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Secretary-General Comments on System Wide Coherence

Report by Daniel Safran-Hon, 30 June 2009

The Secretary-General commented on the status of system wide coherence in an informal session of the General Assembly concerning the issue. Convened by the two Co-Chairs – Ambassadors of Namibia and Spain and taking place on the 22 June 2009, it was the last informal consultation on this issue during the 63rd GA and will be followed by bilateral and group discussions by the two Co-Chairs leading to a plenary meeting towards the end of the current GA session.

In his opening remarks, the SG accentuated the importance he places on the process of system wide coherence especially in light of the current challenges such as the financial crisis. His remarks (SG's full remarks) concentrated on the five areas of the system-wide coherence process: funding, governance, gender, “delivering-as-one” and the harmonization of business practices.

On the issue of funding, the SG suggested that “donor countries renew their commitment to the quantity and quality of resource flows, while UN entities undertake commensurate action to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their country-level operations,” while adding that “ The most important priority for UN operational activities for development is an adequate, predictable and stable funding base.” The SG also recognized the importance Member States have conveyed during the system-wide coherence consultations concerning the strengthening of the funding and governance architecture of UN development cooperation.

On the issue of governance, the SG commented on several priorities. First: furthering common country programming based on the premise of system-wide coherence as voluntary and nationally-owned. Second: the further strengthening of the General Assembly policy guidance process by improving the comprehensive policy review (TCRP), which will now take place every four years. Third: work within the Economic and Social Council and strengthen its overview and coordination roles by using the council tools more effectively. Fourth: system-wide performance review and evaluation, anchored in the establishment of an independent system-wide evaluation unit and a central repository of information on UN operational activities for development.

On the issue of reforming the United Nations’ gender architecture, the SG mentioned that Member States have received proposals on the structure, governance, staffing and funding of a new architecture, and on the relationships with other bodies and entities. Although there is strong support for a “composite” entity he said, the SG reminded Member States of the importance of funding, mentioning that it was known from the start of the review that available resources were inadequate and unpredictable. The SG concluded by urging the Member States to “muster the political will to create the composite entity during the current session, and to fund it properly.“

On the progress of the “delivering-as-one” pilot initiative that currently included eight countries, the SG mentioned that the initiative improved the alignment of UN development cooperation with national development priorities, transparency and accountability. Advances have also been done in the use of national systems and procedures and in the harmonization of business practices. Challenges continue to remain however in the stepping up of harmonization of business practices and results-based reporting and in enhancing the predictability of funding flows. The SG noted that the next step forward is an independent evaluation of the pilot asked for by the 2007 comprehensive policy review of the General Assembly, concluding that “there is need to move forward with some sense of clarity on what would be the best process for conducting such an assessment.”

Finally the SG commented on the harmonization of UN business practices. He noted the wide-scale plan of action that has been developed under the auspices of the Chief Executives Board (CEB). A funding proposal was circulated to potential donor countries in October 2008, and implementation of the plan began shortly thereafter. It is currently funded by Member States contributions as well as internal earmarked resources. Initial priorities include projects related to procurement, human resources, financial management and information and communications technology.

Conclusion
the informal consultations led by the two Co-Chairs accompanied by The advances reported by the SG are expected to lead to a draft resolution and to a decision by the plenary towards the end of this GA session. Some of these processes and especially gender architecture and the evaluation of the “delivering-as-one” pilot initiatives will have to be decided upon soon if substantial progress is to be achieved.


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