The UN Development Group derives many of its mandates from the Comprehensive Policy Review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, a General Assembly resolution that serves as an important instrument for the monitoring and the assessment of UN development operations.

This General Assembly resolution responds to the mandate defined by: (i) the General Assembly which establishes key system-wide policy orientations for the development cooperation and country-level modalities of the United Nations system; and (ii) the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which provides coordination and guidance to the UN system to ensure that those policies are implemented.

The resolution provides an opportunity to consider the role of UN development assistance from an integrated, long-term perspective. Previously, the resolution was negotiated every three years. In 2008 the General Assembly decided to make the resolution quadrennial, meaning that the next resolution will be negotiated in 2011. More information about the Comprehensive Policy Review is available here.