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2022 Handbook ECOSOC COMMISSION: Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA)
Topics
The Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) provides expert advice to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on improving public administration and good governance. It is composed of non-governmental representatives and its recommendations are non-binding on Member States. It is expected to provide comprehensive recommendations for both governments and the United Nations system on the topics under its purview. Past work has included advice on the use of information communication technology in governance, government ethics and the relationship between public administration and development.
Members Members
- Brazil
- China
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- France
- Germany
- Ghana
- India
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- Lebanon
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Philippines
- Republic of Korea
- Russian Federation
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
Effective governance for sustainable development Effective governance for sustainable development
Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present a vision of a future that requires transformative changes by Member States, and the scale of the challenge requires effective governments capable of efficiently using resources at scale for grand projects and societal transformation. Strong institutions deliver better governance and sustainable development outcomes, as governments hold the primary responsibility for guiding, implementing and overseeing development programs. Such responsibility requires institutions to be accountable, effective and ethical. Given its importance to implementing development strategies, the international community recognized that effective governance was central to the foundation for success with the SDGs, enshrining it as a Sustainable Development Goal in its own right as part of SDG 16.
CEPA noted in 2015 that the interrelated concepts of transparency, accountability, ethical leadership and integrity form the basis for effective public administration. Integrity is necessary to set and follow the rules that prevent corruption from taking hold while ethical leadership is the commitment of public servants to adhere to that integrity. Transparency and access to information allow institutional observers—such as the private sector or other layers of government—and members of the public to identify breaches of ethics when they occur. Finally, accountability is the ability to react to ethical breaches and correct them. CEPA further identified four main factors that promote these concepts: procedural methods, institutional arrangements, social accountability and public control, and cultural norms.
These factors generally either increase access to information or regulate the behavior of public officials, both of which assist in increased citizen engagement and improve trust in government. The drawback, however, is that procedures that are implemented by the government can easily be repealed by the government. It is therefore important to build supporting infrastructure to promote good governance at the same time.
Accountability is the step connecting empowered citizens and transparency to reliable governance. In addition to requiring institutions on the governmental side that can audit activities and enforce reforms, accountability requires the citizens to organize and participate in the political process. The United Nations describes civil society organizations (CSOs) as the “third sector” of society, cooperating with both the public and private sectors. Regarding accountability, CSOs need to be able to work closely with public institutions to act as a bridge between citizen demands and the government. Establishing the necessary protections to allow CSOs to function, such as freedoms of information and association, also set traditions of good governance that reinforce these efforts.
The first global and legally-binding action against corruption was the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). The Convention approached the issue of corruption in five areas: preventative measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. The details of this implementation were left to the newly created Conference of States Parties (the Conference), which would also engage in periodic reviews. However, the details of the Convention have come under significant criticism for lack of State participation and a lack of involvement of CSOs and other non-governmental stakeholders, particularly with respect to the review process. Within States, a lack of legal protections—particularly freedoms of expression and of the press—have allowed for increased persecution of CSOs, hampering anti-corruption efforts.
Attempting to build on this work, CEPA in 2018 compiled a list of 11 principles of effective governance for sustainable development, centered around promoting effectiveness, accountability and inclusiveness, mirroring the essential elements of SDG 16. The 11 principles also included commonly-used strategies to support each principle, providing States practical guidance in addressing a broad range of governance challenges associated with implementing the SDGs. ECOSOC subsequently endorsed the principles and encouraged CEPA to offer implementation options for all public institutions, taking into account differences in governments’ structure, capacities and levels of development.
