Recalling its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974 containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order and 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974 containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States,

Recalling also its resolution 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975, by which it established the Ad Hoc Committee on the Restructuring of the Economic and Social Sectors of the United Nations System for the purpose of preparing detailed action proposals with a view to initiating the process of restructuring the United Nations system so as to make it more fully capable of dealing with problems of international economic cooperation and development in a comprehensive and effective manner, in pursuance of General Assembly resolutions 3172 (XXVIII) of 17 December 1973 and 3343 (XXIX) of 17 December 1974, and to make it more responsive to the requirements of the provisions of the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order as well as those of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States,

Reaffirming its desire to continue the process of restructuring the United Nations system, of which the results of the work of the Ad Hoc Committee constitute a valuable initial contribution,

1. Takes note of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Restructuring of the Economic and Social Sectors of the United Nations System/178 and expresses its deep appreciation to the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the excellent manner in which he conducted its work;

2. Decides that paragraph 64/179 of the recommendations contained in chapter III of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee should read as follows:

"64. The General Assembly should invite the Secretary-General to appoint, in full consultation with Member States, a Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation, at a high level which he determines as commensurate with the functions outlined below, who, acting under the authority of the Secretary-General, would effectively assist him in carrying out his responsibilities as chief administrative officer, under the Charter of the United Nations, in the economic and social fields. Accordingly. the Director-General, under the direction of the Secretary-General, should be in charge of:

"(a) Ensuring the provision of effective leadership to the various components of the United Nations system in the field of development and international economic co-operation and in exercising over-all co-ordination within the system in order to ensure a multidisciplinary approach to the problems of development on a system-wide basis;

"(b) Ensuring, within the United Nations, the coherence, co-ordination and efficient management of all activities in the economic and social fields financed by the regular budget or by extrabudgetary resources./180

"In addition, the Secretary-General could entrust to the Director-General other tasks in areas of responsibility related to the ensemble of the economic and social activities of the United Nations. The Director-General should be appointed by the Secretary-General for a period of up to four years. He should be provided with the necessary support and resources.";

3. Endorses the conclusions and recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee. as amended in paragraph 2 above and reproduced in the annex to the present resolution;

4. Invites the Secretary-General to appoint a Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation as soon as possible, preferably during the first quarter of 1978;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to implement those recommendations which are addressed to him, to assist the organs, organizations and bodies involved in the restructuring process and to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-third session, through the Economic and Social Council, within the scope of its competence, at its sixty-fifth session;

6. Invites the Secretary-General to submit to the Economic and Social Council at its sixty-fourth session a report giving further details on how he plans to implement the conclusions and recommendations annexed to the present resolution in the light of comments made/181 and to seek guidance, as necessary, on issues requiring further clarification;

7. Requests all organs, organizations and bodies within the United Nations system to implement these recommendations within their respective spheres of competence and to submit progress reports, including plans for further implementation, to the General Assembly at its thirty-third session through the Economic and Social Council at its sixty-fifth session;

8. Decides to keep under review the implementation of the above-mentioned conclusions and recommendations.

109th plenary meeting
20 December 1977

Annex

Conclusions and recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Restructuring of the Economic and Social Sectors of the United Nations System

Contents

General Assembly

Economic and Social Council

Other United Nations Forums for Negotiations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other United Nations Organs and Programmes, the Specialized Agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency and ad hoc World Conferences

Structures for Regional and Interregional Co-operation

Operational Activities of the United Nations System

Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Evaluation

Interagency Co-ordination

Secretariat Support Services

I. General Assembly

1. The effectiveness of the General Assembly in fulfilling its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations as the supreme organ of the United Nations system in the economic and social fields should be increased by the following measures:

1. The Assembly should fully exercise its powers under the Charter to promote, inter alia, solutions as to international economic, social and related problems and, to that end, to function as the principal forum for policy-making and for the harmonization of international action in respect of those problems.

