Генеральная конферeнция 34-я сессия, Париж 2007 г. 大会第三十四届会议, 巴黎,2007

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1 General Conference 34th session, Paris 2007 Conférence générale 34 e session, Paris 2007 Conferencia General 34 a reunión, París 2007 Генеральная конферeнция 34-я сессия, Париж 2007 г. א א א א א א ٢٠٠٧ 大会第三十四届会议, 巴黎, C 34 C/9, Part I 14 October 2007 Original: English Item 2.2 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD ON ITS OWN ACTIVITIES IN , INCLUDING ITS METHODS OF WORK PART I OUTLINE This report is submitted in accordance with 156 EX/Decision 5.5, paragraph 6.C(a), and 30 C/Resolution 81, while taking into consideration appropriate recommendations of 33 C/Resolution 92. This report was examined by the Executive Board at its 177th session.

2 Part I CONTENTS I.1 HIGHLIGHTS I.2 ELECTED OFFICERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD I.3 SUMMARY OF THE BIENNIUM I.3.1 Follow-up to the execution of the programme, including an examination of the reports of the Director-General on the activities of the Organization I.3.2 Draft Medium-Term Strategy for (34 C/4) I.3.3 Draft Programme and Budget for (34 C/5) I.3.4 Methods of work of the Executive Board and relations between the three organs I.3.5 Information meetings of the Executive Board with the Director-General I.3.6 Thematic debates I.4 WORK OF THE COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES A. Programme and External Relations Commission (PX) and Finance and Administrative Commission (FA) B. Special Committee (SP) C. Committee on Conventions and Recommendations (CR) D. Committee on International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) I.5 CONCLUSION

3 Part I I.1 HIGHLIGHTS The biennium was seen by the Executive Board as an opportunity for constructive change, in executing its responsibilities, while proactively accomplishing the tasks demanded of it by the General Conference, notably within the spirit of 33 C/Resolution 92 while being mindful of its functions as outlined in UNESCO s Constitution (Article V.B.6(a) (b) (c)). The Board concentrated on increasing the relevance and visibility of UNESCO internationally and within the United Nations system. This was particularly significant at a time when the Board was called upon to play its part in the shaping of the Organization s programmes and strategies over the coming six years emphasizing its multidisciplinary and intersectoral strength. Members willingness to strive for consensus through harmony in an open, transparent and trusting environment allowed the Board to seek common ground on items that could have been considered unachievable at the outset and to demonstrate to others that it was capable of dealing effectively with any challenge presented to it. Examples include: respect for freedom of expression and respect for sacred beliefs and values and religious and cultural symbols (174 EX/Decision 46); contribution to the reconstruction and development of Lebanon (175 EX/Decision 54); and, Israeli archaeological excavations at the Mughrabi ascent in the Old City of Jerusalem (176 EX/Special Plenary Meeting/Decision). Throughout the biennium, the Board was able to make considered recommendations to the General Conference on a wide scope of initiatives that embrace the Organization s fields of competence along with Member States priorities. These recommendations include, inter alia: the reinforcement of UNESCO s priority relations with Africa through the numerous recommendations reinforcing UNESCO s cooperation with the African Union through NEPAD; the Board s recognition of the powerful platform that the E-9 countries represent, and the substantial benefits that their cooperation and exchange can yield for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, in general, and for the pursuit and achievement of the six EFA goals in particular; the promotion of triangular (North-South-South) cooperation, both in the field of education, to benefit all developing countries (175 EX/Decision 21, para. 51) and with regard to the promotion of science and technology innovation in developing countries (176 EX/Decision 16, para. 3) and culture (176 EX/Decision 60); the Board s recommendations on the establishment of category 2 centres under the auspices of UNESCO demonstrating its belief that UNESCO is the sum of its parts and does not act alone when implementing the programme. The Board held two interesting thematic debates during the 175th and 177th sessions. These policy discussions helped inform Members of current strategic issues and on United Nations reforms, and the longer term implications for UNESCO s fields of competence. Decisions adopted by the Board appear in documents 174 EX/Decisions, 175 EX/Decisions, 176 EX/Decisions and 177 EX/Decisions. Throughout this biennium, a total of 226 decisions were taken. These decisions covered different aspects of programme implementation and highlighted a number of successes, as well as areas where readjustments were required. I.2 ELECTED OFFICERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD At its 173rd session, opened on 24 October 2005 by the President of the 33rd session of the General Conference, Mr Musa bin Jaafar bin Hassan (Oman, temporary Chairperson), the