CEPA then began a period of outreach to understand how it could best help States implement the principles. CEPA held a regional workshop in conjunction with the African Peer Review Mechanism in Pretoria in 2019 to review the principles and strategies in an African context. One particularly relevant finding was how the institution-building efforts promoted by CEPA aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. With this synergy identified, the participants planned a baseline study on the status of the principles across Africa. CEPA made the principles the focus of its 2020 session, examining how it could provide technical guidelines to operationalize the principles and promote them. CEPA began to provide detailed guidance for each strategy identified in the principles, attempting to build a base of technical expertise available to States seeking to implement the strategies. As of August 2022, CEPA has managed to publish 19 of 82 guidance notes across five of the 11 principles. The pace has been slowed by lack of a standardized mechanism to draft the notes, which currently are done ad hoc by CEPA Secretariat members and volunteers.
CEPA continued hosting partnerships with regional groups in Africa and Latin America in 2021, recognizing the importance of offering a range of strategy implementation options to suit a variety of States’ situations—such as economies in transition, post-conflict states and others. These discussions also highlighted the importance of not over-taxing governments with tracking the implementation of these strategies; CEPA instead is seeking existing metrics, targets and data collection efforts that could be applicable to monitoring States’ progress towards improving their governments’ effectiveness and success in achieving the SDGs. Relatedly, CEPA collaborated with the Praia Group of Governance Statistics on drafting its Handbook on Governance Statistics, which outlined a framework for governance statistics that included eight dimensions of governance, which closely aligned with most of the 11 principles.
Questions to consider from your country’s perspective:
- What other options does CEPA have for drawing support to draft and publish the remaining guidance notes?
- Can CEPA prioritize the remaining guidance notes to focus on topics most impactful towards effective governance for sustainable development?
- How can CEPA continue working towards effective tools for assessing progress in the implementation of effective governance strategies?
Bibliography Bibliography
- African Union. Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
- Eilertsen, Aleksander, et al. (2020). The Essential Role of Resilient and Responsive Institutions.
- Huter, Mathias, and Ruggero Scaturro (November 2021). UNCAC in a Nutshell 2021.
- Praia Group of Governance Statistics. Handbook on Governance Statistics.
- Radaelli, Claudio (2022). Sound Policy-Making in the Ecology of Sustainable Development. European Research Council.
- Rose, Cecily (1 August 2015). International Anti-Corruption Norms: Their Creation and Influence on Domestic Legal Systems.
- Transparency International (10 December 2015). Civil Society Participation, Public Accountability, and the UN Convention Against Corruption.
- Transparency International (25 November 2013). UNCAC Review Mechanism: Up and Running but Urgently Needing Improvement.
- United Nations. Goal 16: Promote Just, Peaceful and Inclusive Societies.
- United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration. Principles of Effective Governance.
- United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration. Principles of Effective Governance for Sustainable Development.
- United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003).
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Sustainable Development Goals.
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the African Union’s African Peer-Review Mechanism (2019). African Regional Workshop on Effective Governance for Sustainable Development: Putting Principles into Practice.
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
United Nations Documents United Nations Documents
- United Nations, Committee of Experts on Public Administration (2020). Report on the Nineteenth Session. E/2020/44-E/C.16/2020/8.
- United Nations, Committee of Experts on Public Administration (2020). Effective Governance for Sustainable Development: Putting Principles into Practice and Reviewing Outcomes. E/C.16/2020/3.
- United Nations, Committee On Experts on Public Administration (2018). Report on the Seventeenth Session. E/2018/44-E/C.16/2018/8.
- United Nations, Conference of States Parties to the Convention Against Corruption (2011). Mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Resolution 4/1.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2018). Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its Seventeenth Session. E/RES/2018/12.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council(2015). Promoting Accountable Institutions, Ethical Leadership and Integrity to Enhance Confidence in Efforts to Deliver Sustainable Development. E/C.16/2015/5.
- United Nations, General Assembly (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . A/RES/70/1.