2. The Assembly should concentrate on the establishment of over-all strategies, policies and priorities for the system as a whole in respect of international co-operation, including operational activities, in the economic, social and related fields. It may assign to other forums within the United Nations system, as necessary, the responsibility for negotiating and submitting recommendations for action in specific areas.

3. The Assembly should review and evaluate developments in other forums within the United Nations system and establish appropriate guidelines for further action. It may also review and evaluate developments in forums outside the United Nations system and address recommendations to them.

2. The General Assembly should promote support and assistance to the developing countries, in the context of measures agreed upon by those countries, for the purpose of strengthening and enlarging their mutual economic co-operation.

3. The General Assembly should rationalize its methods of work and procedures in the economic and social fields and, as a first step, should adopt the following measures:

1. The Assembly should organize its agenda and allocate the items thereon in such a way as to achieve a balanced and efficient distribution of items in the Second and Third Committees, taking due account of the respective functions of those Committees, the nature of the items concerned, their substantive interrelationships and the need to consider questions of economic and social development in a co-ordinated manner. The Chairmen of the Second and Third Committees should hold consultations with a view to assisting the General Committee to that end. Steps should also be taken to improve co-ordination between the Second and Third Committees, on the one hand, and the Fifth Committee, on the other.

2. The Second and Third Committees should, within their respective spheres of competence, fully utilize the possibility of grouping substantively-related items under one heading for purposes of consideration.

3. Discussions in the Second Committee should focus on individual items or groups of items, organized in the manner indicated in subparagraph (b) above. Such discussions may he held concurrently on more than one item or group of items and should be addressed as far as possible to proposals submitted under these items. The Second Committee should set agreed deadlines for the submission of such proposals. These measures should also be adopted, to the extent applicable, by the Third Committee.

4. Documentation submitted by or on behalf of the Secretary-General to the Second and Third Committees as well as to other United Nations bodies in the economic and social fields concerning items on their agenda should be concise, action-oriented and in conformity with the relevant general and specific legislative directives.

II. Economic and Social Council

5. In exercising its functions and powers under the Charter and in fulfilling its role as set out in the relevant General Assembly and Economic and Social Council resolutions, the Council, under the authority of the Assembly or in the performance of such functions as may be assigned to it by the Assembly, should concentrate on its responsibilities:

1. To serve as the central forum for the discussion of international economic and social issues of a global or interdisciplinary nature and the formulation of policy recommendations thereon addressed to Member States and to the United Nations system as a whole;

2. To monitor and evaluate the implementation of overall strategies, policies and priorities established by the General Assembly in the economic, social and related fields, and to ensure the harmonization and coherent practical operational implementation, on an integrated basis, of relevant policy decisions and recommendations emanating from United Nations conferences and other forums within the United Nations system after their approval by the Assembly and/or the Economic and Social Council;

3. To ensure the over-all co-ordination of the activities of the organizations of the United Nations system in the economic, social and related fields and, to that end, the implementation of the priorities established by the General Assembly for the system as a whole;

4. To carry out comprehensive policy reviews of operational activities throughout the United Nations system, bearing in mind the need for balance, compatibility and conformity with the priorities established by the General Assembly for the system as a whole.

6. In discharging these responsibilities, the Economic and Social Council should bear in mind the importance of assisting in the preparation of the work of the General Assembly in the economic, social and related fields so that the Assembly may give timely and effective attention to the substantive issues requiring consideration. Such preparation should include the drawing up, for consideration by the Assembly, of suggestions regarding the 1iltter's documentation and organization of work in the economic and social fields, as well as of recommendations for action by the Assembly on substantive issues.

7. The Economic and Social Council should organize its work on a biennial basis and provide for shorter but more frequent subject-oriented sessions spread throughout the year, except when the General Assembly is in session. Such sessions of the Council should be scheduled for the purpose, inter alia, of considering action by the United Nations system in particular sectors, reviewing the results of technical work undertaken in specialized bodies and establishing guidelines for such work, reviewing programme budgets and medium-term plans within the United Nations system, and recommending policy guidelines for operational activities. The Council, taking into account the provisions of paragraphs 10 and 11 below, should identify subject areas on which such sessions should be held.

