Monday, April 25, 2016

Global Push To Achieve SDGs Vision and Words with Action Agenda 22

ISPE       EAG
INTERATIONAL SOCIETY FOR POVERTY ELIMINATION                   ECONOMIC ALLIANCE GROUP

Focused Points for ECOSOC e Discussion 2016 – Part 5

Introduction

We have in Parts 1 – 3 of this Focused Points for ECOSOC e-Discussion 2016 Series addressed serious issues of How To(s) and Know How(s) of serious business demanding the serious attention of National and World Leaders - Policy Makers and Decision Makers on 306/193 UN Member States, UN System including WBG and IMF and MGoS Member CSOs/NGOs and Non MGoS Member CSOs/NGOs in Developed and Developing Countries sides, if there is to be increasing convergence between National Goals Aligned and Harmonized with Global Goals Vision Intention and Reality.

The UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination held its Second Regular Session of 2015 on 18 and 19 November 2015 in New York. We have in Part 4 presented Evidence that its’ Outcome Document, a Summary of Conclusions highlight and underline all of the serious issues raised in above Papers and related NEHAP/ISPE/EAG Papers and Submissions. The highlights focused on:
A.     Chair High Level Committee on Management
B.     Chair High Level Committee on Programs and
C.     2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We were deliberate in not highlighting United Nations Development Group to enable us reflect and digest the Food for Thought contained in this Section of the Summary. Please find below outcome of this exercise.

Extracts of the Summary of Conclusions

The Italics in blue is ours.

D. United Nations Development Group

The Chair of the United Nations Development Group briefed the Board on the ongoing activities of the Group and presented the Group’s report titled Results Delivered: Sharing Successes in 2014 as well as the reports on the Group’s meetings held on 26 June and 26 October 2015. The Chair noted that in 2015, the Group had CEB/2015/2 16-00674 5/23 focused on delivering on existing commitments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, driving system-wide reform through implementation of the quadrennial comprehensive policy review and ensuring that United Nations country teams were well positioned to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Could this Report not have been more frank and truthful in presenting ACTUAL Score Card of Final Push to achieve MDG by 2015 and Post 2015 Development Agenda? Is this ACTUAL Score Card as beautiful as this Report suggests?

In the wake of the recent reform of criteria for membership in the Group, the following United Nations entities had been granted observer status: United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations Volunteers, International Trade Centre and the six United Nations research and training institutes (United Nations University, United Nations System Staff College, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. Is this not an appropriate time to clearly differentiate between Entities in UN Organization Only and Entities in entire UN System including WBG and IMF?

The Chair noted that the Group was also hoping to receive positive responses to the invitations for full membership extended to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, IMO, the Universal Postal Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization. By formalizing its long - standing engagement with those entities, the Group intended to lay the foundation for even closer and deeper collaboration in support of a United Nations development system that stood united to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. If need for above differentiation is accepted, should all 5 Institutions in WBG not be admitted into entire UN System? Should IMFG (IMF Group reorganized into 5 Institutions) not also have all its Institutions admitted into entire UN System?

Sharing her reflections on the joint side event that the Group had hosted at the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda held on 25 September, titled “From global conversation to global action — making the Sustainable Development Goals work”, the Chair noted that the Secretary-General and she herself had been joined on the panel by the Chancellor of Germany, the Prime Minister of Norway, the foreign ministers of two countries and the chief executive officer of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation to celebrate the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and to showcase efforts already under way in support of its implementation. The Chair noted that Member States had responded positively to the proactive approach the United Nations development system had been taking to support countries in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. In response to Member States’ request for coherent and integrated support from the United Nations development system, the Group had agreed on elements of a future common approach: the mainstreaming, acceleration and policy support strategy. United Nations country teams had already received guidance on the mainstreaming component. If all went as well as this Report suggest, why is it the case that there is still so much confusion - since 1 January 2016 when Implementation of SDG started to date and most probably well into the future, should National Leaders and World Leaders continue to face the same direction and adopt the same priorities?

The Chair noted that the standard operating procedures that the Group had developed over two years and that had been rolled out in 2014 were critical to the United Nations system being able to deliver integrated support at the country level. The Chair recalled that it had been only eight years since delivering as one was introduced on a pilot basis in eight countries and stressed that the United Nations system should aim to deliver better in all countries. The standard operating procedures represented the second generation of delivering as one. Is it not the case that the overarching Lessons Learnt in almost 10 years of Implementing DaO is that “No Lessons have been Learnt”? Would much more not be achieved, moving forward, if there is renewed focus on “Building Bridge between Lessons Learning and Lessons Forgetting”?

