Relations with and co-ordination of specialized agencies and work programmes of the United Nations and specialized agencies

UN General Assembly, Relations with and co-ordination of specialized agencies and work programmes of the United Nations and specialized agencies, A/RES/125, UN General Assembly, 20 November 1947, https://www.refworld.org/legal/resolution/unga/1947/en/10350 [accessed 17 September 2024]
LinkedIn

II RESOLUTION ADOPTED ON THE REPORT OF THE JOINT MEETING OF THE JOINT SECOND AND THIRD COMMITTEE AND THE FIFTH COMMITTEE
125. Relations with and co-ordination of specialized agencies and work programmes of the United Nations and specialized agencies

Having examined the report of the Economic and Social Council, (document A/382)[1] and the interim report of the Secretary-General on the budgetary and financial relationships between the United Nations and the specialized agencies (document A/394/Rev.1); Having had its attention drawn to the interim report of the Co-ordination Committee to the Economic and Social Council (document A/404), which deals with budgetary and financial relationships of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and related programme matters; Considering that it is essential, in order to prevent overlapping of activities and duplication of effort, to develop more effective co-ordination in the economic and social fields among the organs and subsidiary organs of the United Nations, among the United Nations and the specialized agencies, and among the specialized agencies themselves, and to provide means for assessing the relative urgency and importance of projects; Considering that it is desirable without detriment to essential activities to minimize the financial burden imposed upon Members by the activities of the United Nations and the specialized agencies; and Considering that these results can most effectively be achieved by mutual application of the agreements between the United Nations and the specialized agencies, and the development of the methods of co-operation foreseen in resolutions 50 (I) and 81 (I),[2] The General Assembly therefore

1. Calls upon members to take measures to ensure on the national level a co-ordinated policy of their delegations to the United Nations and to the different specialized agencies in order that full co-operation may be achieved between the Organization and the specialized agencies, and, in particular, to instruct their representatives in the governing bodies of the specialized agencies to use every effort to ensure the transmittal of reports, programmes of operation, and budgets or budgetary estimates referred to in paragraph 3 of this resolution;

2. Commends the Economic and Social Council, the Secretary-General and the specialized agencies for the steps already taken, including the establishment of a Co-ordination Committee, to achieve programme and administrative co-ordination among the specialized agencies and the United Nations;

3. Requests the Council to give constant attention to the factor of the relative priority of proposals, and to consider as a matter of urgency the further steps which should be taken to develop effective co-ordination of the programmes of the United Nations and its subsidiary organs on the one hand and the specialized agencies on the other;

4. Calls upon the specialized agencies, as appropriate under the terms of their respective agreements with the United Nations:

(a) To present each year, to the session of the Economic and Social Council preceding the opening of the regular session of the General Assembly, their reports on past activities and their programmes of operations for the subsequent fiscal year to enable the Council to promote the most efficient and practical use of the resources of the United Nations and the specialized agencies by recommendations concerning the definition of responsibility for specific projects and concerning priorities for action;

(b) To transmit their budgets or budgetary estimates for 1949, and for each year thereafter, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations before 1 July of the preceding year, in order that the Secretary-General may incorporate these budgets or budgetary estimates as information annexes in his annual budget estimates for transmittal to the General Assembly, together with such summaries as he may deem appropriate and useful;

5. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the specialized agencies through the Co-ordination Committee and in consultation with the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, to prepare a report for submission to the Economic and Social Council and the third regular session of the General Assembly with recommendations concerning:

(a) Measures for achieving greater uniformity in presentation of the budgets of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies with a view to providing a basis for comparison of the several budgets;

(b) The fiscal year and schedule of meetings of the specialized agencies in their relation to the procedures envisaged in paragraph 3 above;

(c) The feasibility of improved budgetary co-ordination between the United Nations and the specialized agencies, and

6. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the specialized agencies through the Co-ordination Committee and, where appropriate, the Advisory Committee, to promote the development of similar budgetary, administrative and financial practices in the United Nations and the specialized agencies.

Hundred and twenty-first plenary meeting,
20 November 1947.
[1] See Official Records of the second session of the General Assembly, Supplement No. 3. [2] See Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly during the second part of its first session, page 148.
Disclaimer:

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.