UN System Documentation

The UN System is complicated: people from many organizations work together to accomplish challenging goals in complex environments. Coordination is a vital part of the work of the UN system.

The General Assembly adopts high-level policy goals for the UN system, such as the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Security Council reviews any situation involving political or security questions.

Coordination between the UN and specialized agencies is assigned to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) by Chapter X of the UN Charter. 

At the level of the secretariats of the organizations, there are several coordination bodies, including:

• UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB)
  • Inter-agency policy coherence and coordination on strategic priorities and initiatives of system-wide concern
• UN Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG)
  • Inter-agency coordination at the country level
• UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  • Coordination of UN system and civil society response in crisis situations
• International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)
  • Coordination of conditions of services of UN common system staff

UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB)

• Chaired by UN Secretary-General
  • 1946-1948: Co-ordination Committee established by E/RES/13 (III) of 21 Sept. 1946
  • 1949-2000: Administrative Committee on Co-ordination (ACC)
    • See E/1076, page 3, for name change
  • 2001-present: UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination 
    • See E/2001/55, paragraph 63, for name change
• High-level committees, see E/2001/55, paragraphs 59-61 for background information 
  • High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP)
  • High-Level Committee on Management (HLCM)
• Series symbols have included:
  • 1947-1979: Coordination/-- or CO-ORD/--
  • 1979-2000: ACC/--
  • 2001-present: CEB/--
• Many documents restricted
• Annual overview report
  • Submitted to Economic and Social Council
  • No distinctive symbol pattern; some issued as Supplement to the Economic and Social Council Official Records (ESCOR)

UN System-wide statistics from CEB

Available Translations

UN Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG)

• Previously the UN Development Group (UNDG)
  • Part of the Chief Executive Board (CEB) from 2008-2017, responsible for coordinating UN operational activities at the country level
  • See CEB/2017/2, paragraph 25, for the decision to separate these groups, with UNDG "being outside of the architecture of CEB"
  • See A/RES/72/279 for name change to UN Sustainable Development Group
• Chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General on behalf of the Secretary-General
  • Development Coordination Office serves as Secretariat
  • Mandates derived from the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR). 
    • QCPR process is a shared responsibility of the General Assembly and Economic & Social Council.
    • Search in UN Digital Library for QCPR documents
• Annual report
  • Submitted to Economic and Social Council
  • Development Coordination Office : report of the Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group
  • Additional versions of this report on the UNSDG website: 2019 - present

Information resources

There are several mechanisms in place for coordination of humanitarian assistance.

A/RES/46/182 of 19 Dec. 1991 established the following:

• Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC)
• Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP)
• Central Emergency Revolving Fund (CERF)
  • ​Name changed to Central Emergency Response Fund by A/RES/60/124

Subsequently, the Secretary-General established:

• Department of Humanitarian Affairs by ST/SGB/248 of 16 Mar. 1992
• Became the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in 1998
• Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) is the Under-Secretary-General of OCHA
  • 2024-: Tom Fletcher (United Kingdom)
    • Press release SG/A/2322
  • 2024: Joyce Msuya (Tanzania) (Acting)
  • 2021-2024:  Martin Griffiths (United Kingdom)
    • Press release SG/A/2039 [2021]
  • 2017-2021 : Mark Lowcock (United Kingdom)
    • Press release SG/A/1731-BIO/4965-IHA/1430
  • 2015-2017: Stephen O’Brien (United Kingdom)
  • 2010-2015: Baroness Valerie Amos (United Kingdom)
    • Press release SG/A/1252-BIO/4213-IHA/1280
  • 2007- 2010: John Holmes (United Kingdom)
    • Press release SG/A/1037-BIO/3839
  • 2003-2007: Jan Egeland (Norway)
    • Press release SG/A/840/Rev.1-BIO/3497/Rev.1
  • 2001- 2003: Kenzo Oshima (Japan)
    • Press release SG/A/755
  • 1998-2000: Sergio Vieira de Mello (Brazil)
    • Press release SG/A/657-BIO/3120
  • 1996-1998: Yasushi Akashi (Japan)
    • Press release SG/A/619
  • 1994-1996: Peter Hansen (Denmark)
    • Press release SG/A/573-BIO/2839
  • 1992-1994: Jan K. Eliasson (Sweden)
    • ST/SGB/249, press release SG/A/484, SG/A/486-BIO/2640

Information Resources

International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)

• Established by A/RES/3042 (XXVII) of 19 Dec. 1972 to succeed the International Civil Service Advisory Board
• Statute found in A/RES/3357 (XXIX) of 18 Dec. 1974
• ICSC/1/Rev.2 (2018) includes:
  • Statute
  • Rules of Procedure
  • Provisions of agreements between the United Nations and other participating organizations concerning coordination in personnel matters
  • Tables with members of the UN Common System
• Report to the General Assembly
  • Supplement 30 of the General Assembly Official Records (GAOR)
  • Document symbol pattern: A/session/30
    • example: A/75/30
  • Search results for Report of the International Civil Service Commission
• Reports of the sessions of the Commission
  • Document series symbol: ICSC/--
  • Restricted documents, not available publicly
• ICSC Compendium