8. In formulating its biennial programme of work, the Economic and Social Council should identify the issues which will require priority consideration, decide on the schedule and agenda for its subject-oriented sessions and determine the manner in which substantively-related items on its agenda should be grouped under one heading for purposes of consideration. The Council may, in modification of its programme, decide on ad hoc arrangements - including in 'Particular the convening of special sessions - to deal with emerging problems meriting special or urgent international attention, in formulating its programme, the Council should take into account the possibility of transmitting certain of the reports submitted through it to the General Assembly without debate.

9. At such times as may be decided upon by its members, the Economic and Social Council should also hold periodic meetings, at the ministerial or other sufficiently high level, to review major issues in the world economic and social situation. Such meetings should be effectively prepared and should concentrate on important policy areas justifying high-level participation.

10. In the light of the foregoing and in order to ensure that the subject areas referred to in paragraph 7 above are given the most 'effective and informed consideration possible within the broad context of the tasks indicated in paragraph 5, the Economic and Social Council should assume to the maximum extent possible direct responsibility for performing the functions of its subsidiary bodies; these bodies would accordingly be discontinued or their terms of reference redefined and/or regrouped. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 27 below, the regional commissions should continue in being.

11. On the basis of the foregoing, the measures set forth in subparagraphs (a) to (d) below should be adopted by the Economic and Social Council not later than the end of 1978 in respect of its expert and advisory groups, its standing committees and the functional commissions, and the Council should give high priority to this task in formulating its programme of work:

1. The discontinuance of the expert and advisory bodies of the Council unless the Council takes affirmative action to renew and redefine their mandates and, where appropriate, to set deadlines for the completion of their activities;

2. The thorough streamlining, including discontinuance, as appropriate, of the standing intergovernmental committees;

3. The redefinition and regrouping, on the basis of their substantive and methodological interrelationships, of the terms of reference of the functional commissions, or the assumption by the Council in appropriate instances of direct responsibility for their work;

4. The assumption by the Council of direct responsibility for carrying out the preparatory work for ad hoc conferences convened by the Council itself and, as appropriate, by the General Assembly, without prejudice to arrangements already agreed upon for conferences currently under preparation.

12. The Economic and Social Council should to the maximum extent possible refrain from establishing new subsidiary bodies; it should make every effort to meet the need for any new bodies by holding subject-oriented sessions as provided for in paragraph 7 above. For their part subsidiary bodies of the Council should refrain from creating new subordinate sessional or intersessional groups without the prior concurrence of the Council.

13. In the light of paragraphs 10 and 11 above, all States Members of the United Nations wishing to participate in the work of the Economic and Social Council should be enabled to do so to the fullest possible extent. In addition, consideration should be given to ways and means of making the Council fully representative./182 Where the Council decides in the context of the measures envisaged in paragraph 11 above to regroup the terms of reference of particular subsidiary bodies, it should also give consideration to the possibility of such regrouping being accompanied by an increase in the membership of the reconstituted body or bodies. The Council should continue to invite non-member States to participate in its deliberations on any matter of particular concern to them.

14. The Secretary-General and the executive heads of the organizations of the United Nations system should participate more actively in the deliberations of the Economic and Social Council and should provide full assistance to the Council in accordance with the relevant general and specific legislative directives.

15. The Economic and Social Council should examine and improve its consultative relationships with the non-governmental organizations, taking fully into account the provisions of the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order. The Council should also make recommendations for the rationalization and harmonization of consultative relationships with the nongovernmental organizations by the organizations of the United Nations system as a whole and in the context of ad hoc world conferences./183

III. Other United Nations Forums for Negotiations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other United Nations Organs and Programmes, the Specialized Agencies,/184 the International Atomic Energy Agency and ad hoc World Conferences

16, All United Nations organs and programmes, the specialized agencies, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the International Atomic Energy Agency and ad hoc world conferences should co-operate in whatever measures are necessary for the effective discharge of the responsibilities of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council and should, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and within the scope of their respective basic instruments, give full and prompt effect to their specific policy recommendations.

