About the Committee for Programme & Coordination

Legislative Basis, Mandate & Terms of Reference

The Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) was established by Economic and Social Council resolution 920 (XXXIV) (1962)

Economic and Social Council resolution 2008 (LX) (1976) defines the Committee's terms of reference.

 

CHRONOLOGY OF KEY GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND ECOSOC RESOLUTIONS

1962 : The Committee was established under the name “Special Committee on Coordination” by Economic and Social Council resolution on Special Committee on co-ordination with particular emphasis on the United Nations Development Decade. 920 (XXXIV) (1962)

1966 : In its resolution 1171 (XLI) (1966) on Reports of the Special Committee on Coordination and the Joint Meeting of the Special Committee and the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination the Economic and Social Council decided

“to change the name of the Special Committee on Co-ordination to 'Committee for Programme and Co-ordination' to reflect better its dual responsibilities.”

1976 : The Economic and Social Council reviewed the terms of reference of the Committee for Programme and Coordination and approved the consolidated terms of reference as contained in the annex to resolution 2008 (LX) (1976).

Paragraph 6 of the annex to 2008 (LX) (1976) also stated that the reports of the Joint Inspection Unit concerning the economic, social and human rights programmes of the United Nations system, including the reports dealing with the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, should be examined by the Committee.

In its resolution 31/93 on the Medium Term Plan, the General Assembly approved the consolidated terms of reference as set out in 2008 (LX) (1976) and instructed the Committee for Programme and Coordination to:

  • Review in depth, on a selective basis, the major programmes of the plan and to recommend any necessary amendments to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly
  • To determine which programmes, sub-programmes or programme elements are obsolete, or marginal usefulness or ineffective and to recommend, as appropriate, their curtailment or termination
  • To assess the degree of substantive co-ordination of selected programme within the United Nations system and to recommend the appropriate action thereon

1987 : By its decision 42/450, the General Assembly decided that the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination should, from 1988 onward, be composed of thirty-four States Members of the United Nations, elected for three-year terms on the basis of equitable geographical distribution.

2003 : In its resolution 58/269 on Strengthening the United Nations: an agenda for further change , the General Assembly requested the Secretary General to prepare, on a trial basis, a two year strategic framework to replace the four year medium-term plan and decided to take a final decision at its sixty-second session, on the format, content and duration of the strategic framework.

In the same resolution, the General Assembly also decided that the Committee for Programme and Coordination shall no longer consider the budget outline.

2004 : General Assembly resolution 59/267 on the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) invited the Committee for Programme and Coordination, in performing its programmatic, coordination, monitoring and evaluation functions to consider relevant reports of the JIU.

2006 : In its resolution 61/235 on Programme Planning the General Assembly recognized the role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination in monitoring and evaluation, and encouraged the Committee, in reviewing performance and evaluation reports, to provide, inter alia, action-oriented recommendations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and impact of the activities of the United Nations.

2007 : Further to resolution 58/269, the General Assembly at its sixty-second session, in its resolution 62/224, endorsed the recommendation of the Committee for Programme and Coordination to maintain the strategic framework as the principal policy directive of the United Nations, which serves as the basis for programme planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, with effect from the biennium 2010-2011.

General Assembly Resolutions:
31/93 (1976) | 58/269 (2003) | 59/267 (2004)
61/235 (2006) | 62/224 (2007)

General Assembly Decision:
42/450 (1987) | 42/318 (1987)

 

MEMBERSHIP & COMPOSITION

Originally 11, the membership of the Committee has been increased a number of times; most recently, by General Assembly decision 42/450 (1987). The membership of the Committee now stands at 34. In accordance with General Assembly decision 42/318 (1987) and Economic and Social resolution 1987(94), members are elected by the General Assembly upon the nomination of the Council and on the basis of equitable geographical distribution.

 

General Assembly
Decision 42/450
Broad representation in the Committee for Programme and Coordination

At its 98th plenary meeting, on 17 December 1987, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Economic and Social Council concerning broad representation in the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination, decided that: The Committee for Programme and Co-ordination should, from 1988 onward, be composed of thirty-four States Members of the United Nations, elected for three-year terms on the basis of equitable geographical distribution, as follows:
9 members from African States
7 members from Asian States
4 members from Eastern European States
7 members from the Group of Latin America & Caribbean States (GRULAC)
7 members from Western European & other States Group (WEOG)

The new members of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination should be elected at the forty-second session of the Assembly. For the purpose of electing the new members, the Assembly would dispense with the requirement of nomination by the Council.

 

General Assembly
Decision 42/318
Election of twenty members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination

At its 98th plenary meeting, on 17 December 1987, the General Assembly, on the basis of decisions on the broad representation in the Committee for Programme and Coordination and the nominations of the Economic and Social Council, elected, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Council resolution 1987/94 of 4 December 1987, AUSTRIA, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, CANADA, COLOMBIA, COTE D' IVOIRE, CUBA, GERMANY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF INDIA, KENYA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, POLAND, ROMANIA, RWANDA, SWEDEN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, the UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, UGANDA and YUGOSLAVIA members of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 1988 to fill the vacancies occurring on the expiration of the terms of office of BANGLADESH, UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, the NETHERLANDS, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, the UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND and YUGOSLAVIA.

As a result, the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination is composed of the following thirty-four States: ARGENTINA, AUSTRIA, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BENIN, BRAZIL, BURKINA FASO, CAMEROON, CANADA, CHINA, COLOMBIA, COTE D' IVOIRE, CUBA, FRANCE, GERMANY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF INDIA, INDONESIA, JAPAN, KENYA, MEXICO, PAKISTAN, PERU, POLAND, ROMANIA, RWANDA, SWEDEN, TRINIDAD and TOBAGO, TUNISIA, UGANDA, UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, YUGOSLAVIA and ZAMBIA