs better, as the policy review had done, it should be supported. The new policy review would help achieve results for the most disadvantaged and support the ability of the United Nations to work across sectors. It was opportunity to break the cycle of inequality, he said, stressing that 59 million children were out of school and 130 million could not read, write or do mathematics, despite having reached grade 4. It also offered an opportunity to reflect on the shared commitment to universality. It could support evolving partnerships to help Governments meet the Goals. With that in mind, he said development should not be tied tightly with political United Nations offices in work across a broad strategic level.
Ms. MLAMBO-NGCUKA welcomed the gender equality focus on all major documents agreed in 2015. The session provided a space to make bold proposals for change, which was particularly important ahead of the new policy review resolution. “We cannot separate our normative from operational work,” she said, noting that domestication of the Sustainable Development Goals was high on the agenda of Member States. UN-Women, working with the United Nations family, had been called on to support States as they interpreted the Sustainable Development Goals in a domestic context. The Goals must be achieved through a whole-of-Government and whole-of-system approach. Noting that more than 80 joint gender programmes were being implemented, she said 61 per cent of Development Assistance Framework programmes featured gender outcomes, a significant increase over 2010. New models must be used to support implementation of the Agenda, including in middle- and high-income countries. Gender disaggregated data was essential in that regard. She cited Mexico’s creation of a knowledge platform on gender statistics for policymaking, noting that 19 countries in the region were working to gauge women’s unpaid care work.
Ms. LONDÉN said the 2030 Agenda underlined the important role and comparative advantage of the adequately resourced, relevant, effective and efficient United Nations system. The 2016 quadrennial comprehensive policy review was therefore an opportunity for Member States to provide strategic guidance to operationalize the 2030 Agenda to achieve the change envisioned. For its part, UNFPA advocated for the policy review to be strategic, inclusive and focused on substantive and operational outcomes.
The data revolution and the promise of new technologies to collect, analyse and visualize data had particular significance for how UNFPA delivered on its mandate. It would build on a 45-year plus partnership with national statistical authorities and the private sector and civil society to foster and promote innovation. On human rights, she said that it must be the cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Goals as there could be no development without human rights. With the largest youth generation in history, now was the time to invest in young people if the international community was to realize the 2030 Agenda. Through the analyses of population structures and poverty dynamics, UNFPA advocated for increased social investment in education and health and employment for adolescents and youth.
Turning to partnership, she noted that UNFPA would examine how to build multi-stakeholder networks to increase the availability and use of integrated sexual and reproductive health services. The international community needed to ensure adequate and appropriate funding for the functions of the United Nations development system. The sustainability, flexibility and predictability of funding were critical for the system to successfully perform its functions, deliver results and ensure greater impact.
Mr. ABDULLA said just as 2015 had been the year of global action, 2016 must be the year of global traction. As the international community had the global vision for development and priorities for the next 15 years, the United Nations development system had an important role to help translate that into reality. The development system represented a uniquely broad spectrum of actors that could transcend the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding divide and support solutions that were tailored to context. That required strengthening strategy and planning that led to more effective and joined up approaches.
On financial and technological advances, the Financing for Development agreement reached in Addis Ababa had recognized the broader range of partners and enablers of sustainable growth, he said. It reaffirmed the opportunities that existed in the new forms of multi-stakeholder partnerships and financing modalities. At the same time, advances in digital technology provided an unprecedented opportunity to address challenges, including isolation and knowledge gaps. For its part, WFP built on current practices such as advance financing mechanisms and the application of full-cost recovery in order to enhance transparency and accountability in resource management. The United Nations system needed to capitalize on the opportunity to achieve greater coherence between peacebuilding, development and humanitarian agendas. While doing so, the system must embrace new ways of operating for a better collective outcome.
Ms. NGUYEN said the United Nations development system was challenged to help countries achieve multidimensional sustainable development with declining resources. While the United Nations had a unique role in helping countries integrate the 2030 Agenda into national development strategies, it should not “do everything, everywhere”. Rather, it should enhance functions in which it had a comparative advantage, while also increasing national ownership. It should help countries implement globally recognized normative frameworks and to communicate those norms through innovative channels. The development system must improve its ability to build, mobilize and leverage the capacity of Member States and refocus on building the capacity of young people. It had an important role in mobilizing and coordinating external resources, and in helping countries enhance tax systems. For middle-income countries, like Viet Nam, support should focus on knowledge sharing, basic and applied research, and technology transfer.
Mr. PEDERSEN said implementation of the 2030 Agenda would require trillions of dollars annually. While ODA was important, it was a limited resource, having reached $130 billion last year. Without national ownership — and the “catalytic” use of money — the Agenda would not succeed. There was a growing consensus around the need for differentiated rules of engagement, for different countries in different contexts. He asked panellists how such differentiated modes would work in their organizations and across the United Nations system. As it was also important to develop common priorities, he also asked panellists how to avoid “mission creep” where the work of organizations overlapped. Finally, he underscored the need for a coach, who told actors that if they played more than necessary, they would be disqualified. He agreed that the Resident Coordinator played an essential role. But it did not have enough authority and he asked what could be done to strengthen that system.
In the ensuing discussion, delegates drew attention to the challenges posed by the 2030 Agenda. Some advocated that the universal agenda needed differentiation and flexibility to ensure its successful implementation, while others called for building funding practices with a purpose.
On the inter-agency coordination, the representative of Timor-Leste, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77, stressed the need to avoid using core resources to subsidize non-core activities, and called for building greater coordination and coherence of United Nations system at the country level. Calling for establishing long-term strategic planning, the representative of Switzerland inquired the human resource implications of ensuring greater coordination.
Speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States, the representative of the Maldives noted that the SAMOA [Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action] Pathway had called on the United Nations system to improve inter- and intra-regional cooperation and collaboration among small island developing States. She inquired which institutional mechanisms had been put in place to improve such cooperation, and asked panel Members to share their views on the model of service delivery, particularly in relation to the 2030 Agenda.
Also speaking in the discussion were representatives of Trinidad and Tobago, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Iraq, Argentina, Brazil and Panama.
Ms. CLARK, responding to Switzerland’s question, affirmed that “we are a team”, a federation of agencies that worked more like a prime ministerial system rather than a presidential one. At the country level, the Resident Coordinator was the team leader. Regionally, the regional chair took the lead, while at the global level, it was the UNDP Chair. To Argentina’s question, she cited the Millennium Development Goal Achievement Fund as an example of pooled resources, which had incentivized “jointness”. The success in mobilizing non-core resources was behind the funding imbalance. The question was whether there was a critical level which was most beneficial to an agency. “We value all contributions,” she said.
Ms. BRANDT agreed that reforms that offered better results on the ground were the desired outcome. It was important to shift from collecting data to building capacity for analysis and integrating data into programming. She emphasized the importance of joint communications around normative work, noting that a working group had been created for that purpose. She agreed agencies worked as a team. While she acknowledged there was room for improvement at Headquarters, she said the standard operating procedures would not have been as successful as they were without support from Headquarters.
Ms. MLAMBO-NGCUKA agreed that agencies worked as a team, with the Resident Coordinator acting as a coach. In her meetings with ministers there was discussion about violence against women. The fact that no country had achieved gender equality incentivized work in a manner that held agencies together as a system. She added that Mexico’s work to build Latin American countries’ capacity to use data effectively had shown the importance of disaggregated data.
Ms. LONDÉN, speaking on middle-income country domestic resource mobilization, said UNFPA helped in that regard by reinforcing the principle of national ownership and incentivizing cost-sharing by matching funds provided by the country.
Mr. ABDULLA said it was most important that funding was predictable.