Questions
1. How does the UN system in Thailand operate?
2. What does the UN Resident Co-ordinator do?
3. What is the Inter-Agency Support Unit?
4. What inter-agency activities exist?
5. What is the Common Country Assessment (CCA)?
6. What is the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF)?
7. Which issues are identified by the UN as the most pressing for Thailand?
8. How is the UN collaborating with the Thai government?
9. What do I need to know before I travel to Thailand?
10. I would like to work for the UN in Thailand. Where can I find the information I need?
Answers:
1. How does the UN system in Thailand operate?
As Bangkok is the UN’s regional centre for Asia and the Pacific, the UN System in Thailand is unusually large and complex. The UN community of agencies extends well beyond those that serve Thailand alone. Indeed, UN programmes for Thailand are quite modest in financial terms, since it is a relatively successful middle income country. However, UN programmes with Thailand as a significant partner are extensive.
The UN System in Thailand now comprises 24 agency offices, a figure which includes both the Asian Development Bank and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), neither of which are technically UN agencies but both of which have so much in common with it, that they are treated as if they were UN agencies for most operational purposes. Most of these agencies have a regional mandate whilst the remaining ones are focused primarily on Thailand. Link to click-on diagram of UN system (in “Operation of the UN system”). 
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2. What does the UN Resident Co-ordinator do?
The system of the Resident Co-ordinator came into effect as an integral part of the restructuring of the economic and social sectors of the United Nations system initiated by the General Assembly (GA) resolution 32/197 of 20 December 1977. In that resolution, the General Assembly decided that, on behalf of the UN system, overall responsibility for, and co-ordination of, operational activities for development carried out at the country level should be entrusted to a single official, who would exercise team leadership and ensure a multidisciplinary dimension in sectoral development programmes.
The Resident Co-ordinator is the designated representative of the Secretary-General for development operations and leader of the United Nations Country Team. Resident Co-ordinators report to the Secretary-General through the UNDP Administrator, who is accountable to the Secretary-General for the efficient performance of the resident co-ordinator system and to the UNDP Executive Board for UNDP expenditures in support of the resident co-ordinator system. The UNDP Administrator is responsible for recommending the appointment of resident co-ordinators to the Secretary-General.
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3. What is the Inter-Agency Support Unit?
The Interagency Support Unit (IASU) is part of the Office of the UN Resident Co-ordinator in Thailand. It comprises a full time manager and support staff, and provides the secretariat the support needed to manage the inter-agency collaboration of the United Nations System. IASU is funded by contributions from the participating UN agencies, and is accountable to these agencies as a whole.
4. What inter-agency activities exist?
Together the 24 UN agencies in Thailand work to follow up to global conferences and declarations. The agencies also collaborate in several Inter-agency projects. Other activities by the UN system in Thailand as a whole include publications such as the Common Country Assessment (CCA) and the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for Thailand.
These common achievements are made possible by collaborative fora such as the Heads of Agency Meetings, the several inter-agency committees and the twelve inter-agency Thematic Working Groups. They are further facilitated by the UN Resident Co-ordinator and the Inter-Agency Support Unit.
5. What is the Common Country Assessment (CCA)?
In July 1997 the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan introduced a wide-ranging reform programme for the UN. It called for a new leadership culture and management structure at the UN. The Common Country Assessment (CCA) (link) and the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) (link) were introduced to strengthen the coherence and effectiveness of the UN system’s contribution to a country’s development efforts.
The Common Country Assessment (CCA) is an integral part of the Secretary General’s UN Reform Agenda. It represents an independent assessment by the United Nations system of the development situation and critical issues facing a country, particularly in light of the declarations, goals, and plans of action agreed upon at the series of global conferences convened by the UN in the 1990s. The CCA of Thailand therefore was preceded by a review of the extent to which the country has achieved the goals specified in the UN Global Agenda.
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6. What is the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF)?
In July 1997 the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan introduced a wide-ranging reform programme for the UN. It called for a new leadership culture and management structure at the UN. The Common Country Assessment (CCA) (link) and the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) were introduced to strengthen the coherence and effectiveness of the UN system’s contribution to a country’s development efforts.
The UNDAF is a planning framework for the development operations of the UN system at the country level. It identifies the common objectives, the common strategies of development assistance and a common timeframe for follow-up activities shared by all resident UN agencies. The UNDAF thus enables a holistic UN approach to country challenges.
7. Which issues are identified by the UN as the most pressing for Thailand?
In the Thai-UNDAF for 2002-2006, to promote disparity reduction and sustainable human development is identified as the overarching goal of the UN in Thailand. In working towards this goal, the UNDAF highlights the following priority areas: poverty reduction, social protection and social development, governance, international competitiveness, human security and environment. In advancing these priority areas, the UN approach will be rights-based, gender-sensitive and co-operative with other countries. For more information, see the 2002-2006 Thai UNDAF. (link)
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8. How is the UN collaborating with the Thai government?
UN programmes for Thailand are quite modest in financial and operational terms, since it is a relatively successful middle income country. However, UN programmes with Thailand, as a significant partner, are extensive. There are several UN inter-country programmes with Thailand as a significant partner in areas such as trafficking, child labour, HIV/Aids and environment. In recent years, Thailand has expanded its partnership with the UN through its participation in peace keeping and development efforts in the region such as East Timor. A schematic illustration of the Thai-UN relationship is depicted in the following figure.
9. What do I need to know before I travel to Thailand?
UN staff assigned to an agency in Thailand will find information on visa, immunization requirements and medical examination under the Travel Info section of this site.
10. I would like to work for the UN in Thailand. Where can I find the information I need?
See our section Jobs including current vacancies
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