4 Part I page 2 Executive Board elected Mr Zhang Xinsheng (China) as Chairperson, from 24 October 2005, for the biennium. The Board then proceeded to the election of its Vice-Chairpersons and the Chairpersons of the commissions and committees. 1 I.3 SUMMARY OF THE BIENNIUM I.3.1 Follow-up to the execution of the programme, including an examination of the reports of the Director-General on the activities of the Organization During the biennium, the Director-General prepared a joint report combining the results achieved in the previous biennium together with an assessment by senior managers (34 C/3) with the 174 EX/4 report on the implementation of the Programme and Budget for the biennium (32 C/5) approved by the General Conference. This report was presented to the Board at its 174th session. The document was results-based and reported against the expected results and performance indicators in document 32 C/5. This procedure will be followed for document 33 C/5. Part II of the present report is the Board s response to 176 EX/Decision 53, addressing 33 C/Resolution 78 and 33 C/Resolution 92. It identifies how to improve reporting on the implementation of the programme in the future. It focuses on the format and type of information needed for the Board to fully carry out its assessment and reporting functions to the General Conference. I.3.2 Draft Medium-Term Strategy for (34 C/4) and the Executive Board s recommendations thereon (34 C/11) The Medium-Term Strategy for (34 C/4), including the Board s recommendations to the General Conference (34 C/11), should enable UNESCO to respond to ongoing and future challenges. The C/4 document has been conceived as a rolling strategy and subject to revision every two years by the General Conference, so as to cope with the exigencies of the ongoing United Nations reform. The Board recommends that the Organization s mission statement be: As a specialized agency of the United Nations, UNESCO contributes to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. Equally, it recommends, based on the Director-General s proposals, that UNESCO should deliver its programme by concentrating on five overarching objectives, translated into 14 strategic programme objectives, which call for both sectoral and intersectoral responses and approaches at the country, regional and global levels. Members fully endorsed the proposal to focus on two priorities: Africa and gender equality with targeted intervention envisaged for small island developing States (SIDS), LDCs, youth and disadvantaged segments of populations, including indigenous people. Finally, the Board requests that the Director-General continue to apply a comprehensive and coherent results-based programming, management, monitoring, reporting and evaluation (RBM) approach that shall be used consistently in documents 34 C/4 and 34 C/5. Due thanks are given for the remarkable work of the 18-member Drafting Group, co-chaired by Ambassador Bhaswati Mukherjee (India) and Ambassador Michael Omolewa (Nigeria), especially 1 Elected as Vice-Chairpersons of the Executive Board: United States of America (Group I), Czech Republic (Group II), Uruguay (Group III), Thailand (Group IV), Cameroon (Group V(a)) and Morocco (Group V(b)). Elected as Chairpersons of the Commissions and Committees: Mr Einar Steensnæs (Norway), Chairperson of the Programme and External Relations Commission; Mr Olabiyi Yaï (Benin), Chairperson of the Finance and Administrative Commission; Ms Samira Hanna-El-Daher (Lebanon), Chairperson of the Special Committee; Mr Davidson Hepburn (Bahamas), Chairperson of the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations, succeeded by Mr Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares (Brazil), from the 174th session; and Mr András Lakatos (Hungary), Chairperson of the Committee on International Non-Governmental Organizations.

5 Part I page 3 its achievement to reach consensus on the recommendations subsequently adopted by the Executive Board (34 C/11) in a harmonious atmosphere. Their analysis of the draft documents and subsequent recommendations were appreciated. The members of the Drafting Group, ably supported by the Secretariat, synthesized systematically the wide range of comments and observations made by Members during the 176th session in plenary and committees on the initial proposal made by the Director-General in draft document 34 C/4. The task was challenging, but the Drafting Group was able to present a proposal that was endorsed by consensus by the Board and transmitted to the General Conference. I.3.3 Draft Programme and Budget for (34 C/5) and the Executive Board s recommendations thereon (34 C/6 and Addendum) The Executive Board examined, at its 176th session, the Director-General s proposals for the Draft Programme and Budget for (draft 34 C/5). It adopted a decision on budgetary and financial aspects of document 34 C/5 contained in document 34 C/6. In the light of the consensus recommendations pertaining to the Draft Medium-Term Strategy for (34 C/11), the Board invited its Drafting Group to hold intersessional meetings with a view to seeking consensus on amendments to the programmatic parts of draft document 34 C/5. This was achieved and the Board then approved, at its 177th session, the Group s recommendations that are contained in document 34 C/6 Addendum. At the 177th session, the Board decided to recommend a US $631 million baseline. I.3.4 Methods of work of the Executive Board and relations between the three organs At its 33rd session, the General Conference made recommendations (33 C/Resolution 92) addressed respectively to the President of the General Conference, the Executive Board and the Director-General seeking effectively to resolve issues of a perennial nature relative to the relations between the three organs. The General Conference invited each to implement these recommendations and to report to it at its 34th session. The Board examined these recommendations, paying particular attention to those directly addressed to it, during each session of the biennium and was able to consolidate its findings and present its report to the General Conference (177 EX/31 and 34 C/19 Part II). I.3.5 Information meetings of the Executive Board with the Director-General Three information meetings were held in the biennium: January 2006, January 2007 and July The purpose of these meetings was to follow up from the previous session and prepare for the future session and to learn, to share and to be informed, in an interactive, open and informal way. To ensure Members information needs, the Board decided to hold these meetings twice per year during the intersessional period (175 EX/SR.1). The format of these meetings has matured and will continue to evolve. This communication mechanism between the Board and the Director- General allowed for a review of the past session and to prepare for the future session. I.3.6 Thematic debates The Board invited the Chairperson to continue to arrange a thematic debate once a year, ensuring that the debate is related to UNESCO s programme activities, and provides for an actual exchange of opinions among the Member States, with a view to contributing to the work of the Executive Board (175 EX/Decision 23). The first thematic debate was in the 175th session. It was entitled UNESCO as a specialized agency of the reforming United Nations system: challenges, roles and

