Joint UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS Executive Board Orientation Briefing

Thursday, 11 January 2018

Jordi LlopartSecretary of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS

Mandate and Composition

Executive Board Functions

Rules of Procedure

Documentation

Role of the Secretariat

Field Visits of the Executive Board

The Joint Meeting of the Boards

Overview of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS

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Mandate of the Executive Board

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• The Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS is responsible for

providing inter-governmental support to, and supervision of, the

activities of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS in accordance with the overall

policy guidance of the General Assembly, ECOSOC, and UN Charter. It

must also be responsive to the needs of programme countries.

• The Board is under the authority of the ECOSOC.

Composition – Membership 2018

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AFRICA

Benin (2018)

Burkina Faso (2020)

Cameroon (2018)

Chad (2018)

Egypt (2020)

Malawi (2018)

Mauritius (2019)

Uganda (2018)

EASTERN EUROPEAlbania (2019)Belarus (2018)

Moldova (2019)Russian Federation (2020)

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN

Antigua Barbuda (2020) Brazil (2020)Cuba (2019)Haiti (2018)

Panama (2019)

ASIA-PACIFICCambodia (2020)

China (2019)Iran (2019)

Lao PDR (2018)Republic of Korea (2018)

Saudi Arabia (2020) Samoa (2018)

WESTERN EUROPE & OTHER STATES

Canada DenmarkFinlandFranceIreland Japan

LuxembourgPortugalNorway

SwitzerlandUnited Kingdom

United States

Composition – Bureau of the Board

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President (Africa Group)

Vice-President (Asia Pacific)

Vice-President (EEG)

Vice-President (GRULAC)

Vice-President (WEOG)

Functions of the Bureau (Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure)

1. The Bureau of the Executive Board shall meet on a regular

basis. The primary functions of the Bureau include preparation

and organization of Board meetings, facilitation of transparent

decision-making, and promotion of dialogue. The Bureau shall

brief the Board on its deliberations and shall not have the

authority to make decisions on any substantive matters.

2. As part of the preparation and organization of Executive Board

meetings and in accordance with the work plan of the Board, the

Bureau may, inter alia, consider issues related to the agenda of

the meetings, documentation, the structure of meetings and

should help highlight the issues and recommendations that

require consideration and action by the Board.

Executive Board Functions

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• To implement the policies formulated by the General Assembly and the

coordination and guidance received from the Economic and Social Council;

• To receive information from and give guidance to the head of each fund or

programme on the work of each organization;

• To ensure that the activities and operational strategies of each fund or

programme are consistent with the overall policy guidance set forth by the

General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, in accordance

with their respective responsibility set out in the United Nations Charter;

• To monitor the performance of the fund or programme;

Executive Board Functions (cont.)

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• To approve programmes, including country programmes, as appropriate;

• To decide on administrative and financial plans and budgets;

• To recommend new initiatives to the Economic and Social Council, and

through the Council, to the General Assembly, as necessary;

• To encourage and examine new programme initiatives;

• To submit annual reports to the Economic and Social Council, which could

include recommendations, where appropriate, for improvement of field-level

coordination.

Rules of Procedure

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The ‘Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board’ are the Board’s governing

rules and procedures for the following areas:

I. Sessions VI. Working Groups XI. Conduct of Business

II. Languages VII. UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS

Secretariat

XII. Decision-making

III. Agenda &

Documentation

VIII. Executive Board Secretariat XIII. Participation of Non-

Members

IV. Representation IX. Public & Private Meetings XIV. Relations with the CEB for

Coordination

V. Bureau X. Reports & Sound Recordings XV. Amendment of rules of

procedure

Documentation

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• Annual workplans are prepared by the Secretariat, in consultation with the Bureau,

and adopted by the Board during the first regular session each year, subject to

revisions throughout the year. Tentative workplans for sessions are adopted at the

beginning of each session. A provisional tentative workplan for the next session is

prepared by the Secretariat and the Bureau and adopted by the Board at the end of

each session.

• EB documentation is posted on the EB website 6 weeks in advance of each session.

• EB documentation is made available in the official languages of the UN (Arabic,

Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish) 4 weeks before the session. CPDs and

conference room papers are made available in the working languages of the Board:

English, French, Spanish.

• Reports of Board sessions are prepared by the Secretariat and circulated to the

membership for comments 3 weeks after each session.

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION

Decision-making

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• The Executive Board may choose to take decisions on certain EB agenda

items, which may provide guidance, direction, and recommendations to

the agencies.

• Reaching a consensus on the decisions is encouraged (this has been the

case since 1994). In the case of a vote, the rules of procedure for

ECOSOC will apply.

• Decisions of the Executive Board are focused and action-oriented, short

and without preambular paragraphs.

• Decisions adopted by the Board are posted on the EB website following

their adoption and subsequently translated into UN official languages.

Role of the Secretariat

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• The Executive Board Secretariat is the focal point between the Executive

Board and UNDP, UNFPA, and UNOPS for all Executive Board matters.

• The Executive Board Secretariat has the following functions:

Supports the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS in carrying out

its mandate

Organizes, conducts and monitors meetings of the Board

Manages and prepares documentation for Board sessions

Supports UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS on Executive Board matters

Supports UN system-wide initiatives

Field Visits of the Executive Board

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Each year the Executive Board undertakes two field visits, one alone (as EB of UNDP, UNFPA and

UNOPS) and another one jointly with the other 3 Executive Boards of UNICEF, WFP and UN-

Women.

The purpose of the Joint Field Visits is:

1. Present members of the Boards with a better understanding of the field operations of the

organizations and the work of the UNCT;

2. Help Bureau and Board members to understand the relationship of the country

programmes of the various organizations to national development priorities;

3. To discuss the impact and results of the programmes of the organizations with government

and non-government counterparts at the national, local and community levels.

4. Observing the Resident Coordinator system, including coordination & coherence of the UN

system; relevance of the United Nations, national ownership, comparative advantage vis-à-

vis other development partners; United Nations system-wide thematic issues (such as the

Sustainable Development Goals).

The Joint Meeting of the Executive Boards

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The 4 Executive Boards of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, UN Women, and WFP each

have 3 formal Board sessions every year. In addition to these meetings, these Executive

Boards engage in one Joint Meeting of the Boards (JMB). The organization and

coordination of the Joint Meeting of the Boards rotates each year between the 6

agencies, and this year UNFPA is the coordinating agency.

The stated purpose of the JMB is to have a forum for the Executive Boards of the funds

and programmes to discuss issues of common interest.

It is a one-day meeting led by the four Presidents of the respective Executive Boards,

with panel discussions devoted to one topic in the morning, and one topic in the

afternoon. The discussions are chaired by the Presidents, with key roles for the

principals of the six agencies.

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THANK YOUQ&A

Overview of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS