17 December 1981

Operational activities for development

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, and 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international economic co-operation,

Recalling also its resolution 35/56 of 5 December 1980, containing the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade,

Recalling further its resolutions 33/201 of 29 January 1979 and 35/81 of 5 December 1980 on a comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development,

Recalling its resolutions 2688 (XXV) of 11 December 1970 on the capacity of the United Nations development system and 3405 (XXX) of 28 November 1975 on new dimensions in technical co-operation,

Having noted with deep concern the outcome of the 1981 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, held on 3 and 4 November 1981,

Having examined the annual report of the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation on the operational activities for development of the United Nations system,

Reiterating that a substantial part of world resources, material as well as human, continues to be diverted to armaments with detrimental effect on international security and on efforts to achieve the new international economic order, including operational activities for development of the United Nations system, and calling upon Governments to take effective measures in the field of real disarmament that would increase the possibilities of allocation of resources now being used for military purposes to economic and social development, especially development of developing countries,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the annual report of the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation on the operational activities for development of the United Nations system, and takes note of the areas identified by the Director-General in which further progress can be made;

2. Reaffirms that the operational activities for development of the United Nations system should contribute effectively to the implementation of the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade, which should provide the framework within which those activities should be planned and conducted;

3. Expresses its deep concern that over-all voluntary contributions from Governments and other sources to the funds and programmes that are included in the United Nations pledging conferences for development activities have been stagnating and falling short in many cases of targets which have been set by the relevant intergovernmental bodies, with serious consequences for the organizations concerned with respect to their capacity to maintain the level of their operational programmes in support of the growing needs of developing countries for multilateral concessional assistance through the United Nations system;

4. Strongly reiterates the need for a substantial and real increase in the flow of resources for operational activities on an increasingly predictable, continuous and assured basis and, in this context, urges all countries, particularly those developed countries whose over-all performance is not commensurate with their capacity, to increase rapidly and substantially their contributions to the system's operational activities for development;

5. Invites all countries to inform the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session of the steps they have taken or intend to take in response to the present resolution and other relevant resolutions of the Assembly, taking into account targets which have been set by the relevant intergovernmental bodies;

6. Decides to review and appraise on a regular basis the mobilization of resources for operational activities for development, taking into account targets which have been set by the relevant intergovernmental bodies and, for this purpose, requests the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation to include in his annual report to the General Assembly a compilation of information provided by Governments, in accordance with paragraph 5 of the present resolution, and other relevant information together with his comments and recommendations;

7. Expresses its deep concern at the slow progress towards placing the organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system engaged in operational activities for development on a more stable financial basis and, in this context, urges all countries that are able to do so to indicate, while making their pledges, their probable contributions for a multiyear period, taking into account the need to ensure increased resources in real terms on an increasingly predictable, continuous and assured basis;

8. Reiterates its invitation to the governing bodies of the relevant organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, as appropriate, to consider new and specific ways and means of mobilizing increased resources for operational activities for development on an increasingly predictable, continuous and assured basis and requests the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation to take into account the outcome of these considerations in the preparation of his report to be submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session;

9. Welcomes paragraph 4 of decision 81/16 of 27 June 1981 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme, in which the Council urged the Administrator to reduce the size of the administrative budget of the Programme, and urges all the governing bodies of the organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system engaged in operational activities for development, as a general guideline, to seek to minimize the administrative and overhead costs with a view to increasing the proportion of resources available to meet the assistance requirements of developing countries;

10. Invites all organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system engaged in operational activities for development to adopt appropriate measures leading to a greater use of the capacities of developing countries in local or regional procurement of material and equipment, in training and in services, in facilitating the increased use of local contractors, and in the recruitment of training, technical and managerial personnel, bearing in mind decision 81/28 of 30 June 1981 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme;

11. Requests the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation to include in his report to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session recommendations on specific ways and means of increasing the participation of developing countries in the execution of programmes and projects of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system, bearing in mind paragraphs 8, 9 and 10 of Assembly resolution 35/81;

12. Invites the governing bodies of the organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system engaged in operational activities to take the action requested in paragraphs 8, 9 and 11 of General Assembly resolution 35/81, and invites the Secretary-General and heads of those organs, organizations and bodies to provide information on the action taken by the governing bodies; requests the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation to include that information, together with his own recommendations, in his reports to the Assembly at its thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth sessions and, in preparing the recommendations requested in paragraph 18 of that resolution, to take into account the responses made by the above-mentioned governing bodies and the comments made thereon by delegations during the thirty-sixth session of the Assembly;

13. Welcomes the establishment by the Secretary-General of the consultative process in pursuance of paragraph 6 of resolution 34/213 of 19 December 1979, in which the Assembly called for consultations with Governments, through the resident co-ordinator, and for the participation of all organizations concerned both at the country level and subsequently through the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination, calls upon the executive heads of organs, organizations and bodies concerned of the United Nations system to co-operate fully in that process, and requests the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation to include in his annual report information on the outcome of those consultations;

14. Requests the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation to provide in his annual report comprehensive statistical information on operational activities for development of the United Nations system on the same basis as that contained in the 1981 annual report, and to include separately in his report information pertaining to the United Nations Trust Fund for Special Economic Assistance Programmes and the Fund of the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as information relating to administrative, programme and other support costs incurred by organizations engaged in operational activities for development.