6 Part I page 4 functions at global, regional and country levels. 2 The subject of the second debate was: Facing the multidisciplinary challenges of knowledge societies and global climate change: UNESCO s contributions to United Nations Reform at the regional and country levels. 3 I.4 WORK OF THE COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES A. Programme and External Relations Commission (PX) and Finance and Administrative Commission (FA) 4 Throughout the biennium, these Commissions examined items with both programmatic and financial and administrative implications. In line with its constitutional mandate to ensure the effective and rational execution of the programme adopted by the General Conference, the Board adopted a number of decisions aiming at guiding its implementation. From a programmatic perspective, the Board was able to make recommendations to the General Conference on several issues, including: Education o the Director-General s proposed Global Action Plan on Education for All, including greater coordination among the five EFA convening agencies; o the preparation of CONFITEA VI and the International Conference on Education (ICE); o the implementation of new strategic orientations for UNITWINS/UNESCO Chairs Programme; o South-South and triangular South-South-North cooperation; o the call for a greater focus on HIV/AIDS. The sciences o the Director-General s report on the overall review of Major Programmes II and III and wide-ranging requested consultations on the implementation of the review s recommendations. o Natural sciences implementation by UNESCO of the decisions taken by the African Union Summit on Science, Technology and Scientific Research for Development, held in Addis Ababa in January 2007 (176 EX/Decision 56); and also in the fields of water, including groundwater, fresh water, water education, water management and in basic sciences Debate held on 4 October Speakers included: Valerie Ann Amos (United Kingdom), Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Privy Council; Chen Ning Yang (China), Physicist, Nobel Laureate in Physics; Richard C. Levin (United States), President of Yale University; Alpha Omar Konaré (Mali), Chairperson of the African Union Commission; Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon (Mexico), Director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization; and Dominique Wolton (France), Director of Studies, Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Debate held on 2 October Speakers included: Jean-Louis Borloo (France), Minister of State, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Planning; Hamadoun Touré (Mali), Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union; Jose Mariano Gago (Portugal), Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, President, European Council of Education Ministers; and Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chairperson, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. All Members of the Executive Board are members of these Commissions.

7 Part I page 5 o Social and human sciences Culture the ethics of science and technology, especially the report by the Director-General on the advisability of elaborating an international declaration on science ethics to serve as a basis for an ethical code of conduct for scientists (175 EX/Decision 13); follow-up to implementation of intersectoral strategies relative to philosophy, human rights and the fight against discrimination; the examination of practical proposals, within UNESCO s fields of competence, to respond to the problem of African migration and development (175 EX/Decision 57). o the establishment of a task force on the dialogue among cultures to clarify the Organization s actions and find appropriate means to respond to the recommendations of the High-Level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations; o the issue of protection and promotion of indigenous and endangered languages; o the preparation of a draft declaration of principles relating to cultural objects displaced in connection with the Second World War. Communication and information o the implementation of the Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace; o reports on the implementation of the Information for All Programme (IFAP); o the implementation of the action lines in the follow-up to the Geneva Plan of Action to the World Summit on the Information Society, Tunis, Tunisia, November 2005; o the issue of attaining the MDGs through harnessing media and ICTs for building inclusive knowledge societies. Major administrative and financial issues followed by the Board included: Management of Headquarters buildings o the implementation of the Belmont Plan for the renovation of the Fontenoy building; o it approved the revised rental scale for offices in the Miollis building for Human resource management o the implementation of the Staffing Strategy and Human Resource Policy framework and invited the Director-General to take measures to streamline the recruitment process; o it encouraged the Director-General to take necessary measures to improve staff mobility; o it made recommendations on the use of consultants and temporary staff.

