On 2 December 2005, the UNECE adopted in formal session a bold reform that
innovates its governance structure, redefines priorities and improves cost-effectiveness
and transparency. The reform has been pursued by UNECE member countries in the
spirit of the broader UN-wide reform effort that is now under way.
After six months of intense consultations and negotiations under the
leadership of Ambassador Roux (Belgium), Chairman of the Commission, and
Michele Coduri (Switzerland), Chairman of the Group of Experts on the
Programme of Work, member States agreed on a renewed mission statement,
governance structure and set of priorities for the UNECE. Moreover, the
reform promotes closer collaboration between UNECE and other organizations
active in the region so that duplications are avoided and synergies fully
exploited.
As far as its mission statement is concerned, member States agreed that
the UNECE should remain a multilateral platform that facilitates greater
economic integration and cooperation among its fifty-five members and
promotes sustainable development and economic prosperity through, among
others, policy dialogue, negotiation of international legal instruments,
development of regulations and norms, exchange and application of best
practices as well as economic and technical expertise, and technical cooperation
for countries with economies in transition. It should also contribute
to enhancing the effectiveness of the UN through the regional implementation
of outcomes of global UN Conferences and Summits.
In order to enhance accountability, transparency and the horizontal
coherence of UNECE’s activities with a view to enabling it to better
respond to the needs of its member States, the governance structure has
also been reformed. The Commission remains the highest decision-making
body of the organization, responsible for taking strategic decisions on
the UNECE programme of work and the allocation of resources. It also provides
a forum for a policy dialogue at high level on economic development for
the region. The implementation of the overall guidance set by the Commission
is entrusted to a new body, the Executive Committee, which will in particular
review, evaluate and approve in due time the Programmes of work of the
sectoral committees, including intersectoral activities and relations with
other international organizations, based on the criteria which the Executive
Committee will define and which will include the coherence with the overall
objective of the UNECE, coordination with other subprogrammes and resource
implications. The Executive Committee will also approve the set-up, renewal,
discontinuance, terms of reference and work plans of groups under the Sectoral
Committees, based on the criteria of their relevance to the subprogramme,
resource implications, avoidance of duplication and overlap in UNECE activities.
It will ensure coherence between subprogrammes, inter alia by encouraging
horizontal communication within the organization. Finally it will deal with
all matters related to programme planning, administrative and budget issues,
including extrabudgetary funding, and discuss with Executive Secretary initiatives
taken by the secretariat
and the work undertaken by the Office of the Executive Secretary.
Each subprogramme of the Programme of Work is attributed to
a sectoral committee which is responsible for its preparation and
implementation. They will jointly prepare and submit proposals
to the Executive Committee on issues and activities of common
interest. The Sectoral Committees are:
- Committee on Environmental Policy
- Committee on Inland Transport
- Conference of European Statisticians
- Committee on Sustainable Energy
- Committee on Trade
- Committee on Timber
- Committee on Housing and Land Management
- Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration
In areas where the UNECE was not felt to have a comparative advantage vis-à-vis
other international institutions, member States decided to discontinue
a number of activities. This is the case for example of macro-economic
analysis, where numerous international
and regional entities provide similar services.
A new programme is being launched to address the specific
development problems of countries with economies in transition
and emerging market economies. This programme will focus on
such issues as promoting effective public investment and regulatory
policies; strengthening the competitiveness of the economy
through innovative development; the development of public-private
partnerships, financial services and the promotion of the rule of law
and effective public policies.
The reform will be implemented within existing budgetary
resources (for a complete version of the Work Plan on UNECE Reform see document
E/ECE/1434/Rev.1).
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