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The World Summit 2005 resolved to “strengthen and update the programme of work of the United Nations so that it responds to the contemporary requirements of Member States”. To that end, the Summit called on the General Assembly to “review all mandates older than five years, originating from the resolutions of the General Assembly and other relevant organs.” Following a round of informal consultations in December 2005 and January 2006, the Secretary- General was requested to prepare a report to facilitate the mandate review. On 30 March 2006, the Secretary-General introduced his report entitled ‘Mandating and delivering: analysis and recommendations to facilitate the review of mandates' which will serve as the basis for the General Assembly's upcoming mandate review. On the basis of this report, the co-chairs on Management and Secretariat reform, Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan and Allan Rock of Canada , have resumed informal consultations. At the 2nd informal consultations of the plenary held on 12 April 2006, a proposed programme of work was circulated setting out the dates at which different sections of the report of the Secretary-General would be considered. So far, informal consultations have addressed the following sections: maintenance of international peace and security; disarmament; promotion of justice and international law, drug control, crime prevention; and combating international terrorism. On 8 May, the General Assembly is expected to address the ‘promotion of sustained growth and sustainable development' and ‘development of Africa ,' and on 15 May it is expected to address the final chapters: promotion of human rights; effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts; gender equality and empowerment of women; and UN research and training institutions.

The Secretary-General's report has been described as an analytical framework for the mandate review and is accompanied by an electronic database of mandates originating from resolutions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and the Security Council. The Secretary-General's Report identified several cross-cutting themes, one of which addresses mandates related to the ‘promotion of sustained growth and sustainable development.' In his report, the Secretary-General has suggested that mandates in the field of sustainable development and human settlements require attention due to possible overlaps and redundancy. He also suggested that there is significant room for an improved division of responsibility in the analytical work (on trade) between the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN Conference on Trade and Development, the regional commissions, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and other funds and programmes. The report says there is “a need to ensure synergies of work, both between UN entities and with the Bretton Woods Institutions…….greater efforts need to be made for a unified view on the world economic outlook and macroeconomic policy implications. Rationalisation of functions in the area of finance is therefore needed; the arrangements and work in this area need to be redefined, in particular between the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and UNCTAD, to ensure the most effective follow-up to the outcomes of the Monterrey Conference.” Regarding ECOSOC's role, the Secretary-General identified that “ECOSOC currently does not have an effective overview of the specific mandates which are being created in the Executive Boards of the funds and programmes. Moreover, the Council has no effective overview of the work of the Secretariat and other United Nations entities, which is reviewed only partially and by sector in the commissions of the Council. In the absence of such overviews, the respective roles and work programmes of the various entities often result in some degree of overlap and blurring.” The Secretary-General has indicated that “while the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence will look into how to enhance the effectiveness of the work of the United Nations in development, particularly on the ground, the review of mandates can provide tools for Member States to consider ways to further rationalise the consideration of issues within the principal organs, and improve the division of labour among them, so as to maximise policy relevance and impact.”

Source: UN, 2006
General Assembly Follow-up Activities;
http://www.un.org/ga/president/60/summitfollowup/manref.html
Mandate Review; http://www.un.org/mandatereview"
Secretary-General’s Report; http://www.un.org/mandatereview/report_toc.html
Mandate Registry; http://webapps01.un.org/mandatereview/searchStart.doc