8 Part I page 6 Evaluation and oversight o the Board endorsed the recommendations presented in the reports of the two External Auditors and invited the Director-General to strengthen internal control mechanisms for procurements as well as for the management of extrabudgetary activities; o the Board followed the implementation of the IOS Strategy and invited the Director- General to elaborate both an internal control policy and an evaluation policy as well as Terms of Reference for the newly created Oversight Advisory Committee; o the Board examined the Evaluation Strategy and requested the Director-General to ensure that sufficient evaluations of strategic significance are undertaken to enable a broad assessment to be made of the Organization s planned impact and performance as set out in the C/5 and C/4 documents. Management of extrabudgetary resources o the Board requested the Director-General to develop an overall vision and strategy for mobilizing extrabudgetary contributions and aligning them with the regular programme and budget and followed the implementation of the Director-General s Action Plan to improve the management of extrabudgetary contributions, including the elaboration of a new cost recovery policy; o the Board invited the Director-General to include in the Action Plan for the management of extrabudgetary contributions clear criteria for the management of self-benefiting funds. Decentralization strategy o the Board welcomed the Director-General's decision to bring forward the review of the decentralization strategy and the measures taken to strengthen UNESCO field presence in connection with United Nations reform; o implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS); o the Board recommended the General Conference to approve the adoption of IPSAS as the accounting standard of UNESCO from 1 January 2010; o the Board recommended that the Secretariat examine the Financial Regulations of the Organization with a view to proposing all necessary amendments in order to reflect the adoption of IPSAS. B. Special Committee (SP) 5 The Executive Board, at its 173rd session, decided that the Special Committee would meet only as needed and for the time necessary to fulfil its duties. As a result, at its 174th session, the Board decided to entrust the Committee with the follow-up to 33 C/Resolution 92 concerning relations between the three organs of UNESCO. The Committee made proposals to enhance the Board s own efficiency and effectiveness (175 EX/Decision 23) concerning especially those items that might be adopted without discussion 5 During the biennium, the composition of the Committee was as follows: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Congo, Czech Republic, Ghana, Indonesia, Lebanon, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Slovenia, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Yemen.

9 Part I page 7 by the Board and the willingness to pursue, on a trial basis, greater harmonization between the PX and FA Commissions by holding joint meetings. The Committee was called upon to provide insights, for the Board s appreciation, on the Report by the Director-General on the implementation of the UNESCO Evaluation Strategy (175 EX/26); the methods of work of the Organization (175 EX/Decision 51 and 176 EX/Decision 30); and the present report by the Executive Board on its own activities in , including its methods of work, Part I (177 EX/Decision XX). C. Committee on Conventions and Recommendations (CR) 6 Exercising the first aspect of its dual mandate concerning the examination of the reports of Member States on the follow-up to conventions and recommendations that are entrusted to them, the Committee examined, during the 176th session, the consolidated report on the measures taken by Member States for the Implementation of the Recommendation Concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace (176 EX/22) and the report by the Director-General on the ninth session of the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART) (176 EX/32) after having examined, at it 175th session, the interim report by the Director-General on the allegations received by CEART from teachers organizations regarding non-observance of the recommendations (175 EX/29). During the 175th session, the Committee also examined the report on the fourth Meeting of the Joint Expert Group UNESCO (CR)/ECOSOC (CESCR) on the Monitoring of the Right to Education (2006) (175 EX/28) for which it endorsed all recommendations made by the Joint Expert Group. With regard to the second aspect of its mandate, the Committee examined in private meeting the communications received by UNESCO relating to alleged violations of human rights within the Organization s fields of competence in accordance with the procedure laid down in 104 EX/Decision 3.3. The CR examined 41 communications (concerning 10 countries). D. Committee on International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) 7 In response to 33 C/Resolution 92 R.19(ii), calling for a revitalization of the role of the NGO Committee, with a view to intensify dialogue with non-governmental partners and to nurture strong relationships between UNESCO s Secretariat, its National Commissions and NGOs themselves, the Committee endorsed the Chairperson s Plan of Action to: (a) (b) (c) (d) organize a series of thematic round tables on the involvement of NGOs in the main line of thrust of UNESCO s action; give further impetus to the involvement of youth in the work of NGOs; establish open fora on good practices and lessons learnt at the regional, national and local levels for outreach to and partnership with the NGO community; use the preparation of the sexennial report as a qualitative tool for the revitalization of the Committee; and 6 7 During the biennium, the composition of the Committee was as follows: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Serbia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Togo and United States of America. During the biennium, the composition of the Committee was as follows: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, France, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yemen.