Building strong institutions for sustainable development in conflict-affected countries Building strong institutions for sustainable development in conflict-affected countries
Conflict-affected countries, including both States experiencing active conflict and post-conflict States, struggle to build and maintain public institutions that effectively serve their communities. Conflict can weaken public institutions by reducing the quality and availability of services. Conflict can also create mistrust in institutions that either failed to deliver services or that may have directly harmed community members, particularly among marginalized groups. This is compounded by the significant economic effects of conflict, reducing States’ GDPs, diverting resources away from public administration and sustainable development, and limiting growth long after peace has been achieved. Conflict also creates massive social challenges, including worse health outcomes and increases in gender-related violence. The United Nations has recognized the importance of building and maintaining strong institutions through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which seeks to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” However, with global conflict currently on the rise across multiple continents, ensuring the stability and efficacy of public institutions is an increasing challenge.
Effective public administration has been a longstanding focus of the United Nations; the first resolution on public administration was passed by the General Assembly in 1948. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) created the Group of Experts on the United Nations Programme in Public Administration and Finance, which reviewed the United Nations’ public administration work, including public administration in post-conflict and post-crisis areas; this group became CEPA in 2001. While the United Nations’ work on public administration continued through the latter half of the century, focus on public administration in tandem with development would come in the 1990s. The United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) was created by the General Assembly in 1999 with a mandate to foster collaboration and help States build technical capacity in public administration, including post-conflict States. UNPAN works with United Nations agencies, regional stakeholders and other institutions to build capacity and share knowledge around institutional best practices.
The Sustainable Development Goals, part of Agenda 2030, placed a strong emphasis on institutions and capacity-building with an eye toward conflict-affected States. SDG 16 contains 12 targets and 22 indicators to measure progress toward peaceful and inclusive societies. In particular, Target 16.6 focuses on the development of “effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels,” while Target 16.a calls for “strengthen[ing] relevant national institutions…for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.” The goal-setting for SDG 16 led to a substantial development of resources and strategies for improving public administration. In 2017, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) held an expert group meeting to discuss incorporating the SDGs into post-conflict processes. CEPA put forward a list of 11 principles for effective governance in 2018 with a specific focus on the goals of effectiveness, accountability and transparency outlined in SDG Target 16.6.
CEPA has also advocated for conflict-sensitive approaches to building strong institutions, with a particular emphasis on protection of marginalized groups and groups that may have been harmed directly by public institutions. This follows a larger need for the United Nations and other organizations providing support for institutional capacity-building to follow the needs of communities, rather than dictating the terms of institutional growth. CEPA and other experts have argued that context-specific “bottom-up” approaches to institutional growth are more likely to create institutions that meet the needs of their communities and are particularly important in conflict-affected areas, where the specific context of the conflict directly affects how rebuilding should take place. This approach has been echoed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and by other international agencies. CEPA has also argued for the importance of State-building after conflicts, emphasizing the long-term benefits of putting resources and energy towards the capacity of governments and local institutions rather than solely focusing on the short-term needs of maintaining security.
The COVID-19 pandemic upended much of the work being done towards sustainable development and institution-building, creating new obstacles and inflaming existing challenges. Violent conflict and infectious diseases often have a cyclical relationship: conflict can create conditions that promote the spread of infectious diseases, while the COVID-19 pandemic has been cited as potentially increasing the risk of conflict by exacerbating existing issues in fragile or conflict-affected States. These issues include human rights abuses, corruption around COVID-19 restrictions and access to services in fragile States, and the onslaught of disinformation around the pandemic. In the early stages of the pandemic, the United Nations, NGOs and other institutions issued guidance promoting conflict-sensitive responses to the pandemic in fragile and conflict-affected areas and for the protection of human rights by institutions. However, CEPA’s 2021 report on the effects of pandemic showed that awareness of these issues did not prevent harms from occurring.
