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The 2016 ECOSOC operational activities for development segment took place on 22-24 February to examine longer-term positioning of the UN development in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The event also reviewed the progress in the implementation of General Assembly resolution on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR), which is the mechanism through which coherence, effectiveness and funding of the United Nations 27 programmes, funds and specialized agencies for development is evaluated.
During the event, delegates stressed the need for the United Nations to reform its development system by tailoring interventions to specific country needs and priorities, repositioning at country, regional and global level to deliver on the transformative and universal nature of the new development agenda, and moving towards an integrated, system-wide approach that mirrors the integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda, including by better integrating the humanitarian, peace and security, and developments arms of the Organization.
In his opening remarks, Council Vice-President Alejandro Palma Cerna said the United Nations development system was at an “inflection point”, where significant changes were needed to enable it to respond effectively to the Agenda’s ambitious demands.
Calling for “organizational renewal”, he said the next quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR), to be adopted in the Fall of 2016, must reflect the needs of the new development landscape. “We may need to consider redesigning the instrument we have in our hands, in terms of its name, content and applicability,” he said. Now was the time to lay a solid foundation for guiding, monitoring and assessing operational activities for development.
Wu Hongbo, UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General, said that Member States in 2015 had adopted three landmark agreements, including the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement. The adoption of those agreements represented a seminal moment for the United Nations, which would significantly impact the work of the Organization in the post-2015 era. He also agreed that the Council’s deliberations over the next 10 months, through the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the UN development system and the QCPR process, would be critical in charting a new course for the Organization.
Mogens Lykketoft, President of the General Assembly, said Governments must develop national action plans and take concrete actions to deliver. Creating partnerships with the private sector, academia and civil society would be crucial for success. In this regards, the United Nations should support States with their national implementation, through effective, efficient and coherent use of resources.
The need for a shifting in funding practices to overcome the siloed approach fostered by the increasing use of voluntary and tightly earmarked resources was highlighted throughout the course of the three days.
