Conclusions and Recommendations The role of the Committee in all aspects of its mandate should be strengthened.

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1 IMPROVING THE WORKING METHODS AND PROCEDURES OF THE COMMITTEE FOR PROGRAMME AND COORDINATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ITS MANDATE from its 38 th 49 th sessions Conclusions and Recommendations 362. The role of the Committee in all aspects of its mandate should be strengthened. 38 th session: 363. The Committee stressed that the secretariat should submit necessary documentation on time and in accordance with the six-week rule. Their format should be in accordance with paragraphs 24 and 25 of General Assembly resolution 52/ The reports of the Secretary-General should conform to the mandates approved by relevant intergovernmental bodies, the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation, the terms of reference of the Committee and relevant resolutions In the proposed revisions to the medium-term plan, or in the case of its new draft, legislative mandates should be indicated with each new proposal in the form of footnotes The discussion section of the reports of the Committee should reflect accurately and objectively the discussion that took place at the meetings. It should not have enumerators such as "one, some or many delegations" The Committee should focus more on the conclusions and recommendations of its reports, which should be precise, action-oriented and concrete. Consideration of its draft reports should start from the conclusions and recommendations section Observers should be given a full opportunity to participate in meetings of the Committee in the deliberations on any matter of particular concern to them, in accordance with the relevant rules of procedure The Committee recommended that the secretariat of the Committee be responsible for the timely submission of all documentation and that it monitor the progress of preparation of documentation, submitting a detailed report to the Committee at the start of the session. The secretariat of the Committee should also convey the Committee's conclusions and recommendations, as approved by the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, to the relevant departments of the Secretariat The Committee decided to continue consideration of this agenda item. 39 th session: 624. The Committee affirmed the shared responsibility of the members, observers and the Secretariat in improving the working methods and procedures of the Committee for Programme and Coordination within the framework of its mandate The Committee reaffirmed that reports of the Secretary-General should conform to the mandates approved by relevant intergovernmental bodies, the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation, the terms of reference of the Committee and relevant General Assembly resolutions The Committee stressed that the Secretariat should submit the necessary documentation on time and in accordance with the six-week rule. Their format should be in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 52/214 UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 1

2 B of 22 December 1997 and 53/208 B of 18 December In that connection, the Committee emphasized that the Secretariat must pay closer attention to the contents of the documents as well as to the quality of translation The Committee agreed that draft reports of the Committee prepared by the Secretariat must accurately reflect the opinions expressed during the discussion on specific matters. The tendency of delegations making proposals simply to balance views that they do not like should be discouraged. All draft reports should be provided to the Rapporteur and Coordinators before circulation so as to ensure that the reports accurately reflect the views expressed during the discussion The Committee agreed to concentrate on the conclusions and recommendations section of the draft report The Committee recognized that the discussion section does not represent a consensus view, and therefore negotiations on the discussion section should be avoided. In this regard, the Committee emphasized that no actions should be taken by the Secretariat on matters reflected in the discussion section, nor should action be taken on recommendations not approved by the Economic and Social Council and/or the General Assembly The Committee noted the use of the passive voice in the discussion section and recommended that, if possible, the repetitive usage of the phrase "the views were' expressed" should be avoided The Committee reiterated that in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Economic and Social Council, observers may participate in its deliberations on any matter of particular concern to them. The Committee reaffirmed the responsibility and privileges of its members in the decision-making process and the recommendations they adopt The Committee recognized the need to pay more in-depth attention to its coordinating role as the main subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council The Committee emphasized the need to maintain, to the extent possible, normal working hours The Committee, once again, emphasized that its role, in all aspects of its mandate, including its secretariat, should be strengthened in order to allow it to implement effectively the tasks assigned to it The Committee agreed to continue to implement its recommendations contained in paragraphs 362 to 369 of its reports and decided to continue consideration of this agenda item at its fortieth session. 40 th session: 84. The Committee reaffirmed its commitment to meeting its terms of reference as contained in Economic and Social Council resolution 2008 (LX) and its annex. 85. The Committee recalled paragraph 41 of the annex to General Assembly resolution 32/197 urging it to make further improvements in its programme and methods of work as would facilitate the full discharge of its responsibilities. 86. The Committee also recalled paragraph 46 of the annex to resolution 32/197 calling for measures to be taken by the Member States to facilitate representation at a high level of expertise and to ensure the continuity of such representation. 87. The Committee reiterated that the revisions to the medium-term plan, or in case of a new draft, legislative mandates should be included in the form of footnotes. 88. The Committee emphasized that, in accordance with paragraph 27 of part I of General Assembly resolution 54/249, all future programme budgets should include legislative mandates for programme narratives. UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 2

