Country-Level Aid Coordination at the United Nations
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Country-Level Aid Coordination at the United Nations – Taking the Resident Coordinator System Forward Country-level aid coordination at the United Nations – taking the Resident Coordinator system forward The German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) is a multidisciplinary research, consultancy and training institute for Germa- ny’s bilateral and for multilateral development cooperation. On the basis of inde- pendent research, it acts as consultant to public institutions in Germany and abroad on current issues of cooperation between developed and developing countries. Through its 9-months training course, the German Development Institute prepares German and European university graduates for a career in the field of development policy. Timo Mahn is a research fellow in the department “Bi- und Multilateral Develop- ment Cooperation” at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE). He studied Political Science at the Free University of Berlin and International Development Management at the George Washington Uni- versity in Washington, D.C. Prior to DIE, Timo Mahn has worked for the World Bank, the German development bank KFW and for the German Embassy in Kigali. Apart from the United Nations, his research interests include international organisa- tions, aid modalities and - architecture, and public financial management. Email: [email protected] Studies Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik 77 Country-level aid coordination at the United Nations – taking the Resident Coordinator system forward Timo Mahn Bonn 2013 Studies / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik ISSN 1860-0468 Die deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deut- schen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Inter- net über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de ISBN 978-3-88985-584-8 © Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik gGmbH Tulpenfeld 6, 53113 Bonn +49 (0)228 94927-0 +49 (0)228 94927-130 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.die-gdi.de Contents Abbreviations Executive Summary 1 1 Introduction 17 1.1 The state of research 21 1.2 Theoretical perspectives on aid coordination 24 2 Setting the context: the case for UN aid coordination 32 2.1 Fragmentation, complexity, overlap 32 2.2 The quest for systemic funding 37 3 Organisational setup of UN aid coordination 39 3.1 Governing UN aid coordination 40 3.2 UN aid coordination at the global level 43 3.3 UN aid coordination at the country level 52 3.4 Primus inter pares? UNDP and the management of the RC system 56 4 Country-level aid coordination through the Resident Coordinator 62 4.1 Evolution of the Resident Coordinator system 63 4.2 Practice of country-level aid coordination through the Resident Coordinator 75 4.3 Shifting expectations? The evolving role and mandate for RCs 93 5 Differentiation within the Resident Coordinator system 98 5.1 Criteria for differentiation 100 5.2 The different “hats” of the Resident Coordinator 103 5.3 Evolving patterns of UN aid coordination 113 5.4 Future differentiation of UN aid coordination 115 6 Conclusions: Taking the Resident Coordinator system forward 119 6.1 Role, mandate and functioning of the RC system 120 6.2 Management of the RC system 122 6.3 Decentralisation of UN aid coordination 124 6.4 UN aid coordination and the division of labour 126 6.5 Outlook 127 Bibliography 129 Annexes Annex 1: The composition of the UN development system 143 Annex 2: List of people interviewed 145 Figures Figure 1: A continuum of aid-coordination model 29 Figure 2: Global-level coordination framework 45 Figure 3: Country-level coordination framework 53 Figure 4: Alignment of UNDS activities with partner countries by economic classification 81 Figure 5: Differing perceptions of the RC role and mandate 95 Tables Table 1: The 32 Members of the United Nations Development Group 47 Table 2: Milestones in the evolution of UN country-level aid coordination 76 Table 3: Leadership role for UN in external aid coordination 84 Table 4: Size of UN Country Teams by world regions 87 Table 5: Adaptation patterns of the RC system 103 Table 6: Overview – Adaptation patterns of the Resident Coordinator system 116 Boxes Box 1: The OECD-DAC and the ground rules for aid coordination 25 Abbreviations ACC Administrative Committee on Coordination ASG Assistant Secretary-General BMZ Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung / Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development CCA Common Country Assessment CEB Chief Executives Board for Coordination DAC Development Assistance Committee DaO Delivering as One DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs DG Director-General DIE German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik DO Designated Officer DOCO Development Operations Coordination Office DOCO United Nations Development Operations Coordination Office DPA Department for Political Affairs DPI UN Secretariat – Department of Public Information DPKO Department for Peacekeeping Operations DSRSG Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General ECA Economic Commission for Africa ECE Economic Commission for Europe ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ECOSOC Economic and Social Council EPTA Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance ERC Emergency Relief Coordinator ERSG Executive Representative of the Secretary-General ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ESCWA Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia EU European Union ExCom Executive Committee FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations HC Humanitarian Coordinator HCT Humanitarian Country Team HIC High-Income Country HLCM High-Level Committee on Management HLCP High-Level Committee on Programme HLP High-Level Panel IAAP Inter-Agency Advisory Panel IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IASC Inter-Agency Standing Committee ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development ILO International Labour Organization IMO International Maritime Organization IO International Organization ITC International Trade Centre ITC International Trade Centre (UNCTAD) ITU International Telecommunications Union JIU Joint Inspection Unit LIC Low-Income Country L-MIC Lower-Middle-Income Country MAS Management and Accountability System MDG Millennium Development Goal MIC Middle-Income Country NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ODA Official Development Assistance OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OHRLLS Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries & Small Island Developing Countries OSAA Office of the Special Advisor on Africa PPP Purchasing Power Parity QCPR Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review RC Resident Coordinator RR Resident Representative SA Specialized Agencies SG Secretary-General SRSG Special Representative of the Secretary-General SRSG-CAC Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict SWC System-Wide Coherence TA Technical Assistance TCPR Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review ToR Terms of Reference U-MIC Upper-Middle-Income Country UN United Nations UN WOMEN United Nations Women UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNCCF United Nations Country Coordination Fund UNCDF United Nations Capital Development Fund UNCT United Nations Country Team UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDAF Development Assistance Framework UNDG United Nations Development Group UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNFIP United Nations Fund for International Partnerships UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children‘s Fund UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNISDR United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social Development UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugee in the Near East UNS United Nations Secretariat UNSG United Nations Secretary-General UNSSC United Nations System Staff College UNU United Nations University UNV United Nations Volunteers UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization UPU Universal Postal Union USAID United States Agency for International Development USG Under-Secretary-General WB World Bank WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organization WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization WMO World Meteorological Organization WTO World Trade Organization Country-level aid coordination at the UN – taking the Resident Coordinator system forward Executive Summary Introduction The fragmentation of the United Nations (UN) development system re- quires aid coordination to bring about a more consistent whole. As the “lynchpin