The origins of the CEB date back to 1946 when the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) was established, pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 13 (III), as a standing committee under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to:

• Supervise the implementation of the agreements between the United Nations and the specialized agencies;
• Ensure coordination of the programmes approved by the governing bodies of the various organizations of the United Nations system; and
• Promote cooperation within the system in the pursuit of the common goals of Member States.

The underlying premise in the creation of the ACC (predecessor of CEB) was that an institutional mechanism was needed to draw the disparate parts of a decentralized system of specialized bodies - each with its own constitution, mandate, governing bodies and budgets - into a cohesive and functioning whole.

The meetings of the Board are attended by the Executive Heads only. The meetings of the High level committees and related subsidiary networks/ad hoc working groups are limited to the respective senior/technical officials nominated by each Executive Head.

The CEB Secretariat oversees the day-to-day coordination of the work of the CEB and its pillars. It has dual locations – in New York and in Geneva - both reporting to the Secretary of the CEB, who is based in New York.

For CEB reports and other resources, including the Annual Overview Report, visit Reports.

HLCM is responsible for ensuring coordination in administrative and management areas across the UN System. HLCM is charged with identifying and analyzing administrative management issues of common concern, which require a system-wide response and with promoting and coordinating management initiatives that will improve services, achieve productivity improvements and increase efficiency and effectiveness across the United Nations system. The Committee is comprised of senior administrative managers from the member organizations of the United Nations system who meet twice a year.

In its work, HLCM is supported by five Technical Networks in the areas of finance & budget, human resources, digitalization and technology, procurement and safety & security.

HLCP is the principal mechanism for system-wide coordination and policy coherence in the programme area. It is responsible to CEB for fostering coherence, cooperation and coordination on the programme dimensions of strategic issues facing the UN System. The Committee is composed of senior representatives from CEB member organizations responsible for programme planning and development who come together twice a year to meet in regular session. The following three inter-agency mechanisms were established by HLCP to increase coherence across the United Nations system in addressing urgent development challenges: UN-Water, UN-Oceans and UN-Energy.