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GB.270/PFA/11
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Programme, Financial and Administrative Committee |
PFA |
ELEVENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA
Other financial and general questions
Reports of the Joint Inspection Unit
(a) United Nations system common premises and services in the field (JIU/REP/94/8)
(b) The advancement of women through and in the programmes of the United Nations system: What happens after the Fourth World Conference on Women (JIU/REP/95/5)
(c) Involvement of the United Nations system in providing and co-ordinating humanitarian assistance (JIU/REP/95/9)
(d) Co-ordination of policy and programming frameworks for more effective development co-operation (JIU/REP/96/3)
(e) Review of financial resources allocated by the United Nations system to activities by non-governmental organisations (JIU/REP/96/4)
1. In accordance with established procedures, the system-wide reports of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) of the United Nations are submitted to the Governing Body when the comments of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) on the reports are available. The Office has contributed to the preparation of these JIU reports.
(a)"United Nations system common premises and services in the field"(1)
2. The ILO supports the principles behind the development and expansion of common premises and services for the United Nations system and would certainly welcome the advantages and financial benefits inherent in such arrangements. Participation in common premises might not, however, be feasible in certain countries where the constituents of the Organization may attach great importance to separate and identifiable premises. Therefore, the Director-General reserves the right to consider each proposal on a case-by-case basis and to opt out of the shared premises when warranted by circumstances.
3. This position has been adequately reflected both in the JIU report and the ACC comments. The following additional comments set out the Office's views on the individual recommendations.
Recommendation 1: Legislative authority for the specialized agencies
4. This recommendation argues that on the basis of General Assembly resolutions relating to common services and premises, the governing bodies of the specialized agencies should provide more precise legislative authority to their secretariats in fulfilling their treaty obligations under the relationship agreements they have concluded with the United Nations.
5. The Director-General considers that he has sufficient legislative authority to participate (in so far as is practicable) in any programme for common premises or services in the United Nations system. While there may be problems of a practical nature, there would seem to be no potential legal obstacles to such participation.
Recommendation 2: Standard representation agreement
6. The ILO would be willing to contribute to the preparation of a standard system-wide representation agreement with host governments in the field. It could be used by the ILO as a reference and adapted to the particular situation and needs in the country concerned. This should reduce the time spent, both by governments and by organizations, on negotiation and should lead to agreements that are better adapted to the Organization's requirements.
Recommendation 3: Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC)
7. The ILO supports this recommendation and would be willing to participate in the proposed task force, should this be set up.
(b)"The advancement of women through and in the programmes of the United Nations system: What happens after the Fourth World Conference on Women"(2)
8. The Inspector notes that many organizations lack coherent programmes to change organizational culture and establish management responsibility, accountability and commitment to improving the status of women, and that better future management of substantive programmes, strong gender consciousness and revised organizational culture are the key to ensuring the effective advancement of women in the United Nations system.
9. The report includes 25 recommendations, most of them on important issues, which have to be considered simultaneously and in a concise manner in order to achieve more substantial and sustainable progress in the advancement of women. The recommendations are grouped under the following three main areas: substantive programmes of the United Nations system; improving the status of women in system organizations; and the critical focal point role of the United Nations.
10. The comments by the Administrative Committee on Coordination by and large reflect the ILO's position on the subject-matter. This JIU report is useful both for analytical purposes and the definition of future action. Additional comments are made below on the most important recommendations, highlighting the efforts made by the ILO in the recent years.
Recommendation 1. Substantive programmes
11. The ILO places strong emphasis on making gender considerations a mainstream aspect of its substantive programmes. The Programme and Budget for the current and the forthcoming biennia indicate a number of action programmes and other activities with special reference to women's and equality concerns in the regular programmes of the majority of the technical departments. An international programme on More and Better Jobs for Women was launched recently. A compendium is being prepared on regular budget and RBTC-financed women-specific programmes, projects and activities and those with a clearly defined women and gender component carried out by the technical departments. In addition, a database is being established on multi-bilateral programmes and projects that will make it possible to identify gender aspects.
