ECOSOC 2012 Substantive Session - Coordination Segment

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Date: - Location: New York

The 2012 coordination segment focused on two main substantive areas:

  • Follow-up to the 2011 Ministerial Declaration on “implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education”
  • Follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development

During the segment, there was a dialogue with the Executive Secretaries of the Regional Commissions on the theme of “Regional perspectives on youth and development”, during which the report of the Secretary-General on regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields was presented to the Council. In addition, the annual overview report of the UN system Chief Executive Board for Coordination (CEB) was presented to the Council. 

In its consideration of the substantive issues, the coordination segment provided an opportunity to identify areas where the UN system should promote more comprehensive and integrated approaches and recommended ways in which support can be strengthened against the backdrop of current challenges.

This year, a special attention was given to the contribution that partnerships can make to advance the United Nations development agenda, particularly as it relates to education. In the current global context, partnerships are increasingly recognized as important to leverage development activities.  In the education sector, where a wide range of stakeholders is involved (parents, teachers’ unions, local school boards and authorities, national policy makers, foundations, private companies, investors, NGOs, donor Governments and international institutions), their role in increasing investment in education, both in terms of access and quality, needs to be analyzed and promoted. The following panels on various dimensions of this topic were organized during the segment:

  • “Mobilizing partnerships for development, including in the field of education” on 10 July 2012, 3 – 6 p.m. (Issues note; Biographies; Summary)
  • “Addressing the challenges of the education/skills and job mismatch” on 11 July 2012, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.  (Issues note; Biographies; Summary)

The discussions on financing for development included a special event on innovative mechanisms of financing for development, as recommended by the General Assembly at its 66th session:

Contacts

For information on the coordination segment, please contact Mr. Marc-André Dorel, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, ECOSOC and Interorganizational Cooperation Branch, Office of ECOSOC Support and Coordination/DESA (212) 963-7204, @email, and Ms. Sibel Selcuk, Programme Officer, ECOSOC and Interorganizational Cooperation Branch, Office of ECOSOC Support and Coordination/DESA (917) 367-5019, @email or write to @email.  For financing for development related issues, please contact Mr. Hazem Fahmy, Chief, Multistakeholder Engagement Unit, Financing for Development Office/DESA, (212) 963-5900, @email.

Documentation

  • Report of the Secretary-General–Role of the United Nations system in implementing the internationally agreed development goals and commitments in regard to education (E/2012/66)
  • Note by the Secretary–General on the periodicity and scope of future reports on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits (E/2012/64) (This document will be discussed by the Council under the agenda items 6 and 8 of the General Segment.)
  • Summary by the President of the Council of the special high-level meeting of the Council with the Bretton Woods Institutions, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (E/2012/62)
  • Report of the Secretary General–Regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields (E/2012/15) and its addendum (E/2012/15/Add.1)
  • Annual Overview report of the United Nations Chief Executive Board for Coordination for 2011/2012 (E/2012/67)