Review of Subsidiary Bodies by the ECOSOC at its 2022 session

background

The ECOSOC has been invited, in General Assembly resolution 75/290A, to strengthen its oversight, guidance and coordination of its subsidiary bodies, including the functional commissions, for the purpose of enhancing the work of the subsidiary bodies, aligning them more closely with the 2030 Agenda, and reinforcing their expert nature. The resolution invited the President and Bureau of the Council to work with the bureaux of subsidiary bodies, and in consultation with delegations, during the 2022 session of the Council to identify possible actions to be taken to implement the provisions on enhancing the work of subsidiary bodies contained in paragraphs 28 and 29 of the annex to General Assembly resolution 72/305. This review was led by H.E. Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva (Bulgaria), Vice-President of the ECOSOC at its 2022 session.

Focus of Review

The intent was for the review to be owned by Member States. The review focused on substantive issues and methods of work concerning ECOSOC’s subsidiary bodies. On substantive issues, the review focused on the relevance of the work of subsidiary bodies, quality of their work, and support they have given to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. On methods of work, the review focused on the work of the subsidiary bodies to reflect the need for an integrated and action-oriented approach to the SDGs, support they have given to the work of the ECOSOC, and efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and inclusiveness of their work.

In summary, the review will focus on the following 5 questions:

Does the work of functional commissions and expert bodies contribute to advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda through action-oriented approaches and how can they better support the Council’s role in advancing the decade of action to deliver the SDGs? What are some of the gaps to be addressed so as to adequately cover the 2030 Agenda and conferences and summits within their mandate?
Is there a need to provide more evidence, data and scientific information to support the analysis and policy recommendations of the subsidiary bodies?
How can the technical and expert analysis, assessments and policy recommendations of the subsidiary bodies be further enhanced and better channelled to impact on progress towards the SDGs and inform the integrated view of the Council?
What are some of the best practices in the working methods of the various functional commissions and expert bodies, notably practices allowing them to work in an efficient, effective, transparent and inclusive manner?
How can we make it easier for one subsidiary body to draw from the work of other subsidiary bodies so as to promote integrated policy approaches?

Process of Review

The timeline of the review is as follows:

22 Oct 2021 – Informal meeting between the ECOSOC President and the Chairs of ECOSOC subsidiary bodies to initiate the review.
29 Nov 2021 – Meeting between the ECOSOC Vice-President and the Chairs of ECOSOC subsidiary bodies to launch the review.
Dec 2021 – Start of the review, including collection of preliminary feedback on the concept of the review.
Jan 2022 – ECOSOC briefing to Member States (in New York) on the review.
Apr 2022 – ECOSOC Vice-President launched informal consultations with all bureaux to identify changes that were introduced in the work of the subsidiary bodies. The respective bureaux submitted their recommendations, based on the 5 questions above, about 2 weeks after the conclusion of their respective sessions.
Jun 2022 – Management Segment meetings of the Council, where the outcome of the review was considered.
Jul 2022 – End of review.

Outcome of the Review

Through decision 2022/334, the Council took note of the Summary of recommendations that emanated from the review of the work of ECOSOC functional commissions and expert bodies conducted in the first part of 2022. This review was based on the assessments and recommendations of the Bureaux of the respective bodies, as well as on informal consultations among Member States.

United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime

Review of Subsidiary Bodies by the ECOSOC at its 2022 session

background

Focus of Review

Process of Review

Outcome of the Review