PRESIDENT of the 63rd Session
United Nations General Assembly

Main Issues

• Security Council Reform
• System Wide Coherence
• Revitalization of the General Assembly
• MDGs 2010 Review Summit
• South-South Cooperation Conference

System Wide Coherence

In February 2006, based on paragraph 169 of the World Summit Outcome Document, the Secretary-General created a High Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and the environment. The 15-member panel, co-chaired by the prime ministers of Pakistan, Mozambique, and Norway, carried out a study of the UN’s operational activities and assessed how to strengthen UN system works, its comparative advantages, and reduce areas of overlap between UN agencies.

The Panel submitted its report, “Delivering as one” to Secretary-General Kofi Annan in November 2006. The report included extensive recommendations to consolidate and improve the effectiveness of United Nations operations. In April 2007, the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, issued his response to the Panel’s findings. The General Assembly held consultations on the recommendations contained in the Report of the High Level Panel and the Secretary-General's report.

On 15 September 2008, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on System-wide Coherence (A/RES/62/277) following a series of informal consultations held in 2007 and 2008 on the recommendations of the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence contained in the Panel's report (A/61/583) lead by the Permanent Representatives of Ireland and Tanzania appointed by the President of the 62nd session of the General Assembly as Co-Chairs.

On 20 February 2009, the President of the General Assembly appointed H. E. Mr. Kaire Munionganda Mbuende, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia, and H. E. Mr. Juan Antonio Yañez-Barnuevo, Permanent Representative of Spain, as Co-chairs of the consultative process on the System-wide Coherence in the course of the 63rd session.

LETTERS BY CO-CHAIRS

• Forwarding the draft resolution on System-wide Coherence (11 September 2009)

• Update on the work and the way forward on System-wide Coherence (7 August 2009)

• Strengthening the Institutional Arrangements for Support of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women: Executive Summary by the Co-chairs (19 June 2009)

• Expert-level interactive session of Member States with relevant representatives of the United Nations system in order to address the Governance and Funding dimensions on 17 June (12 June 2009)

• Informal consultation on Gender to discuss the supplementary information on 8 June (1 June 2009)

• Working-level interactive session on Funding on 4 June and a Briefing on “Delivering as One” on 8 June (29 May 2009)

• Working-level interactive session to consider the supplementary information prepared by the Secretary-General, held on 20 May (15 May 2009)

• Informal consultations on Funding held on 19 May (14 May 2009)

• Working-level interactive session on Governance held on 8 May (4 May 2009)

• Informal consultations on Governance held on 24 April (17 April 2009)

• Working-level interactive session on Gender held on 15 April (7 April 2009)

• Informal consultations on Gender held on 30 March (19 March 2009)

• First meeting of the informal consultations of the plenary on System-wide Coherence (10 March 2009)

LETTERS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

• Letter to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations transmitting the consolidated response regarding questions raised by Member States on 15 April 2009, following discussions of the paper “Further Details on Institutional Options for Strengthening the Institutional Arrangements for Support to Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women”. (3 June 2009)

• Letter to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations transmitting a paper entitled "Strengthening the system-wide funding architecture of operational activities of the United Nations for development". (8 May 2009)

• Letter to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations transmitting a paper entitled "Strengthening governance of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for enhanced system-wide coherence". (16 April 2009)

• Letter to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations transmitting the paper entitled “Further Details on Institutional Options for Strengthening the Institutional Arrangements for Support of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women" (13 March 2009)

• Letter to all Permanent Missions and Permanent Observer Missions to the United Nations regarding appointment of Co-Chairs on System Wide Coherence (20 February 2009)

DOCUMENTS

• Draft Proposed Organizational Structure for the a New Gender Equality Entity (8 June 2009)

• Programme of work (12 May 2009)

• Strengthening the system-wide funding architecture of operational activities of the United Nations for development (3 May 2009)
  
  
• Strengthening governance of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for enhanced system-wide coherence (15 April 2009)

• Further Details on Institutional Options for Strengthening the Institutional Arrangements for Support of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (5 March 2009)

• Institutional Options to Strengthen United Nations Work on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (23 July 2008)

• Note on the United Nations System Support to Member States on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (5 June 2008)

• Report of the Co-Chairs of the 62nd Session (21 July 2008)

• Report of the Co-Chairs of the 61st Session (17 September 2007)

• Matrix - Implications for UN operational activities at country level: what's new and what has already been mandated? (27 August 2007)

• Concept Note on a "Strengthened Architecture for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women" (1 August 2007)

• Report of Secretary-General (3 April 2007 )

• Report of the High Level Panel on System-wide Coherence (9 November 2006)

• The 2005 World Summit Outcome (A/RES/60/1)
  

STATEMENTS

• By the Co-chairs
  • Opening Remarks at the interactive meeting on Gender (8 June 2009)
  • Closing Remarks at the interactive meeting on Gender (8 June 2009)
  • Opening Remarks at Consultations on Governance (24 April 2009)
  • Closing Remarks at Consultations on Governance (24 April 2009)
  • Opening Remarks at Consultations on Gender (30 March 2009)
  • Closing Remarks at Consultations on Gender (1 April 2009)

• By the Deputy Secretary-General
  • Remarks to the General Assembly on System-wide coherence – Informal consultation on Funding Paper (19 May 2009)
  • Remarks to informal consultations of the General Assembly on System-wide coherence (24 April 2009

• By the UN System and Agencies
  • Helene Clark, Chair of the United Nations Development Group (8 June 2009)
  • Director, Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, UNDESA (4 June 2009)

FIRST MEETING OF THE INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS (13 MARCH)

• Remarks by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
• Welcoming Remarks by H. E. Mr. Kaire Munionganda Mbuende (Namibia), Co-chair.
• Closing Remarks by H. E. Mr. Juan Antonio Yañez-Barnuevo (Spain), Co-chair.