12. The efforts of the past few years to mainstream gender perspectives throughout the planning, programming, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation of programme implementation will be further enhanced. An ILO Internet page on gender policies and programmes has recently been launched.
Recommendation 2. Improving the status of women in system organizations
13. The Office is also determined to continue its efforts to employ more women on its staff. In line with personnel policy, the participation of women in ILO's staff has improved. In 1990, women represented 20.3 per cent of the staff in the Professional and higher category. At the end of 1996, they represented 29.47 per cent,(3) an increase of some 45 per cent over seven years. Recently, new posts for senior gender specialists have been created in the field and additional associate experts on gender issues have been recruited, thereby providing good prospects of further improvement of the overall situation.
14. With regard to gender training, a specific training package has been developed and used in implementing an interregional project on gender training, financed by the Netherlands, for staff at headquarters and in the field. The capacity of the staff and the constituents for gender analysis and planning is being enhanced through an ongoing series of training workshops and sessions. ILO resources have also been allocated for gender training in the field. Several of these workshops assess the application of the Guidelines for the integration of gender issues in the design, monitoring and evaluation of ILO programmes and projects, issued in January 1995. Other measures include the development of a policy and procedures on sexual harassment in the Office, issued as a circular in November 1995.
Recommendation 3. Critical focal point role of the United Nations
15. Following the Beijing Conference, policies, procedures and actions on gender issues have increasingly been the subject of coordination within the UN system. The ILO has actively participated in the inter-agency meetings of the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality (IACWGE) and in regional meetings. In addition, the ILO has contributed substantially to the revision of the UN System-Wide Medium-Term Plan for the Advancement of Women (1996-2001). It also hosted a joint workshop of the IACWGE with the OECD/DAC WID Expert group on gender mainstreaming in Geneva (15-17 September 1997).
16. The ILO is also making efforts to stimulate the increased participation of women in the International Labour Conferences and the Governing Body. During the Conference, a gathering in honour of women participants has been held every year, where questions concerning gender equality are addressed by constituents and participating NGO representatives.
(c)"Involvement of the United Nations system in providing and coordinating humanitarian assistance"(4)
17. This report is primarily addressed to those United Nations organizations, known as relief agencies, which are mandated to provide humanitarian assistance. It assesses: (a) the progress and problems of the United Nations system's coordination mechanisms and standby capacity for humanitarian response; (b) its operational and organizational mechanisms; (c) its planning and preparedness techniques for handling complex emergencies; and (d) major areas where humanitarian operations can be further improved.
18. Although the ILO is listed in the report among the United Nations agencies that provide relief and assistance for natural and complex emergencies, it is not a relief or humanitarian agency, unlike others, such as UNHCR, UNICEF or WFP. The mandate of the ILO also includes humanitarian measures of a short- term or rapid nature. Such action, which is required in emergencies and is based on its mandate in the human rights field, is aimed at saving lives and protecting the physical integrity of detained or imprisoned trade unionists; preventing child or forced labour and protecting migrant workers, or workers in general, and preventing abuses and discrimination against them. Normally, however, the ILO's assistance is more development-oriented and is carried out through a number of programmes and activities of a long-term nature. In this sense ILO action complements and stabilizes the emergency and relief assistance provided by other agencies. It seeks long-term solutions for persons affected by natural or complex emergencies, helping their reintegration in the labour market and society.
19. The ILO believes that the development and strengthening of the social fabric, and of the social sector and social institutions as a whole, is an important contribution to the prevention of such emergencies, which require the international humanitarian assistance described in the report.
20. The report includes 12 recommendations addressed primarily to the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) of the United Nations and members of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC).(5) The individual recommendations have been reviewed within the framework of the IASC and endorsed by the ACC.
21. The ILO welcomes and supports the recommendations aimed at the adoption of global policies with common strategies and clearly defined objectives for humanitarian assistance, as well as the integration and participation of an indigenous and organized civilian component in complex emergencies. The ILO notes the recommendations addressed to other agencies and is ready to strengthen its cooperation with other UN organizations in this respect.
