Progress Towards an Accountability System in the United Nations Secretariat

A/RES/70/255View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 132Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations, published in 2016.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 2012–2023

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/77/280

2023A/RES/77/280Progress towards an accountability system in the United Nations SecretariatLatestCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/271Progress towards an accountability system in the United Nations SecretariatCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/289Progress towards an accountability system in the United Nations SecretariatCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/303Progress towards an accountability system in the United Nations SecretariatCompare with previous version
2017A/RES/71/283Progress towards an accountability system in the United Nations SecretariatCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 topics

Accountability Field Offices Fraud Internal Oversight Performance Appraisal Programme Evaluation Results-Based Management Risk Management

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

5 reports of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2016–2025.

Reports

Span

2016–2025

10 years

2025A/80/468Fifteenth progress report on accountability : strengthening accountability in the United Nations Secretariat report of the Secretary-General
2024A/79/696Fourteenth progress report on accountability : strengthening accountability in the United Nations Secretariat report of the Secretary-General
2023A/78/678Thirteenth progress report on accountability : strengthening accountability in the United Nations Secretariat report of the Secretary-General
2021A/76/644Eleventh progress report on accountability : strengthening accountability in the United Nations Secretariat report of the Secretary-General
2016A/71/729Sixth progress report on the accountability system in the United Nations Secretariat report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

27 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the fifth progress report of the Secretary-General on the accountability system in the United Nations Secretariat;1

Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,2 subject to the provisions of the present resolution;

Monitoring and oversight mechanisms

Stresses the indispensable roles of external and internal oversight mechanisms, carried out through regular audit reviews and the issuance of pertinent recommendations, and that the full and timely implementation of the recommendations of oversight bodies, which are aimed at strengthening the performance of managers in monitoring the activities for which they are held accountable, is an essential part of any effective system of accountability;

Anti-fraud framework

Reaffirms that the zero-tolerance approach to fraudulent acts and corruption, to be included in the anti-fraud framework, is indispensable for the strengthening of accountability at all levels, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure its timely implementation and to provide an update in the context of the sixth progress report on the accountability system in the United Nations Secretariat;

Recalls paragraph 10 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and stresses that a single agreed definition, across the United Nations system, of what constitutes fraud and suspected or presumptive fraud, is essential in order to develop effective counter-fraud policies to ensure compatibility and comparability of related data across entities and to improve overall transparency;

Policy against retaliation

Notes with concern the delay in the revision of the policy against retaliation following the external expert review in 2014, urges the Secretary-General to finalize, without further delay, the revision of the policy against retaliation, which should be separate and distinct from mechanisms for handling staff grievances and interpersonal disputes and provide protection for whistle-blowers, and requests the Secretary-General to present the outcome in the sixth progress report;

Implementation of resolutions of the General Assembly

Requests the Secretary-General to include information on the status of the implementation of relevant General Assembly resolutions on administrative and budgetary matters, in the context of the individual reports on matters that are addressed in the corresponding agenda items, and also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that comprehensive information on the implementation of such resolutions is contained in the biennial programme performance report;

Takes note of paragraph 18 of the report of the Advisory Committee;

Results-based management

Reaffirms that results-based management and performance reporting are essential pillars of a comprehensive accountability framework;

Recognizes the importance of results-based management and the need to strengthen the capacity of the Secretariat for programme monitoring and reporting, and requests an update on measures taken in the context of the sixth progress report;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to accelerate the implementation of the results-based management framework throughout the Secretariat in a phased manner, taking into account the provisions of paragraph 6 of its resolution 67/253;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to include in the sixth progress report a detailed plan, with a fixed time frame and clear milestones, for the implementation of results-based management as part of the regular functioning of the Organization;

Enterprise risk management

Welcomes the progress made in establishing risk management framework tools with a view to improving institutional and personal accountability in the United Nations, and stresses the importance of ensuring that the culture of accountability is embedded, mainstreamed and continuously promoted throughout the Organization at all levels;

Notes that the phased implementation of the enterprise risk management system is ongoing in the peacekeeping missions, and requests the Secretary-General to make full use of the lessons learned throughout the field missions and to provide the General Assembly with updates in the context of the sixth progress report;

Evaluating outcomes

Emphasizes that a strong evaluation function continues to be a critical tool in assessing the performance of the Organization, through which accountability can be enhanced and lessons can be learned in order to achieve stronger results;

Also emphasizes that the evaluation function, in particular self-evaluation, is an essential managerial tool and that senior managers have a responsibility to use evaluation to improve performance;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to take further, concrete measures to develop capacity for evaluation within the Secretariat programmes, with support provided by the Office of Internal Oversight Services of the Secretariat and external oversight bodies in terms of guidance and methodological advice;

Recalls that, in its resolution 70/247 of 23 December 2015, it approved specified resources, for the biennium 2016–2017, for monitoring and evaluation activities, covering mandatory self-assessments and discretionary self-evaluations;

Operationalizing and enforcing a credible personal and institutional accountability framework

Requests the Secretary-General to develop a clear, transparent and precise set of guidelines and parameters, aimed at defining areas of responsibility, in particular for senior managers, as well as non-compliance in respect of those areas of responsibility;

Notes with appreciation the continued inclusion in the senior managers’ compacts of a managerial indicator related to the issuance of documentation to intergovernmental bodies and General Assembly committees, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that it continues to be included in future compacts;

Reiterates that compacts and end-of-year assessments are unique accountability tools for senior managers and contribute to transparency in the Organization;

Reiterates its requests to the Secretary-General to take further concrete measures to ensure that the compacts system becomes a meaningful and powerful instrument of accountability, to take actions to address systemic issues that prevent managers from meeting their targets, in particular those related to compliance with the recruitment timeline, and to report to the General Assembly on the progress achieved in this regard in the context of the sixth progress report;

Requests the Secretary-General to take a more strategic approach and concrete actions to implement the accountability framework and to include in the progress reports comprehensive and tangible assessments of actions, activities and progress made by the Secretariat;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to submit for its consideration an annual report on progress made towards the implementation of the accountability framework;

Further requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at the first part of its resumed seventy-first session on the implementation of the accountability framework, and decides to revert to the question of the frequency of future progress reports on accountability in the context of that report;

Strengthening accountability in field missions

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue efforts to strengthen accountability in all sectors of field missions and to ensure the full implementation of the zero-tolerance policy of the Organization regarding any kind of sexual exploitation and abuse, and looks forward to its consideration of the matter in the context of the next report on cross-cutting issues related to peacekeeping operations;

Recognizes the responsibility of troop-contributing countries to investigate allegations of misconduct involving members of military contingents, and also recognizes the responsibility of troop- and police-contributing countries to hold accountable those against whom allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse have been substantiated, in accordance with their national legislation.

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