Will the next big tsunami occur in the Arabian Sea? Will ethnic strife erupt in the Horn of Africa? In this complicated world, it can seem hopelessly unrealistic to predict, prevent or ameliorate crises and disasters. We hope that INFORM will begin to change this.
Having survived the UNDAF process, I provide these reflections in hope that my personal experience and personal convictions will help you and your United Nations Country Team (UNCT). These comments reflect personal experience – and where experience failed to meet expectations, personal convictions. Most will be self-evident, yet not applicable everywhere; and all may be totally misconceived.
The process of reviewing a country’s human rights records can become an opportunity to bond human rights with development. In Argentina, the Universal Periodic Review process has promoted human rights as the daily work of everyone in the UN system. This spirit exemplifies the ‘Human Rights up Front’ initiative.
Ideas for driving progress at the dawn of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have emerged from Zambia’s experience in shaping the post-2015 development agenda.
When crisis strikes, data – normally provided by national counterparts – suddenly can be in short supply, or outright unavailable. Each organization scrambles to find, or produce, the basic data they need to function in the crisis, with little time to consider common data needs, common collection systems or data sharing. The result is often translated into disconnected or overlapping responses, or simply the lack of appropriate responses.
DCO works to make sure that we have:
The right Resident Coordinator (RC) in the right place at the right time. RCs are recognized SDG leaders whose profile fit the country they serve in.
RCs who look like the world. RCs are diverse in terms of gender, geographic origin and language, and bring to bear experience and expertise from a variety of backgrounds: various UN entities, government, civil society, the private sector. High-performing RCs. RCs live up to expectations.