FOR GREATER EFFECTIVENESS, UN SYSTEM MUST BE ABLE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN STAFF OF HIGHEST CALIBRE, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS FIFTH COMMITTEE
Press Release
SG/SM/5816
GA/AB/3044
FOR GREATER EFFECTIVENESS, UN SYSTEM MUST BE ABLE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN STAFF OF HIGHEST CALIBRE, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS FIFTH COMMITTEE
19951120 Following is the text of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's statement delivered this afternoon to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) under the item on the United Nations common system:I am pleased to meet you today, both as Secretary-General of the United Nations and in my capacity as Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, to address a number of important issues relating to the United Nations common system. The statement adopted on the subject by ACC at its most recent meeting is before you in document A/C.5/50/11.
Five weeks ago, I presented my proposed programme budget for 1996-1997. In my statement then, I reiterated my firm commitment to reform and to further improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Organization. I stressed that the measures to streamline and rationalize the management of the Secretariat reflected in the budget submission, should be considered as an integral part of this reform effort.
The issues before you under this item should be seen in the same light - - as part of a wider reform process, which is engaging, in different ways, all of the organizations of the common system.
This is a time of rapid change. The organizations of the United Nations system are being called upon to respond to new challenges and new mandates.
A renewed effort at enhancing cost-effectiveness, improving administrative efficiency, strengthening accountability and eliminating duplication and waste, is under way in all parts of the system.
Throughout the system, there is a renewed commitment to enhancing the collective impact of programmes, through an improved division of labour, which encourages each organization to focus on its comparative advantage.
I met with my colleagues, the executive heads of the organizations of the United Nations system, here in New York last month. All ACC members were deeply conscious of the need for improved performance management and increased productivity, at a time of increasing demands and scarce financial resources.
At the same time, all executive heads, from the perspectives of their various organizations, shared the conclusion that addressing the declining competitiveness of the conditions of service of staff in the common system was essential to fully achieve these objectives.
Whether it be in telecommunications, atomic energy, patent law, education, agriculture, health, aviation, postal services or trade, there is the same concern: The organizations of the common system are no longer competitive, in relation to other international organizations, as well as national civil services.
The success of the reform effort -- and the ability of the system to deliver with ever greater effectiveness the programmes mandated by Member States -- depend upon the performance of its staff. The system must be able to attract and retain staff of the highest calibre. To do so, it must have competitive conditions of service. By acting on conditions of service within the common system, the General Assembly has a unique opportunity to further advance the overall reform effort.
The International Civil Service Commission, in view of its key role in the process of determining conditions of service in the common system, has a crucial contribution to make to this effort. The organizations of the common system are aware of the Commission's responsibilities in this regard, and have strongly supported its work.
The improvement of conditions of service cannot be separated from the general issue of the capacity of the system to respond to changing international priorities. The Commission's work should be addressed to helping the system in the difficult process of managing change.
For the last three years, the General Assembly has asked the Commission to study all aspects of the application of the Noblemaire principle, which is the basis for the remuneration of our international professional staff.
The ACC very much regrets the Commission's delay in responding to the repeated requests of the Assembly. Although very late and not sufficient to make the United Nations common system truly competitive, the salary measures proposed by ICSC are welcomed by ACC as a first, urgently needed step towards restoring competitiveness.
My ACC colleagues thus join me in urging you to adopt the recommendations of ICSC, which would raise remuneration levels of international staff and bring the current margin to the mid-point of its range, in accordance with methodologies established by this Committee. We also request you to endorse the recommendations of the Commission to
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restructure the salary scale, in order to correct existing imbalances vis-à- vis the national civil service which currently serves as comparator.
I am keenly aware of the critical financial issues facing the United Nations itself, which are before this session of the Assembly. I must stress, however, that the Assembly has, in relation to conditions of service, system- wide responsibilities which cannot and should not be overshadowed by other considerations. Indeed, addressing current uncertainties, in respect not only of predictable financing but also of conditions of service, is crucial to ensuring the long-term viability of the Organization and the system as a whole.
Each executive head will, naturally, need to exercise the necessary management flexibility, in close consultation with governing bodies, to accommodate the cost requirements involved in a competitive remuneration system, in the light of prevailing situations.
The adoption of the measures recommended by the Commission is the immediate priority. We need, at the same time, to accelerate progress in putting in place a longer-term strategy which ensures that conditions of service in the common system fully reflect the realities of today's global labour market.
When the Noblemaire principle was formulated in 1921 for the League of Nations, there were no other global institutions. I do not need to illustrate the sea-change which the international scene has undergone since then. And the pace of change, also in this respect, continues to accelerate.
The Bretton Woods institutions and a growing number of international and regional institutions are increasingly competing with the United Nations and the other organizations of the common system for qualified staff. Making the remuneration of staff in the common system competitive is not only necessary in the interest of equity, it is also important to preserve the unity of the system and the principles of universality.
This Committee is well aware of the crisis of confidence which has been developing within the system in relation to the functioning of ICSC. As you know, both staff associations have decided to suspend their participation in the work of the Commission. The General Assembly itself has urged the Commission, the organizations and the staff, to review how the consultative process of the Commission could be improved. Some new procedures have been adopted by the Commission. These are to be welcomed. But, in the view of my colleagues in ACC and myself, these procedures do not meet the central concern -- to propose initiatives and solutions which can truly help us manage change.
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The ACC considers that these objectives can be advanced, without changing the ICSC statute and without affecting the General Assembly's authority to select the membership of the Commission.
The ACC would urge that search mechanisms be put in place to identify the best qualified candidates, with the most suitable technical skills and managerial experience for service in this body. In the same context, ACC recommends that organizations and staff be given the opportunity to propose a small number of candidates for service in the Commission. The ACC also considers that the terms of appointment of Commission members should be limited to two terms of four years each, and that the gender balance should be improved.
These are very challenging times for the common system. The tasks before this Committee are complex. There are conflicting priorities to be reconciled. But there is an overriding priority which executive heads and Member States share: to ensure that the United Nations system has the means, both human and financial, to meet the challenges ahead. In the same context, it is important that the unity of the system, and the position of the United Nations within the system, be preserved.
Concerns, not only in the secretariats but also in some of the governing bodies, that the central United Nations intergovernmental bodies are not entirely responsive to changing requirements, must be addressed.
The adoption by the Assembly, at its current session, of the measures recommended by ICSC, together with action towards revising the application of the Noblemaire principle, and to reinforce the capacity and contribution of the ICSC, are essential.
I cannot conclude my meeting with you today without repeating what I said when I introduced my budget on 4 October. Further progress towards the creation of a leaner, more efficient United Nations will not be possible until and unless the financial stability of this Organization is restored. Outstanding contributions amount to $2.8 billion. It is absolutely critical that payments be made by those Member States with outstanding contributions. The success of the overall reform effort rests on the long-term solution to the financial crisis.
I am confident that this Committee will rise to these challenges.
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