Operational Activities for Development

A/RES/63/232View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 54 Operational activities for development, published in 2009.

What other versions does this mandate have?

8 versions · 1968–2009

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2009	A/RES/63/232	Operational activities for development	1,206	—
1989	A/RES/43/199	Operational activities for development	—	—
1988	A/RES/42/196	Operational activities for development	3,457	—
1987	A/RES/41/171	Operational activities for development	—	—
1986	A/RES/40/211	Operational activities for development	1,256	15%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2009

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2009	A/64/75	Comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for 2007 report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/63/232

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 subjects

Budget Contributions Capacity Building Coordination Within UN System Cost Effectiveness Development Assistance Development Finance Economic Cooperation Among Developing Countries Operational Activities Programme Evaluation Programme Implementation Programme Planning Regional Cooperation Resources Mobilization

What’s in this document?

27 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General² and of the note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report on the activities of the United Nations Development Fund for Women;³

²Reports of the Secretary-General on the comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for 2006 (A/63/71-E/2008/46); on the trends in contributions to operational activities for development of the United Nations system and measures to promote an adequate, predictable and expanding base of United Nations development assistance (A/63/201); and on the implications of aligning the strategic planning cycles of the United Nations funds and programmes with the comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development (A/63/207).

³A/63/205.

Also takes note of Economic and Social Council resolution 2008/2 of 18 July 2008 on the progress in the implementation of General Assembly resolution 62/208 on the triennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system;

Funding of operational activities of the United Nations development system

Reiterates paragraphs 18 to 20 of Economic and Social Council resolution 2008/2, on the comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the United Nations system;⁴

⁴See also A/63/71-E/2008/46.

Requests the United Nations Development Programme and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, making use of existing capacities within the Secretariat and, if necessary, voluntary contributions, to take the necessary steps to integrate by 2010 information from the report on United Nations system technical cooperation expenditures and its statistical addendum into the report on the comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, to provide appropriate online access to this information and to report to the Economic and Social Council in 2009 on progress in this regard, and encourages the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund to take the necessary decision to make this possible;

Expresses concern at:

The fact that the upward trend in contributions in real terms received by the United Nations system for operational activities since 2002 came to a halt in 2006;⁵

⁵See A/63/201.

The continuing imbalance between core and non-core funding;

The limited progress towards greater predictability and adequacy of funding;

Emphasizes that increasing financial contributions to the United Nations development system is key to achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and in this regard recognizes the mutually reinforcing links between increased effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of the United Nations development system, achieving concrete results in assisting developing countries in eradicating poverty and achieving sustained economic growth and sustainable development through operational activities for development and the overall resourcing of the United Nations development system;

Stresses that core resources, because of their untied nature, continue to be the bedrock of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system;

Urges donor countries and other countries in a position to do so to substantially increase their voluntary contributions to the core/regular budgets of the United Nations development system, in particular its funds, programmes and specialized agencies, and to contribute on a multi-year basis, in a sustained and predictable manner;

Invites countries to consider increasing their contributions to the budgets of the specialized agencies in order to enable the United Nations development system to respond in a more comprehensive and effective manner to the demands of the United Nations development agenda;

Emphasizes the importance of taking measures to broaden the donor base and increase the number of donor countries and other partners making financial contributions to the United Nations development system in order to reduce reliance of the United Nations development system on a limited number of donors;

Welcomes the growth in funding provided to the United Nations system from non-governmental sources, such as civil society, private organizations and foundations;

Notes that non-core resources represent an important supplement to the regular resource base of the United Nations development system to support operational activities for development, thus contributing to an increase in total resources, while recognizing that non-core resources are not a substitute for core resources and that unearmarked contributions are vital for the coherence and harmonization of the operational activities for development;

Underscores the importance of mobilizing more predictable levels of voluntary contributions to the core operational programmes of the United Nations development system, recognizes the establishment of thematic trust funds, multi-donor trust funds and other voluntary non-earmarked funding mechanisms linked to organization-specific funding frameworks and strategies established by the respective governing bodies as funding modalities complementary to regular budgets, and encourages the measurement of the funding received by the United Nations development system through these modalities as part of the comprehensive statistical analysis of financing of operational activities for development of the United Nations system;

Recognizes the increasing complexity of the international aid architecture, and in this regard encourages the organizations of the United Nations development system to continue to explore ways to engage with other development partners in order to strengthen their complementarity and the implementation of their mandates, taking into account the importance of national priorities of programme countries, and requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the United Nations development system, to report on efforts in this regard in the context of his annual report on the implementation of resolution 62/208;

Encourages the organizations of the United Nations system, if they have not done so, to mobilize and allocate resources, on the basis of a strategic plan, including a multi-year resource programming framework;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to take, in full consultation with Member States and observer States, measures:

To promote an adequate and expanding base of development assistance from the United Nations system, taking into account, inter alia, the development priorities of programme countries;

To promote an upward trend in real contributions to operational activities for development, to identify obstacles to the achievement of that goal, and to make appropriate recommendations in this regard;

To promote the predictability and the multi-year pledging of funding for operational activities for development;

To promote an appropriate balance between core and non-core contributions;

Requests the Secretary-General to report, in the context of his annual report on the implementation of resolution 62/208, on measures taken in response to paragraph 16 above, bearing in mind the provisions of the present resolution, and including feedback from Member States on ways to achieve the aims contained therein;

Aligning the strategic planning cycles of the United Nations funds and programmes with the comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system

Decides to change the comprehensive policy review of operational activities from a triennial to a quadrennial cycle in order to better provide policy guidance to the United Nations funds and programmes and the specialized agencies;

Also decides in this regard to hold its next comprehensive policy review in 2012 and subsequent reviews on a quadrennial basis;

Urges the funds and programmes and encourages the specialized agencies to carry out any changes required to align their planning cycles with the quadrennial comprehensive policy review, including the implementation of midterm reviews as necessary, and to report to the Economic and Social Council on adjustments made to fit the new comprehensive review cycle at the substantive session of the Council.