(d)"Coordination of policy and programming frameworks for more effective development cooperation"(6)
22. This report covers issues in broad areas which have already received considerable attention by the United Nations system and are currently at the centre of discussions in the intergovernmental and inter-agency bodies concerned. In fact, significant action is being undertaken in many of the areas referred to in the recommendations. The report adds little new insight into this ongoing process. Many of its findings and recommendations could be found in earlier JIU reports, in reports of the United Nations Secretary-General to the General Assembly and to ECOSOC, and ensuing resolutions, as well as in numerous proposals submitted to various working groups of the Assembly on the reform of the United Nations. They are also addressed at the inter-agency level, more particularly the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), the Consultative Committee on Programme and Operational Questions (CCPOQ), and the Joint Consultative Group on Policy (JCGP). As stated in the joint comments of the ACC on the report (paragraph 10): "A number of proposals and recommendations included in the report have been overtaken by events and do not need further comment at this time". The report would indeed have been more useful if it had identified best practices and other practical elements that facilitate the implementation of the broad policies at the country level. The ILO's position on the subject is adequately reflected in the comments of the ACC on the report. Below are a few additional comments on the recommendations of the report.
Recommendation 1. Country Strategy Note
23. The Country Strategy Note (CSN) is a useful instrument if developed as a broad common framework of reference. It is a strategic planning document, and its major components include the formulation of objectives and priorities and establishing links to operational plans, but it does not involve operational programming, as suggested by the report (paragraph 61).The recommendation pays inadequate attention to the wide variety of mandates, substantive areas of expertise and functions between the different agencies.
24. At the country level, while there may be a set of overall development objectives, recipient government ministries have their own operational priorities according to their mandates and areas of competence. In the particular case of the ILO, its constituents have their own specific needs and priorities, which all merit attention in development cooperation.
25. This recommendation should have explicitly supported two very useful aspects of the CSN: ensuring national commitment; and providing a broad framework, based on articulated national development priorities, into which the different activities of the UN system as a whole can fit.
26. Recommendation 1(a) urges non-UN donors to integrate their programmes into the framework of the CSN. This concept is supported. The CSN, where adopted by the government, is based on the national development plan, which includes both domestically and externally funded programmes.
27. Recommendation 1(b) proposes that the CSN should replace "all other multisectoral programming frameworks". It should be noted that, as a voluntary initiative of the recipient countries, the CSN was never meant to replace programming frameworks. It serves as a conceptual and strategic framework for all activities of the United Nations system. It is important that the CSN and the agency-specific frameworks should be consistent and complement one another.
28. Recommendation 1(c) calls for a link between the CSN and the policy framework papers (PFP). This would be best promoted if both took the national programming framework and its time frame as their starting-point.
29. Recommendation 1(d) proposes that the resident coordinators should fully implement relevant CCPOQ guidelines regarding technical input to the CSN process of agencies without country representation. This is accepted, but the onus should equally be on the small agencies to provide the resident coordinators with information on their programming and competence.
30. Recommendation 1(f) asks the resident coordinators to use the Development Cooperation Report (DCR) to monitor and assess the progress made in the implementation of the CSN. The DCR serves a useful purpose as a reference document with mainly statistical information on aid given to a country. This recommendation does not seem to take account of the annual reports of the resident coordinator, which contain the type of information suggested. The two documents have different purposes and slightly different audiences.
31. Finally, the Office draws attention to the series of Coordination Workshops, organized for senior UN field representatives by the UN Staff College Project at the ILO International Training Centre in Turin, on behalf of the ACC/CCPOQ. Some 500 participants have benefited from these workshops in Turin and the number of national follow-up activities has increased in recent years. Most of them are an expansion of the work done in Turin.
Recommendation 2. Periodic evaluation of policy and programming frameworks
32. This recommendation is fully supported, provided that each agency conducts such an evaluation according to its own concepts, tools and procedures. The ILO's procedures for the "design, monitoring and evaluation of technical cooperation programmes and projects",(7) which have been in force for some two decades, have recently been updated to reflect changes in practices and methods.
