Review of the draft UNCTAD programme plan and performance information for the year 2023, part II of the proposed programme budget

The Working Party on the Programme Plan and Programme Performance

1. Concurs with the UNCTAD programme plan and performance information for the year 2023, part II of the proposed programme budget, as contained in document TD/B/WP(83)/CRP.1;1
2. Welcomes and supports the decisions taken and vision presented by the Secretary- General of UNCTAD with a view to the implementation of the Bridgetown Covenant and revitalization of UNCTAD;
3. Requests the Secretary-General of UNCTAD to take account of comments and inputs provided during the eighty-third session of the Working Party and document TD/B/WP(83)/CRP.1 for the purposes of her submission of inputs for the proposed UNCTAD programme budget for the year 2023 to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for subsequent consideration by the General Assembly of the United Nations and its subsidiary bodies;
4. Expresses its appreciation for the reflection of the Bridgetown Covenant in various parts of the document, yet notes the need to better integrate it throughout;
5. Reiterates the importance of ensuring objective, relevant and measurable performance measures, while also reiterating its request to the UNCTAD secretariat to seek guidance from the United Nations Secretariat on measuring the impact of the activities under the research and analysis pillar, and to ensure that improvements are reflected through the performance measures included in the future programme plan;
6. Takes note with appreciation of the information provided to member States on the resources for UNCTAD for the year 2022 and the geographical representation and gender balance of UNCTAD staff, as well as the use of internships within the UNCTAD secretariat in the year 2021, and encourages the continued provision of such information;
7. Takes note of and welcomes paragraph 49 of resolution 76/245 of the General Assembly, which “welcomes the adoption of the Bridgetown Covenant at the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, on 7 October 2021, takes note that, owing to its recent adoption, no provisions are included in the proposed programme budget for 2022 for implementation of the relevant mandates, and therefore requests the Secretary-General to include relevant proposals for implementation of the Covenant in the next proposed programme budget”.