UN MANDATES

TUN Member States in parliamentary fashion consider many topics and often agree to a program for forward action in a formal resolution. These are called mandates. Unfortunately, such mandates rarely if ever include a sunset clause time-bounding them to a certain outcome or to an end-date.

Over the years mandates would be implemented to varying degrees of effectiveness. Often a new mandate would emerge without regard to a similar mandate already underway, recycled from year to year to no end even though perhaps obsolete, or forgotten but still on the books.

To address this inefficient pattern of haphazard redundancy, the General Assembly in 2008 inventoried mandates still on the books, particularly those drawing upon resources no matter their relevance or purpose. Although this would merit continuous monitoring and rationalization, no similar exercise has occurred since.

Here is the report on the outcome of the 2008 Mandate Review exercise.

It is an exercise ripe for repeating today.