Recommendation 3. System-wide standard formats for development cooperation
33. It will be important to ensure that the recommended "global" UN approach to data collection and analysis and information sharing -- which is a useful initiative -- is based on the principle whereby the relevant technical agencies are responsible for the development of indicators in their respective areas of competence.
Recommendation 5. Field-level coordination committees
34. Both Recommendations 3 and 5 reiterate what is already contained in General Assembly resolutions Nos. 44/211 of 1989, 47/199 of 1993 and 50/120 of 1995.(8) Work in the CCPOQ/ACC continuously focuses on facilitating common understanding of new concepts, programming tools and modalities. ACC statements on the Resident Coordinator System, CSN, follow-up on General Assembly resolution 50/120 etc. are issued periodically and updated.
(e)"Review of financial resources allocated by the United Nations system to activities by non-governmental organizations"(9)
35. This JIU report contributes to the policy-level discussions taking place within the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the General Assembly on relations between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as on the role of national NGOs in the country's economic and social development. It focuses on the rules and procedures related to the allocation of funds both from regular budget and extra-budgetary resources for activities carried out by NGOs.
36. It should be noted that in the specific case of the ILO, employers' and workers' organizations are ILO constituents, and do not therefore fall among the NGOs covered by the JIU report. Although the importance of other NGOs is growing, they do not account for any significant share of the execution of the Organization's technical cooperation activities. The report includes seven recommendations and 16 sub-recommendations addressed mainly to United Nations system organizations that provide funds to NGOs as implementing partners. The comments of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) on the JIU report by and large reflect the ILO's position on the subject. There is, however, a need to make a few additional comments on those recommendations which are of relevance to the ILO.
Recommendation 1 on the establishment of a specific database to measure trends and recording experience and other information in cooperation with NGOs
37. For the time being, the limited involvement of NGOs in ILO's technical cooperation activities would not justify the cost of establishing such a database. This consideration also applies to Recommendation 2, which proposes the appointment of full-time NGO liaison officers both at headquarters and at country level to follow up on and coordinate the operational activities of NGOs. The establishment of such posts and functions would be justified only if NGOs implemented a significant proportion of the ILO's operational activities.
Recommendation 3 on the need to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the establishment of a budget line for NGOs
38. Given the specific ILO structure and the role of workers' and employers' organizations in all ILO activities, the current size and areas of other NGOs' involvement in the ILO's work do not justify the establishment of a specific budget line for them.
Recommendations 5 and 6 on the establishment of policy guidelines for the selection of, and cooperation with NGOs; and a control system for use when reporting on cooperation with NGOs
39. For the time being there is no need, at least in the ILO, for the establishment of a new policy and control system. The current procedures for monitoring and evaluation and reporting on programme implementation provide an adequate framework for accountable and transparent operations which also involve NGOs.
Recommendation 7, concerning the preparation of a list of NGOs that could be potential partners to implement operational activities
40. At the country level, instead of each UN organization preparing a list of national NGOs, which could be potential partners of the UN system, an agency, such as UNDP, should be requested to set up and update periodically, in collaboration with the other United Nations organizations, a list of the NGOs that have been involved in the implementation of development assistance activities of different agencies.
41. Copies of the JIU reports and the ACC comments are available for consultation.
Geneva, 7 October 1997.
1. JIU/REP/94/8 and A/51/124 -- E/1996/44.
2. JIU/REP/95/5 and A/51/180.
3. GB.268/PFA/9.
4. JIU/REP/95/9 and A/51/442.
5. The IASC is composed of DHA, FAO, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNDP, WFP and WHO. It also has non-United Nations system members, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS -- observer); the International Organization for Migration (IMO) and some non-governmental organizations by invitation.
6. JIU/REP/96/3 and A/52/115 -- E/1997/47.
7. ILO Circular, Series 13 -- Technical Cooperation Activities, No. 46, 29.9.97.
8. All three resolutions address the comprehensive triennial policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system.
9. JIU/REP/96/4 and A/52/114 -- E/1997/46.