Report of the Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, ECOSOC

The investments agreed to by Member States to strengthen the leadership, impartiality, accountability and effectiveness of the resident coordinator system are yielding clear returns in enhancing the United Nations development system’s support for national Governments to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

The present report provides details on the development coordination results in 2022, which helped to foster more coherent support for tailored solutions under the Goals aligned to countries’ priorities. In addition, it includes, for the first time, reporting against the revised multi-annual resident coordinator system results framework pursuant to General Assembly resolution 76/4 and Economic and Social Council resolution 2022/25. More details on development coordination results in various countries can be found on the website of the Development Coordination Office (https://un-dco.org) and on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals data portal, UN-Info (https://uninfo.org).

Surveys by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of host country Governments, United Nations country team members and donors, as well as independent evaluations, continue to validate the resident coordinator system’s direction of travel. A total of 87 per cent of host Governments report that resident coordinators increased their ability to serve as an entry point to the United Nations offer, compared with before the repositioning of the United Nations development system; 90 per cent say that resident coordinators have the right profile and skill sets to support their country’s development; and over 88 per cent note that resident coordinators effectively lead the delivery of strategic support for national plans and priorities. E/2023/62 2/54 23-06908

The report reflects on the challenges related to the resident coordinator system in delivering results consistently and sustainably and highlights key areas of support where scaling back began in 2022, and continues in 2023, as a result of the persisting funding gap. Adequate and predictable funding, along with further consolidation of United Nations development system reform, will be essential for the resident coordinator system to deliver the coherent, effective and efficient support needed by countries as they work to accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.