III. MECHANISMS FOR COORDINATION, MONITORING, FOLLOW-UP ACTION AND EVALUATION

89. The ECDC Programme is carried out at the subregional, regional and interregional levels. Where regional or subregional groupings exist, the global programme adopted at the Caracas Conference would not duplicate or hinder the ongoing activities of the groupings concerned but would rather usefully complement them. It embraces a variety of activities which require a global coordination scheme to help ensure its effective implementation. The Group of 77 should thereby be strengthened and its informal character preserved. This scheme is hereafter set forth.

I. Review, Policy Making and General Follow-up

1. Intergovernmental Follow-up and Co-ordination Committee

  1. This Committee will be made up of senior officials, preferably responsible for ECDC, with the participation of the heads of the national focal points and will:
    1. review periodically the progress made in the implementation of the ECDC
      programme;
    2. review periodically the programme and calendar of activities;
    3. agree on measures designed to give more impetus to the implementation of activities within the ECDC programme, when so required;
    4. recommend the Annual Ministerial Meeting new policy guidelines designed to impart greater operationality and coherence to the Programme;
    5. report to the Ministers on any significant matter relating to the Programme.
  1. The Follow-up and Coordination Committee will meet once a year.
  2. The Committee will make use, inter alia, of the information of various ECDC activities to be collated by the Chairmen of the Group of 77 and the Regional Coordinators of the Group of all United Nations Centres, at their meetings held twice a year.

    2. Sectoral Review Meetings

  1. These meetings will be made up of high level officials of the sectors concerned and
    will:
      1. review the substantive progress made in each of the sectors comprising the ECDC Programme; and take or recommend, as appropriate, necessary
        action.
      2. report thereon to the Ministers of the Group of 77, through the Intergovernmental Follow-up and Coordination Committee.
  2. These meetings will generally take place at intervals of approximately two years.
  3. The meetings mentioned above, under 1 and 2, will take place in developing countries members of the Group of 77, on the basis of a rotation between its Regional Groups, as far as practicable.

    3. The Annual Ministerial Meetings

    The Annual Ministerial Meetings, held in New York at the beginning of the regular sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, would concentrate their attention preferably every second year on a thorough review and appraisal of the activities within the ECDC Programme and provide for the necessary guidance and take other decisions, as required, with respect to policy issues and operational matters and for further strengthening of ECDC.

    II. Operational level - modalities and mechanisms

    At the operational level, the Programme will resort to various modalities or mechanisms, such as:

    1. Groups of experts and other similar meetings
    2. Meetings of heads of national agencies
    3. Action Committees and other similar instruments
    4. National Research and Training Centres of Multinational Scope.

    Some of these mechanisms are intended to identify and facilitate the operational actions required. Others are designed to implement such actions. When not otherwise decided in the Programme, initiative in this field will correspond to the governments concerned.

    III. Preparations and Support for the Coordination Activities in ECDC

  1. The Group of 77 in New York in close collaboration and consultation with the representatives of the developing country hosting the next meeting of the Follow-up and Coordination Committee, as well as with the other chapters of the Group, will coordinate and take the appropriate action on:
    1. Functional questions, including the scheduling and convening of meetings and the elaboration of their agenda, as appropriate;
    2. gathering and dissemination of pertinent information;
    3. reproduction and distribution of documents, as well as other coordinating activities that might be required.
  2. The Group of 77 will make the necessary arrangements to provide its Chairman with the required support assistance for ECDC purposes only. To that effect:
    1. The Chairman should be assisted by a small "core" of assistants nominated by governments as follows: one from each of the three Regional Groups, one from the country in-charge of the Group of 77, one from the country where the meeting of the Follow-up and Coordinating Committee was last held, and one from the country where that Committee will hold its next meeting; this arrangement will tend to ensure a proper balance between continuity and rotation. The assistants will be officials from their respective Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York fully assigned and paid by their respective governments. The selection of these assistants would be done in consultation with the Group of 77. They will be assigned to assist its Chairman in the field of ECDC, including the preparation of the meetings of the Follow-up and Coordination Committee.
    2. The Group of 77 would facilitate the access of the Chairman to:
      1. The United Nations agencies and regional commissions, in order to ensure the best possible supporting, technical and administrative
        services.
      2. Other pertinent intergovernmental organizations.
      3. The research and other relevant organizations of the developing countries in order to obtain on a regular basis their cooperation and studies and collection of data of interest to the Group of 77.

    IV. Financing of ECDC Supporting Activities

    1. The costs involved in convening experts groups and other meetings concerning ECDC, wherever these cannot be met through an international organizations, are expected to be met by the country hosting the meeting.
    2. The member-states of the Group of 77 will pursue vigorously all actions required to ensure full compliance with the commitments ;undertaken for the implementation and support of ECDC activities within organizations of the United Nations System, and trust that developed countries members of such organizations will fully honour those commitments.

    3. Moreover, the Group of 77 should seek appropriate decisions in the United Nations and other international organizations to ensure that these organizations devote a specific part of their budgets to the support of ECDC programme as elaborated by developing countries.

    4. An estimate should be prepared of the approximate annual costs to be borne by the Group of 77, as those arising from collection, collation, printing and distribution of documents and information regarding meetings of experts groups.

    5. In the meantime, the Group of 77 in New York will authorize its Chairman to establish in his name a "Group of 77 Account for ECDC" to finance, as required, under the modalities to be determined by that Group, the activities referred to in para. 4 above. Contributions to this account would be voluntary, freely determined by each contributing country. However, it is suggested that the minimum on contribution should be US$1,000.

    Special voluntary contributions may be received to facilitate equitable opportunity for countries interested in taking up the duties of hosting meetings.

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