UN Resident Coordinator's Office
The Resident Coordinator system (RCS) ensures the coordination of all organizations of the United Nations dealing with operational activities for development at the country level. The RCS is focused on the advancement of sustainable development, leaving no one behind, and the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions as an overarching objective, consistent with the integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It encompasses the UN Resident Coordinator, the UN Country Team and the Resident Coordinator’s Office. The UNCT is led by the UN Resident Coordinator, who is the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General and highest ranking representative of the UN Development System in country.
The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator assists the RC in the fulfillment of core coordination functions and strategically position the UN family at the centre of development and international cooperation. In performing the functions, the RC is guided by the Philippines-United Nations Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development (PFSD) and international frameworks, norms and standards agreed amongst the Member States of the United Nations. The PFSD is the first Philippines-United Nations country plan that redefines the nature of UN System engagement in the Philippines from one that provides “development assistance” to a collaboration in a strategic partnership.
The UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines
Mr. Gustavo González brings more than 25 years of extensive managerial and leadership experience in development, humanitarian affairs and peacebuilding, performing for several UN entities across 3 continents (Central America, Africa and Middle-East). More recently, Mr. González worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as Director of the Business Development and Resource Mobilization Division. Prior to that, he was the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sub regional Development Coordinator for the Syria-related Crisis (2013-2017) covering operations in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Turkey. Before that, he was the UNDP Senior Country Director in Yemen (2011- 2013) during the Arab Spring transition, Country Director in Burundi (2007-2011) and Head of the Post-Conflict Unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2003-07).
He also served in various peacebuilding and reconstruction programmes in Guinea Bissau (2000-2002), working for the International Organization for Migration (IOM); in Central African Republic (1998-2000), for the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS); in Angola, Liberia and Mozambique (1994-1997) for the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs, and in Nicaragua (1990-1994), for the Organization of American States (OAS). Mr. Gonzalez holds a Master Diploma from the University of Oxford-Said Business School (UK), and a Master in Philosophy from the Universidad del Salvador (Argentina). He is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