Two years into the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to loom over conflict-affected States, creating continued challenges for public institutions as other States move forward. Even as the pandemic has moved away from lockdowns and movement restrictions, the continuing economic effects threaten the stability of public institutions. Conflict-affected States are also still at risk of being left behind in access to lifesaving COVID-19 vaccinations, due in large part to access challenges and weakness in institutions providing health services in conflict areas. Furthermore, many public institutions, particularly those that were already hampered by conflict, have experienced significant erosion of public trust. In some instances, this lack of public trust may be due to inability or failure to provide effective and accountable services. However, in other instances, this trust deficit may be due to disinformation or fake news undermining confidence in legitimate public services.
The combined effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict has also created or worsened existing social and humanitarian issues, presenting further challenges to public administration. A particular area of concern in conflict-affected areas is the protection of women and girls. Sexual and gender-based violence rose significantly across the board during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many women unable to access services and support systems due to lockdowns and social restrictions. In conflict-affected areas where sexual and gender-based violence were already more prevalent before the pandemic, these risks are magnified and intersect with conflict-specific concerns. Without strong public institutions to provide necessary services and community infrastructure, gender equality and the other SDGs remain at risk of failure.
Questions to consider from your country’s perspective:
- How can CEPA and the international community help build capacity and competence in institutions in conflict-affected States?
- What can the United Nations and NGOs do to support public institutions in stopping violence against women and girls?
- What options are there to support conflict-affected areas through the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How can an international body like the United Nations meaningfully promote community-driven, bottom-up strategies for building effective institutions?
Bibliography Bibliography
- Amnesty International (7 April 2021). Sub-Saharan Africa: The Devastating Impact of Conflicts Compounded by COVID-19.
- Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (February 2022). 10 Conflicts to Worry About in 2022.
- Blanc, Jarrett, and Frances Z. Brown (17 December 2020). Conflict Zones in the Time of Coronavirus: War and War by Other Means.
- Bousquet, Franck (10 February 2022). Fragile and Conflict-Affected Economies Are Falling Further Behind. World Economic Forum.
- Bousquet, Franck, and Oscar Fernandez-Taranco. COVID-19 in Fragile Settings: Ensuring a Conflict-Sensitive Response.
- Clark, Helen, et al. (26 August 2022). Conflict, Climate Change and COVID Combine to Create a Breeding Ground for Sexual and gender-based Violence.
- Convergence of Conflicts, COVID and Climate Crises, Jeopardize Global Goals (7 July 2022). UN News.
- COVID-19 Vaccine Access in Conflict Areas Remains Critical (11 April 2022). UN News.
- Daw, Mohamed A. (11 June 2021). The Impact of Armed Conflict on the Epidemiological Situation of COVID-19 in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Frontiers in Public Health.
- de Groot, Olaf J., et al. (11 February 2022). The Global Economic Burden of Violent Conflict. Journal of Peace Research.
- Distrust of Public institutions, Health Inequities Could Push More Countries Into Conflict, UN Political Affairs Chief Warns (9 September 2020). UN News.
- Haller, Tobias, et al. (1 July 2016). Constitutionality: Conditions for Crafting Local Ownership of Institution-Building Processes. Society & Natural Resources.
- InterAction (July 2019). World Bank Group Fragility, Conflict and Violence Strategy: NGO Community Recommendations.
- International Alert (January 2004). Conflict-Sensitive Approaches to Development, Humanitarian Assistance and Peacebuilding: A Resource Pack.
- International Committee of the Red Cross (17 May 2022). COVID-19 Vaccination: Support to People Affected by Armed Conflict and Violence and Those Living in hard-to-reach Areas.
- International Institute for Sustainable Development (10 November 2017). Experts Discuss Integrating Sustainable Development in Post-Conflict Situations.
- Justino, Patricia (July 2018). Governance Interventions in Conflict-Affected Countries. The Journal of Development Studies.
- King, Elisabeth, and Cyrus Samii (December 2014). Fast-Track Institution Building in Conflict-Affected Countries? Insights from Recent Field Experiments. World Development.
- Monnier, Céline (7 April 2020). Responding to COVID-19: The Need for Conflict Sensitivity.
