United Nations Development Group

Last updated
United Nations Development Group
Emblem of the United Nations.svg
UNDG.gif
United Nations Development Group logo
AbbreviationUNDG
Formation1997
TypeGroup
Legal statusActive
Head
 Achim Steiner
Parent organization
 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) / Chief Executives Board (CEB)
Website UNDG.org

The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) is a consortium of many United Nations agencies, created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1997 to improve the effectiveness of UN development activities at the country level.

United Nations Intergovernmental organization

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that was tasked to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international co-operation and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, and is subject to extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development and upholding international law. The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world. In 24 October 1945, at the end of World War II, the organization was established with the aim of preventing future wars. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The UN is the successor of the ineffective League of Nations.

Secretary-General of the United Nations head of the United Nations Secretariat

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General serves as the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. The role of the United Nations Secretariat, and of the Secretary-General in particular, is laid out by Chapter XV of the United Nations Charter.

Contents

Its strategic priorities are to respond to the Triennial comprehensive policy review (TCPR) – which became in 2008 the Quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR) – and global development priorities, as well as to ensure the UN development system becomes more internally focused and coherent. The UNDG strategic priorities give direction to UNDG members' efforts at the global, regional and country level to facilitate a step change in the quality and impact of UN support at the country level. [1] Currently, the UNDG is one of the main UN actors involved in the development of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. [2]

The Quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR) of the operational system of the United Nations is a process and a United Nations General Assembly resolution by which the 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly review the coherence effectiveness and funding of the 27 UN development programmes, funds, and specialised agencies of the UN operational system for development. This review was conducted on a triennial basis until 2007. Since 2008 it has been conducted on a quadrennial basis.

Post-2015 Development Agenda

The Post-2015 Development Agenda was a process from 2012 to 2015 led by the United Nations to define the future global development framework that would succeed the Millennium Development Goals. The new framework, starting from 2016 is called Sustainable Development Goals.

UNDG brings together 32 UN agencies and groups, plus five observers working on various development issues.

History

By 1997, there were calls within the United Nations to draw all UN agencies working on development issues together; for the many UN Development Programmes, Funds, and Specialised Agencies were encroaching upon each other's activities. [3] [4] This was especially so with the Delivering as One initiative. [5] An initial proposal was to merge UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the UNFPA into the UNDP. Finally, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan worked to form the UNDG and won praise from then UNDP Administrator James Speth.[ citation needed ]

Delivering as One is a United Nations report established by the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2005 on the topics of development assistance, humanitarian aid and environmental issues. The panel issued its report in November 2006, and sets out a program of reform of the UN's development operations. It focuses on four main principles: One Leader, One Budget, One Programme and One Office. This effort is mostly led by the United Nations Development Group, a group of 32 United Nations specialised agencies working on International Development issues. As a result, countries — both Government and UN partners — have undertaken efforts to work together more effectively and efficiently. Eight countries—Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Viet Nam—volunteered to be pilots for the initiative.

UNICEF development policy organization of the UN

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), originally known as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children and mothers in countries that had been devastated by World War II. The Polish physician Ludwik Rajchman is widely regarded as the founder of UNICEF and served as its first chairman from 1946. On Rajchman's suggestion, the American Maurice Pate was appointed its first executive director, serving from 1947 until his death in 1965. In 1950, UNICEF's mandate was extended to address the long-term needs of children and women in developing countries everywhere. In 1953 it became a permanent part of the United Nations System, and the words "international" and "emergency" were dropped from the organization's name, though it retained the original acronym, "UNICEF".

World Food Programme United Nations Agency

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. According to the WFP, it provides food assistance to an average of 91.4 million people in 83 countries each year. From its headquarters in Rome and from more than 80 country offices around the world, the WFP works to help people who cannot produce or obtain enough food for themselves and their families. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group and part of its executive committee.

Members of the UNDG

United Nations Development Programme global network for development of United Nations

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network.