3 89. The Committee reiterated its recommendations that the relevant intergovernmental bodies, as well as the Economic and Social Council and the Main Committees of the General Assembly, should include in their programme of work an agenda item on programme planning for the review of the proposed medium-term plan and its revisions. 90. The Committee emphasized the need for brief and concise oral presentation of reports by the Secretariat. 91. The Committee emphasized the need for the presence of senior programme managers to assist the Committee in its deliberations on the agenda items pertaining to the areas of their respective responsibilities. 92. The Committee underlined the importance of effective implementation of its conclusions and recommendations. 41 st session: 461. The Committee reaffirmed the conclusions and recommendations adopted on its working methods and procedures at its thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth and fortieth sessions The Committee considered that the terms takes note of and notes used in the present report are neutral terms that constitute neither approval nor disapproval, and looked forward to further guidance from the General Assembly on this question during the fifty-sixth session Regarding the discussion part of the Committee s report, the Committee for Programme and Coordination reaffirmed that it was only a reflection of some of the views of individual Member States and should not be seen as reflecting those of the Secretariat. 42 nd session: 361. The Committee reaffirmed the conclusions and recommendations on its working methods and procedures that it had adopted at its thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, fortieth and forty-first sessions The Committee reiterated that the terms takes note of and notes as used in the present report are neutral terms that constitute neither approval nor disapproval, and it welcomed in that regard General Assembly decision 55/ The Committee reiterated its recommendation that the relevant intergovernmental bodies, as well as the Economic and Social Council and the Main Committees of the General Assembly, include in their programme of work a review of the programmes of the medium-term plan and its revisions that are relevant to their work The Committee recommended that, when considering the medium-term plan and its revisions, it have at its disposal the observations of the relevant intergovernmental bodies in the areas pertinent to their work, in accordance with regulation 4.9 of the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation The Committee emphasized the need for brief and concise oral presentation of reports by the Secretariat The Committee also emphasized the need for all reports to be presented to it in writing The Committee reaffirmed that, in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Economic and Social Council, observers may participate in its deliberations on any matter of particular concern to them. The Committee also reaffirmed the responsibility and privileges of its members concerning the decision-making process and the recommendations that they adopt. UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 3

