2003/6
Overview of decisions adopted by the Executive Board
at its first regular session 2003

The Executive Board

Recalls that during the first regular session 2003, it:

Item 1
Organizational matters

Elected the following members of the Bureau for 2003:

President: H.E. Mr. Roble Olhaye (Djibouti)
Vice-President: H.E. Mr. Ahmed Al-Haddad (Yemen)
Vice-President: Mr. Denys Toscano (Ecuador)
Vice-President: Mr. Juraj Koudelka (Czech Republic)
Vice-President: Ms. Kjersti Rodsmoen (Norway)

Approved the agenda and work plan for its first regular session 2003 (DP/2003/L.1 and Corr.1);

Approved the report of the second regular session 2002 (DP/2003/1);

Approved its annual work plan 2003 (DP/2003/CRP.1);

Adopted decision 2003/1 of 23 January 2003 on improvement of the working methods of the Executive Board;

Agreed to the following schedule of future sessions of the Executive Board in 2003:

Annual session 2003: 6 June and 9 to 20 June 2003 (New York)
Second regular session 2003: 8 to 12 September 2003.

UNDP SEGMENT

Item 2
UNDP Business Plans, 2000-2003

Took note of the oral presentation on the UNDP Business Plans, 2000-2003 and the conference room paper providing additional information (DP/2003/CRP.8).

Item 3
Country programmes and related matters

Approved the country programmes for Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and the Seychelles;

Approved the country programmes for India, Malaysia, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor-Leste and the multi-country programmes for Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau and the Pacific Island countries;

Approved the country programmes for Bolivia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela;

Approved the country programmes for Bahrain, Jordan and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya;

Approved the extensions of country cooperation frameworks for the Central African Republic and Thailand (DP/2003/8);

Took note of the corrigendum to the second country cooperation framework for Panama (DP/CCF/PAN/2/Corr.1);

Adopted decision 2003/2 of 23 January 2003 on assistance to Myanmar;

Took note of the report on assistance to Djibouti (DP/2003/4) and the country programme outline for Djibouti (DP/CPO/DJI/1).

Item 4
Financial, budgetary and administrative matters

Took note of the report on the special reserve for separations relating to UNOPS and the liabilities affecting UNDP (DP/2003/CRP.2).

Item 5
United Nations Office for Project Services

Adopted decision 2003/3 of 23 January 2003 on the financial situation of the United Nations Office for Project Services, including changes in the level of the operational reserve;

Adopted decision 2003/4 of 23 January 2003 on the independent review of the United Nations Office for Project Services.

Item 6
Field visits

Took note of the report on field visits (DP/2002/CRP.5);

Approved the terms of reference and agreed on the proposed dates and composition of field visits.

UNDP/UNFPA SEGMENT

Item 7
Recommendations of the Board of Auditors 2000-2001

Adopted decision 2003/5 of 23 January 2003 on the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors for the biennium 2000-2001 for the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office for Project Services;

Took note of the UNDP update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors for the biennium 2000-2001 (DP/2003/CRP.7).

Item 8
Reports to the Economic and Social Council

Took note of the reports of the UNDP Administrator (DP/2003/5) and the UNFPA Executive Director (DP/FPA/2003/2) to the Economic and Social Council and agreed to transmit them to the Council with comments made thereon.

UNFPA SEGMENT

Item 9
Country programmes and related matters

Approved the following country programmes:

Africa: Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria;

Arab States: Djibouti and Jordan;

Asia and the Pacific: Bangladesh, China, India, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, the South Pacific region and Timor-Leste;

Latin America and the Caribbean: Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador and Venezuela.

Item 10
Other matters

I. Briefing

Held a briefing on the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Board decided that delegations needed more time to review the Beijing Declaration of the Second GEF Assembly with their respective capitals. It was proposed that this item be taken up at the annual session in June 2003. A Note by the Administrator will be prepared and made available for advance distribution by or before mid-March 2003.

II. Informal consultations

Held informal consultations on strategic evaluations of corporate issues that are of high priority to the organization.

23 January 2003