The considerable structural problems within the United Nations system are one of the main hurdles to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Against this backdrop, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan initiated setting up a panel of experts to identify significant opportunities within the UN system for meeting global challenges in the areas of development, environment, and humanitarian assistance. The panel submitted its "Delivering as One" report in early November. The title itself spells out the key challenge, which is to overcome the inefficiency and fragmentation within UN structures and achieve greater coherence in UN activities. "It [the UN] should enable and support countries to lead their development processes and help address global challenges such as poverty, environmental degradation, disease and conflict."

The report recommends strengthening the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) so that global environmental problems can be dealt with more effectively. UNEP must be given more authority to fulfil its mandate, since it is the environmental policy pillar of the UN system. As a lead agency for environmental issues, UNEP needs to cooperate with other UN bodies, such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) or the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) on a thematic basis during actual implementation in various countries and regions to maximize its impact. Closer cooperation among individual UN organs is a prerequisite for better integrating, coordinating and designing the implementation of sustainable development. The concept of "One UN" makes this very clear. It envisages the consolidation of UN activities in individual countries and their implementation to be overseen by a proposed UN Sustainable Development Board. UNEP has evidently not been included in this body. The report does not mention how this recommendation lines up with the earlier stated objective of strengthening UNEP. (by Judith Winterstein)

For the UN report "Delivering as One", please see here.

Published in: ECC-Newsletter, December 2006