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Programme of work and budget for 2020–2021*

The United Nations Environment Assembly,

Having considered the proposed programme of work and budget for the biennium 2020– 2021,

1. Approves the programme of work and budget for the biennium 2020–2021;

2. Also approves appropriations for the Environment Fund in the amount of 200 million United States dollars, of which a maximum of 122 million dollars is allocated to defraying post costs for the biennium for the purposes indicated in the following table:

3. Stresses the importance of early, extensive and transparent consultations between the Executive Director, Member States and the Committee of Permanent Representatives on the preparation of the programmes of work and budgets, including initiatives of a significant, substantive and strategic nature that could require substantive resources affecting existing priority programmes or the outreach of UNEP, and the need for timely scheduling of meetings and provision of information to allow the full participation of all Member States throughout this process, and in this regard welcomes the progress made to date;

4. Recalls paragraph 13 of Governing Council decision 19/32, and requests the Executive Director to ensure that the secretariat provides the documentation and information related to the programme of work and budget to Member States and the Committee of Permanent Representatives at least four weeks in advance of the annual subcommittee meeting and other meetings at which it is to be considered;

5. Emphasizes the need for comprehensive information, and full justification, regarding proposed expenditures and contributions from all sources of funding, including staffing information, to be provided to the Committee of Permanent Representatives well in advance of its consideration of the programme of work and budget, and requests the Executive Director to continue to hold timely consultations on the preparation of all future programmes of work and budgets prior to their transmittal to other appropriate bodies; and continue to work expeditiously towards increasing transparency and accountability on costs and budgets to enable the CPR to provide guidance on its implementation;

6. Stresses the need for the programme of work and budget to be based on results-based management;

7. Authorizes the Executive Director to reallocate resources between subprogramme budget lines up to a maximum of ten percent of the subprogramme appropriations and to inform the Committee of Permanent Representatives, and in duly justified exceptional circumstances to reallocate in excess of 10 per cent and up to 20 per cent of the appropriations from which resources are reallocated after prior consultation with the Committee of Permanent Representatives;

8. Also authorizes the Executive Director to adjust, in consultation with the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the level of Environment Fund allocations to subprogrammes, bringing them into line with possible variations in income compared to the approved level of appropriations; while taking into account expected incomes from other sources;

9. Further authorizes the Executive Director to enter into forward commitments not exceeding 20 million United States dollars for Environment Fund activities, to implement the programme of work for the biennium 2020–2021;

9 bis. Decides that in the biennium 2020/21 overall staffing of the executive office may not exceed 30 posts unless otherwise authorized by the CPR;

10. Requests the Executive Director to continue to apply a prudent approach to the management of resources from all sources, including the Environment Fund, including through the careful management of contractual arrangements;

10 bis. Also requests the Executive Director to continue to monitor and manage the share of the Environment Fund devoted, respectively, to post costs and non-post costs, while clearly prioritizing the application of the resources of the Environment Fund to programme activities;

11. Also requests the Executive Director to improve the achievement of programme objectives and the efficient and transparent use of resources to that end, subject to United Nations processes of oversight, review and independent evaluation;

12. Further requests the Executive Director to continue to report to Member States, through the annual Subcommittee meeting , and to the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme at its biennial sessions, on evaluation findings and the progress made in respect of the performance of each subprogramme and its expected accomplishments and on the execution of the budget of the Environment Fund, including voluntary contributions, expenditures and reallocations of appropriations or adjustments of allocations;

13. Requests the Executive Director to continue to report to Member States, through quarterly reports to the Committee of Permanent Representatives, in a streamlined manner through the merging of progress reporting on administrative and budgetary matters with its programme performance reporting;

13 bis. In this regard, also requests the Executive Director to include in the reporting to the CPR the information on how United Nations Environment Programme has implemented the provisions in General Assembly resolutions 72/279 “Repositioning of the United Nations development system in the context of the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system” and 71/243 “Quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system”;

13 ter. Requests the Executive Director to undertake an assessment of internal policies, guidelines and regulations that need to be adjusted in order to implement the provisions in General Assembly resolutions 71/243 and 72/279 and to present a plan with timelines for their implementation to the Committee of Permanent Representatives at their 146th meeting and to present an update for consideration at the annual subcommittee meeting and to reflect the findings in the implementation of the approved medium-term strategy and Programme of Work as well as in the design of future planning documents;

