UNECE’s involvement in the provision of technical cooperation services reflects the growing demand for this type of activities. It builds upon UNECE’s capacity in the areas of its mandate and expertise to address the evolving needs and potential challenges facing its member States.
Through a combination of its normative, analytical, and operational functions the Commission ensures a direct link between intergovernmentally agreed norms and standards and technical cooperation aimed at assisting member States in their implementation. Being an extension of its normative and analytical work, UNECE’s technical assistance enables recipient member countries to benefit directly from the acquired knowledge.
In fulfilling its technical assistance function, the UNECE builds upon an accumulated in-house expertise in its sectoral areas of excellence and on the network of national policymakers and experts from line ministries it has established and extended over time among all countries in the region. UNECE technical cooperation activities target cross-border and subregional issues and involve experts from several countries, thus adding extra value to technical assistance and policy advisory services offered by other organizations, operating at a country level.
Taking into consideration the growing importance of UNECE technical assistance services, the sixty-second session of the Commission in April 2007 adopted a revised UNECE Technical Cooperation Strategy. As outlined in this document, the main goal of UNECE technical cooperation is to improve national capacities of countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and South-East Europe to implement UNECE legally binding instruments and other global and regional standards. Other important objectives include:
Assisting with the formation of institutional frameworks in support of subregional and regional integration in areas relevant to UNECE’s programme of work;
Supporting countries with economies in transition in their capacity-building efforts towards the achievement of internationally agreed development goals in the UNECE region; and
Assisting economies in transition in developing and implementing technical cooperation programmes/projects in the areas relevant to UNECE’s programme of work, with a special emphasis on those activities related to resolving subregional and transboundary problems.
UNECE technical cooperation activities are focused on countries with economies in transition in the UNECE region and based on demands from Governments, either individually or as a group when subregional concerns are addressed. Most of these activities are linked to UNECE’s normative work, aiming to improve the capacity of Governments to implement UNECE legal instruments, norms, standards and regulations. Being in line with the emphasis placed by the General Assembly on the implementation of the United Nations normative work, this approach helps to ensure that the activities do not duplicate those of other organizations. While planning and implementing technical cooperation activities, the UNECE takes into account the need to maximize their impact on the national capacity of the member States with economies in transition as well as to foster the principle of creating national ownership of such activities.
In line with the UNECE Technical Cooperation Strategy, the Commission employs the following main types of services:
Advisory services. Through these activities, which aim at assisting member States with economies in transition to implement UNECE legal instruments and regulations, the Commission ensures the provision of technical expertise, the transfer of knowledge on policy-related issues, development strategies and programmes and the formulation of technical cooperation projects and programmes;
Capacity-building workshops, seminars and training courses aimed at building knowledge and skills, which contribute to improving the capacity of recipient countries to implement global and UNECE legal instruments, regulations and norms; and
Technical cooperation projects, including those with multisectoral and/or subregional focus, in areas where the UNECE has a mandate and expertise.
Most of the UNECE policy advisory services and capacity-building activities (workshops/training courses and technical cooperation projects) are organized at a regional/subregional level in order to maximize the number of countries benefiting from these activities. They are planned and implemented in cooperation with other international organizations and institutions both within and outside the United Nations system, as well as various subregional organizations and initiatives. The main principles underpinning this cooperation include the need to avoid potential duplication of activities, ensure effective allocation of resources, and promote complementarity of efforts and a more rational division of responsibilities. Particular attention is given to building partnerships with the business community and non-governmental organizations, which are maintained as a means to promote and support the implementation of UNECE activities and projects, in particular those relating to strategies, norms and standards developed for the region.
Major achievements in 2007
As of 31 October 2007, Regional Advisers and regular budget staff of the UNECE Divisions carried out more than 140 advisory missions, capacity building workshops and training activities. These activities were mainly focused on improving the capacity of transition/emerging market economies to implement UNECE legal instruments, regulations and norms, as well as assisting these countries in the accession to and implementation of UNECE international legal instruments. About 87 per cent of technical assistance projects, advisory missions and training workshops undertaken by the UNECE Regional Advisers and regular budget staffs were focused on its member States eligible for Official Development Assistance. In the foreseeable future, these countries will remain the primary recipients of UNECE technical assistance. National reporting shows that in 2007 member States made significant progress in implementing both UNECE legally binding instruments and “soft laws”, in particular recommendations resulting from environment performance reviews, statistical standards, guidelines on housing policies, recommendations on land administration, guidelines for energy efficiency, and standards and recommendations for trade facilitation and electronic business.
In 2007, the UNECE continued to promote cooperation with the other United Nations regional commissions in a number of areas. The main objective of its efforts in this area was to facilitate cooperation for resolving the interregional issues of development concern through the use of the commissions’ technical expertise as well as networks of policymakers and experts. The Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) has been one of the promising examples of joint efforts in providing technical assistance, undertaken by UNECE in cooperation with UNESCAP.
UNECE’s partnership with other regional commissions was particularly active in the implementation of eleven technical cooperation projects funded from the United Nations Development Account (UNDA), of which three projects were led by the UNECE. Implementation of these joint projects, focused on capacity building in the areas of environment protection, trade facilitation, clean energy, development of interregional transport linkages, statistics etc., helped the regional commissions to further strengthen the linkage between their normative, analytical and operational activities, in particular aimed at achieving the Internationally Agreed Development Goals, tackling transboundary issues and ensuring the provision of regional public goods. Moreover, it helped to promote more systemic approaches to resolving specific development problems of beneficiary countries. Five more project proposals, including two projects led by UNECE, have been considered by the General Assembly for financing under the Sixth Tranche of the UNDA (2008-2009).
In 2007, more than 45 other UNECE technical assistance projects/activities were funded from extrabudgetary resources contributed to its General and Local Technical Cooperation Trust Funds. The total amount of extrabudgetary resources provided by donors through these funds reached $6.95 million (as of 31 October 2007).
In providing technical assistance to the economies in transition, UNECE has continued its cooperation with other organizations of the United Nations family and regional organizations in order to improve synergy, promote complementarity of efforts and avoid overlapping and duplication of activities. UNECE has maintained active collaboration with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Asian Development Bank. Within the United Nations family organizations the United Nations Development Programme has been the most prominent partner, in practically all key areas of UNECE technical assistance. Technical cooperation with subregional organizations and initiatives, such as the Eurasian Economic Community, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, SECI/Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe, and Commonwealth of Independent States continued to strengthen in the areas of transport, trade facilitation, statistics, environment and sustainable energy.
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