General Assembly
Official Records
Fifty-fourth Session
Supplement No. 1 (A/54/1)

Chapter II

Cooperating for development

Overview

127. In an increasingly interdependent world, the challenges of development can be met only through well-planned, coordinated and adequately funded international action. The United Nations and its partners have extraordinary capacities in the development field. The challenge is to use them more effectively and synergistically. In the reform programme I initiated in 1997, the United Nations Development Group was created to help meet this challenge. During the past year, the Group has been developing and implementing the new modes of collaboration necessary to meet our development goals.

Reform tools: common country assessment and United Nations Development Assistance Framework

128. Through the common country assessment and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), the United Nations has for the first time the tools needed to provide strategic and coordinated support for the development goals of national Governments. The common country assessment provides a common analysis for use by the United Nations, donors and other institutions, so that all have a shared understanding of the challenges and potential risks they face. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework is the planning and programming mechanism that coordinates the United Nations response to meeting these challenges.

129. We are also taking steps to ensure that those United Nations programmes, funds and agencies, including the regional commissions, that do not have a presence in the field are fully involved in the preparation and implementation of United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks and common country assessments. Since 1997, some 60 countries have initiated common country assessments; 18 countries participated in the UNDAF pilot project started in 1997, and 19 more are expected to commence an UNDAF before the end of 1999.

Strengthening leadership: the resident coordinator system

130. Throughout the last year, the United Nations Development Group has intensified efforts to improve the resident coordinator system. These have included new selection procedures for resident coordinators to broaden the basis for recruitment and improve the gender balance; performance appraisals of resident coordinators and country teams; improved annual reporting procedures for resident coordinators and a review of lessons learned; and greater support from Headquarters, including better training for resident coordinators and country teams.

Maximizing resources: harmonization and United Nations Houses

131. In response to a call by the General Assembly for greater harmonization and simplification of the policies and procedures used by United Nations bodies, 100 country teams have now planned to have their individual programming cycles begin at the same time, and all country programmes will have harmonized cycles by 2004.

132. The housing of United Nations entities in common premises (United Nations Houses) will foster a greater sense of community and common purpose. To date, some 36 United Nations Houses have been designated around the world; the establishment of 20 more is being considered in 1999. In a number of countries, we are promoting "virtual" United Nations Houses that will connect separate offices via an in-country intranet and thus improve the sharing of information, practices and expertise.

Improving impact: inter-agency support

133. The United Nations Development Group has set up a number of inter-agency groups to provide support to country teams. The Working Group on the Right to Development reviewed the provisional UNDAF guidelines and made specific proposals on how better to incorporate respect for human rights. The Working Group prepared a guidance note for all resident coordinators and will develop a human rights training module. The Group will also disseminate examples of good practice to help country teams learn from each other.

134. The Sub-Group on Gender, formed in June 1998, reviewed the pilot United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks and made recommendations for more effective incorporation of gender perspectives into the core indicators of the common country assessments and the final UNDAF guidelines.

135. Ad hoc task forces and working groups have pooled knowledge gained by the United Nations Development Group on specific topics for the benefit of country teams. In 1998/99, these included the Working Groups on poverty and girls' education, and the Task Forces on globalization, sector programmes and collaboration with the Bretton Woods institutions.

Working together: building partnerships for development

136. During the past year, the United Nations placed greater emphasis on communicating its research, publications and debates to its various partners -- nationally, regionally and internationally. This has contributed to greater understanding and awareness of key development issues and to more innovative development thinking. In addition, a database set up jointly by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNDP has deepened mutual understanding and provided valuable input for civil society organizations. A survey carried out by the World Food Programme (WFP) in 1998 found that WFP is collaborating with more than 1,100 non-governmental organizations worldwide, of which three quarters are national and local groups.

137. In response to my statement to business leaders at the World Economic Forum at Davos in 1999, the United Nations Development Group has explored private sector partnerships on a range of development issues. UNDP, for example, has joined with Internet giant Cisco Systems in creating NetAid, a multi-city concert to be broadcast over the Internet to raise public awareness and generate financial support for reducing poverty in developing countries. UNICEF's partnerships with the private sector include a global campaign that has succeeded in eliminating polio in many parts of the world.

138. The United Nations has also made concerted efforts to increase collaboration with the international financial institutions. In February 1999, the Economic and Social Council held a high-level meeting with the Executive Board members of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Top World Bank officials, including President Wolfensohn and 11 Vice-Presidents, have participated in other exchanges, in the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and various open meetings. Discussions have also been held with World Bank officials on the Comprehensive Development Framework and other areas for cooperation, such as the common country assessment and UNDAF. Within the United Nations, including the specialized agencies, there have been a number of discussions on how to make United Nations engagement with the World Bank more effective. The United Nations has also collaborated actively with the regional development banks, particularly in regard to the financial crises in East Asia and elsewhere. Similarly, there has been practical collaboration at the country level and in following up UNDAF/Country Assistance Strategy pilots in Mali and Viet Nam.

139. The United Nations has continued to stress that governance grounded in democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights is the best foundation for sustainable development. Cooperation has increased markedly between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNDP, the international financial institutions and the specialized agencies on integrating human rights norms into the development process. The next stage will be to draw upon the practical experiences of Governments throughout the world to identify where, and what sort of, assistance is most needed.

The link between relief and development

140. Inter-agency task forces engaged in post-conflict peace-building have become increasingly common in the 1990s as the number of comprehensive peace agreements has grown. This development has highlighted the need to ensure that emergency relief and recovery assistance programmes are linked effectively to longer-term development initiatives. Recognizing the importance of this linkage, we have initiated a dialogue between the principal actors in the humanitarian, human rights, security and development fields; its goal is to facilitate more effective interdepartmental and inter-agency cooperation. The first meeting of the Executive Committees on Peace and Security, Political Affairs and the United Nations Development Group in November 1998 was an important step in this process.

Capacity-building in statistics

141. In May 1998, the Economic and Social Council, recognizing the importance of statistics and indicators, requested the United Nations Secretariat, bilateral funding agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions to work together to provide support for national statistical capacity-building in Member States. The Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with UNFPA, has undertaken various initiatives to implement the 2000 world population and housing census. The Department has also supported regional approaches for census-taking in Central Asia, the Southern African Development Community and the Pacific. Intraregional cooperation among organizations responsible for collecting national and regional statistics is also being supported.