14. Also requests the Executive Director to continue to organize, in a timely and predictable manner, regular briefings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives on the programme and budget performance of each sub-programme, to enable the Committee to perform its monitoring task adequately;

15. Further requests the Executive Director to ensure that the delivery of the programme of work supports and brings together regional and national programmes and activities in the medium-term strategy and the biennial programme of work and takes into account regional priorities and regional frameworks, where they exist, and requests the Executive Director to include information on regional programmes and activities in the progress report on the implementation of the programme of work;

15 bis. Requests the Executive Director to continue implementing the PoW/B at a regional and sub-regional level including through supporting regional ministerial conferences and fora for which the United Nations Environment Programme serves as secretariat;

15 ter. Also requests the Executive Director to ensure that all activities of the United Nations Environment Programme at country level are aligned with, and included in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), where applicable, as the most important instrument for planning and implementation of United Nations development activities in each country, and are reported on to the respective UN Resident Coordinator and the CPR on a regular basis;

16. Requests the Executive Director to ensure that all earmarked contributions to the United Nations Environment Programme are used to fund activities that contribute to the effective implementation of the programme of work, apart from those funds administered by the United Nations Environment Programme on behalf of other intergovernmental bodies;

17. Encouraged by its universal membership, urges Member States and others in a position to do so to increase voluntary contributions to the United Nations Environment Programme, notably the Environment Fund;

18. Notes the positive effect of the voluntary indicative scale of contributions to broaden the base of contributions to, and to enhance predictability in the voluntary financing of, the Environment Fund, and requests the Executive Director to continue adapting the voluntary indicative scale of contributions, inter alia, in accordance with Governing Council decision SS.VII/1 and any relevant subsequent decisions;

19. Encourages the Executive Director, in close consultation with the Committee of Permanent Representatives, to further improve implementation of the resource mobilization strategy and requests the Executive Director, in accordance with the partnership policy rules and the Financial Rules of the United Nations, to mobilize increased voluntary funding to the Programme from all Member States and others in a position to do so as well as to continue to broaden the contributor base;

19 bis. Requests the Executive Director to develop robust and transparent due diligence procedures prior to accepting funds from sources other than Member States and to keep the Committee of Permanent Representatives informed about the procedures and their application;

19 ter. Welcomes the indication in the Programme of Work and budget of core activities for the subprogrammes and requests the Executive Director to provide adequate priority to these activities when implementing the Programme of Work;

19 quater. Requests the Executive Director to ensure South-South, South-North and triangular Cooperation initiatives are effectively implemented in the spirit of accountability and transparency;

20. Expresses concerns that some projects, partnerships, and new initiatives including those affecting the programme’s nomenclature, which potentially negatively affect UNEP’s reputation and distract UNEP from its core mandates as contained in the programme of work, were undertaken and launched without prior consultation with member states;

20 bis. Requests the Executive Director, in the spirit of transparency and inclusivity, and in a proactive manner, to fully utilize the existing governing structures and processes in order to address the concerns raised in the paragraph above;

21. Requests the Executive Director, further to the General Assembly adoption of resolution 72/266 “Shifting the management paradigm in the United Nations” (24 December 2017), to revise the strategic planning cycles and format, in close consultation with the Committee of Permanent Representatives and in accordance with resolution 72/266 which includes the development of an Annual Budget and Performance Document;

22. Also requests the Executive Director to submit for consideration and approval by the United Nations Environment Assembly at its fifth session, in consultation with the Committee of Permanent Representatives, and building on lessons learnt from previous periods a result-oriented and streamlined Medium-Term Strategy and programme of work that is in line with General Assembly adoption of resolution 72/266 “Shifting the management paradigm in the United Nations”;

22 bis. Takes note of the information document UNEP/EA.4/inf/10 entitled “funding implications of the policy-making organs in the context of the programme of work and budget 2020- 21”, and further notes the funding gap in providing conference services, IT communication services, security and medical services to the meetings of the assembly since its first session and welcomes the request of the General Assembly to the Secretary-General to make proposals, as appropriate, concerning the sustainability, predictability, and stability of the funding of the UNEP governing body.