MANDATE OF THE ECOSOC INTEGRATION SEGMENT

The Future We Want (A/RES/66/288) 

World leaders at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) “commit[ted] to strengthen the Economic and Social Council within its mandate under the Charter, as a principal organ in the integrated and coordinated follow-up of the outcomes of all major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social, environmental and related fields, and recogniz[ed] its key role in achieving a balanced integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development”. The mandate was subsequently reiterated by the General Assembly in its resolution on the format and organizational aspects of the high-level political forum on sustainable development (A/RES/67/290). 

Review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 61/16 on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council (A/RES/68/1) 

The resolution on the review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 61/16 on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council (A/RES/68/1) mandated ECOSOC to convene an Integration Segment to “be held annually, the timing and modalities of which shall be decided by the Council. The main functions of the segment will be to consolidate all the inputs of Member States, the subsidiary bodies of the Council, the United Nations system and other relevant stakeholders and to promote the balanced integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development. The integration segment will bring together the key messages from the Council system on the main theme and develop action-oriented recommendations for follow-up."

Review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 68/1 on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council (A/RES/72/305)

In its resolution 72/305 on the review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 68/1 on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly decided that the integration segment will be held for one day immediately before the high[1]level political forum. It will discuss and consolidate all the inputs of Member States, including case studies and lessons learned, the subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council, the United Nations system and other relevant stakeholders to promote the balanced integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development. This segment will thus bring together the key messages from the subsidiary bodies of the Council and the United Nations system on the main theme, develop action-oriented recommendations for follow-up and feed into the high-level political forum. It will also coordinate the work of the subsidiary bodies of the Council, promoting a clearer division of labour among them, and the policies and activities of the specialized agencies relating to the Sustainable Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals. The Secretary-General will present to the Council the annual overview report of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination. Heads of United Nations system entities, Chairs of the subsidiary bodies of the Council and the Executive Secretaries of the regional commissions will also be invited to participate. A dedicated effort will be made in 2019 to improve the role, functioning and impact of the segment along these lines. The Assembly also decided that this would be reviewed as part of the broader review of Council segments and meetings at the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly along with the high-level political forum.