- Mueller, Hannes, and Julia Tobias (December 2016). The Cost of Violence: Estimating the Economic Impact of Conflict.
- O’Neill, Carrie, and Ryan Sheely (20 June 2019). Governance as a Root Cause of Protracted Conflict and Sustainable Peace: Moving from Rhetoric to a New Way of Working. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (3 July 2020). Transparency, Communication and Trust: The Role of Public Communication in Responding to the Wave of Disinformation About the New Coronavirus.
- Oxfam (May 2020). COVID-19 and Conflict Sensitivity.
- United Nations (April 2020). COVID-19 and Human Rights: We Are All in This Together.
- United Nations. Millennium Development Goals.
- United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (2018). Bulletin for CEPA Members, January–March 2018.
- United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (April 2011). Post-Conflict and Post-Disaster Countries.
- United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (April 2008). Capacity-Building for Post-Conflict Reconstruction.
- United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration (4 March 2022). Transforming Institutions and Governance to Build Forward Better Towards 2030.
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Goal 16: Promote Peaceful and Inclusive Societies for Sustainable Development, Provide Access to Justice for All and Build Effective, Accountable and Inclusive Institutions at All Levels.
- United Nations Public Administration Network.
- UN Women. The Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women during COVID-19.
- World Bank (11 November 2020). Corruption and COVID-19 Response.
- World Bank Group (27 February 2020). World Bank Group Strategy for Fragility, Conflict, and Violence 2020–2025.
United Nations Documents United Nations Documents
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2022). Institutions and State-building in conflict-affected settings: the case of Afghanistan. E/C.16/2022/4.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2022). Issues of governance and institution-building in conflict-affected countries. E/C.16/2022/9.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2021). Building strong institutions for sustainable development in conflict-affected countries. E/C.16/2021/6.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2021). Building strong institutions for sustainable development in conflict-affected countries. E/C.16/2021/7.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2020). Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies and providing access to justice for all. E/C.16/2020/8.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2020). Re-establishment of credible governance and public administration institutions and systems after conflict. E/C.16/2020/5.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2018). Principles of effective governance for sustainable development . E/C.16/2018/8.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2011). Public governance for results: State capacity for post-conflict and post-disaster reconstruction and social protection policies. E/C.16/2011/3.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (1967). United Nations programme in public administration. E/RES/1199 (XLII).
- United Nations, General Assembly (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . A/RES/70/1.
- United Nations, General Assembly (1996). Public administration and development. A/RES/50/225.
- United Nations, General Assembly (1948). International facilities for the promotion of training in public administration. A/RES/246 (III).
Topics
The Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) provides expert advice to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on improving public administration and good governance. It is composed of non-governmental representatives and its recommendations are non-binding on Member States. It is expected to provide comprehensive recommendations for both governments and the United Nations system on the topics under its purview. Past work has included advice on the use of information communication technology in governance, government ethics and the relationship between public administration and development.
Members Members
- Brazil
- China
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- France
- Germany
- Ghana
- India
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- Lebanon
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Philippines
- Republic of Korea
- Russian Federation
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
Effective governance for sustainable development Effective governance for sustainable development
Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present a vision of a future that requires transformative changes by Member States, and the scale of the challenge requires effective governments capable of efficiently using resources at scale for grand projects and societal transformation. Strong institutions deliver better governance and sustainable development outcomes, as governments hold the primary responsibility for guiding, implementing and overseeing development programs. Such responsibility requires institutions to be accountable, effective and ethical. Given its importance to implementing development strategies, the international community recognized that effective governance was central to the foundation for success with the SDGs, enshrining it as a Sustainable Development Goal in its own right as part of SDG 16.
