Economic Commission for Africa : regional programming, operations, restructuring and decentralization issues.

  The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, and 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, Recalling also its resolution 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975, by which, inter alia, the Ad Hoc Committee on the Restructuring of the Economic and Social Sectors of the United Nations System was established for the purpose of preparing detailed action proposals with a view to initiating the process of restructuring the United Nations system so as to make it more fully capable of dealing with problems of international economic co-operation and development in a comprehensive and effective manner, and to make it more responsive to the objectives of the provisions of the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, as well as those of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, Recalling further its resolutions 32/197 of 20 December 1977, 33/202 of 29 January 1979 and 34/206 of 19 December 1979 on the restructuring of the economic and social sectors of the United Nations system, which process was affirmed as an integral part of the efforts for ensuring the equitable, full and effective participation of the developing countries in the formulation and application of all decisions within the United Nations system in the field of development and international economic co-operation and by which process specific, additional tasks were assigned to the regional commissions, including the task of being the main general economic and social development centres for their respective regions, providing team leadership and responsibility for co-ordination and co-operation at the regional level and acting as executing agencies, Mindful of the terms of reference of the Economic Commission for Africa, in which it is stated, inter alia, that the Commission shall participate in measures for facilitating concerted action for the economic development of Africa, including its social aspects, with a view to raising the level of economic activity and levels of living in Africa, and shall assist in the formulation and development of co-ordinated policies as a basis for practical action in promoting economic and technological development in the region, Mindful in particular of the importance attached by the Commission to economic co-operation among member States, particularly at the subregional level, and to the various resolutions adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity in this regard, culminating in the Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development of Africa and the Final Act of Lagos, Having considered the report of the Joint Inspection Unit entitled "Economic Commission for Africa: regional programming, operations, restructuring and decentralization issues", the comments of the Secretary-General thereon, and the views of the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session of 1982,

1. Endorses Economic and Social Council resolution 1982/63 of 30

July 1982 on regional programming, operations, restructuring and decentralization issues with respect to the Economic Commission for Africa;

2. Welcomes the recommendations made by the Joint Inspection Unit in its report and approves the comments of the Secretary-General thereon;

3. Calls upon the Secretary-General:

(a) To investigate new approaches to regional and subregional programming and management of the intercountry projects of the United Nations system, working closely with the organizations of the system;

(b) To initiate immediately, in consultation with all concerned United Nations organizations, an examination of the progress made thus far in the decentralization of United Nations activities and to report thereon to the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination and the Economic and Social Council, with a view to determining the specific authorities, responsibilities and resources that should be decentralized and the timing of such decentralization;

(c) To take practical measures aimed at strengthening liaison functions between the United Nations Headquarters and the regional commissions, bearing in mind the role of the Regional Commissions Liaison Office;

(d) To ensure that the necessary measures proposed by the Secretary-General are undertaken to implement recommendations 6 to 8 of the Joint Inspection Unit, in particular the speedy development of management services, in order to ensure that the Commission functions at optimum efficiency and effectiveness bearing in mind the ongoing consultations;

4. Calls upon the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa to institute, under the aegis of the Commission, regional, subject-oriented and high-level interagency meetings to discuss common issues aimed at the development of firm guidelines for co-ordinated action towards attainment of the objectives of the Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development of Africa;

5. Urges the executive secretaries of the regional commissions to increase the effectiveness of the programme of their exchanges of staff in order to foster the broader scheme of interregional co-operation;

6. Requests organizations of the United Nations system to assist African Governments, within the framework of the country-programming process, in incorporating the goals and objectives of the Lagos Plan of Action into their sectoral country programmes and projects and adapting them to subregional and regional priorities;

7. Invites the Secretary-General to submit a report on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session.