23 July 1986

38th plenary meeting

Policy review of operational activities for development

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly 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 General Assembly resolutions 38/171 of 19 December 1983 and 40/211 of 17 December 1985,

Appreciating the overall impact of operational activities for development, which have become an established and important dimension of the development efforts of the organizations of the United Nations system,

Reaffirming that the primary objective of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system is to promote the economic self-reliance of developing countries through multilateral co-operation and, in this context, emphasizing the need to maintain the multilateral character of the operational activities of the United Nations system and for all Governments to enhance their commitment in this regard,

Stressing the urgent need to strengthen multilateral co-operation for development through, inter alia, increased voluntary contributions to the operational activities for development of the United Nations system,

Reaffirming the exclusive responsibility of the Government of the recipient country in formulating its national development plan, priorities and objectives, as set out in the consensus contained in the annex to General Assembly resolution 2688 (XXV) of 11 December 1970, and emphasizing that the integration of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system with national programmes would enhance the impact and relevance of those activities,

Reaffirming that economic and technical co-operation among developing countries should be a significant dimension of all operational activities for development, as a key element in the strategy of collective self-reliance and an essential instrument to promote changes contributing to a balanced and equitable process of global economic development,

Emphasizing the need to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system in supporting the efforts of developing countries,

Emphasizing also the urgency for the United Nations system to respond in an effective and coherent manner to the increasing requirements for external assistance and, in this context, reaffirming the need for new and purposeful efforts at all levels to improve the provision, utilization, administration and co-ordination of development assistance,

Aware that a substantial part of world resources, material as well as human, continues to be diverted to armaments, with a detrimental effect on international security and on bilateral and multilateral co-operation, including the operational activities for development of the United Nations system,

1. Expresses its appreciation for the contribution of the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation in promoting operational activities for development and takes note with interest of the report of the Director-General for the triennial policy review of operational activities for development;

2. Takes note of the information provided by some of the organizations of the United Nations system in response to General Assembly resolution 40/211, 70/ urges all organizations to respond; and expresses the hope that the quality of such information will be improved upon in the future;

3. Expresses its deep concern at the stagnation in recent years in real terms of overall contributions for operational activities for development, particularly the prognosis of a marginal annual rate of growth over the next few years;

4. Emphasizes the need for a significant, continuous, predictable and real increase in resources for operational activities for development to meet the growing requirements for development of the developing countries, in particular the least developed countries;

5. Urges all countries to increase their voluntary contributions for operational activities for development, in particular those countries whose overall performance is not commensurate with their capacity;

6. Affirms that the programming and implementation of operational activities for development shall continue to be based on the principles set out in the consensus of 1970, as contained in the annex to General Assembly resolution 2688 (XXV);

7. Reiterates the need for all organizations of the United Nations system to make greater use of the capacities of developing countries, inter alia, through increasing government execution of projects and employment of local consultants and national experts, with a view to improving the cost-effectiveness and relevance of operational activities for development as well as facilitating the transfer of skills;

8. Expresses its concern at the recent decline in the proportion of equipment procured from developing countries, reaffirms the need to increase procurement from sources that at present are underutilized, and invites organizations of the United Nations system engaged in operational activities for development to take the necessary measures to widen the geographical distribution of their sources of procurement consistent with the principle of competitive international bidding through, inter alia, better utilization of sources of supplies from developing countries and underutilized donor countries;

9. Requests the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation to conduct further comparative analyses of the relationship between programme delivery and administrative and support costs with a view to releasing the maximum amount of resources for development activities and increasing programme delivery;

10. Encourages the steps being taken to conduct needs assessments as a basis for the co-ordination of all technical co-operation in support of the priority programmes of the recipient Government;

11. Reaffirms the responsibility of developing countries to co-ordinate development co-operation, through, inter alia, the determination of local co-ordination arrangements;

12. Requests organizations of the system to give high priority to assisting Governments at their request in strengthening their capacity for co-ordination at both the overall and the sectoral level;

13. Invites the organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to introduce, in close co-operation with the Governments of recipient countries, specific measures aimed at strengthening the capabilities of the recipient countries to exercise their sovereign rights regarding preparation and realization of programmes and projects of technical co-operation, including training projects for personnel in national planning, co-ordination and evaluation institutions and measures to increasingly entrust Governments and institutions of recipient countries with the responsibility for executing projects;

14. Decides to intensify its efforts to ensure overall co-ordination of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system and, in this context, stresses that efforts should be undertaken to strengthen the necessary dialogue and interaction between the governing bodies of the United Nations system concerned with operational activities for development so as to ensure consistency between decisions taken by policy-making bodies;

15. Invites the governing bodies of the organizations of the United Nations system to reaffirm their full support for improved coherence of action by the system at the country level and for the role of the resident co-ordinator in accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/197 of 20 December 1977 and in accordance with the relevant recommendations of the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation;

