Resident Coordinator

A United Nations Resident Coordinator is the highest United Nations official and the chief of UN diplomatic mission in a country (except when there is a mission of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations or similar, in which case the Special Representative of the Secretary-General is the highest official). It confers the same rank as an Ambassador of a foreign state. The resident coordinator is the designated representative of the UN secretary general and leader of United Nations Country Team of Agencies such as (UNICEF, WHO, WFP).

The function is usually performed by the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme.

The Resident Coordinator (RC) system encompasses all organizations of the United Nations system dealing with operational activities for development, regardless of their formal presence in the country. The RC system aims to bring together the different UN agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities at the country level. Resident Coordinators, who are funded and managed by UNDP, lead UN country teams in more than 130 countries and are the designated representatives of the Secretary-General for development operations. Working closely with national governments, Resident Coordinators and country teams advocate the interests and mandates of the UN system while drawing on the support and guidance of the entire UN family.

Coordinating development operations promotes more strategic support for national plans and priorities, makes operations more efficient and reduces transaction costs for governments. This helps the UN to be a more relevant and reliable partner for governments.

The RC's role in the country is multifaceted, and his or her responsibilities include:

Ensuring the coordination of all UN operational activities; Assuming leadership within the UN system; Assuming the UN Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) role in case of an emergency and coordinating country-level response to humanitarian crises; Encouraging and facilitating stronger coordination and coherence for UN activities, and promoting the UN global agenda, including the UN reform agenda, at country level; Responsible for all common UN projects and initiatives designed to reflect corporate UN priorities, and are jointly implemented by all UN agencies represented in the country; Reporting on an annual basis to the Secretary General.

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