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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.
Programme
STATEMENTS
- H.E. Ambassador Andrei Dapkiunas, Vice President of ECOSOC, New York, 10 July 2008 - Introduction on the work programme and key objectives of the segment
- Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, New York, 10 July 2008, Keynote address and introduction of the reports of the Secretary-General
Thematic panel on “The UN system in a changing aid environment: implications and comparative advantages”, 10 July 2008
- Chairperson: H.E. Ambassador Andrei Dapkiunas, Vice President of ECOSOC
- H.E. Francis K. Butagira, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Uganda to the United Nations
- Mr. Aiichiro Yamamoto, Resident Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), USA
- Ms. Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA
- Mr. Bruce Jenks, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Partnerships Bureau, UNDP
- Lead discussant: Mr. Charles Riemen Schneider, Director, Investment Centre Division, FAO
Panel on “Strengthening United Nations development system's responsiveness to the different needs of programme countries”, 10 July 2008
- Moderator: Mr. Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General, DESA
- H.E. Mr. Jose Luis Gutteres, Vice Prime-Minister, Timor-Leste
- H. E. Mr. Henrique Banze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mozambique
- H.E. Mr. Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle, Coordinator of the Social Cabinet and Minister of Culture, Arts and Sports, Honduras
- Mr. Jan Vandemoortele, Senior Advisor on Policy, Division on Policy and Practice, UNICEF (Former Resident Coordinator in Pakistan)
Dialogue with Executive Heads of UN funds and programmes on “Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in the context of current challenges”, 11 July 2008
- Moderator: Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General, DESA
- Mr. Kemal Dervis, Administrator, UNDP
- Ms. Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director, UNICEF
- Ms. Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA
- Mr. John Powell, Deputy Executive Director, WFP
RESOLUTION
- Progress in the implementation of General Assembly resolution
62/208 on the triennial comprehensive policy review of operational
activities for development of the United Nations system ( E/2008/L.12 )
INFORMAL SUMMARIES
- Summary of the Panel discussion on “The UN system in a changing aid environment: implications and comparative advantages”, 10 July 2008
- Summary of the Panel discussion on “Strengthening United Nations development system's responsiveness to the different needs of programme countries”, 10 July 2008
- Summary of the Dialogue with Executive Heads of the United Nations Funds and Programmes (UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP), 11 July 2008
- Summary of the General Debate – ECOSOC Operational activities segment
DOCUMENTATION
ITEM 3 - Operational activities of the United Nations for international development cooperation
ITEM 3 (a) - Follow-up to policy recommendations of the General Assembly and the Council
- Report of the Secretary-General on comprehensive statistical data on operational activities for development of the United Nations system ( A/63/71-E/2008/46 )
- Report of the Secretary-General on the functioning of the resident coordinator system, including costs and benefits ( E/2008/60 )
- 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 ( E/2008/49 )
- Actions taken by the Executive Boards and Governing Bodies of the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies in the area of simplification and harmonization of the United Nations development system ( E/2008/CRP.4 )
ITEM 3 (b) - Reports of the Executive Boards of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Programme
- Report of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme/ United Nations Population Fund on its work during 2007 ( E/2007/35 )
- Report of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund ( E/2008/5 )
- Annual report of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund on its first regular session of 2008 ( E/2008/6-E/ICEF/2008/3 and Corr. 1 )
- Annual report of the Executive Director of the World Food Programme for 2007 ( E/2008/14 )
- Report of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund on the work of its 2008 first regular session ( E/2008/34(Part I)-E/ICEF/2008/7(Part I) )
- Report of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund on the work of its 2008 first regular session: Joint meeting of the Executive Boards of UNDP/UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP ( E/2008/34 (Part I)/Add.1-E/ICEF/2008/7 (Part I)/Add.1 )
- Report of the Executive Board of the World Food Programme on the first and second regular sessions and annual session of 2007 ( E/2008/36, Supp. No. 16 )
For more information, please contact Development Cooperation Policy Branch/DESA (ecosocinfo@un.org)