Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on Its 16th Session

E/RES/2017/23View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 18g Public administration and development, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

15 versions · 2008–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is E/RES/2025/31

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	E/RES/2025/31	Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 24th session	1,851	33%Compare
2021	E/RES/2021/12	Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 20th session	1,548	73%Compare
2020	E/RES/2020/21	Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 19th session	1,620	62%Compare
2019	E/RES/2019/26	Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 18th session	1,374	40%Compare
2018	E/RES/2018/12	Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 17th session	2,391	39%Compare

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 subjects

Development Policy Governance Public Administration Sustainable Development

What’s in this document?

50 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its sixteenth session,³ and expresses its appreciation for the work done by the Committee on ensuring effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through leadership, action and means, including on implications for public institutions of strategies for integrated action to achieve poverty eradication in accordance with the 2017 themes of the Economic and Social Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development;

³Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2017, Supplement No. 24 (E/2017/44).

Invites the Committee to continue to place the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development⁴ at the centre of its work and to continue to advise the Council on how public administrations can support the implementation and progress reviews of the Sustainable Development Goals;

⁴General Assembly resolution 70/1.

Welcomes the contribution of the Committee to the high-level political forum, and reaffirms that the principle of leaving no one behind should be a core principle of public administration;

Transforming institutions for the Sustainable Development Goals

Stresses that Governments have the central role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and in eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world;

Underscores that realizing the Sustainable Development Goals requires addressing the deep inequalities that exist in many countries, which may require the State to play a greater role in effective redistribution and social protection programmes, including through more progressive and effective taxation systems and administration;

Notes that effective institutions are essential for the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals and targets;

Welcomes the fact that many countries are in the process of identifying and updating policies, strategies, institutions and arrangements for spearheading and coordinating the implementation and progress review of the Sustainable Development Goals, and also welcomes the ongoing exchange of lessons learned on this topic at the high-level political forum;

Underscores that there is no single blueprint for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and that identifying the most effective policies in a given context requires the participation and engagement of all stakeholders, inter alia, local authorities, civil society and the private sector, on various policy options;

Invites Member States, therefore, to ensure that policies to implement the Sustainable Development Goals are developed in a participatory, inclusive and collaborative fashion, noting that it is important to institutionalize participation and engagement to ensure that various parts of civil society have an opportunity to make their voices heard;

Recognizes that implementing the Sustainable Development Goals does not necessarily require the creation of new institutions and that existing institutions, such as planning ministries, have a critical role to play, working together towards the Goals;

Reiterates the importance of the sectoral ministries in developing and implementing policies in their respective areas, taking into account the interrelationships inherent in the Sustainable Development Goals, and underscores that it may be useful to invite such ministries to identify the Goals and targets they will address most specifically and adjust or develop related implementation plans or strategies in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders;

Notes with appreciation that some countries have informed and engaged their parliaments in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals and encourages all Governments to consider undertaking similar efforts, while noting that some parliaments have taken a proactive role in their implementation;

Invites Governments, international, regional and other organizations and the research community to develop practical tools to help policymakers in developing integrated plans and policies for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals based on interrelations among the targets;

Notes that realizing the Sustainable Development Goals is closely related to the delivery of public services and that there are important political and societal discussions on the scope, nature and financing of those services in many countries, and accordingly invites the President of the Council to convene a dedicated meeting on delivering public services for the Goals with a view to sharing ideas and discussing challenges, approaches, policies and lessons learned, inter alia, with regard to promoting effective redistribution and social protection programmes, including through more progressive and effective taxation systems and administration;

Recognizes that the policies for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals should be based on evidence and data and focused on achieving results;

Also recognizes the transformative power of information and communications technology, while noting that many forms of the digital divide remain;

Welcomes the fact that Governments are increasingly using information and communications technology to deliver public services and other functions and engage people in decision-making, as documented in the 2016 United Nations E-Government Survey, and encourages further efforts in this regard;

Also welcomes the symposium organized by the Government of the Bahamas and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat entitled “Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway in small island developing States: Equipping public institutions and mobilizing partnerships”, held in Nassau from 21 to 23 February 2017, and invites the United Nations and other organizations to organize similar meetings for sharing experiences and building capacities within existing resources;

Promoting public sector leadership

Stresses that leadership at all levels of government and public administration is critical for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals;

Welcomes the fact that, in some countries, the highest level of government has engaged or remains engaged in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Underscores that implementing the Sustainable Development Goals requires the actions of not only Governments but also multiple actors of civil society and the private sector and the launching of effective partnerships;

Stresses that awareness and ownership of the Sustainable Development Goals by institutions at all levels and by society at large are essential to promote their implementation, and invites Governments to undertake concerted efforts to raise awareness and increase ownership of the Goals within national, regional and local authorities, civil society, the private sector and society at large;

Invites Governments to launch initiatives to build the awareness and commitment of civil servants at all levels to the vision of the 2030 Agenda and encourages them to take leadership roles, innovate and break away from business as usual, inter alia, to address the integrated nature of the Sustainable Development Goals; and also invites Governments to build the capacities and skills of civil servants in areas such as integrated and coherent policymaking, planning, implementation, foresight, consultation, evidence-based reviews of progress and the collection and use of statistics and data;

