regards-citoyens

ELEMENTS THAT SHAPE THE UN-COMMISSION PARTNERSHIP

1. Value of the partnership
In 2008, an independent evaluation4 on the value to the European Commission of channeling development cooperation funds through the United Nations provided an external perspective on the partnership. It concluded that there has been positive impact from most European Commission funding through the United Nations. The partnership made delivery of Commission development cooperation aid possible in cases where this would otherwise have been difficult or impossible. Most fundamentally, the evaluation team concluded that by working together, both partners were able to achieve more on the ground than each could have done if working alone.
As demonstrated by the evaluation, the United Nations adds value to the work of the Commission through the :
• Impartiality and legitimacy of the United Nations: the very nature of the UN as an intergovernmental body with 192 member states gives it unique international standing and a relationship of trust with governments. Working through the UN, the European Commission can tackle sensitive issues it would fi nd hard to address alone, for example support to consensus building and consolidation of peace agreements, elections in post-confl ict environments, and the rule of law ;
• Unique UN global mandates to tackle global problems including the UN’s responsibility for developing and promoting internationally-binding norms and supporting their implementation in countries. In refugee protection for example, the UN has a mandate to ensure international standards are applied and to off er protection. The European Commission supports the UN to fulfi ll its role to protect refugees and build capacities of national and local actors to meet the international norms. Another example is the UN’s special mandate for Palestinian refugees ;
• UN technical and thematic expertise: the UN mobilises expertise and off ers policy and practical advice as part of its core capacity building function. An example is in health pandemics where UN experts are swiftly mobilised to stem outbreaks and following restoration of normality advise on the management and prevention of future outbreaks. UN expertise is also made available to the European Commission and member states, recent examples being in the area of child protection and avian flu ;
• A worldwide UN operating capacity, including where the international community has no infrastructure : the UN is on the ground in nearly 170 countries. Its physical presence coupled with its privileged relationship with national counterparts gives it continued access, political and practical, before, during and after crises. The Commission frequently works with the UN in places where the international community has no real presence of its own, such as Somalia and Iraq ;
• A broader platform that increases impact and effi ciency: the independent evaluation noted that by working with the UN, the Commission benefi ted from the UN privileged policy dialogue with governments, enhancing Europe’s own participation in policy dialogue with partner countries.
As the external evaluation also demonstrated, the European Commission helps the United Nations deliver on its mandates by :
• Support to UN global coordination: the Commission’s commitment to assessing where the UN can add most value and investing in capacity gaps in the international system including within the UN, makes an important contribution to bolstering UN capacity to respond to emergency and post-crisis needs ;
• Channeling Commission funding through multi-donor eff orts coordinated by the UN: particularly in the aftermath of crises where national partner capacities are severely stretched such eff orts can dramatically reduce transaction costs and improve effi ciency for partner countries ;
• Maintaining the commitment to “forgotten crises” : the Commission helps the UN sustain its support to countries long after international media attention has moved on, but where recovery may be slow and critical humanitarian needs persist ;
• Leveraging European expertise: increasingly, the Commission works with the UN on behalf of EU member states to develop policies and practical tools. Notable examples in the post-crisis field are the post-confl ict and post-disaster needs assessments where a tripartite eff ort between the UN, Commission and the World Bank provided a platform for the international community to intervene after a crisis ;
• Developing innovative fi nancial instruments : for example the Commission’s Instrument for Stability provides valuable and much-needed fl exibility to fund a range of transition activities that support peace-making, peace-building and recovery – thus eff ectively bridging the three pillars of the United Nations, namely peacekeeping, human rights and development.