The Chair expressed support for the United Nations country teams in effectively delivering, monitoring, evaluating and reporting on results together. She noted that while there had been considerable progress at the country level, where over 80 per cent of United Nations country teams had either fully embraced the standard operating procedures or taken forward some of the core elements of the approach, more effort was required at the headquarters level to implement the procedures by aligning internal agency policies and processes accordingly. United Nations country teams were due to prepare almost 80 new United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks in 2015 and 2016. The newest generation of Frameworks demonstrated a clear focus on the Sustainable Development Goals and a much stronger emphasis on innovation and citizen engagement and on addressing vulnerabilities, inequalities and human rights. If all this is true, why is it the case that there is “Disconnect” between Communities in each of the 306/193 UN Member States and UN Headquarters, NY?

The Chair noted that the Group’s 2014 results report had captured the collective results achieved by the resident coordinator system at the country, regional and global levels in the first year of implementation of the Group’s cost sharing agreement. The report was the first of its kind to be informed by data and analysis from the Group’s new global information management system, which had replaced the previous resident coordinator annual reporting format.
  
General Comments

In addition to the above specific comments, we wish to make the following General Comments:-
1.     Whereas the Chair High Level Committee on Management and Chair High Level Committee on Programs each presented Reports highlighting areas of Successes and Weaknesses as well as ways in which they were grappling with related Challenges; the United Nations Development Group presented Reports highlighting Successes at the exclusion of Weaknesses as well as ways in which they were grappling with related Challenges. To achieve increasing convergence between National Goals aligned and harmonized with Global Goals Intention and Reality in each of the 306/193 UN Member States, this type of Report should be frank and truthful in presenting Successes, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats as well as ways in which they were grappling with related Challenges from Village to Global levels.
2.     To achieve (1) there is a need to Reinvigorate and Reinforce the CEB through:-
a)     Re-establishing High Level Committee on Management to United Nations System including WBG and IMF with responsibility for Administration and HRD Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by UN System including WBG and IMF.
b)     Re-establishing United Nations Development Group to United Nations System including WBG and IMF with responsibility for Planning and Implementation Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by UN System including WBG and IMF.
c)      Re-establishing High Level Committee on Programs to United Nations System including WBG and IMF with responsibility for Collaboration, Cooperation, Cohesion and Coordination Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by UN System including WBG and IMF.
d)     Re-establishing United Nations Evaluation Group to United Nations System including WBG and IMF with responsibility for Monitoring and Evaluation Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by UN System including WBG and IMF.
e)     Establishing United Nations Data and Digitization Group to United Nations System including WBG and IMF with responsibility for Data and Digitization Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by UN System including WBG and IMF
f)       Establishing United Nations Development Communications and Development Research Group to United Nations System including WBG and IMF with responsibility for Development Communications and Development Research Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by UN System including WBG and IMF.
g)     Establishing United Nations Advocacy and Lobbying Group to United Nations System including WBG and IMF with responsibility for Advocacy and Lobbying Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by the UN System including WBG and IMF
h)     Establishing United Nations System including WBG and IMF Success Group with responsibility for Performance Management and Measures of Success Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by UN System including WBG and IMF
i)        Establishing United Nations Reform Group to United Nations System including WBG and IMF with responsibility for Reform Component of All Global Goals being Designed and Delivered by the UN System including WBG and IMF
3.     United Nations Reform Group to United Nations System including WBG and IMF will be saddled with responsibility for Global Internal Coordinating Consultant to UN System including WBG and IMF, 306/193 UN Member States, MGoS Member CSOs’/NGOs’ and Non MGoS Member CSOs’/NGOs’ on both Developed and Developing Countries sides involved in the Design and Delivery of Policy, Program, Project Intervention, 3PI or 3PI Training as One in each of the Action Agenda Items in National Goals aligned and harmonized with Global Goals.
4.     An Institution with demonstrated Hard Competencies: Learning and Skills and Soft Competences: Character, Courage and Mindset should be appointed without delay and saddled with responsibility for Global External Coordinating Consultant to UN System including WBG and IMF, 306/193 UN Member States, MGoS Member CSOs’/NGOs’ and Non MGoS Member CSOs’/NGOs’ on both Developed and Developing Countries sides involved in the Design and Delivery of Policy, Program, Project Intervention, 3PI or 3PI Training as One in each of the Action Agenda Items in National Goals aligned and harmonized with Global Goals.
5.     The Vision of the WBG is “Our Dream is A World without Poverty”. It is a paradox that while many of the actions of WBG Entities actually increase Poverty many of the World Development Reports produced by WBG have Sustainable Solutions to World Poverty. For example, WDR 2004 on Public Sector Management, PSM; New PSM 2011 and 10 years anniversary of WDR 2004 in 2014 set out some of the best ideas for Public Sector Management; WDR 2008 on Agriculture set out some of the best ideas for Agriculture; WDR 2014 on Risk Management set out some of the best ideas on Risk Management from the Economic Development point of view; WDR 2015 on Attitudinal Change set out some of the best ideas on Attitudinal Change and WDR 2016 on Digitization set out some of the best ideas on Digitization. The Big Question is “What is WBG DOING with the HUGE Knowledge it generates”? Should WBG actually take Credit Risk as a Development Finance Institution rather than pretend to be a Donor Agency that it is not to dish out doubtful Credit because repayment is on first line Treasury Charge and so No Credit Risk, could the Performance of the WBG not be significantly improved?
6.     The IMF as One of the Institutions in the UN System with responsibility for mobilizing Global Collective Action for Economic Stability. The IMF is in fact worse than WBG in spreading Poverty. As long as IMF remains a Secret Organization where the primary duty of Country Offices is to Host Country Missions in 5 Star Hotels, IMF Officials will continue with callous policies and programs that increase Poverty. However, if like WBG they have VISIBLE Country Offices and these IMF Officials ACTUALLY Live in these Countries, even the most heartless will think twice before recommending callous policies and programs they currently do with relish. A situation where there is a UNEG in CEB that can hold IMF responsible for its policies and programs and where IMF Officials know that there will be Short Term: 1 – 3 years; Medium Term: 5 – 15 years and Long Term: 20 30 years Evaluation of the Decisions they make today with Reward and Sanctions – even Post Humus, is most likely to produce an IMF fit for the 21st Century. It is clear the IMF we have today is not Fit for the 21st Century, same goes for the WBG and UNO we have today. Yet all that is required to make UNO, WBG and IMF Fit for 21st Century is available, if National Leaders and World Leaders would change their Attitude and Behaviour, face new direction and adopt new priorities. Will they???
7.     To effectively address all specific and general comments we have set out, there is a need for National Leaders and World Leaders to recognize that these are essentially very Technical issues of finding correct answers to How To(s) and Know How(s). Few Professionals can serve as Internal Consultants and External Consultants to support Village to Global Stakeholders in the Great Task of finding these correct answers, fully implementing the answers with effective monitoring and evaluation of this implementation.
8.     It is not difficult to find the Professionals that will Perform in UNCG. It is especially difficult finding the Professionals that will Perform in the Global Coordinating External Consultant Position. This is the Make or Break Appointment. This is what will determine how easy it will be to convert current Vision and Words without Action – Cart before Horse into New Vision and Words with Action – Horse before Cart.
9.      Is it not in Global Interest to ensure that a Global Coordinating External Consultant is appointed in time to participate at the CEB First Regular Session in 2016, on 27 and 28 April 2016 in Vienna?

