The Resident Coordinator System

As in most countries, the UNDP Resident Representative also serves as the Resident Coordinator of the UN Country Team. As the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General, the Resident Coordinator assumes overall responsibility for, and coordination of, UN operational activities at the country level. Under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator, the currently 17 UN agencies and programmes represented in Iran compose the UN Country Team, working together in identifying areas for UN System interventions, work and collaboration.  Under the Resident Coordinator’s supervision, the Resident Coordinator Support Unit works to ensure coordination among the agencies and programmes that are present in the country through regular Inter-Agency meetings and follow up on joint and collaborative activities.

In order to focus their efforts, the UN agencies jointly agree on a UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). The 2005-2010 UNDAF for Iran identifies several development challenges that the country is facing: improvement of the economic performance and job creation, good governance and human rights, HIV/AIDS, MDGs, capacity building, science and technology transfer as well as energy efficiency, environmental degradation and disaster preparedness.

The UN Resident Coordinator at a Glance

The new Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and Resident Representative of UNDP in the Islamic Republic of Iran is Ms. Consuelo Vidal- Bruce. She arrived in Iran in January 2010 and presented her credentials to the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday 26 January 2010 (link to the news report).

Ms. Vidal is from Peru. She has 18 years of experience with the UN system. Her most recent assignment was in August 2005 to November 2009, during which she was the UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia. Prior to that, Ms. Vidal was the Deputy Resident Representative (DRR) of UNDP in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2002-July 2005) with direct responsibility for UNDP’s programme and operations in the sensitive environment of the post conflict Balkans region. She has also been the DRR in UNDP El Salvador and Belize, and in UNDP Costa Rica, during 1998-2002 and 1996-1998, respectively. While working in these countries, Ms. Vidal supervised programs and projects with very strong components of capacity building, post conflict development, natural disasters and in the area of the environment. Prior to that, she worked as UNDP Programme Coordinator in Bolivia (1994-1996) and as UNDP programme officer in Namibia (1992-1994).

Before joining the UN, from 1983 to 1986 Ms Vidal worked as a lawyer in the Legal Department of Petroleos del Peru, the state-owned Oil Company of her native country, Peru.

Ms. Vidal holds a Master’s degree in Science, Technology and Industrialization Policy (University of Sussex, UK), a Master of Arts in Corporate Law (Instituto de Empresa, Madrid, Spain), and a Bachelor's degree in Law (Universidad Catolica, Lima, Peru).

Ms. Vidal is fluent in Spanish and English.

For more information please visit:  www.un.org.ir