OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES SEGMENT
The 2008 Operational Activities Segment which took take place on 11-14 July 2008 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York provided an opportunity for the Economic and Social Council to follow up on the implementation of the policy recommendations of the General Assembly, particularly the General Assembly resolution 62/208, and to ensure that the mandates of the Assembly and the Council in the field of operational activities are implemented in their entirety and on a system-wide basis.
The segment comprised a series of interactive dialogues on operational activities for development of the United Nations system, including panel discussions on the role of the UN system in a changing aid environment and on strengthening UN development system's responsiveness to the different needs of programme countries, as well as a dialogue with the heads of Funds and Programmes and a general debate.
The Council had before it, three main reports of the Secretary-General:
- Report of the Secretary-General on the management process for the implementation of General Assembly resolution 62/208 on the triennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system;
- Report of the Secretary-General on the functioning of the resident coordinator system, including costs and benefits; and
- Report of the Secretary-General on comprehensive statistical analysis of the financial of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for 2006.
The objectives of the Operational Activities Segment were to:
(a) provide the United Nations system with cross-sectoral coordination and overall guidance on a system-wide basis, including objectives, priorities and strategies, in the implementation of the policies formulated by the General Assembly in the field of operational activities;
(b) monitor the division of labour between and cooperation within bodies of the United Nations system, in particular the development funds and programmes, to include the conduct of field-level coordination, and make appropriate recommendations to the Assembly, as well as to provide guidance, to the system;
(c) review and evaluate the reports of the work of the development funds and programmes, including the assessment of their overall impact, with a view to enhancing the operational activities of the United Nations on a system-wide basis;
(d) undertake preparatory work for the triennial policy review of operational activities by the Assembly;
(e) review the operationally relevant recommendations of the subsidiary bodies of the Council and other relevant bodies in the light of policies established by the Assembly, in order to incorporate them, as appropriate, into the operational activities of the United Nations; and
(f) provide orientation and recommendations to the relevant inter-agency coordination mechanisms to support and enhance their role.
For more information, please contact Development Cooperation Policy Branch/DESA (ecosocinfo@un.org)