CEPA noted in 2015 that the interrelated concepts of transparency, accountability, ethical leadership and integrity form the basis for effective public administration. Integrity is necessary to set and follow the rules that prevent corruption from taking hold while ethical leadership is the commitment of public servants to adhere to that integrity. Transparency and access to information allow institutional observers—such as the private sector or other layers of government—and members of the public to identify breaches of ethics when they occur. Finally, accountability is the ability to react to ethical breaches and correct them. CEPA further identified four main factors that promote these concepts: procedural methods, institutional arrangements, social accountability and public control, and cultural norms.
These factors generally either increase access to information or regulate the behavior of public officials, both of which assist in increased citizen engagement and improve trust in government. The drawback, however, is that procedures that are implemented by the government can easily be repealed by the government. It is therefore important to build supporting infrastructure to promote good governance at the same time.
Accountability is the step connecting empowered citizens and transparency to reliable governance. In addition to requiring institutions on the governmental side that can audit activities and enforce reforms, accountability requires the citizens to organize and participate in the political process. The United Nations describes civil society organizations (CSOs) as the “third sector” of society, cooperating with both the public and private sectors. Regarding accountability, CSOs need to be able to work closely with public institutions to act as a bridge between citizen demands and the government. Establishing the necessary protections to allow CSOs to function, such as freedoms of information and association, also set traditions of good governance that reinforce these efforts.
The first global and legally-binding action against corruption was the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). The Convention approached the issue of corruption in five areas: preventative measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. The details of this implementation were left to the newly created Conference of States Parties (the Conference), which would also engage in periodic reviews. However, the details of the Convention have come under significant criticism for lack of State participation and a lack of involvement of CSOs and other non-governmental stakeholders, particularly with respect to the review process. Within States, a lack of legal protections—particularly freedoms of expression and of the press—have allowed for increased persecution of CSOs, hampering anti-corruption efforts.
Attempting to build on this work, CEPA in 2018 compiled a list of 11 principles of effective governance for sustainable development, centered around promoting effectiveness, accountability and inclusiveness, mirroring the essential elements of SDG 16. The 11 principles also included commonly-used strategies to support each principle, providing States practical guidance in addressing a broad range of governance challenges associated with implementing the SDGs. ECOSOC subsequently endorsed the principles and encouraged CEPA to offer implementation options for all public institutions, taking into account differences in governments’ structure, capacities and levels of development.
CEPA then began a period of outreach to understand how it could best help States implement the principles. CEPA held a regional workshop in conjunction with the African Peer Review Mechanism in Pretoria in 2019 to review the principles and strategies in an African context. One particularly relevant finding was how the institution-building efforts promoted by CEPA aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. With this synergy identified, the participants planned a baseline study on the status of the principles across Africa. CEPA made the principles the focus of its 2020 session, examining how it could provide technical guidelines to operationalize the principles and promote them. CEPA began to provide detailed guidance for each strategy identified in the principles, attempting to build a base of technical expertise available to States seeking to implement the strategies. As of August 2022, CEPA has managed to publish 19 of 82 guidance notes across five of the 11 principles. The pace has been slowed by lack of a standardized mechanism to draft the notes, which currently are done ad hoc by CEPA Secretariat members and volunteers.
CEPA continued hosting partnerships with regional groups in Africa and Latin America in 2021, recognizing the importance of offering a range of strategy implementation options to suit a variety of States’ situations—such as economies in transition, post-conflict states and others. These discussions also highlighted the importance of not over-taxing governments with tracking the implementation of these strategies; CEPA instead is seeking existing metrics, targets and data collection efforts that could be applicable to monitoring States’ progress towards improving their governments’ effectiveness and success in achieving the SDGs. Relatedly, CEPA collaborated with the Praia Group of Governance Statistics on drafting its Handbook on Governance Statistics, which outlined a framework for governance statistics that included eight dimensions of governance, which closely aligned with most of the 11 principles.
Questions to consider from your country’s perspective:
- What other options does CEPA have for drawing support to draft and publish the remaining guidance notes?