17. In carrying out their respective mandates, all United Nations organs and programmes, agencies and ad hoc world conferences should be similarly guided by the over-all policy framework established by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, taking fully into account the needs and requirements of the developing countries.

18. In the light of General Assembly resolution 31/159 of 21 December 1976, appropriate measures should accordingly be taken to enable the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, within available resources, effectively to play the major role envisaged in resolution 90 (IV) of 30 May 1976 of the Conference/185 as an organ of the Assembly for deliberation, negotiation, review and implementation in the field of international trade and related areas of international economic co-operation, bearing in mind the need to maintain its close and co-operative relationship with the Assembly and to co-operate with the Economic and Social Council in carrying out the Council's responsibilities under the Charter.

IV. Structures for Regional and Interregional Co-operation

19. The regional commissions should be enabled fully to play their role under the authority of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council as the main general economic and social development centres within the United Nations system for their respective regions, having due regard to, the responsibilities of the specialized agencies and other United Nations bodies in specific sectoral fields and the co-ordinating rote of the United Nations Development Programme in respect of technical coúoperation activities.

20. Taking into account the special needs and conditions of their respective regions, they should exercise team leadership and responsibility for co-ordination and co-operation at the regional level. They may convene periodic meetings, as necessary, for the purpose of improving the co-ordination of the relevant economic and social activities of the United Nations system in their respective regions.

21. The regional commissions should provide inputs for the global policy-making processes of the competent United Nations organs and should participate fully in the implementation of the relevant policy and programme decisions taken by these organs. They should be consulted on the definition of the objectives to be included in the medium-term plan of the United Nations covering fields of interest to them, taking into account the special needs and conditions of their respective regions.

22. Subject to such guidance as may be provided by the Governments concerned and without prejudice to membership of the regional bodies concerned, the organizations of the United Nations system should take early steps to achieve a common definition of regions and subregions and the identical location of regional and subregional offices.

23. Relations between regional commissions and the organizations of the United Nations system should be strengthened. Close co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme should be established and appropriate arrangements made to enable the regional commissions to participate actively in operational activities carried aut through the United Nations system, including the preparation of intercountry programmes, as may be required, in their respective regions. Without prejudice to the special needs and conditions of each region, and taking into account the plans and priorities of the Governments concerned, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council should take measures to enable them to function expeditiously as 'executing agencies for intersectoral, subregional, regional and inter,regional projects and, in areas which do not fall within the purview of the sectoral responsibilities of specialized agencies and other United Nations bodies, for other subregional, regional and interregional projects.

24. The regional commissions concerned should assist developing countries at the request of the Governments concerned in identifying projects and preparing programmes for the promotion of co-operation among those countries. Taking fully into account the relevant global policy decisions of the competent United Nations organs, the regional commissions concerned should intensify their efforts, with the assistance of the competent organizations of the United Nations system and at the request of the Governments concerned, to strengthen and enlarge economic co-operation among the developing countries at the subregional, regional and interregional levels.

25. As a means of promoting more effective interregional co-operation, the regional commissions should strengthen and, as appropriate, expand existing arrangements for the continuous exchange between them of information and experience. Such arrangements may include the holding of periodic intersecretariat meetings, utilizing existing machinery as far as possible for that purpose.

26. In order to enable the regional commissions effectively to discharge the responsibilities indicated in the preceding paragraphs, the necessary authority should be delegated to them and, to the same end, adequate budgetary and financial provision should be made for their activities.

27. Taking into account the special needs and conditions of their respective regions and bearing in mind the objectives set forth above, the regional commissions should rationalize their structures, inter alia by streamlining their subsidiary machinery.

V. Operational Activities of the United Nations System

28. Restructuring measures in respect of the operational activities of the United Nations system for development should serve to promote the achievement of the following objectives:

1. A real increase in the flow of resources for such activities on a predictable, continuous and assured basis:

2. The assistance provided should be in conformity with the national objectives and priorities of the recipient countries:

3. The orientation of these activities and the allocation of available resources for the activities to fully reflect the over-all strategies, policies and priorities of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council;

4. The achievement of optimum efficiency and the reduction of administrative costs with a consequent increase in the proportion of resources available to meet the assistance requirements of recipient countries.

