Speech by the Permanent Secretary of SELA, Amb. Javier Paulinich, in The 7th Annual Meeting of International Organisations

High Level Webinar sponsored by the OECD

Facing the Global Crisis Together

3 September 2020 – Paris, France

Dear colleagues,

Coordination in the action of the various international organizations (IOs) is fundamental to the success of their work at the international level. It is not only a positive factor to avoid duplication of tasks and make a better use of resources, but it would also improve the public perception about the functioning of international organizations.

Building such consensus could be a complex process. It is understandable that every IO wants to excel in what it does. Giving or sharing spaces would require making truly credible and firm commitments that all agencies are willing to respect.

One the most common problems in the relations among IOs is the repetition of tasks. A large number of IOs address the same topics without visible results, which leads to duplication of functions. This forces to redesign the tasks and actions of the IOs, and to achieve this it is essential for them to restrict themselves to the objectives and purposes for which they were created and thus avoid falling into the field of action of each other.

The crosscutting nature of the topics often causes an overlapping of the topics, resulting in everyone, in one way or another, ending up addressing the same topics. While international dynamics bring interdependence, the truth is that each international organization has its own nature, a hallmark that distinguishes it, and based on this point of view each one must focus cooperation with its peers so as to identify areas of convergence in which they can work together.

The objective should be to create a mechanism to address common challenges in a coordinated manner, as well as to explore and take advantage of the strengths of each organization in their areas of action for better implementation of their assigned mandates. Feedback within the OIs system would facilitate the guidance and achievement of the goals set within each organization on the basis of the separation of objectives, instruments and powers in order to achieve collaborative work.

In pursuing this objective, it would be highly beneficial for universal, regional or subregional IOs to coordinate and act as a system to avoid duplication of efforts and activities. Little or lack of coordination among IOs has not only affected the internal dynamics of their relationship system, but also the overlapping of issues has generated in citizens some scepticism as regards the relevance, operability and effectiveness of the work carried out by IOs, which raises doubts whether all of them are really necessary, particularly because of the resources needed for their maintenance.

This is a worrying situation for the very credibility of the IOs, which requires restoring citizens’ confidence in these institutions by revitalizing them and strengthening their thematic leadership. Institutions with transparent and inclusive operating rules are needed, as well as an effective implementation capacity based on the commitments of party States.

This self-examination is a complementary element in the search for effective international regulation, which should be based, inter alia, on the following principles:

• Inclusion, in order to work on a geographical basis, and together with the public and private sectors.
• Transparency and accountability. What is being done? For which purpose?
• Geographic and thematic leadership, as well as co-responsibility.
• Highlight their scope of action in order to avoid duplication and “overlapping”, and thus coordinate efforts in the same direction.
• Continuous and permanent communication. Disseminate information about the work that is being carried out.
• Continuity based on regulations and objectives, not people. Disconnection and lack of follow-up occur because there is not a person in charge of the relationship.
• Permanent update of the agenda.

In conclusion, the following steps are required to achieve greater and better coordination in the activities of IOs so that they can adapt themselves to the “new normality”, strengthen their resilience and be prepared for future crises:

• Build consensus on the need for coordinated action;
• Determine and respect the sphere of action of each international organization;
• Deal with cross-cutting issues in a joint manner so as to avoid duplication of work;
• Create synergy among IOs at different levels (universal, regional or subregional) in the treatment of issues;
• Improve the image of IOs for external audiences by demonstrating efficiency;
• Establish transparent and inclusive operating rules;
• Achieve an effective implementation capacity based on the commitment of Member States;
• Address the various issues by taking into account their geographical and thematic leadership, co-responsibility, transparency and accountability, continuous and permanent communication, in order to disseminate their work.

Thank you very much.