16. Strongly urges Governments and organizations of the United Nations system to provide resident co-ordinators with the requisite authority to carry out their role and responsibilities as defined in General Assembly resolution 32/197, taking into account other relevant Assembly resolutions, in order to promote greater coherence and co-ordination within the United Nations system, inter alia, through the following measures:

(a) Enabling the resident co-ordinator to consult on a regular basis with the Government and representatives of organizations of the system on specific measures regarding areas where greater coherence of action is required and, where host country Governments so request, to play a broader co-ordinating role;

(b) Strengthening local co-ordination arrangements, where necessary, for the implementation of such measures, inter alia, through the conduct of joint technical co-operation needs assessments and programming missions;

(c) Establishing systematic exchange of information and streamlining procedures and reporting requirements by the United Nations field offices.

17. Requests the governing bodies of the organizations of the United Nations system to pay particular attention to the need to rationalize field representation of the organizations and, recognizing the necessity to consult with the recipient Government on such matters, to establish new field offices only if the required services cannot be shared with other organizations or provided in any other way;

18. Emphasizes the importance for recipient countries to receive full information from all donors on their assistance efforts within the framework of operational activities for development, including information on the cost, nature and objective of each project, concessionality, and tying status;

19. Requests the resident co-ordinators to assist Governments of recipient countries, upon request, in managing information from all donors on their assistance efforts and in ensuring co-ordination and improved effectiveness of such assistance;

20. Requests the Director-General to study in a few selected donor and recipient countries, with the agreement and co-operation of the Governments concerned, existing co-ordination practices designed to ensure consistence and coherence in their policy and positions in the area of operational activities for development;

21. Stresses the importance of the United Nations Development Programme country programme as the framework for promoting a more coherent and co-ordinated approach to technical co-operation activities by the United Nations development system;

22. Invites the Director-General, with the support of extrabudgetary resources, to conduct case studies in one or more countries, with the agreement and co-operation of the Governments concerned, on the functioning of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system, bearing in mind the specificity of individual country circumstances;

23. Urges the continuation of efforts to harmonize, to the extent possible, the operational procedures of the organizations of the United Nations system engaged in operational activities for development, in areas such as project presentation, monitoring, evaluation and procurement;

24. Invites the organizations concerned to improve the integration of food aid with overall development efforts;

25. Strongly urges the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Programme to continue their efforts for co-ordinated programming, through the Joint Consultative Group on Policy, so as to promote greater collaboration;

26. Urges other organizations to consider adopting similar co-ordinated programming practices;

27. Invites organizations of the United Nations system to continue to pursue measures to enhance the involvement of non-governmental organizations and enterprises in operational activities, in accordance with the objective and priorities of each developing country;

28. Reiterates the need for the increased participation of women in operational activities and requests the Director-General, in presenting his report to the General Assembly at its forty-first session, to address this issue along the lines called for in Assembly resolution 40/211;

29. Strongly urges the organizations of the United Nations system engaged in operational activities for development to intensify their efforts to integrate economic and technical co-operation among developing countries into operational activities, inter alia, by orienting their programmes and projects towards strengthening such co-operation in accordance with the priorities defined by the developing countries themselves;

30. Emphasizes the need for close collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme and the Department of Technical Co-operation for Development of the United Nations Secretariat in view of the potential for greater complementarity between them and requests the Director-General to include recommendations in this regard, as appropriate, in his report for the next policy review;

31. Reaffirms the authority and responsibility entrusted to the Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation by the General Assembly in resolution 32/197, to ensure effective leadership of the United Nations system in the field of development and international economic co-operation and in exercising overall co-ordination within the system in order to ensure a multidisciplinary approach to the problems of development on a system-wide basis;

32. Requests the Director-General to include in his annual report on operational activities for development information on important policy and management issues affecting the coherence and functioning of system-wide activities, in the light of the relevant decisions of the governing bodies of organizations of the system, and to submit that information to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council for consideration;

33. Requests the Director-General, in preparing his report for the next policy review, to provide a general framework of broad objectives for operational activities for development within the United Nations system, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/197;

34. Also requests the Director-General to include in his report for the next comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development a specific chapter containing information about measures taken by organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations aimed at strengthening the capabilities of the recipient countries in the preparation and implementation of programmes and projects of technical co-operation;

35. Invites the governing bodies of the organizations of the United Nations system to provide the Council at its second regular session of 1987 with views and comments on the implementation of the present resolution, in particular on the role of the resident co-ordinators, the use of the United Nations Development Programme country programming process as a framework for operational activities, the co-location of field offices and the further harmonization of operational procedures;

36. Further requests the Director-General, in presenting his report to the General Assembly at its forty-first session, to take into account the views expressed by Member States during the present review, including those on updating the report and particularly those concerning the mobilization of financial resources for operational activities for development and other areas that require greater coverage.