29. In carrying out the comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development, as provided for in paragraph 5 (d) above, the Economic and Social Council should be guided by the objectives outlined in paragraph 28 above.

30. With these objectives in view and as a first step, with future steps to be determined by the General Assembly, integration measures as outlined in the following paragraphs should be gradually undertaken, under the authority of the Secretary-General wherever appropriate, in respect of existing United Nations programmes and Funds for development financed by extra budgetary resources. The implementation of these measures should be carried out under the guidance of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council particularly bearing in mind, firstly, that a major premise underlying such integration is that it will stimulate substantially higher levels of voluntary contributions to operational activities for development and, secondly, that it should accordingly be carried forward with due regard to the current levels of such voluntary contributions. The resources, aims and objectives of each programme, as reflected in existing programmes and Funds, should remain clearly identified.

31. Without prejudice to other arrangements for mobilizing additional funds for particular programmes through other measures or from other sources and subject to provision being made for the earmarking of contributions for specific programmes, there should be held a single annual United Nations pledging conference for all United Nations operational activities for development. In preparing for the pledging conference, the Secretariat should make available to Governments information concerning previous and current contributions for the various programmes from Governments and other sources.

32. Measures should be taken to achieve maximum uniformity of administrative, financial, budgetary, personnel and planning procedures, including the establishment of a common procurement system, harmonized budget and programme cycles, a unified personnel system and a common recruitment and training system.

33. At the country level, there should be improved coherence of action and effective integration, in accordance with the objectives and priorities of the Government concerned, of the various sectoral inputs from the United Nations system. The United Nations Development Programme country-programming process/186 should be utilized as a frame of reference for the operational activities carried out and financed by the organizations of the United Nations system from their own resources.

34. On behalf of the United Nations system, over-all responsibility for, and co-ordination of, operational activities for development carried out at the country level should be entrusted to a single official to bc designated taking into account the sectors of particular interest to the countries of assignment, in consultation with and with the consent of the Government concerned, who should exercise team leadership and be responsible for evolving, at the country level, a multidisciplinary dimension in sectoral development assistance programmes. These tasks should be carried out in conformity with the priorities established by the competent national authorities and with the assistance, as necessary, of joint interagency advisory groups. Subject to the requirements of individual countries, steps should be taken to unify the country offices of the various United Nations organizations.

35. In the context of the foregoing, consideration should be given by the General Assembly to the establishment of a single governing body responsible for the management and control, at the intergovernmental level, of United Nations operational activities for development./187 This body should replace the existing governing bodies. Its composition should be such as to ensure a wide, equitable and balanced representation.

36. Steps should be taken to ensure adequate developing country representation at the executive management and other central decision-making levels of secretariat structures in the area of operational activities for development of the United Nations system.

VI. Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Evaluation

37. The recommendations in the present section are designed to enhance the effectiveness of the planning, programming, budgetary and evaluation processes within the United Nations system.

38. The competent intergovernmental bodies charged with programming and budgeting should develop thematic approaches with a view to ensuring the implementation, by the Secretariat units concerned, of the over-all priorities established by the General Assembly.

39. The Committee for Programme and Co-ordination should fully discharge its responsibilities, in accordance with its terms of reference, as the main subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly for planning, programming and co-ordination. In discharging those responsibilities, it should also assist the Council and the Assembly in supervising, reviewing and carrying out, as appropriate, evaluation exercises in respect of the activities of the United Nations, particularly those having system-wide implications. Furthermore, it should consider and make recommendations regarding the establishment and harmonization of medium-term plans and programmes, including the concepts on which they are based.

40. In addition, the Committee for Programme and Coordination should in the light of the perspective indicated above formulate recommendations, for consideration by the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, on the relative priorities of United Nations programmes; in this context subsidiary intergovernmental and expert bodies should accordingly refrain from making recommendations on the relative priorities of the major programmes as outlined in the medium"term plan and should instead propose, through the Committee, the relative priorities to be accorded to the various subprogrammes within their respective fields of competence.

