Externe Publikationen

In my view: the new UN co-ordination levy - can it set the right incentives?

Weinlich, Silke
Externe Publikationen (2018)

in: OECD (ed.), Multilateral development finance: towards a new pact on multilateralism to achieve the 2030 Agenda together, Paris: OECD Publ., 217-18

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264308831-en
Information

In May 2018, as part of the larger reform package on the United Nations development system (UNDS), UN member states introduced a 1% levy on tightly earmarked financial contributions for development-related activities. While small in scope, the levy is an unprecedented instrument to set actual financial incentives for more efficient, multilateralism- and development-friendly ways of funding the whole UNDS. For the levy to realise its potential, it is crucial that it is put into practice in a systemwide, transparent, efficient and effective way, leaving as few loopholes as possible. If effectively implemented by member states and agencies, the levy could set an example for other multilateral organisations and policy fields, such as humanitarian affairs, that also suffer from fragmentation.