10 Part I page 8 (e) strengthen coordination and cooperation between NGOs and the National Commissions (174 EX/Decision 31). An in-depth reflection on the outcomes of the Committee s revitalization process along with an examination of its future activities was held during the 177th session. Subsequent to the 174th session, the Committee held one Open Forum and one Round Table per session. 8 The Committee also elaborated the Sexennial report by the Executive Board to the General Conference on the contributions made to UNESCO s activities by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) ( ) (174 EX/Decision 31 and 176 EX/46). Its purpose was to evaluate cooperation, the functioning and relevance of the existing statutory mechanisms and contribute to the definition of future directions for UNESCO s cooperation with NGOs. I.5 CONCLUSION ** UNESCO has the broadest mandate of all specialized agencies of the United Nations system. This should be considered the Organization s comparative advantage and needs to be translated into opportunities for UNESCO during ongoing United Nations reforms, especially as regards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. Decisions taken by the Board during the biennium have been output-oriented, ensuring that UNESCO s own role to build peace in the minds of men continues as its guiding principle. As part of transparent reporting, the Board cannot claim success while ignoring shortcomings. The General Conference should be aware that the Board s workload is increasing. Smaller delegations find it difficult to attend the increasing number of formal and informal meetings, and concomitant commission/committee meetings organized. This report may be seen in the context of an improved process of reporting and future reports would be more results-based. Part II discusses the needs and opportunities to improve resultsbased reporting by the Board as requested by the General Conference in 33 C/Resolution 92. This should lead to improved reporting on effectiveness and transparency in UNESCO s programme implementation. 8 ** 174th session: Open Forum on lessons learnt and best practices; 175th session: Open Forum on youth; Round Table on education for all; 176th session: Open Forum on cooperation with National Commissions; Round Table on Regional Cooperation; 177th session: Open Forum on UNESCO s action in cooperation with NGOs in small island developing States; Round Table on the role and place of NGOs in developing countries. This document is a non-exhaustive summary of the main activities and decisions of the Executive Board during the biennium. A number of topics could not be described nor differentiated in their many nuances and details. All decisions adopted by the Board during the past biennium, as well as corresponding summary records of each session and relevant reports submitted to the Board by its commissions and committees, are available online at: Printed on recycled paper

11 General Conference 34th session, Paris 2007 Conférence générale 34 e session, Paris 2007 Conferencia General 34 a reunión, París 2007 Генеральная конферeнция 34-я сессия, Париж 2007 г. א א א א א א ٢٠٠٧ 大会第三十四届会议, 巴黎, C 34 C/9 Part II 13 October 2007 Original: English Item 2.2 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD ON ITS OWN ACTIVITIES IN , INCLUDING ITS METHODS OF WORK PART II REPORT BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CURRENT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET (33 C/5) TOGETHER WITH THE RESULTS ACHIEVED IN THE PREVIOUS BIENNIUM (34 C/3) OUTLINE This document is submitted to the General Conference in accordance with 33 C/Resolution 78 and 33 C/Resolution 92. This report was prepared by a Working Group set up by the Chairman of the Executive Board on the basis of 176 EX/Decision 53. The Working Group devoted considerable time to the preparation of the report, and has broken new ground and identified how to undertake the assessments in an improved manner and to give direction for improved reporting in the future. The report therefore focuses on the format and type of information needed for the Executive Board to fully carry out its assessment and reporting functions. A major lesson learnt in the preparation of the report is the necessity for the debates on the EX/4 and the C/3 documents in future Executive Board sessions to include relevant assessments of the implementation of the programme, to facilitate reporting to the General Conference. This report was examined by the Executive Board at its 177th session.

12 Part II INTRODUCTION 1. Purpose of the report: In accordance with 33 C/Resolution 78 (para. 4) and 33 C/Resolution 92 (Recommendation 13), this represents the Executive Board s report on programme implementation during the biennium (33 C/5), together with the results achieved in the previous biennium (34 C/3). It sets out a framework and suggestions to enable the Executive Board in future to present a holistic view on the implementation of the programme. The report was prepared by a Working Group set up by the Chairperson of the Executive Board (176 EX/Decision 53) guided by a framework provided by 176 EX/Decision 29, and debated by the Executive Board at its 177th session. 2. Layout: The report consists of four main sections in addition to this introduction, namely: (i) assessing key achievements and challenges; (ii) comments on relevance, human resources, cost-effectiveness and sustainability; (iii) main lessons learnt; and (iv) recommendations. SECTION 1 Assessing key achievements and challenges 3. To what extent have the strategic objectives been achieved? Through the reports of the Director-General on the implementation of the programme (C/3 and EX/4) and external evaluations, the Executive Board has been presented with a number of achievements and challenges associated with given programmes. A review of Executive Board decisions shows that the Board conducts ongoing assessments of programme implementation. The said assessments do not cover all programmes but, nevertheless, decisions highlight a number of successes as well as areas where readjustments could be made. However, commenting on all these decisions would contradict the aim of making this report concise and focused. Moreover, while Executive Board Members provide their individual assessments of the programme performance during the general debate, its decisions do not address the issue of the achievement of strategic objectives. 4. Results achieved and expected results: The activities undertaken by UNESCO fall within 76 MLAs (33 C/5) as positioned under the 12 strategic objectives (31 C/4). Expected outcomes are given in the Medium-Term Strategy (C/4) and expected results are given in the biennial Programme and Budget (C/5). As such the objectives (and expected results) contained in the programming documents rightly constitute the elements against which programme performance is to be evaluated. However, the EX/4 document does not always report with sufficient precision against expected results listed in document 33 C/5, and thus does not facilitate the Executive Board s task of systematically assessing the extent of programme implementation and results attainment. 5. Suggestions from the Executive Board: The Executive Board has made a number of suggestions on how to improve the presentation of results in the C/3 and EX/4 documents. Furthermore, draft document 34 C/6 (177 EX/PLEN/DR.1) recommends a major reduction of the number of MLAs (less than 25). However, the number of expected results (300) have had to increase, stemming partially from the need to specify expected results for programme areas which previously had none. These recommendations made by the Drafting Group on document 34 C/5 should clearly improve results reporting and budget transparency in UNESCO. The Executive Board has also looked at different ways to present achievements and challenges. In order to improve reports on the performance of the programmes, a suggestion would be to present tables showing the results achieved against the expected results. An example of the format for such a table is presented in Annex IA. Achievements and challenges could also be identified for each of the five functions. To illustrate this approach a format for such a table is presented in Annex IB. These tables, to be prepared by the Secretariat, could possibly be used to inform future reports by the Director-General on the implementation of the programme, and as working documents for the preparation of future Executive Board reports to the General Conference. Annexes IIA and IIB show illustrations of filled in information for the two templates given in Annex I.