- Can CEPA prioritize the remaining guidance notes to focus on topics most impactful towards effective governance for sustainable development?
- How can CEPA continue working towards effective tools for assessing progress in the implementation of effective governance strategies?
Bibliography Bibliography
- African Union. Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
- Eilertsen, Aleksander, et al. (2020). The Essential Role of Resilient and Responsive Institutions.
- Huter, Mathias, and Ruggero Scaturro (November 2021). UNCAC in a Nutshell 2021.
- Praia Group of Governance Statistics. Handbook on Governance Statistics.
- Radaelli, Claudio (2022). Sound Policy-Making in the Ecology of Sustainable Development. European Research Council.
- Rose, Cecily (1 August 2015). International Anti-Corruption Norms: Their Creation and Influence on Domestic Legal Systems.
- Transparency International (10 December 2015). Civil Society Participation, Public Accountability, and the UN Convention Against Corruption.
- Transparency International (25 November 2013). UNCAC Review Mechanism: Up and Running but Urgently Needing Improvement.
- United Nations. Goal 16: Promote Just, Peaceful and Inclusive Societies.
- United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration. Principles of Effective Governance.
- United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration. Principles of Effective Governance for Sustainable Development.
- United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003).
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Sustainable Development Goals.
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the African Union’s African Peer-Review Mechanism (2019). African Regional Workshop on Effective Governance for Sustainable Development: Putting Principles into Practice.
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
United Nations Documents United Nations Documents
- United Nations, Committee of Experts on Public Administration (2020). Report on the Nineteenth Session. E/2020/44-E/C.16/2020/8.
- United Nations, Committee of Experts on Public Administration (2020). Effective Governance for Sustainable Development: Putting Principles into Practice and Reviewing Outcomes. E/C.16/2020/3.
- United Nations, Committee On Experts on Public Administration (2018). Report on the Seventeenth Session. E/2018/44-E/C.16/2018/8.
- United Nations, Conference of States Parties to the Convention Against Corruption (2011). Mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Resolution 4/1.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council (2018). Report of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration on its Seventeenth Session. E/RES/2018/12.
- United Nations, Economic and Social Council(2015). Promoting Accountable Institutions, Ethical Leadership and Integrity to Enhance Confidence in Efforts to Deliver Sustainable Development. E/C.16/2015/5.
- United Nations, General Assembly (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . A/RES/70/1.
Building strong institutions for sustainable development in conflict-affected countries Building strong institutions for sustainable development in conflict-affected countries
Conflict-affected countries, including both States experiencing active conflict and post-conflict States, struggle to build and maintain public institutions that effectively serve their communities. Conflict can weaken public institutions by reducing the quality and availability of services. Conflict can also create mistrust in institutions that either failed to deliver services or that may have directly harmed community members, particularly among marginalized groups. This is compounded by the significant economic effects of conflict, reducing States’ GDPs, diverting resources away from public administration and sustainable development, and limiting growth long after peace has been achieved. Conflict also creates massive social challenges, including worse health outcomes and increases in gender-related violence. The United Nations has recognized the importance of building and maintaining strong institutions through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which seeks to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” However, with global conflict currently on the rise across multiple continents, ensuring the stability and efficacy of public institutions is an increasing challenge.
Effective public administration has been a longstanding focus of the United Nations; the first resolution on public administration was passed by the General Assembly in 1948. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) created the Group of Experts on the United Nations Programme in Public Administration and Finance, which reviewed the United Nations’ public administration work, including public administration in post-conflict and post-crisis areas; this group became CEPA in 2001. While the United Nations’ work on public administration continued through the latter half of the century, focus on public administration in tandem with development would come in the 1990s. The United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) was created by the General Assembly in 1999 with a mandate to foster collaboration and help States build technical capacity in public administration, including post-conflict States. UNPAN works with United Nations agencies, regional stakeholders and other institutions to build capacity and share knowledge around institutional best practices.