4 638. The Committee considered the issue of its working methods and decided to remain seized of the matter The Committee affirmed the importance of improving its working methods. 43 rd session: 44 th session: 480. In response to paragraphs 16 and 18 of General Assembly resolution 58/269 of 23 December 2003, several proposals were put forward during the meetings. Owing to the lack of time, however, the Committee decided to revert to this item, as a matter of priority, at the beginning of its forty-fifth session. 45 th & 46 th sessions: The Committee made no conclusions and recommendations on improving the working methods. 47 th session: 146. The Committee reaffirmed its role as the main subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly for planning, programming and coordination, and resolved to undertake, consistent with its mandate, 1 its terms of reference, 2 and the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation, 3 improvements in its working methods to enhance the effectiveness of its work The Committee decided to implement the measures set out below for strengthening its role, further enhancing its effectiveness and efficiency, and improving its working methods and procedures The Committee decided to devote the first day of its session to briefings for member and observer delegations on the mandate of the Committee and relevant resolutions, programme of work, documentation and other issues to be addressed by the Committee. The briefing should consist of issues of relevance to the agenda of the session The Committee recalled the importance of paragraph 9, section III, of General Assembly resolution 59/265, in which the Assembly had decided that the issuance of documents on planning, budgetary and administrative matters requiring urgent consideration by the General Assembly shou ld be accorded priority status The Committee stressed the need to continue to improve the responsiveness and accountability of processes within the Secretariat and to ensure the timely issuance of all relevant documents in accordance with the six-week rule in order to guarantee proper consideration by the Committee in the discharge of its mandate. The Committee also reiterated that the Secretariat must ensure the quality of translation into, and equal treatment of, all six official languages The Committee decided that, in preparing its report, the inputs for the conclusions and recommendations part should, to the extent possible, be submitted by a deadline decided by the Committee. The deadline should be reasonable and allow for members to reflect on the responses received from the Secretariat. The draft reports should be circulated at least 24 hours before the informal consultations The Committee decided to devote one or two meetings of its session to a discussion, with high -level participation, of a specific issue in its programme of work related to coordination. 1 See Economic and Social Council resolution 920 (XXXIV), 1171 (XLI) and 2008 (LX), General Assembly resolutions 31/93 and 58/269 and General Assembly decision 42/ Economic and Social Council resolution 2008 (LX), annex. 3 ST/SGB/2000/8 of 19 April UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 4

5 153. The Committee recognized the need to enhance its dialogue on coordination issues with the Joint Inspection Unit and the secretariat of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination The Committee decided to discuss related programmes in a sequential manner, as far as possible, in order to increase coherence and gain an overall perspective of the programmes of the United Nations Secretariat The Committee reiterated the importance of the Secretariat implementing its recommendations, as approved by the General Assembly While emphasizing the importance of formal meetings, the Committee decided to devote more time to informal consultations and encouraged the presence of senior-level members of the Secretariat at such informal meetings with a view to greater emphasis on dialogue with, and clarifications from, the Secretariat. It also emphasized the value added of informal informal consultations as a tool to reach consensus The Committee decided that it would consider in-depth and thematic evaluation reports, as well as the report on strengthening the role of evaluation and the application of evaluation findings on programme design, delivery and policy directives, in budget years, without prejudice to its consideration of evaluation reports in off-budget years, upon its request or that of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, taking into account rule of the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation The Committee called for each organizational session to be scheduled in a timely manner no later than six weeks before the beginning of each substantive session, during which a Bureau for the forthcoming session should be elected. The Committee encouraged member States to provide timely nominations to the Bureau so as to facilitate its early constitution The Committee decided that, at its organizational session, it would prepare the draft programme of work for its annual session, taking into account the annotated agenda and the state of preparation of documentation. The programme of work should also identify the specific issue selected for discussion with high-level participation (see para. 152 above). 48 th session: 437. The Committee reaffirmed its role as the main subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly for planning, programming and coordination The Committee took note with appreciation of the progress made in the improvement of its working methods The Committee reiterated its decision to devote more time to informal consultations and encouraged the presence of senior-level members of the Secretariat at such informal meetings with a view to greater emphasis on dialogue with, and clarifications by, the Secretariat. It also emphasized the value added of informal informal consultations as a tool to reach consensus The Committee reaffirmed the importance of improving working methods and decided to remain seized of the matter. 49 th session: 150. The Committee reaffirmed its role as the main subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly for planning, programming and coordination. 4 Ibid. UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 5

6 151.The Committee recognized the importance of improving its working methods within the framework of its mandate and expressed satisfaction with all efforts made and progress achieved in that regard The Committee reaffirmed the conclusions and decisions adopted at its forty-seventh session The Committee decided not to include the agenda item entitled Improving the working methods and procedures of the Committee for Programme and Coordination in future sessions, and also decided to discuss related matters under the agenda item entitled Adoption of the agenda and organization of work as and when needed. UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES 6