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| Progress in UN Reform |
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The agencies of the UNCT worked closely together in 2004 to bolster national efforts to achieve the MDGs. A joint UN MDG Project (involving UNDP, UNDPI, UNFPA, UNHCR, and the UNRC Unit) provided capacity building support for poverty monitoring and for strengthening public participation in policy development and implementation. These joint interventions raised public awareness of the MDGs and contributed to the SPPRED Secretariat's success in aligning the SPPRED and the MDGs, thereby increasing government ownership of the MDG process. The first MDG/SPPRED Report served as a stimulus for the Government's decision to prepare a Ten-Year Development Programme to serve as a long-term framework for poverty reduction and MDG achievement in the period 2006-2015. The success of the UNCT-Azerbaijan in fostering the linkage between the MDGs and the SPPRED is acknowledged in a 2004 Report on Joint Programming to the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board from the UNDP Administrator and UNFPA Executive Director. The joint MDG project, the UN Poverty Theme Group, and coordinated activities of individual agencies helped the SPPRED Secretariat's Poverty Monitoring Unit (PMU) to produce reliable and timely data and analysis in a number of ways. A qualitative survey of living standards in six regions was conducted, a Living Standards Database was established and used in preparation of integrated MDG/SPPRED Report for 2004, a qualitative survey of child poverty was initiated, and an Annual Household Budget Survey was used to update poverty estimates for 2003. Progress was made toward reconciling discrepancies between official statistics and survey data regarding infant, child, and maternal mortality. Policy notes and discussion papers were provided to relevant government agencies on improvements needed in data collection. Government officials and UN staff received training on poverty monitoring. The joint MDG advocacy, communications, and campaigning activities of the UNCT agencies reached a wide range of target groups, including policy makers, researchers, the media, and youth. The MDG component of the UN-Azerbaijan website was regularly updated in both Azerbaijani and English. An MDG photo competition, held in collaboration with civil society partners, led to an MDG photo exhibition and the establishment of photo library on the UN website. Government and UN staff shared knowledge and information through a SPPRED-MDG e-mail distribution system. Activities to recognize the International Day for Eradication of Poverty and UN Day reached youth and the general public through a youth forum and the display of MDG banners in central areas of Baku. Joint programming on the part of two or more UN agencies enhanced programming efficiency and impact in many areas. One highlight was the collaboration between UNICEF and WFP in raising the quality of education, school attendance, and family nutritional status. A low-cost family-based early child care and development programme strengthened 34 child development centers in 14 IDP/refugee settlements for 2,570 children, with more than 250 of their female caregivers receiving Food for Work. UNICEF and WFP also enabled 5,300 children of 99 primary schools to benefit from a school feeding program combined with the introduction of child-centered learning methodologies, teacher training, and parental involvement in school governance. Other highlights in joint programming include support for the Government's nationwide Labor Force Survey, which the Government used in preparing a National Employment Strategy (ILO and UNDP). A Caspian Ecological Investment Forum in Baku enabled countries of the Caspian Environment Programme to present priority projects for environmental protection, natural resource management, economic development, and improved living standards to potential investors and donors (UNDP and World Bank). The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action coordinated support from multiple donors, including UNDP and UNICEF, for the clearance of landmines and UXOs and the reduction of their effects on economic and social development. UNDP and UNITAR are collaborating on the formulation of the second phase of a project to build the capacity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. OHCHR and UNDP are coordinating efforts to enhance human rights-related UN system action. Finally, a Regional Academy for Digital Image Technology has been established in Azerbaijan for training in the restoration and preservation of cultural heritage (UNDP and UNESCO). (See the Results and Resources Framework for a detailed list of joint programming results.) Collaboration in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care took place through the revived HIV/AIDS Theme Group. Joint programming improved the availability of safe blood through the blood transfusion system (UNDP, UNOPS, and WHO), increased the capacity of civil society, particularly religious organizations, to sensitize and inform communities on HIV/AIDS issues and prevention (UNAIDS and UNDP), and enabled the HIV/AIDS Resource Centre to operate a website with the country's only substantial source of HIV/AIDS information (UNAIDS and UNDP). The HIV/AIDS Theme Group coordinated UN agencies' activities in support of World AIDS Day, and WFP distributed a booklet on HIV/AIDS in the workplace to all UN staff. In carrying out the Food security and