Un Reform

UN Reform

"Every day we are reminded of the need for a strengthened United Nations, as we face a growing array of new challenges, including humanitarian crises, human rights violations, armed conflicts and important health and environmental concerns. Seldom has the United Nations been called upon to do so much for so many. I am determined to breathe new life and inject renewed confidence into a strengthened United Nations firmly anchored in the twenty-first century, and which is effective, efficient, coherent and accountable."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Increased efficiency and improved cooperation between departments are challenges for any major organization, and the United Nations is by no means different. Since the foundation of the UN in 1945, new areas of operations have been added on a yearly basis, and today the Organization encompasses a myriad of agencies, funds and programmes. While some are working well together, others are operating independent of each other, often wasting valuable resources in uncoordinated efforts. And Member States – with their specific agendas – further hamper the implementation of agreed goals.

In February 2006, based on paragraph 169 of the World Summit Outcome Document (attached), the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan created a “High Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and the environment “

The 15-member Panel was directed to prepare an in-depth report, examining how best to strengthen the coordination of United Nations’ operational activities worldwide and to lay out the groundwork for implementing a fundamental restructuring of the Organization. The Panel was Co-Chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan, Prime Minister Luísa Dias Diogo of Mozambique and Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway. Other Panel members included Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom, Mohamed T. El-Ashry of Egypt, Robert Greenhill of Canada, Ruth Jacoby of Sweden, Ricardo Lagos Escobar of Chile, Louis Michel of Belgium, Benjamin W. Mkapa of Tanzania, Jean-Michel Severino of France, Josette S. Shiner of the United States, Keizo Takemi of Japan, and ex-officio members, Kemal Dervis of Turkey and Lennart Båge of Sweden.

SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE

By appointing prime ministers as Co-Chairs, Annan sent a strong signal that he intended to make the coherence issue a top priority. Not only would their appointments give the Panel some additional authority and prestige, they could also help keep national governments invested in the process.

Delivering As One Pilots

Following the recommendations made in the ‘Delivering as One’ report, 8 pilot countries were selected to trial a new way of delivering UN assistance at the country level, based upon the principles of One Leader, One Programme , One budgetary framework and One Office. Follow the links below to find more information about the Delivering As One Pilot Countries.