Our Goals and Objectives
The United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2001-05 (UNDAF) took into consideration priorities of China's Tenth Five Year Plan and the strategic themes proposed by the Common Country Assessment (CCA) to come up with six cross-cutting themes. These themes cut across all UNDAF goals and objectives and are areas which have been priorities for the UN in previous cycles and which will continue to be major concerns for the UN in China, over and beyond the current UNDAF period. These cross-cutting themes are: poverty alleviation; improved rule of law; gender mainstreaming; social protection; HIV/AIDS and other threats; and maintaining economic growth while preventing further environmental deterioration. Once the themes were designated, the Country Team discussed what it expected to achieve through providing development assistance to China (the "goals") and which problems it hopes to address, i.e., which areas of intervention it would focus its support in order to achieve these goals (the "objectives"). The three UNDAF goals are as follows:
Goal One: Promote sustainable development to reduce
disparities
Goal Two: Support favourable conditions for the national reform
and development process.
Goal Three: Assist China’s efforts in meeting global challenges
and promote international cooperation.
Goal One relates to development assistance aimed at minimising the existing disparities between regions, among rural and urban areas, among the rich and the poor, and between men and women through primarily social and human development factors. It also looks at improving the quality, coverage and the access of basic social services in China. Special attention will be paid to programmes which target the provision of basic services and poverty alleviation initiatives to the most marginalised populations, including women and girls, ethnic minorities and the migrant population.
Goal Two covers other issues related to facilitating national development, including the rule of law, environmental management, continued fiscal reforms, urbanisation, and free internal flow of goods, services, information and resources. It is also about governance and enhancing the roles of the government, the private sector and the civil society in development, and the need for their respective responsibilities to evolve in line with nation-wide reforms and changes occurring as a result of the transition process.
Goal Three covers the areas in which the UN will assist China continue to assume an active role in dealing with global challenges, cooperation with neighbouring countries and the region and in the integration of the conclusions of international conventions and conferences into the body of national law, plans and programmes. In pursuing its goals and objectives, the UN system will pay special attention to the needs of girls and women.