13 Part II page 2 SECTION 2 Comments on relevance, human resources, cost-effectiveness and sustainability 6. Relevance: The issue of relevance should be addressed in the context of the strategic objectives established by UNESCO s General Conference and monitored by the Executive Board. In this context it is important to underline the necessity to identify the concrete relevance or benefits for different sets of audiences such as governments of Member States, policy-makers, researchers or beneficiaries at large. The EX/4 document should provide information on these aspects of relevance. 7. Human resources management: In the (33 C/5) biennium information received regarding human resources management has largely focused on strategic issues regarding staff policy. In order to assess the use of staff funds with regard to the achievement of programme objectives and agreed human resources policies, the Executive Board should receive regular information on the adequacy of staffing compared to programme needs on the basis of MLAs, the use of consultants in UNESCO programmes, as well as improvement of geographical distribution and gender balance for both permanent and temporary staff. The Executive Board noted a lack of transparency in the recruitment of consultants during the biennium (33 C/5) and recommends more transparent advertisement of opportunities, as well as the publication of contracts awarded. 8. Cost-effectiveness: Although information is provided regularly on the programme rate of expenditure, none of the current reports, including evaluation reports, satisfactorily respond to the issue as to whether the same (or better) results could have been achieved at lower cost, with alternative delivery approaches in given cases cost-effectiveness. The shortage of such information makes it impractical to assess the cost-effectiveness of given programmes when appropriate. For this reason, the Executive Board requests the Director-General to report in the statutory reports on the achievement of expected results approved by the General Conference, including information on the cost-efficient use of human and financial resources, particularly in the areas of travel, publications and contractual services, following the principles of transparency, efficiency and rationalization (ref.: 177 EX/PLEN/DR.1, para. 2, soon to become document 34 C/6). 9. Sustainability: Sustainability is a continuing challenge, which the Board has been addressing, and where the Board has encouraged development of parameters for future reports, including the development of an exit strategy where appropriate. SECTION 3 Main lessons learnt 10. Telling the programme performance story : UNESCO has not been very successful in assembling the information necessary to give an objective results-based account of the implementation of the programme. This is evidently not new, as the General Conference at its 33rd session (in 33 C/Resolution 78, and in 33 C/Resolution 92) actually asked for improved reporting on programme implementation. The lesson here is that improved reporting has as a prerequisite the availability of objective and realistic data and information permitting actual performance to be assessed against planned performance. These issues were noted in both documents 33 C/3 and 34 C/3 and are currently being addressed by the Secretariat. Based on the recent experiences in the 34 C/6 Drafting Group when dealing with Major Programmes II and III, it is imperative that all sectors present, through an improved intersectoral approach, their conclusions and reviews in a uniform format so that they can be addressed and finalized by the Drafting Group in its report to the Executive Board. Overall results and challenges encountered are to be presented to the governing bodies sufficiently in advance of the preparation of the upcoming C/5 documents, so that the lessons learnt can be taken into account.

