UNESCO REFORM: GENEVA GROUP TO TACKLE UN "COHERENCE"

UNCLAS PARIS 004673

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO

STATE FOR IO/UNESCO KELLY SIEKMAN, IO/S LISA SPRATT
STATE FOR NSC GENE WHITNEY
STATE FOR NSF INTERNATIONAL OFFICE ROSE GOMBAY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC EAID KSCA SOCI UNESCO
SUBJECT: UNESCO REFORM: GENEVA GROUP TO TACKLE UN "COHERENCE"
EXERCISE



1. This is a Guidance Request, see para 3.


2. At its July 12 meeting, the UNESCO Geneva Group of donor member
states will focus on the ongoing exercise to enhance UN system-wide
coherence in the areas of humanitarian assistance, the environment
and development. The meeting will start with a presentation by the
Director of UNESCO's Bureau of Strategic Planning. Discussion will
center on two documents: a paper produced by the UNESCO Secretariat
on the coherence exercise, and a February 24 2006 letter from UN
Ambassadors of 13 donor states (not including the U.S) to the three
members of the panel on UN system-wide coherence. (Both documents
e-mailed to IO/UNESCO Kelly Siekman and IO/S Lisa Spratt).


3. The U.S. Permanent Delegation to UNESCO requests guidance before
July 11 on the U.S. position on the ongoing UN coherence exercise,
as well as on the two documents described above.

UNESCO Secretariat on UN System-Wide Coherence

4. The UNESCO secretariat's paper acknowledges the need for reform
of the UN system at the country level, stressing the importance of
complementarity within the UN system, and thus respect for the
mandates of specialized agencies. Recommending that the discussions
on UN reform be broadened to include the World Bank, the paper notes
that while the World Bank's expertise lies in addressing needs on a
country-by-country basis, the strength of the UN (especially via its
specialized agencies) lies in its sectoral expertise.

5. A key point of the UNESCO paper on the coherence exercise is
found in para 4: "UNESCO's intellectual, ethical, and normative
functions cannot be divorced from implementation and operational
action." (para 4) UNESCO's eagerness to highlight its role in
implementation and operational action -- which the U.S. has
encouraged, in contrast to its normative functions -- is perhaps
explained by para 8. This para stresses that those "best efforts
will be severely constrained if UN common country programming is not
fully inclusive of all UN system agencies and if donor funds were to
be channeled at country level exclusively to so-called 'operational
agencies'." Despite these concerns, Paras 6-7 affirm support for
the Secretary-General's vision of "the need to create one UN at the
country level," as well as for the principles of the Paris
High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.

6. The UNESCO paper concludes by outlining UNESCO's role in
development, humanitarian assistance and the environment. On water
resources, the paper states "UNESCO's work is not narrowly normative
in this field, but is deeply engaged with practical aspects of
implementation."
13 Donor States Outline UN Coherence Principles

7. The second attachment is a letter to the three UN coherence
panel co-chairs that was signed by 13 donor nations: Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. The letter
evokes five principles "to help shape a new vision for the future":
Orientation towards supporting sustainable development and the
achievement of the agreed international development goals, including
the MDGs;
Policy and institutional coherence;
More unified presence than today at country level with one UN
country team, one country representative for the whole system and
one integrated, results-based plan;
Support to national priorities and processes as well as efficient
and timely delivery;
Clear division of labor and effective partnerships, based on
comparative advantages between the UN system, Global Funds,
bilateral actors and the IFIs.

8. An annexed document poses questions and presents proposals on:
defining the core role, structure, governance mechanisms, and
funding of the UN operational system; deepening and accelerating the
reform of country-level operations; mainstreaming cross-country
issues (including human resources, environment and gender); and
improving aid effectiveness, including via assessing implementation
of the Paris Declaration. KOSS