Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on Its 20th Session

E/RES/2021/12View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 18gPublic administration and development, published in 2021.

What other versions does this mandate have?

15 versions · 2008–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is E/RES/2025/31

2025E/RES/2025/31Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 24th sessionLatestCompare with previous version
2021E/RES/2021/12Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 20th sessionCompare with previous version
2020E/RES/2020/21Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 19th sessionCompare with previous version
2019E/RES/2019/26Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 18th sessionCompare with previous version
2018E/RES/2018/12Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 17th sessionCompare with previous version

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

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Covid-19 Development Policy Governance Public Administration Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

18 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its twentieth session, and expresses its appreciation for the work done by the Committee on building inclusive, effective and resilient institutions for sustainable recovery from the coronavirus disease pandemic and timely implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in accordance with the 2021 theme of the Economic and Social Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development;

Invites the Committee to continue to place the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the centre of its work and to continue to advise the Council on how public administrations can support the implementation and progress reviews of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Welcomes the contribution of the Committee to the high-level political forum, and reaffirms that the principle of leaving no one behind should be a core principle of public administration;

Building inclusive, effective and resilient institutions for sustainable recovery from the coronavirus disease pandemic and timely implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

Reiterates the critical role of institutions in the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, calls for institutions to develop more creative, flexible and integrated ways of working to this end, and notes that implementing the Goals does not necessarily require the creation of new institutions;

Recalls the importance of a timely implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and urges Governments to address the structural and procedural weaknesses in institutions at all levels that may be hindering the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets and pursue bold policy reforms to accelerate achievement of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development;

Recognizes that achieving sustainable development and strengthening resilience require a long-term perspective in public policymaking, together with institution-building at all levels, based on effective governance for sustainable development, as well as a steadfast commitment to promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies;

Also recognizes that public administration entities are essential partners in developing adequate institutional mechanisms and ensuring that competences, skills and behaviours in the workforce are directed to the effective implementation of mission-oriented objectives based on the Sustainable Development Goals, and encourages Governments to incorporate their work on building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels into national planning processes, policies and strategies;

Reaffirms the need for pragmatic ongoing improvements in national and local governance capabilities to achieve the 2030 Agenda and other international agreements, and encourages Governments at all levels to apply the principles of effective governance for sustainable development, endorsed by the Council in its resolution 2018/12 of 2 July 2018, to all public institutions and in support of the implementation of all Sustainable Development Goals, taking into account different governance structures, national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities;

Encourages the Committee to continue to identify and review related technical guidelines to operationalize the principles, including from sectoral perspectives, and to further engage the relevant United Nations organizations, regional organizations and professional and academic communities in this regard, in an inclusive manner, together with all relevant stakeholders;

Encourages Governments to accelerate action to increase transparency and equal participation in the budgeting process, establish transparent public procurement frameworks as a strategic tool to reinforce sustainable development, and strengthen national control mechanisms, such as supreme audit institutions, along with other independent oversight institutions, as appropriate, in auditing budget performance, and to embed commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals in budgetary and financial processes at the national and subnational levels by adopting practices to monitor and report on the use of public financial resources in support of the Goals, such as reorganizing budgets, based on programmes and activities, and mapping and tracking budgetary contributions to each Goal;

Also encourages Governments to leverage public expenditure to stimulate markets for sustainable products and services and help steer society towards more sustainable consumption and production patterns and to enhance efforts to build the requisite capacity for the effective management of sustainable public procurement at all levels;

Recalls that building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels calls for a comprehensive understanding of the scope and capabilities of the public sector workforce, recognizes that new modalities of work are emerging in many countries, and encourages Governments to develop appropriate schemes for managing flexible work and contract work in the public sector, review public sector labour laws to reflect flexible work arrangements, develop protocols and guidelines for performance assessment in flexible work regimes, and accelerate efforts to enhance digital skills in the context of public sector workforce planning at both the national and subnational levels;

Welcomes the continuing work of the Committee on building strong institutions for sustainable development in countries affected by conflict, and looks forward to the Committee’s further engagement in promoting effective governance for sustainable development in such situations and its contribution to the work of the Peacebuilding Commission;

Follow-up

Requests the Committee, at its twenty-first session, to be held from 4 to 8 April 2022, to examine and make recommendations on the theme of the 2022 session of the Council and the 2022 high-level political forum and to contribute to the review of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 16, giving particular attention to the cross-cutting nature of all the Goals;

Invites the Committee to continue to advise on approaches and practices related to the institutions, policies and arrangements being established to promote the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, bearing in mind that the specific contexts and situations of countries differ widely, as well as to advise on making institutions effective, accountable and inclusive;

Requests the Secretary-General to take the present resolution fully into account in the work of the Organization, inter alia, in addressing gaps in research and analysis and in responding to the capacity development needs of Member States for building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels in pursuit of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to promote and support innovation and excellence in public services for sustainable development through the United Nations Public Service Awards;

Further requests the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of and follow-up to the present resolution through the established working methods of the Committee.