The Sustainable Development Goals, part of Agenda 2030, placed a strong emphasis on institutions and capacity-building with an eye toward conflict-affected States. SDG 16 contains 12 targets and 22 indicators to measure progress toward peaceful and inclusive societies. In particular, Target 16.6 focuses on the development of “effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels,” while Target 16.a calls for “strengthen[ing] relevant national institutions…for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.” The goal-setting for SDG 16 led to a substantial development of resources and strategies for improving public administration. In 2017, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) held an expert group meeting to discuss incorporating the SDGs into post-conflict processes. CEPA put forward a list of 11 principles for effective governance in 2018 with a specific focus on the goals of effectiveness, accountability and transparency outlined in SDG Target 16.6.
CEPA has also advocated for conflict-sensitive approaches to building strong institutions, with a particular emphasis on protection of marginalized groups and groups that may have been harmed directly by public institutions. This follows a larger need for the United Nations and other organizations providing support for institutional capacity-building to follow the needs of communities, rather than dictating the terms of institutional growth. CEPA and other experts have argued that context-specific “bottom-up” approaches to institutional growth are more likely to create institutions that meet the needs of their communities and are particularly important in conflict-affected areas, where the specific context of the conflict directly affects how rebuilding should take place. This approach has been echoed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and by other international agencies. CEPA has also argued for the importance of State-building after conflicts, emphasizing the long-term benefits of putting resources and energy towards the capacity of governments and local institutions rather than solely focusing on the short-term needs of maintaining security.
The COVID-19 pandemic upended much of the work being done towards sustainable development and institution-building, creating new obstacles and inflaming existing challenges. Violent conflict and infectious diseases often have a cyclical relationship: conflict can create conditions that promote the spread of infectious diseases, while the COVID-19 pandemic has been cited as potentially increasing the risk of conflict by exacerbating existing issues in fragile or conflict-affected States. These issues include human rights abuses, corruption around COVID-19 restrictions and access to services in fragile States, and the onslaught of disinformation around the pandemic. In the early stages of the pandemic, the United Nations, NGOs and other institutions issued guidance promoting conflict-sensitive responses to the pandemic in fragile and conflict-affected areas and for the protection of human rights by institutions. However, CEPA’s 2021 report on the effects of pandemic showed that awareness of these issues did not prevent harms from occurring.
Two years into the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to loom over conflict-affected States, creating continued challenges for public institutions as other States move forward. Even as the pandemic has moved away from lockdowns and movement restrictions, the continuing economic effects threaten the stability of public institutions. Conflict-affected States are also still at risk of being left behind in access to lifesaving COVID-19 vaccinations, due in large part to access challenges and weakness in institutions providing health services in conflict areas. Furthermore, many public institutions, particularly those that were already hampered by conflict, have experienced significant erosion of public trust. In some instances, this lack of public trust may be due to inability or failure to provide effective and accountable services. However, in other instances, this trust deficit may be due to disinformation or fake news undermining confidence in legitimate public services.
The combined effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict has also created or worsened existing social and humanitarian issues, presenting further challenges to public administration. A particular area of concern in conflict-affected areas is the protection of women and girls. Sexual and gender-based violence rose significantly across the board during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many women unable to access services and support systems due to lockdowns and social restrictions. In conflict-affected areas where sexual and gender-based violence were already more prevalent before the pandemic, these risks are magnified and intersect with conflict-specific concerns. Without strong public institutions to provide necessary services and community infrastructure, gender equality and the other SDGs remain at risk of failure.
Questions to consider from your country’s perspective:
- How can CEPA and the international community help build capacity and competence in institutions in conflict-affected States?
- What can the United Nations and NGOs do to support public institutions in stopping violence against women and girls?
- What options are there to support conflict-affected areas through the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How can an international body like the United Nations meaningfully promote community-driven, bottom-up strategies for building effective institutions?
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