PROGRAMME OF ACTION OF THE UN ICPD
Actions
16.21. The General Assembly is the highest intergovernmental mechanism for the formulation and appraisal of policy on matters relating to the follow-up to this Conference. To ensure effective follow-up to the Conference, as well as to enhance intergovernmental decision-making capacity for the integration of population and development issues, the Assembly should organize a regular review of the implementation of this Programme of Action. In fulfilling this task, the Assembly should consider the timing, format and organizational aspects of such a review.
16.22. The General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council should carry out their respective responsibilities, as entrusted to them in the Charter of the United Nations, in the formulation of policies and the provision of guidance to and coordination of United Nations activities in the field of population and development.
16.23. The Economic and Social Council, in the context of its role under the Charter, vis-…- vis the General Assembly and in accordance with Assembly resolutions 45/264, 46/235 and 48/162, should assist the General Assembly in promoting an integrated approach and in providing system-wide coordination and guidance in the monitoring of the implementation of the Programme of Action and making recommendations in this regard. Appropriate steps should be taken to request regular reports from the specialized agencies regarding their plans and programmes related to the implementation of this Programme of Action, pursuant to Article 64 of the Charter. 16.24. The Economic and Social Council is invited to review the reporting system within the United Nations system regarding population and development issues, taking into account the reporting procedures that are required in follow-up to other international conferences, with a view to establishing, where possible, a more coherent reporting system.
16.25. Within their respective mandates and in accordance with General Assembly resolution 48/162, the Assembly, during its forty-ninth session and the Economic and Social Council, in 1995, should review the roles, responsibilities, mandates and comparative advantages of both the relevant intergovernmental bodies and the organs of the United Nations system addressing population and development, with a view to:
(a) Ensuring the effective and efficient implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the United Nations operational activities that will be undertaken on the basis of this Programme of Action;
(b) Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the current United Nations structures and machinery responsible for implementing and monitoring population and development activities, including strategies for addressing coordination and for intergovernmental review;
(c) Ensuring clear recognition of the interrelationships between policy guidance, research, standard-setting and operational activities for population and development, as well as the division of labour between the bodies concerned.
16.26. As part of this review, the Economic and Social Council should, in the context of Assembly resolution 48/162, consider the respective roles of the relevant United Nations organs dealing with population and development, including the United Nations Population Fund and the Population Division, regarding the follow-up to this Programme of Action.
16.27. The General Assembly, at its forty-ninth session, in accordance with its resolution 48/162, is invited to give further consideration to the establishment of a separate Executive Board of the United Nations Population Fund, taking into account the results of the above-mentioned review and bearing in mind the administrative, budgetary and programme implications of such a proposal.
16.28. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is invited to consult with the various bodies of the United Nations system, as well as with international financial institutions and various bilateral aid organizations and agencies, with a view to promoting an exchange of information among them on the requirements for international assistance of reviewing on a regular basis the specific needs of countries in the field of population and development, including emergency and temporary needs, and maximizing the availability of resources and their most effective utilization.
16.29. All specialized agencies and related organizations of the United Nations system are invited to strengthen and adjust their activities, programmes and medium-term strategies, as appropriate, to take into account the follow-up to the Conference. Relevant governing bodies should review their policies, programmes, budgets and activities in this regard.