Conclusion

The necessary arrangements for achieving increasing convergence between National Goals aligned and harmonized with Global Goals Vision Intention and Reality by 2030 Target date on 306/193 UN Member States, UN System including WBG and IMF and MGoS Member CSOs/NGOs and Non MGoS Member CSOs/NGOs in Developed and Developing Countries sides cannot just be left to happen on its own or by some divine intervention but must be discussed, negotiated and established on time.


We strongly urge concerned authorities in the UN System, 306/193 Member States, UN System including WBG and IMF and MGoS sides to individually and jointly recognize that without changing Attitude, Behaviour and Culture and without adopting Business Unusual doing new things in new ways, the expected new Results will remain Mirage. Should this occur, National Leaders and World Leaders would have made Ordered Change Impossible and Disordered Change Inevitable, with ultimate catastrophic consequences for all Stakeholders in our Fragile Planet. Remember Paris Attacks coincided with this CEB Meeting and Brussels attacks are now coinciding with this Paper.

We urge World Leaders, UN Family Organization Executives and MGoS Executives to consider stopping ongoing search for Sustainable Solutions that exist.

Contact:
Director General
International Society for Poverty Elimination / Economic Alliance Group
5, Moses Orimolade Avenue,
Ijapo Estate, Akure,  Ondo State,
Nigeria.
M: +234-8162469805

Email: nehap.initiative@yahoo.co.uk                                                             24 March 2016.

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