26 July 1991

32nd plenary meeting

Report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination

The Economic and Social Council,

Having considered the report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the work of its thirty-first session,

Recalling the provisions of Chapters IX and X of the Charter of the United Nations and, in particular, the role of the Economic and Social Council in coordination in the economic and social fields within the United Nations system,

Also recalling General Assembly resolution 45/264 of 13 May 1991 on the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields,

Reaffirming the importance of the programming and coordinating functions currently being carried out by the Committee for Programme and Coordination as the main subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly for planning, programming and coordination,

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the work of its thirty-first session, and endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained therein;

I

Programme questions

1. Endorses the recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the proposed programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993;

2. Stresses that the allocation of resources in the programme budget should enable the Organization to fulfil its objectives and mandates, responding effectively to the needs of the international community, particularly in the economic and social fields;

3. Endorses the conclusions of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on how the broad priorities set in General Assembly resolution 45/253 of 21 December 1990 have been reflected in the proposed programme budget, and endorses the recommendations of the Committee on how such priorities should guide the implementation of the proposed activities, within the context of a continuing search for greater efficiency and effectiveness;

4. Notes with concern that for only a few sections of the proposed programme budget have the programmes of work been reviewed by the relevant intergovernmental bodies, stresses the need for their full participation in the budgetary process as set out in General Assembly resolution 41/213 of 19 December 1986, and requests the Secretary-General to use, when necessary, ad hoc mechanisms to ensure that this review is made in a timely manner;

5. Endorses the recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the progressive extension of statements of programme budget implications to all subsidiary bodies of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council and on the enhancement of their programmatic content, in the context of the implementation of the programme budget and of the use and operation of the contingency fund;

6. Concurs with the views of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the need for better justification of proposed changes in the staffing table of the Organization;

7. Recognizes the need for further improvement in the methodology and format of the proposed programme budget, and endorses the recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination thereon;

8. Stresses the importance of all the reports requested by the Committee for Programme and Coordination, including those referred to in paragraphs 96, 117 and 263 of its report, for submission to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session;

II

Coordination questions

1. Endorses the views of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the importance of enhancing coordination through the optimal use of existing mechanisms;

2. Stresses the central role of the Administrative Committee on Coordination in the coordination of activities of the United Nations system at the intersecretariat level and, in this context, the leadership role of the Secretary-General as Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination;

3. Welcomes the annual overview report of the Administrative Committee on Coordination for 1990 and, in particular, the report on programmes and resources of the United Nations system;

4. Endorses the recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the Joint Meetings of the Committee for Programme and Coordination and the Administrative Committee on Coordination, especially those concerning the need for a genuine dialogue at a high level between member States and executive heads;

5. Notes that the topic chosen for the twenty-sixth series of Joint Meetings of the two Committees, to be held in New York on 22 and 23 October 1991, is the implementation of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade by the organizations of the United Nations system, to be considered in the light of the implementation of the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, in particular the Revitalization of Economic Growth and Development of the Developing Countries, contained in the annex to General Assembly resolution S-18/3 of 1 May 1990;

6. Recalls that at the twenty-sixth series, the Joint Meetings of the two Committees are to make recommendations to the Council, in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 45/264, on themes to be selected at the organizational session of the Council for discussion at its coordination segment;

7. Also recalls that, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 45/264, the Committee for Programme and Coordination and the Joint Meetings of the two Committees are to make recommendations to the Council, for consideration at its coordination segment, on the system-wide assessment of the status of coordination;

8. Requests the Committee for Programme and Coordination, in the light of the above and bearing in mind the increased workload of the Committee ensuing from the implementation of General Assembly resolution 41/213 and the projected availability of documentation, to review its programme of work and make suggestions on the timing and duration of its sessions, taking into account the review of the subsidiary machinery in the economic, social and related fields with the possible objective of restructuring and revitalization, which is to be conducted during the forty-sixth session of the General Assembly, in accordance with Assembly resolution 45/264;

9. Approves the provisional agenda of the thirty-second session of the Committee for Programme and Coordination, as set out in paragraph 478 of the report of the Committee.