Nutrition assessment in the country Relief International provided much needed support to WFP in carrying out the field interviews and data collection. In 2004, UNHCR activities in Azerbaijan contributed towards achievement of the MDGs and SPPRED. UNHCR programmes were developed within this framework and the same approach will be continued in 2005. SPPRED annual report will be used as baseline data, especially for developing IDP programmes in 2005. A Joint Strategy Meeting on the 2005-2009 UNDAF and agencies' Country Programmes engaged representatives of the Government, UN agencies, and other stakeholders in the process of common country programming. Prepared in line with the SPPRED and MDG processes, the UNDAF was then finalized, signed, and translated into Azerbaijani. UNDPI and the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator produced posters with the National Priorities, UNDAF Outcomes, and Cross-Cutting Objectives, which were framed and distributed among the UN agencies and key government counterparts, where they serve as regular reminders of the essence of the partnership between Azerbaijan and the UNCT. The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator established a Working Group on Country Programme Action Plans and Annual Workplans to facilitate the continuing process of common country programming. The UN-Azerbaijan website provided an interagency cooperation tool for tender announcements, vacancies, news updates, and the UN calendar of events. The UN Interagency Communications Group, led by UNDPI, began preparing an Azerbaijani-English Glossary of UN and development-related acronyms and terminology. Communication and good relations continued between the UN agencies and the Bretton Woods Institutions. The World Bank and IMF participated in UNCT meetings and in the UNDAF process. The World Bank participated in the UN Poverty Theme Group, and, within the joint UN project to support the SPPRED Secretariat, UN agencies coordinated advice and interventions with the World Bank experts assigned to the Secretariat. To meet space, safety, and security needs of UN staff, the UNCT intended to begin construction of a multistory UN House Annex on the site of the existing prefabricated Annex in 2004. Unfortunately, the inability to obtain clear approval for construction from the Baku Mayor's Office has thwarted the UNCT's efforts to upgrade UN premises in this way. The UNCT has sought UNDGO's assistance in appealing to the Azerbaijani Mission to the United Nations for attention to this matter. All UN House upgrades and construction are pending its resolution. Improvements to the UN House were limited to security arrangements (installation of video cameras, an electronic card system, a metal detector, and electronic perimeter monitoring and the conducting of fire and earthquake drills) and "green office" initiatives (recycling of paper, energy conservation, environment-friendly office practices, and installation of park benches in UN House garden). In terms of common services, the UNCT made considerable progress. The establishment of a common accounting system for these services facilitated their provision, three agencies implemented the Atlas financial management system (UNDP, UNFPA, and UNIFEM), and the number of UN agencies using the UNDP VSAT Internet and international telephone system expanded to six (ILO, UNDP, UNDPI, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UNIFEM). Security was enhanced through the achievement of MORSS compliance, updating of the Security Plan, training of wardens, regular radio checks, and the adoption of Standard Operating Procedure on Tracking of UN Staff and Dependents. Coordination capacity of the UNCT benefited from the participation of the Senior Adviser to the Resident Coordinator in a training programme for UNRC advisers at the UN System Staff College and from his enrollment in the Virtual Development Academy. Knowledge and capacity of UN staff expanded during 2004 through training in the use of DevInfo software for monitoring MDG progress (with national partners) and various training programmes offered by UNSECOORD, including training on stress management, communication, and conflict resolution in Baku, Country Security Focal Point training in Rome, and Peer Support Volunteer training in Baku and Istanbul. WFP carried out Security Awareness Training (SAT) to its entire staff. The staff were provided knowledge on the precautionary measures to take while working in conflict zones. Knowledge networking took place through the active use of e-mail distribution lists involving UN staff and national and international partners. These include networks for the UNCT, the MDG/SPPRED group, the UN Poverty Theme Group, the HIV/AIDS Theme Group, oil and gas pipeline stakeholders, an employment strategy group, ICT practice and strategy implementation groups, an energy and environment group, a gender practice group, and an IDP assistance group. In response to the request for "recommendations, if any, for changes in policies, rules and regulations," which appears in the guidelines for this letter, I would like to suggest that (a) full funding of the proposed UNRC budget would enable fulfillment of the full workplan (the UNRC system operated with a funding shortfall of one-third in 2004) and (b) the UNCT's commitment to fulfilling the intended role of the UNRC system would benefit from financial contributions to the budget from more than one UN agency at the headquarters level. | |
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