14 Part II page Partnerships and UNESCO s constituencies: Right from its inception in 1946, the work of UNESCO has been characterized by cooperation with various partners and constituencies. Experience has shown that cases involving the active participation of stakeholders and beneficiaries improves programme delivery and sustainability. In the spirit of better coordination among United Nations agencies and the efficient management of important projects, UNESCO has been designated to lead several global initiatives: EFA, World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), implementation of the action plan of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (together with ITU and UNDP). In these, the international community acknowledges UNESCO s roles and mandates. UNESCO has been fully engaged in the ongoing efforts to reform the United Nations system as a whole. Discussions during the thematic debate (175 EX) and also in subsequent meetings underlined the importance of that involvement. Also, cooperation with regional organizations, such as the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa s Development (NEPAD), has increased in recent years. Cooperation has also increased with NGOs owing to the combined efforts of the Secretariat and of the NGO Committee. However, the Executive Board decided that there should be greater visibility of beneficial partnerships in the future. Cooperation with National Commissions continues to be crucial to the cooperation between the Secretariat and Member States, both for programme planning and implementation. The Executive Board decided that there should be a better consultative process with National Commissions in the future. SECTION 4 Recommendations Based on its experience in producing this first assessment report to the General Conference and with a view to facilitating future reports, the Executive Board recommends the following. 12. Improved reporting in general: Reports on the performance of the programmes (EX/4 and C/3) may be improved via presentations in tabular format showing the results achieved against the expected results (C/5 to EX/4); please refer to annexed models. 13. Improved reporting on UNESCO s actions and results at country level: Taking into consideration the duty of accountability, UNESCO should present information at least once a year on the results achieved at the country level. Reports should include information on the participation of local stakeholders regarding programme implementation. 14. Benefits and different audiences: The Executive Board recommends that needs are better identified and that concrete benefits for different sets of target audiences are defined with respect to given programmes. The Board further requests the Director-General to regularly conduct impact reviews of UNESCO s programmes at global, regional and country levels and to report on the findings according to the different sets of audiences defined. 15. Improving decision-making: The Board would have a wider and more strategic assessment of the performance of the programmes, including on the EX/4 document, by expressing its views progressively in the biennium through explicit decisions on the performance of individual programmes. Ideally, each MLA would be discussed in depth at least once during each biennium.

15 Part II page Improved planning process: The Board needs to review the time frame for its work in the preparation of the C/5 and C/6 documents. The Board could decide on the need to better synchronize the process of preparation of the C/3 and EX/4 documents and the draft C/5 document through streamlining and proper sequencing of these documents in an improved format as indicated elsewhere in the document. The Executive Board recommends that the General Conference could decide that conclusions of ad hoc programme reviews (such as the overall review of Major Programmes II and III) would be presented and adopted by the Executive Board in due time in order to ensure their integration in regular programme planning cycles. 17. Improved access to data: The information contained in the new version of SISTER should be complete and up-to-date to serve as a reliable source of reference, particularly coherent with statutory reports EX/4 and C/3. Necessary efforts need to be made to improve results reporting at country level in SISTER and to provide better access for Member States. Information and training sessions on the use of SISTER should be made available to Member States on a regular basis.

16 ANNEX IA Template for reporting on MLAs 31 C/4 Strategic objective 33 C/5 Expected results Achievements Challenges RP budget EXB funds Costeffectiveness Planned Actual Planned Actual Sustainability indicators Recommendations 34 C/9 Part II Annex IA

17 ANNEX IB 34 C/9 Part II Annex IB Template for reporting on UNESCO s five functions Examples of major achievements and challenges with UNESCO s functions in the biennium Laboratory of ideas Achievements: Challenges: Achievements: Challenges: Clearing house Achievements: Challenges: Standardsetter Capacitybuilder in Member States Achievements: Challenges: Catalyst for international cooperation Achievements: Challenges:

18 ANNEX IIA Extract of sample assessments for the MLAs provided by the Secretariat, not assessed or endorsed by the Working Group. Included here for illustration purposes only 33 C/5, paragraph MLA 1 Coordinating EFA partners and maintaining the collective momentum 31 C/4 Strategic objective 1. Promoting education as a fundamental right in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 2. Improving the quality of education through the diversification of contents and methods and the promotion of universally shared values 3. Promoting experimentation, innovation and the diffusion and sharing of information and best practices as well as policy dialogue in education 33 C/5 Expected results Expected result 1. International EFA partnership strengthened and broadened; regional and interregional networks of EFA partners enhanced and linkages between EFA coordination at all levels reinforced Achievements Strengthening the lead in global coordination of EFA - Development in collaboration with EFA co-sponsoring agencies of the Global Action Plan (GAP) as a platform for inter-agency collaboration in support to national leadership for EFA at the country level. UNESCO has been advocating for the GAP, particularly with the other EFA convening agencies and preparing the ground for its application at country level. - Improved effectiveness by rearranging the sequence of the major EFA events so as to enable the Working Group (WG) on EFA to formulate strategic policy recommendations for the High-Level Group (HLG). - Establishment of an International Advisory Panel (IAP) on EFA in order to ensure continuity and consistency throughout the year among EFA mechanisms Challenges Translating global commitments into coordinated action at national level RP budget EXB funds Costeffectiveness Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned (activities): $2,809,300 $3,362,200 Sustainability indicators Recommendations 34 C/9 Part II Annex IIA

