Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on Its 22nd Session

E/RES/2023/28View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 18fPublic administration and development, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

3 versions · 2022–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is E/RES/2024/16

2024E/RES/2024/16Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 23rd sessionLatestCompare with previous version
2023E/RES/2023/28Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 22nd sessionCompare with previous version
2022E/RES/2022/9Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its 21st session

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Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

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What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Development Policy Governance Public Administration Resilience Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its twenty-second session, and expresses its appreciation for the work done by the Committee on urgently transforming institutions for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient world while accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels in alignment with the 2023 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;

Urgently transforming institutions for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient world at a time of multiple crises

Recognizes the relevance of whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to sustainable development and leaving no one behind, and encourages Governments to work together in the interest of all countries to strengthen public institutions, in order to stimulate and guide the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to be better prepared to manage potential economic, social and environmental shocks in the future;

Calls for increased efforts to support national and international peer exchanges and peer learning on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, including through cooperation with existing international networks;

Urges Governments to address the complex problems underlying crises in a holistic manner, ensuring that crisis management does not hinder the continuous implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;

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, and encourages Governments to integrate reflections of a long-term vision of society into their planning, monitoring and reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals and into their voluntary national reviews of progress towards 2030;

Also recognizes that accelerating the delivery of the 2030 Agenda at all levels calls for more integrated solutions to achieve the vision and Goals of the 2030 Agenda as well as a capable State at all levels, and encourages countries to design and implement integrated national institution-building strategies that address important capability gaps across the whole of government;

Expresses concern at the limited capacity to foresee and build resilience against the diverse challenges originating from multiple shocks in many countries, and calls for a rapid upgrade of the risk management function in government and its integration into Sustainable Development Goal-related coordination mechanisms at the highest level;

Encourages Governments to build the capacity of the public sector in natural capital accounting based on the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, and strengthen the accountability of public institutions with regard to environmental policies by including an assessment of the state of natural resources under their jurisdiction as part of regular performance assessments;

Recalls the need to strengthen the global response to climate change by increasing the ability of developing countries to adapt to its adverse effects, foster resilience, accelerate the full implementation of all the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda and integrate climate change measures, as appropriate, into national policies, strategies and planning, as well as the importance of mobilizing means of implementation from all sources, including adequate financial support, taking into account the specific needs and special circumstances of developing countries, and calls upon developed countries and the relevant international organizations and funding mechanisms to prioritize training and assistance for developing countries to improve their skills in analysing data and designing climate projects that can attract investments;

Reaffirms the need for pragmatic ongoing improvements in national and subnational 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 and subnational realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities;

Encourages the Committee to continue to identify and review related technical guidelines and experiences to operationalize the principles at the national and subnational levels, 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;

Welcomes the ongoing initiative of the African Peer Review Mechanism of the African Union to promote the application of the principles among its member States in collaboration with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, and encourages other regional mechanisms, such as those associated with the United Nations regional commissions, to develop and implement similar initiatives in alignment with their own mandates and processes;

Notes the renewed efforts of the Committee to associate a set of agreed global Sustainable Development Goal indicators with each of the principles with a view to contributing to strengthening the analytical basis for assessing the impact of reform policies on building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels;

Encourages Governments at all levels to enhance efforts to promote the meaningful participation of stakeholders in matters that directly affect them, including the poorest and most vulnerable, and to implement models of participation based on whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches that leave no one behind;

Also encourages Governments, especially in view of stronger budget pressures, to accelerate action to increase transparency and equal participation in and oversight of the budgeting process, establish transparent public procurement frameworks as a strategic tool to reinforce sustainable development and curb corrupt practices, to strengthen budget credibility 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;

Recognizes that building resilient institutions calls for more creative, flexible and integrated ways of working that are focused on the needs of people, as well as an adequate stock of competencies, capabilities and resources, and encourages Governments to further promote professionalization of the public sector workforce, invest in digital skills, update competency frameworks for implementation of the 2030 Agenda, address inequalities that exist within the public sector workforce, and take steps to address social inequities in the design and delivery of public services;

Reiterates that the COVID-19 pandemic has both accelerated the digital transition and revealed technological weaknesses of public administrations while exacerbating inequalities caused by digital divides, and encourages Governments to manage digitalization of public services in an inclusive, fair, ethical and people-centred manner, while accelerating efforts to bridge digital divides, inter alia through hybrid models of public service delivery;

Notes the increasing demands for assistance with operationalization of the principles of effective governance for sustainable development and the Committee’s emphasis on the need to strengthen the secretariat of the Committee to enable it to respond effectively;

Follow-up

Requests the Committee, at its twenty-third session, to be held from 15 to 19 April 2024, to examine and make recommendations on the theme of the 2024 session of the Council and the 2024 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 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.

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