Philippines Leads Negotiations on UN Programme on Humanitarian Assistance at 63rd Session of the UN Committee for Programme and Coordination
5th Committee Expert Ms. Marivil V. Valles chairs the consideration of the Secretary General’s Programme on Humanitarian Assistance at the 63rd session of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC). (New York PM photo)
NEW YORK 05 July 2023 – Under the Philippines’ Chairmanship of the 63rd session of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) at the UN Headquarters in New York, Fifth Committee Expert Marivil V. Valles chaired the consideration by the Committee of the UN Secretary General’s (SG) report on Programme 23, Humanitarian Assistance.
“The Committee agreed to support humanitarian response plans to allow for the more accurate targeting of beneficiaries based upon need, and the more effective allocation of resources,” Ms. Valles said. According to the delegates, the improvements in planning will enable increased participation and leadership of affected communities, and local and national actors in humanitarian coordination processes.
For the subject Programme on Humanitarian Assistance, Ms. Valles conducted two informal consultations and several small-group discussions to secure consensus of the Committee and ensure that the Programme is prepared according to its mandate, before it is passed on to the Fifth Committee, which is tasked to evaluate the budgetary implications. Thereafter, it will be approved by the General Assembly and endorsed for implementation in 2024.
The Philippine expert also negotiated, in her national capacity, on the consideration of Programme 4. Peacekeeping Operations, for inclusion in the Programme budget in 2024.
Under Peacekeeping Operations, Ms. Valles successfully negotiated the inclusion in the programming report the participation of women in peace operations, at all levels, particularly in professional and senior posts on as wide a geographical basis as possible, in conformity with Article 101 of the Charter of the United Nations; the protection of civilians, where mandated, as one of the core objectives of the relevant peacekeeping operations; and finally, the timely completion and dissemination of core Pre-deployment Training Materials to support pre-deployment training for Troop and Contributing Countries (T/PCCs), specifically in areas of emerging challenges.
Meanwhile, on Economic and Social Affairs, the Philippines raised the need to include in the programme narratives the substantial coordination and interaction between the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the resident coordinators in order to support increased assistance to Member States for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In the subsequent informal consultations under this Programme, Ms. Valles recalled the agreement made by the CPC in last year’s programme plans (62nd session) to support the full implementation of all relevant resolutions pertaining to the needs of Middle-Income Countries (MICs) and called for a similar agreement in the current session. The Committee agreed to highlight in the programme report the need to continue to support the development cooperation with MICs in accordance with its mandate.
At the Committee’s 63rd session, 18 out of 28 programs of the SG were adopted.
Composed of 34 Member 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 the agreed recommendations in the main session of the 78th UNGA, and subsequently approve the corresponding budget allocations for implementation the following year, or whenever appropriate. END
5C Expert Valles presides over small-group consultations with CPC Member States to facilitate discussions on Humanitarian Assistance Programme of the SG. (New York PM photo)
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