2. Key legislation and documents guiding the partnership in post-crisis recovery:
• Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters : international framework that recognises the intrinsic relationship between disaster risk reduction, sustainable development and poverty eradication ;
• Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations - Brahimi Report, 2000: recommends far-reaching changes in the structures and management of United Nations peace operations ;
• Report of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Armed Confl ict, 2001: makes recommendations to enhance UN actions in cooperation with and active involvement of Member States who ultimately have the primary responsibility for conflict prevention ;
• Report of the UN Secretary-General : In Larger Freedom - Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All, 2005 : calls for a comprehensive strategy that would give equal weight and attention to the three purposes of the UN, namely development, security and human rights, all underpinned by the rule of law ;
• Report of the UN Secretary-General on Peacebuilding in the Immediate Aftermath of Confl ict, 2009: identifi es key actions
to help post-confl ict countries achieve sustainable peace more rapidly and effectively ;
• European Security Strategy : a Secure Europe in a Better World, 2003: reinforces eff ective multilateralism and identifi es a
strong United Nations as a strategic objective ;
• European Consensus on Development, 2005 : provides a common EU vision on development cooperation, based on the MDGs : calls for a comprehensive Community prevention approach to state fragility, confl ict, natural disasters and other types of crises ;
• European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, 2007: provides a common vision for EU member states and institutions on humanitarian aid that re-affi rms clear common ground on the EU and UN approaches to catastrophes and humanitarian action ;
• EU-wide Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction in Developing Countries, 2008: European Commission proposal endorsed by the Council for a comprehensive approach to integrating disaster risk reduction both into partner countries’ development policies, strategies and sectoral plans and EU development and humanitarian aid policy and programming, to reduce the burden of disasters on the poorest and most vulnerable countries and groups.

3. UN Oversight and control mechanisms
The UN operates in a variety of challenging environments assisting countries overcome crises, combat poverty and promote human development. Throughout its operations the UN seeks to maintain the highest levels of transparency and
accountability. While no single accountability framework exists that covers all the UN specialised agencies, funds and programmes that channel funds from the European Commission, nevertheless control mechanisms of individual UN entities contain a number of similar features, including :
• Regular oversight by member states: each UN entity has an intergovernmental governing body that approves, guides and monitors UN operations in accordance with overall guidance from the UN General Assembly and Economic and Social Council ;
• Robust control frameworks: these include internal management and accounting systems and controls, transparent procurement procedures, regular internal management and project audits, and ex-post evaluation of activities. There are clear policies on ethics for which staff are fully accountable and liable to sanctions if these are breached ;
• External Audit: the United Nations Board of Auditors audits the accounts of all UN entities and reports fi ndings and recommendations to the UN General Assembly through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. The General Assembly appoints 3 members to the Board who are Auditor-Generals or equivalent of UN member states ;
• Transparency: UN entities have detailed disclosure policies, which for many include inter alia full disclosure of sources and the use of funds programming documents, project information and details of procurement actions. For multidonor trust funds managed by the UN and supported by many donors including the Commission, the UN provides quarterly reports, procurement notices, contract lists, status of contributions and interest reporting.
EU member states represent 27 of the 192 members of the UN and are active in governing bodies of UN specialised agencies, funds and programmes. An EU member state holds one of the three positions on the UN External Board of Auditors.

4. Financial and Administrative Framework (FAFA) governing UN-Commission financial cooperation
Since 2003, a Financial and Administrative Framework has been in place between the European Community and the United Nations. This provides an overarching agreement between the European Commission and the UN applicable to all fi nancial contributions. The FAFA facilitates administrative cooperation by standardising contractual modalities and by its stated commitment to rely on UN standard auditing, control, accounting and procurement procedures. Under the umbrella of the FAFA and in the spirit of their partnership, the UN and the European Commission have agreed the following additional mechanisms :
   a. Joint Visibility Guidelines for UN-Commission actions in the fi eld, addressing needs for EU visibility in activities funded by the Commission and implemented by the UN ;
    b. Joint guidelines on reporting ;
   c. Ex-post publicity of Commission-funded grant and procurement contracts awarded by the UN for all contracts over US$ 100,000 ;
d. Verification missions : periodic missions of the European Commission to acquire a better understanding of and reporting
on the adequacy of UN systems of accountability that enable the Commission to report to its own institutions on the proper use of its funds.
UN engagement with members of the European Parliament: the UN engages on a constant basis with the European Parliament ; it regularly receives Parliamentarians at UN headquarter locations and welcomes fi eld visits of Parliamentary delegations to UN projects including those supported with Commission funds.

The report : UN-EC_Partnership-Report_2009.pdf