In news– Siddharth Chatterjee, a former Indian military officer, has become the U.N. Resident Coordinator for China recently.
Who is UN resident coordinator-
- The UN Resident Coordinator(RC) is the highest-ranking representative of the UN Development System at the country level.
- RCs lead UN Country Teams and coordinate UN support to countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda.
- The Resident Coordinator is the designated representative and reports to – the UN Secretary-General.
What do Resident Coordinators do?
The key duties and responsibilities of Resident Coordinators include:
- Representing the United Nations at the highest levels of state and, together with the relevant agency representatives, fostering engagement with the government, civil society, bilateral and multilateral partners, academia and the private sector, in order for the UN development system to help address the country’s needs, priorities and challenges to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Coordinating operational activities for development of the UN in support of the country’s efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda.
- Promoting and advocating for the fundamental values, standards and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for and protection of human rights and gender equality and advocacy on the SDG commitment to leave no one behind in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and reaching the furthest behind first.
- Leading the UN country team (UNCT) in consultations with the host Government to define and agree on the UN’s strategic response to the government’s priorities.
- Leading and supporting the UNCT in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting on the UN Cooperation Framework, in full consultation with the government, and through engagement with diverse partners.
- Advocating for and supporting the work of UNCT members, including Non-Resident Agencies (NRAs), in reaching their agency-specific goals.
- Leading and coordinating the response efforts of United Nations and relevant humanitarian actors in cases where international humanitarian assistance is required and a separate Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) or lead agency is not designated.
- Facilitating the integration of the UNCT’s work with UN peacekeeping or political missions in conflict and post-conflict settings, so as to fully contribute to building resilience, prevention and peace, and to transition planning and management.
- Managing and providing strategic guidance and oversight to the Resident Coordinator Office.
