UNICEF Executive Board

About the Executive Board

The Executive Board is the governing body of UNICEF. It is responsible for providing inter-governmental support to and supervision of the activities of UNICEF, in accordance with the overall policy guidance of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The Board meets three times each year, in a first regular (January), annual (June) and second regular session (September).

The Board, like the governing bodies of other United Nations funds and programmes (UNDP, UNFPA and WFP), is subject to the authority of the Council. Its role is to:

• Implement the policies formulated by the Assembly and the coordination and guidance received from the Council;
• Receive information from and give guidance to the Executive Director on the work of UNICEF;
• Ensure that the activities and operational strategies of UNICEF are consistent with the overall policy guidance set forth by the Assembly and the Council;
• Monitor the performance of UNICEF;
• Approve programmes, including country programmes;
• Decide on administrative and financial plans and budgets;
• Recommend new initiatives to the Council and, through the Council, to the assembly as necessary;
• Encourage and examine new programme initiatives; and
• Submit annual reports to the Council in its substantive session, which could include recommendations, where appropriate, for improvement of field-level coordination.

The Board has 36 members, elected for a three-year term with the following regional allocation of seats: 8 African States, 7 Asian States, 4 Eastern European States, 5 Latin American and Caribbean States and 12 Western European and Other States (including Japan). The officers of the Board, constituting the Bureau, are elected by the Board at its first regular session of each calendar year from among Board members. There are five officers—the President and four Vice-Presidents—representing the five regional groups at the United Nations. Officers of the Board are elected for a one-year term. The Board year runs from 1 January to 31 December.

The Economic and Social Council elects States to sit on the UNICEF Executive Board from States Members of the United Nations or of the specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Board sessions are held at United Nations Headquarters in New York. All formal meetings of the Board are interpreted in the six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian). A set of established Rules of Procedure facilitates the conduct of meetings.

The Office of the Secretary of the Executive Board (OSEB) is responsible for maintaining effective relationship between the Board and the UNICEF secretariat. Under the guidance of the President and the Bureau and through regular contacts with them, it organizes the business of and services all Board sessions. The office has similar responsibilities in relation to the wide range of informal consultations, briefings and Bureau meetings.

In addition, OSEB provides editorial and technical services for all documentation submitted to, or resulting from, meetings of the Board, working closely with the United Nations Secretariat, which translates and produces most documents in the required official languages. Documents are distributed to Board members six weeks before the start of each session. The office maintains a permanent record of all deliberations and decisions of the Board.
In close collaboration with the Programme Division and the concerned UNICEF field offices, OSEB organizes and arranges field visits by Board members and the President of the Board.