United Nations Population Fund United Nations organization

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN organization. The UNFPA says it "is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled". Their work involves the improvement of reproductive health; including creation of national strategies and protocols, and birth control by providing supplies and services. The organization has recently been known for its worldwide campaign against child marriage, obstetric fistula and female genital mutilation.

UN Women organization

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women.

Observers [6]

International Trade Centre organization

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a multilateral agency which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital projects. It comprises two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA). The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group.

The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and most well-known development bank in the world and is an observer at the United Nations Development Group. The bank is based in Washington, D.C. and provided around $61 billion in loans and assistance to "developing" and transition countries in the 2014 fiscal year. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity. Total lending as of 2015 for the last 10 years through Development Policy Financing was approximately $117 billion. Its five organizations are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The first two are sometimes collectively referred to as the World Bank.

Leadership and organization

Structure

The UNDG is one of the three pillars of the UN system Chief Executives Board (CEB), which furthers coordination and cooperation on a wide range of substantive and management issues facing UN system organizations. The CEB brings the executive heads of UN organizations together on a regular basis under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General. Within the CEB structure, the High-Level Committee on Management works on system-wide administrative and management issues, the High-Level Committee on Programmes considers global policy issues, while the United Nations Development Group deals with operational activities for development with a focus on country-level work.

The Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) chairs the UNDG. The UNDG Chair reports to the Secretary-General and the CEB on progress in implementing the group’s work plan, and on the management of the Resident Coordinator System. [7]

Leadership

The United Nations Economic and Social Council and the United Nations General Assembly provide oversight and mandates for the UNDG. [8] [9] The UNDG is overseen by the Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) of the General Assembly. The UNDG has provided reports such as the Comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the UN system for 2006 and the Comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the UN system for 2007 to the General Assembly.

The UNDG's chairperson is the UNDP's Administrator. Since its inception, the following have been the Chair of the UNDG:

UNDG Advisory Group

Under Kemal Derviş' leadership, an "Advisory Group", which provides the UNDG Chair with advice and guidance on managing the operational dimensions of the UNDG and the Resident Coordinator System, was established. [8] [10] In 2009, the non-rotational members of the advisory group were: the FAO, ILO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, WHO and UNIDO. The rotational members (for a period of one year, as of 2016) are: the UNCTAD (representing UNEP, UN Habitat and UNODC) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Africa (representing all five Regional Commissions). [11]

Development Coordination Office

The UN Development Operations Coordination Office (DOCO) is a key component within the UNDG, promoting social and economic progress by providing support. It was key part of UNDG's formation in 1997, uniting the UN system and improve the quality of its development assistance. Coordination leads to more strategic UN support for national plans and priorities, makes operations more efficient, reduces transaction costs for governments, and ultimately helps people attain the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development objectives. At present is the Secretariat and technical and advisory support unit of the UNDG. It brings together the UN development system to promote change and innovation to deliver together on sustainable development. DOCO works under the leadership of the UNDG Chair and guidance of the UNDG. The team provides field evidence to inform policy, facilitates the achievement of shared results, and promotes excellence in UN leadership and coordination. The core objective is a relevant and impactful UN contribution to development. [12]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2016-02-04.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2015-10-20.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ Stokke, O., 2009, The UN and Development: From Aid to Cooperation, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, p.403-404
  4. ↑ Klingebiel, S., 1998, Effectiveness And Reform of The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), German Development Institute Book Series No. 13, London: Frank Cass
  5. ↑ "UNDG » Delivering as One". Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "UNDG » Members". Archived from the original on 14 March 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Governance Structures". Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016. Governance Structures
  8. 1 2 "UNDG » Governance Structures". Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  9. ↑ https://undg.org/home/about-undg/mandates/ Archived 2016-03-28 at the Wayback Machine UNDG Mandates (TCPR/QCPR)]
  10. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 14, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2011.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  11. ↑ "UNDG Advisory Group Membership". Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016. UNDG Chair and Advisory Group
  12. ↑ "UNDG » Development Operations Coordination Office (DOCO)". United Nations Development Group. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
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