PH Chairmanship of 63^rd Session on the Committee for Programme and Coordination Successfully Agrees on and Adopts 18 Programme Plans of the UN

Representatives of the 34 Member States who participated in the 63^rd session of the Committee for Programme and Coordination, under the Philippine chairmanship, during its closing ceremony on 30 June 2023. (first row fourth from right) COA Director Adelle Dondorilla; (third from left) Mission’s 5th Committee expert Ms. Marivil Valles. (New York PM photo)

NEW YORK 05 July 2023 – The Philippines, in the person of COA Director Adelle Dondonilla, chaired the sixty-third (63^rd) session of the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC 63) and shepherded the session to its successful conclusion on 30 June 2023, despite challenging geopolitical situation. CPC63 ran from 30 May to 30 June 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and reviewed the 28 programmes of the United Nations Secretary General (SG) proposed for Programme Budget in 2024, with the intergovernmental negotiations reaching an agreement on, and adopting, 18 programme plans out of the 28. 

The adopted programme plans provide the Member States’ guidance to the UN Secretariat. This guidance, after the endorsement by the wider membership in the relevant UN bodies, will have an immediate impact on the implementation of mandates in 2024 and will also serve as future reference and guide to programme managers.

During the closing ceremony, several delegations noted the significance of the Philippine chairmanship in as much as CPC 63 is the first CPC session after the UN General Assembly decided at its 77^th main session on 30 December 2022 to permanently lift the trial period of the UN annual budget cycle. This proposal, which took effect on 01 January 2023, was part of the core objective of the UN Secretary General’s management reform agenda. Essentially, the management reform initiative aims to facilitate the implementation of the SG’s programmes after the Fifth Committee reviews the Programme budget based on an annual cycle. The Secretariat earlier noted that during the three-year (2020-2022) trial period of the annual budget, the change in the budget cycle has brought a certain degree of stability and predictability on the implementation of the programmes, thus facilitating related processes at the UN. 

The Philippines views the work of the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) as valuable in operationalizing the country’s priorities, including in promoting its interests in Programme 6: Legal affairs (within the context of UNCLOS); Programme 4: Peacekeeping Operations; Programme 7: Economic and Social Affairs; Programme 20: Human rights and Migration; Program 13: International Drug Control and Crime and Terrorism Prevention and Criminal Justice; Programme 21: International Protection, Durable Solutions and Assistance to Refugees, and Programme 23: Humanitarian Assistance, amongst others.

The Philippines will continue to participate in the CPC for the next two years. Composed of 34Member States and seven Observer States, the CPC aims to provide appropriate recommendations to the General Assembly on the significance, relevance and effectiveness of the programmes. The General Assembly is to consider and adopt these recommendations in the main session of the 78^th UNGA, and subsequently approve the corresponding budget allocations for implementation the following year, or whenever appropriate. END

Closing ceremony of the 63^rd session of the Committee for Programme and Coordination. (New York PM photo)

For more information, visit https://www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.un.int/philippines or https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/.