The UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday adopted a resolution to reposition the UN development system.
It calls for creating an independent coordination function for the development system. The functions of the resident coordinator would be separated from those of the resident representative of the UN Development Programme.
The implementation of the resolution would require 255 million U.S. dollars annually, according to the UN secretariat.
In remarks to the assembly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the resolution as “the most ambitious and comprehensive transformation of those activities in decades,” adding that would set the foundations to place sustainable development at the heart of the United Nations (UN).
Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu said the resolution provides for greater respect on the part of resident coordinators for the leadership and ownership of host countries and makes it clear that program countries have the final say on the UN Development Assistance Framework.
The composition of the UN country teams should be determined in consultation with program countries. The selection criteria of resident coordinators should be decided with inputs from member states in line with program countries’ priorities and development needs, he said.