Encourages Governments to redouble efforts to ensure respect for the rule of law by institutions at all levels and ensure a merit-based civil service, which helps to promote public ethics and ensures effective and fair human resources management;

Implications of poverty eradication for public institutions

Stresses that eradicating poverty requires a whole-of-government approach whereby the highest level of government and every ministry and institution at the local or national level is committed to realizing that goal;

Underscores that the experience of some countries has shown that eradicating poverty requires multidimensional and targeted poverty eradication strategies entailing actions related to promoting inclusive economic growth; employment and decent work; social protection and equity; education and skills; health; food and nutrition; housing; infrastructure; energy; water and sanitation; the environment and climate change; the building of effective, inclusive and accountable institutions, and other areas of the 2030 Agenda;

Underlines that the rule of law, peace and security, an independent judiciary and the proper administration of justice are critical conditions for improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable;

Stresses that poverty eradication strategies need to address rural and urban poverty and that a national plan for regional development may help to address the frequent disparities in the levels of poverty across territorial units within countries;

Underscores that continued weaknesses in governance, including corruption and the excessive influence of influential groups in society, hinder the effectiveness of poverty eradication strategies and the adequate allocation of resources, and invites countries to redouble efforts in addressing those issues;

Reiterates that, in designing poverty eradication strategies, Governments need to engage civil society and all segments of society, including the poorest and most vulnerable people, while building broad support and a solid consensus involving also the middle class and minorities;

Notes that, for reaching the poorest and most vulnerable, Governments often need to work with civil society and the private sector, and encourages Governments to continue to leverage such partnerships while safeguarding the quality and affordability of services for the poorest and most vulnerable;

Supporting and equipping local authorities

Underscores that subnational governments and, in particular, local governments have a critical role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and eradicating poverty, given their proximity to the population and, at the grass-roots level, their role in delivering basic public services and their ability to take integrated approaches, bearing in mind that Goal 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;

Notes that, to best respond to the situation, expectations and needs of people, it can be useful to transfer implementation roles and public functions related to specific Sustainable Development Goals from the central Government to local governments and other local agencies or institutions;

Emphasizes that, regardless of the model or the extent of decentralization in a country, both the central and local governments have a responsibility for realizing the Sustainable Development Goals, and that it is critical that they work together in a spirit of collaboration and partnership;

Affirms that the resources and capacities of local governments should be commensurate with their responsibilities, and therefore notes that responsibility for the implementation of specific Sustainable Development Goals and targets should be transferred to the local level only if accompanied by an adequate level of financial resources and capacity development;

Notes that resources transferred from the central Government are thus often critical to support social and other programmes towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and invites countries, international organizations and other actors to support local governments and build their capacities to mobilize resources in a coordinated way;

Stresses the need to build the skills and capacities of elected officials and civil servants at the local level so that they are equipped to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Reviewing progress

Reaffirms that Governments are accountable to their people for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Welcomes the commitment of supreme audit institutions to contribute to reviewing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level, as expressed in the strategic plan of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions for the period from 2017 to 2022, and invites Governments to consider availing themselves of that support;

Notes that people need to have a clear understanding of the respective responsibilities, activities and results of the various public institutions, including those at local levels, and encourages the creation of platforms, forums or tools to make such information available;

Emphasizes the need to monitor the impact of public institutions and policies on poverty eradication and other Sustainable Development Goals through inclusive and evidence-based approaches engaging also the poorest and most vulnerable;

Encourages Governments to develop an open government system as a model of governance that focuses on citizens and establishes a new relationship between public administration and society;

Reiterates that disaggregated data are critical for policymaking and review, and calls for further efforts to build the capacities of national statistical offices as independent institutions;

Elaborating principles of effective governance

Recognizes the need for pragmatic ongoing improvements in national and local governance capabilities to achieve the 2030 Agenda and other international agreements, and notes the work of the Committee on the elaboration of principles of responsible and effective governance which could serve as an important reference point in building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels and in support of the implementation of all Sustainable Development Goals;

Follow-up

Requests the Committee, at its seventeenth session, to be held from 23 to 27 April 2018, to examine and make recommendations on the theme of the 2018 session of the Council;

Invites the Committee to contribute to the thematic review of the high-level political forum and to work towards contributing to the overall review of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals to be conducted by the high-level political forum in 2019, giving particular attention to the cross-cutting nature of all the Goals;

Also invites the Committee to continue to advise on approaches and practices related to the institutions, policies and arrangements being established to promote the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, bearing in mind that the specific contexts and situations of countries differ widely, as well as to advise on making institutions effective, inclusive and accountable;

Requests the Secretary-General to take the present resolution fully into account in the work of the Organization, inter alia, in addressing gaps in research and analysis and in responding to the capacity development needs of Member States for building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels in pursuit of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to promote and support innovation and excellence in public services for sustainable development through the United Nations Public Service Awards;

Further requests the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of and follow-up to the present resolution through the established working methods of the Committee.