19 ANNEX IIB 34 C/9 Part II Annex IIB Sample assessments for UNESCO s functions provided by the Secretariat, not assessed or endorsed by the Working Group. Included here for illustration purposes only. Education: Examples of major achievements and challenges with UNESCO s functions in the biennium Laboratory of Achievements: Cutting-edge research made available through ideas numerous publications (example: Education under attack and IIEP study on corruption in education) Educational innovations developed through fora and expert meetings (examples: Forum on Higher Education; expert meetings example: Stopping Violence in Schools: What Works?) Challenges: Reinforce the potential of increased intersectoral cooperation. Achievements: Increased recognition by Member States of the right to education through, for example, the work of the Joint Expert Group UNESCO (CR)/ECOSOC (CESR) on the Monitoring of the Right to Education and the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education Challenges: Translating normative instruments into practice Clearing house Standardsetter Capacitybuilder in Member States Catalyst for international cooperation Achievements: Establishment of a common HIV and AIDS in education clearing house Exchange of best practices in curriculum development through communities of practice (IBE) Challenges: Lack of coordination, inconsistencies and problem of duplication of websites and systems Achievements: Training of educational planners (IIEP and regional bureaux) Training in education statistics (UIS with the regional bureaux) The capacity-building activities of the three core initiatives: LIFE, EDUCAIDS, TTISSA Challenges: The need to rethink capacity-building and create common approaches (focus of MLA 2 of document 34 C/5) Achievements: Strengthening coordination of EFA through: - rearranging the sequence of major EFA events - establishment of the International Advisory Panel (IAP) - development of the Global Action Plan (GAP) - the UNESCO Education Support Strategy (UNESS) process Profile of literacy raised through regional literacy conferences Challenges: Translating global commitments into country-level action (e.g. GAP) Printed on recycled paper

20 General Conference 34th session, Paris 2007 Conférence générale 34 e session, Paris 2007 Conferencia General 34 a reunión, París 2007 Генеральная конферeнция 34-я сессия, Париж 2007 г. א א א א א א ٢٠٠٧ 大会第三十四届会议, 巴黎, C 34 C/9 Part II Add. 19 October 2007 Original: English Item 2.2 of the agenda REPORT BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD ON ITS OWN ACTIVITIES IN , INCLUDING ITS METHODS OF WORK PART II REPORT BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CURRENT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET (33 C/5) TOGETHER WITH THE RESULTS ACHIEVED IN THE PREVIOUS BIENNIUM (34 C/3) ADDENDUM OUTLINE This document is an addendum to document 34 C/9 Part II to include 177 EX/Decision 46(II) adopted by the Executive Board at its 177th session. The aforementioned decision contains a draft resolution recommended for adoption by the General Conference at its 34th session.

21 177 EX/Decision 46(II) adopted by the Executive Board at its 177th session 34 C/9 Part II Add. Report by the Executive Board on its own activities in , including its methods of work (177 EX/46 Part II; 177 EX/77) The Executive Board, II Report on the implementation of document 33 C/5 with results achieved in the previous biennium (34 C/3) 1. Recalling 33 C/Resolution 78 (para. 4) and 33 C/Resolution 92 (recommendation 13), 2. Having examined document 177 EX/46 Part II, 3. Recommends that the General Conference adopt, at its 34th session, the following draft resolution: The General Conference, Recalling 33 C/Resolution 78 (para. 4) and 33 C/Resolution 92 (recommendation 13), Mindful that this report (34 C/9 Part II) constitutes the first attempt by the Executive Board to present a holistic view on the implementation of the programme, 1. Encourages the Executive Board to further develop methodology for preparing such a report; 2. Invites the Executive Board to: (i) (ii) (iii) have a wider and more strategic assessment of the performance of the programmes, including the EX/4 document, by expressing its views progressively in the biennium through explicit decisions on the performance of individual programmes at MLA level; reflect on an improved time frame to fully address all the issues involved in the preparation of the draft C/5 and C/6 documents; better synchronize the process of preparation of the C/3 and EX/4 documents and the draft C/5 document through streamlining and proper sequencing of these documents in an improved format; 3. Recommends that conclusions of ad hoc programme reviews be presented and adopted in due time in order to ensure their integration in regular programme planning cycles; 4. Invites the Director-General to: (i) (ii) improve reports on the performance of the programmes (EX/4 and C/3) in particular via presentations in tabular formats showing the results achieved against the expected results (C/5 to EX/4); present at least once a year information on the results achieved at country level and include information on the participation of local stakeholders regarding programme implementation;

22 Part II Add. page 2 (iii) ensure that information contained in SISTER, including results achieved at country level, is complete and up to date and accessible to Member States to serve as a reliable source of reference, particularly coherent with statutory reports EX/4 and C/5; (iv) regularly conduct impact reviews of UNESCO s programmes at global, regional and country levels and report explicitly in statutory reports on the findings according to the different sets of audiences defined; (v) better identify needs and define concrete benefits for different sets of target audiences with respect to given programmes. Printed on recycled paper