41. The Committee for Programme and Co-ordination should make such further improvements in its programme and methods of work as would facilitate the full discharge of the above-mentioned responsibilities. The General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council should, in the light of experience, keep under continuous review the terms of reference of the Committee.

42. Measures should be taken to improve the effectiveness of internal evaluation procedures in respect of programme implementation. Appropriate methods should also be developed in order to assist the competent intergovernmental bodies, with the assistance as required of the Joint Inspection Unit, in carrying out their responsibilities for external evaluation.

43. The organizations of the United Nations system should intensify their efforts to develop harmonized budget presentations and a common methodology of programme classification and description of content. They should synchronize their programme budget cycles and provide full and compatible information on extrabudgetary resources in their programme budgets.

44. These organizations should work out without further delay solutions to the timing and technical problems which are impeding the effective application of the existing procedures for prior consultation on work programmes in order that the competent governing bodies may be enabled to take full account of the results thereof before approving such programmes. In the same context, vigorous steps should be taken towards joint programming in related programme areas.

45. These organizations should intensify their work on the elaboration of medium-term plans, including the problems of methodology, procedure and the harmonization of plan cycles. In addition, the procedures for prior consultation should be applied to these plans with a view to establishing an increasing measure of joint planning in areas of mutual concern and eventually to system-wide medium-term planning.

46. Measures should be taken to facilitate representation by States members of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination at a high level of expertise and to ensure the continuity of such representation. To this end, and subject to the review envisaged in paragraph 12 of General Assembly resolution 31/93 of 14 December 1976, the payment by the United Nations of the travel and per diem expenses of one representative of each State member of the Committee should be continued.

47. In exercising its responsibilities as defined by the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions should bc guided by the priorities of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. To ensure more equitable representation, particularly for the interests of the developing countries, the size of the Advisory Committee should be increased to at least sixteen.

48. There should be close co-operation between the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and they should work out appropriate arrangements for maintaining continuous contact. The two Committees should so organize their respective programmes of work as to facilitate the discharge of the foregoing tasks; to the same end the Secretary-General should make the necessary adjustments to the cycle for the preparation of the relevant documentation and generally ensure compliance by the Secretariat with the procedures indicated above.

49. Intergovernmental bodies should enforce existing rules concerning the submission of programme-budget implications of proposals submitted to them. To the extent possible, a statement of programme-budget implications should be available in writing during the consideration of proposals and normally not later than twenty-four hours before the approval of the proposals concerned. Such statements shall indicate, as appropriate, related programmes already included in the relevant medium-term plan, the percentage increase in the expenditures of the Secretariat units 'concerned and the resources which could he released from any programme elements which have become obsolete, of marginal usefulness or ineffective. If in the course of a session two or more statements of programme-budget implications have been submitted, the Secretary-General shall submit, at the conclusion of the session, a summary of such statements containing aggregate figures.

VII. Interagency Co-ordination

50. Interagency co-ordination at the intergovernmental level should be governed by the policy guidelines, directives and priorities established by the General Assembly and, under its authority, by the Economic and Social Council in the exercise of their over-all responsibilities as outlined in sections I and II.

51. At the intersecretariat level, interagency co-ordination should aim at effectively assisting in the preparatory work for intergovernmental decisions, in the implementation of such decisions and in their translation into mutually complementary or joint programme activities. To that end, it should integrate into a coherent whole the relevant expertise and inputs of the organizations of the United Nations system. It should also be a built-in element of the substantive support to be provided to the intergovernmental bodies concerned for the discharge of their policy making functions as well as an integral part of intersecretariat arrangements for policy and programme execution.

