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The Administration of United Nations Operational Programs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

Walter R. Sharp
Walter R. Sharp
Affiliation:
a member of the Board of Editors of International Organization, is Professor of Political Science, Yale University, and a consultant to the United Nations specialized agencies.
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Extract

This discussion purports to review some of the more significant developments that have marked the management of UN operational programs during recent years. The emphasis of the commentary is on the highlights of field administration since 1960 when the research for the present writer's more extensive study on this subject was completed.

Type
II. Cooperation and Conflict
Information
International Organization , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , Summer 1965 , pp. 581 - 602
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 1965

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References

1 See Sharp, Walter R., Field Administration in the United Nations System: The Conduct of International Economic and Social Programs (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1961)Google Scholar.

2 There are, of course, limited precedents for field action in the experience of the League of Nations.

3 It was not until ten years later (1958) that the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) was established.

4 Asher, Robert E. and others, The United Nations and Economic and Social Co-operation (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution, 1957), p. 58Google Scholar.

5 For a detailed treatment of the financing of the voluntary programs, see Stoessinger, John G. and others, Financing the United Nations System (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution, 1964), Chapter 8Google Scholar.

6 Ibid., p. 201.

7 Another special voluntary operation, begun in 1950, was the UN Korean Reconstruction Agency (UNKRA) which planned and managed rehabilitation, relief, and refugee work in South Korea. The work of the Agency, dependent mainly on the United States for financial support, was absorbed into the United States' unilateral military and economic aid program for Korea in 1958.

8 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also engage in technical assistance activities on a limited scale, some of them in conjunction with loan applications. These activities are financed from the revenues of the two institutions.

9 The figures listed here were derived from a variety of official UN documents, some covering the year 1964, and others only the year 1963, in view of the fact that certain annual reports for 1964 were not available when this commentary was drafted (March 1965).

10 It is virtually impossible, without painstaking inquiry at agency headquarters, to construct reliable estimates of the costs of running field offices since many staff members divide their time between “office” and “project” duty.

11 The totals in this table are drawn from budgetary documents and agency and program reports for 1963 and 1964. The table does not include personnel assigned to the 48 UN Information Centers (323 in 1964) within the “operational” program category even though the emphasis at the centers located in developing countries is on the publicizing of economic and social development activities.

12 In 1958, by comparison, there were only 1,300 EPTA projects.

13 Sharp, p. 409.

14 UN Document E/3995.

15 Even so, the participating agencies still compete to a considerable extent for their “shares.” In this connection, they now submit to governments “lists of suggestions” which some governments heed and others disregard. The actual distribution of project funds among agencies has not changed materially.

16 For a detailed analysis of Special Fund operations, see Manzer, Ronald A., “The United Nations Special Fund,” International Organization, Autumn 1964 (Vol. 18, No. 4), pp. 766–789CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

17 Special Fund Press Release 3045, January 14, 1965.

18 ECOSOC Resolution 1020 (XXXVII), August 11, 1964. The “voteless” nineteenth session of the General Assembly took no action on this recommendation, but it is generally assumed that it will eventually be approved.

19 General Assembly Resolutions 1709 and 1708 (XVI), December 19, 1961, respectively. See Malinowski, W. R., “Centralization and Decentralization in the United Nations Economic and Social Activities,” International Organization, Summer 1962 (Vol. 16, No. 3), pp. 521–541CrossRefGoogle Scholar, for a comprehensive account of the background of this action.

20 UN Document A/5584, October 30, 1963.

21 In 1964, 238 out of 1,523 experts on duty with projects financed by the Special Fund were nationals of countries receiving Special Fund assistance.

22 UN Document SF/L.112, December 3, 1964. Yugoslavia was the only Communist country represented in the list of firms.

23 The Director of TARS himself was about to set out for Moscow for the first time when interviewed by the writer in New York (March 1965).

24 A limited number of technical assistance experts, after experience in the field, apply for appointment to UN Secretariat established posts. Some of them are reported to have made excellent officials.

25 UN Document E/TAC/L.326, December 17, 1963.

26 To cite a slightly different type of arrangement, a joint division was recently set up by FAO with IAEA in Vienna to advise on the agricultural activities of common concern to the two organizations. Also, WHO, FAO, and IAEA have agreed to exchange liaison officers in order to promote closer coordination in common borderline action. (UN Document A/5859, January 25, 1965.)

27 For a more detailed study of interagency relationships in the context of the role of ECOSOC and AOC, see the writer's chapter “Program Coordination and the Economic and Social Council” in a forthcoming Syracuse University volume under the general editorship of Gerard J. Mangone.

28 UN Document A/5859.

29 In addition, there were 48 UN Information Centers.

30 These figures are taken from UN Document E/TAC/149, October 30, 1964.

31 For details, see UN Document A/5807.

32 One specialized agency, WHO, has, however, financed the construction of a modern edifice to house its regional office in Manila.

33 Of the 73 Resident Representatives in office in 1964, 25 were at the D-2 and 32 at the D-1 salary level. (UN Document E/TAC/149.) There is said to be a special difficulty in finding able Resident Representative candidates for Latin America because of the paucity of otherwise qualified men who can speak Spanish.

34 The most recent of this succession of resolutions was ECOSOC Resolution 1042 (XXXVH), August 15, 1964.

35 Sharp, , Field Administration in the United Nations System, p. 549Google Scholar.

36 A similar service is also maintained by the International Bank in Washington.

37 UN Document SF/L.112, December 3, 1964.

38 In this connection, the Secretary-General upon instruction from ECOSOC has made a study of how the present Special Fund might itself take over capital development functions. (UN Document E/3947. July 15, 1964.)

39 See the writer's chapter in the forthcoming Syracuse University volume mentioned above for a fuller exposition of this proposal.