UNESCO and UN Reform

The United Nations is reforming itself to provide a better response to the needs of its Member States, in support of national development goals and internationally agreed development goals, through efforts to foster coherence, efficiency and enhanced high-quality delivery. UNESCO is engaged and committed to this reform in order to guarantee Member States access to the full range of competences existing in the UN system.

UN Reform is both a challenge and an opportunity for UNESCO, and is having a major impact on the Organization’s action at the global, regional and country levels.

At the global level UNESCO is an active participant in the global coordination mechanisms of the system, notably in the Chief Executives Board for coordination (CEB) and its three pillars:

• High Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP)
• High Level Committee on Management (HLCM)
• United Nations Development Group

At the regional level UNESCO is taking part in the Regional UNDG Teams and the Regional Coordination Mechanisms, which are the first-stop shop for United Nations Country Teams and provide technical support and guidance to UN agencies’ joint country-level efforts.

At the country-level, UNESCO is putting a strong emphasis on its participation in the work of the respective United Nations Country Teams, in particular when it comes to common country programming exercises.

DOCUMENTS

Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) PDF Document

Millennium Declaration HTML Document

2005 Word Summit Outcome (PDF) Document

Report of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence (PDF) Document

Investing in the UN: For a Stronger Organization Worldwide HTML Document

Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review of Operational Activities of the United Nations Development System (PDF) Document

UNESCO and Specialized agencies position paper on UN Reform (18 April 2007) (PDF) Document

UNESCO's position paper on UN Reform (15 May 2006) HTML Document

UNESCO's Basic Position (13 July 2006) HTML Document

Impact on programming at the country level "60 minutes" more information

UNESCO and UN Reform Global Retreat
(PDF) Document