52. On the basis of the foregoing, interagency co-ordination at the intersecretariat level should concentrate on the following tasks:

1. Preparing, in compliance with the relevant general and specific legislative directives, concise and action-oriented recommendations for consideration by the intergovernmental bodies concerned;

2. Concerting in an effective manner the implementation, in accordance with paragraph 16 above, by the United Nations organs, programmes and agencies concerned of policy guidelines, directives and priorities emanating from the Genera] Assembly and the Economic and Social Council;

3. Developing the co-operative and, wherever possible, joint planning, as well as the co-ordinated execution, of programme activities decided upon at the intergovernmental level.

53. Interagency co-ordination at the intersecretariat level should be pursued with full respect for the competence, where relevant, of the regional commissions as outlined in section IV. In the field, such co-ordination should be pursued in conformity with the objectives and priorities of the Government concerned and should be supportive of the local co-ordination arrangements established by that Government.

54. The machinery for interagency co-ordination at the intersecretariat level should centre on the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination under the leadership of the Secretary-General. Subject to the guidance and supervision of the Economic and Social Council, that machinery should be streamlined and reduced to a minimum; except where the discharge of permanent functions necessitates the retention of continuing machinery, maximum use should be made of flexible, ad hoc arrangements designed to meet the specific requirements of the intergovernmental bodies concerned and geared to the policy-making and programming processes of the General Assembly and the Council. In the light of these considerations, steps should be taken to merge the Environment Co-ordination Board, the Inter-Agency Consultative Board and the Advisory Committee of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization with the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination, which should assume their respective functions.

55. The agenda, functioning and reporting systems of the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination should be adjusted to respond fully and promptly to the priority concerns, specific requirements and programme of work of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. The reporting schedules of the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination should be reorganized so as to conform to the meetings calendar of the intergovernmental bodies concerned. Under the authority of the Secretary-General, the executive secretaries of the regional commissions should be enabled fully and effectively to participate in the work of the Administrative Committee on Coordination on matters of concern to their respective commissions.

56. Arrangements should be made to improve communication between the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination and the intergovernmental bodies concerned, including wider access to the results of the relevant Administrative Committee on Co-ordination discussions by these bodies on matters of concern to them. As necessary, mutually convenient procedures should be worked out to enable the Chairman or designated representative of any of these bodies to be associated in an appropriate manner with Administrative Committee on Coordination discussions of particular concern to that body.

57. The review by the Economic and Social Council of the relationship agreements between the United Nations and the specialized agencies should be guided, inter alia, by the need to ensure that the agencies give full and prompt effect in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and within the scope of their respective basic instruments to the recommendations made by the General Assembly and the Council for the co-ordination of their policies and activities.

58. The powers of the General Assembly under Article 17, paragraph 3, of the Charter should be fully exercised in the interests of system-wide co-ordination, particularly in the context of the establishment of over-all priorities and in relation to administrative and budgetary issues of broad applicability. Appropriate arrangements to assist the Assembly in that regard should be made by the Economic and Social Council, the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.

VIII. Secretariat Support Services

59. The recommendations in the present section represent guidelines, the detailed implementation of which the Secretary-General would carry out in exercise of his powers under the Charter of the United Nations.

60. ]n the economic and social sectors, the United Nations Secretariat should be restructured so as effectively to meet the requirements and the policy directives of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council and, in the context of the purposes stated in Article 1, paragraphs 3 and 4, as well as of the provisions of Articles 100 and 101 of the Charter, to take fully into account in particular the development requirements of the developing countries.

61. In support of the relevant intergovernmental bodies, the United Nations Secretariat should concentrate on the following functions:

1. Interdisciplinary research and analysis, drawing as necessary upon all relevant parts of the United Nations system, On the basis of the relevant legislative authority, this function includes:
   1. Preparing, on a regular basis, global economic and social surveys and projections to assist the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council in the discharge of their responsibilities as set out in sections I and II:

   2. Undertaking in-depth intersectoral analyses and syntheses of development issues, in close collaboration with those elements of the United Nations system engaged in similar work and taking into account relevant work in the various sectoral components of the United Nations system, and preparing concise and ac,ion-oriented recommendations on those issues in accordance with the requirements of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, for consideration by those organs;

   3. Identifying and bringing to the attention of Governments emerging economic and social issues of international concern:

