Documents
UNIDO Managing Director Speaks on UN Coherence Process During Uruguay Visit (October 1, 2009)
The Managing Director of UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Wilfried Luetkenhorst, presents the current state of play on the process of UN "coherence". The director expresses concerns over the lack of contributions from donor countries to the "Delivering as One" initiative. Challenges ahead include providing the local country teams with guidance that is more effective and giving them a larger role in development assistance. Further, Luetkenhorst expresses the need to build on growing south-south relations to determine the best approach. (UNIDO)
Financing of Operational Activities for Development of the UN System (April 30, 2009)
The terms "core" and "non-core" resources in the UN budget refer to contributions to the general support of the organization and contributions directed by donors to a specific project or purpose. In 2007, non-core funding was $13.6 billion compared to a core funding of only $5.5 billion. Donor states are reluctant to allocate their donations to the core budget, because they want to control where their funds go. This uneven allocation of funds may create problems in the process of UN "coherence" and the General Assembly has highlighted the need to increase the core contributions. In order to make the UN more coherent, the funding architecture needs to be changed.(ECOSOC)
Secretary General's Report on UN System-Wide Coherence (April 3, 2007)
In this report to the General Assembly, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon welcomes the recommendations of the High Level Panel on System-Wide Coherence for improving the UN. While urging governments to support the panel's suggestions for streamlining the UN's work in development, the environment and humanitarian assistance, Ban concedes that "other areas will require fuller discussions and deliberations."Delivering As One: Report of the Secretary General's High-Level Panel (November 9, 2006)
Calling for "One UN" within individual countries, the High-Level Panel on System-Wide Coherence in this report proposes wide-ranging structural reforms of UN agencies to reduce any overlap in their programs. Furthermore, the panel endorses strengthening women's role in the development process by "consolidating" the existing UN gender entities into one. But the report does not directly address poor countries' concern that streamlining the UN's activities could result in the reduction of UN resources available to tackle issues of development.
Articles
2012
UN Integration Under the Spotlight (January 13, 2012)
Coordination between UN peacekeepers, political missions, and humanitarian agencies working in war-torn areas has been an issue since the 1990s. One agency may deliver humanitarian aid to rebels while another agency may sever relations with the very same group. To address the issue, the UN developed an integration policy that brings agencies operating in a war-torn country together under a single management structure. But there is concern that humanitarian groups will have to compromise their non-partisan principles in order to cater to political objectives. (IRIN)