   This function would accordingly cover, inter alia, the provision of substantive support services for the work of the Committee for Development Planning:

2. Cross-sectoral analysis of programmes and plans in the economic and social sectors of the United Nations system with a view to mobilizing and integrating, at the planning and programming stages, the inputs and expertise of the organization of the United Nations system for the following tasks:
   1. Concerting in an effective manner the implementation of policy guidelines, directives and priorities emanating from the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council;

   2. Developing the co-operative and, wherever possible, joint planning of programme activities decided upon at the intergovernmental level, with a view to systemwide medium-term planning at the earliest possible time;

   This function would accordingly cover, inter alia, the provision of substantive support services for the relevant work of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination and the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination;

3. Substantive support for technical co-operation activities in economic and social sectors which are not covered by other United Nations organs, programmes or specialized agencies; this function would include, inter alia, the provision of technical expertise in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of country and intercountry programmes and of specific projects, the provision of direct advisory assistance to Governments, the development of training materials and support of training institutions;

4. Management of technical co-operation activities carried out by the United Nations in respect of:
   1. Projects under the regular programme of technical assistance;

   2. Projects of the United Nations Development Programme for which the United Nations is the executing agency;

   3. Projects financed by voluntary contributions from Governments and other external donors including funds in trust;

5. Provision, on an integrated basis, of technical secretariat services for the Committee for Programme and Coordination, the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly, ad hoc conferences and intersecretariat co-ordination machinery; this function includes organizing and co-ordinating the provision by the Secretariat units concerned of substantive support services, particularly documentation, as required by the above-mentioned bodies, ensuring that the substantive units concerned are informed of relevant developments in the work of these bodies, including resolutions and decisions adopted by them, and ensuring that these bodies are kept informed of action being taken in response to their decisions by the Secretariat units concerned;

6. Without prejudice to the function defined in subparagraph (a) above, and in response to directives from the relevant intergovernmental bodies, research, including the collection of relevant data, and analysis in those economic and social sectors that do not fall within the purview of other United Nations organs, programmes and specialized agencies.

62. In view of their particularly close substantive and methodological relationship, the functions defined in paragraphs 61 (a) and 61 (b) above should be clustered together in accordance with a programme of phased implementation. In the same context, the functions defined in paragraphs 61 (c) and 61 (d) above should also he clustered together in a separate organizational entity in accordance with a programme of phased implementation. The function defined in paragraph 61 (e) should he treated as a distinct function in a separate organizational entity. The Secretary-General should deploy the function in paragraph 61 (n to the clusters of functions defined in paragraphs 61 (a) and (b) or 61 (e) and (d), respectively, on the basis of the substantive, practical and methodological relationships involved, and allowing for the possibility of deploying appropriate elements to the regional commissions.

63. The clustering of functions indicated in paragraph 62 above should he accompanied by a thorough rationalization and streamlining of the capabilities of the organizational units concerned, including the redeployment, as necessary, of their staff resources.

64. The General Assembly should invite the Secretary-General to appoint, in full consultation with Member States, a Director-General for Development and International Economic Co-operation, at a high level which he determines as commensurate with the functions outlined below, who, acting under the authority of the Secretary-General, would effectively assist him in carrying out his responsibilities as chief administrative officer, under the Charter of the United Nations, in the economic and social fields. Accordingly, the Director-General, under the direction of the Secretary-General, should he in charge of:

1. Ensuring the provision of effective leadership to the various components of the United Nations system in the field of development and international economic co-operation and in exercising over-all co-ordination within the system in order to ensure a multidisciplinary approach to the problems of development on a system-wide basis;

2. Ensuring, within the United Nations, the coherence, co-ordination and efficient management of all activities in the economic and social fields financed by the regular budget or by extra budgetary resources./188

In addition, the Secretary-General could entrust to the Director-General other tasks in areas of responsibility related to the ensemble of the economic and social activities of the United Nations. The Director-General should be appointed by the Secretary-General for a period of up to four years. He should be provided with the necessary support and resources.