SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS STAFF EFFORTS 'BEST POSSIBLE RESPONSE TO IDEOLOGUES AND WILFULLY MISINFORMED' CRITICS OF UNITED NATIONS

Press Release
ORG/1243

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS STAFF EFFORTS 'BEST POSSIBLE RESPONSE TO IDEOLOGUES AND WILFULLY MISINFORMED' CRITICS OF UNITED NATIONS

Addressing the third "UN21 Awards" presentation, Secretary-General Kofi Annan this afternoon called for the support of every staff member in the United Nations system to implement the reform programme he announced last week. The July 1997 awards recognized the efforts of about 50 staff members who made substantial and measurable contributions towards enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the United Nations.

"I am determined to carry out every action that is within my authority", he said. The reform report was not put together just to gather dust on some forgotten shelf, or to be watered down beyond recognition, he added.

Regarding the staff members awarded at the ceremony, the Secretary- General said that they were laying to rest the canard that the United Nations could not achieve value for money. They had promoted broader understanding of the Organization, reduced overhead, saved millions of dollars and shown that efficiency and effectiveness were compatible goals -- "the best possible response to the ideologues and wilfully misinformed people around the world who reflexively criticize the United Nations and its staff", he added.

Continuing, he said there were outstanding staff members across the Organization who were making major improvements in how it accomplished its global mission and dramatically shifting its management culture. Hundreds of staff members, he pointed out, had designed over 550 efficiency projects, nearly half of which had been completed; the rest of them would be later this year.

Mr. Annan said he was particularly pleased that the awards were going to a variety of teams which had pooled efforts across United Nations funds and programmes. "This shift, this transformation in the way we carry out our work, is at the heart of the reform I announced last week", he said. "We have reached a critical stage in the reform process: the stage of implementation. We must now turn promises into deeds, ideas into results."

The UN21 Awards were presented to about 50 members of staff in six teams: the Selection Assistance Team; Mainframe Consolidation Team; UN-I-QUE Database Team; Internet Connection Team; United Nations Postal Administration

Counter Sales and Graphics Team; and the Ombudsman and Staff Counsellors Team. The Secretary-General said of them: "You are setting new standards of performance and excellence".

Launching the presentation earlier, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management Joseph E. Connor said winners were first nominated by the Organization's programme managers and then reviewed by his Department on the basis of the concrete results of their efforts.

First nominated on 5 May, today's winners were decorated with blue "UN21" pins by the Secretary-General. The UN21 Awards, established in October 1996 by the Efficiency Board, have been presented in October and December 1996.

In the context of enhancing the use of information technology by the Organization, Mr. Connor acknowledged the contribution of Pakistan's Permanent Representative Ahmad Kamal.

Today's winners were individually introduced to applause from the audience at a ceremony that included a performance by the United Nations Staff Recreation Council Singers. Their songs included "Let There Be Peace on Earth".

Members of the Selection Assistance Teams were introduced by Assistant Secretary-General for Peace-keeping Operations Manfred Eisele, who said the Team was also the Civilian Police Unit of the Department. Winners from the Mainframe Consolidation Team were presented by a representative of the International Computing Centre, Satya Vithala.

Samir Sanbar, Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information, introduced the UN-I-QUE Database Team. The Internet Connection Team members were presented by the Acting Chief, Computing Technology Service, Information Technology Services Division of the Department of Administration and Management of the United Nations, Eduardo Blinder, and by the Officer-in- Charge, Division of Administrative and Information Services, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), John Clarkson.

The Ombudsman and Staff Counsellor Team in the United Nations Office at Nairobi was introduced by its New York representative, Garth Edwards. The Chief, Commercial Activities Services, Anthony Fouracre, introduced the Postal Administration Counter Sales and Graphics Team.

Under-Secretary-General Connor described the Teams' achievements. Of the Selection Assistance Teams, he said that when the United Nations sent police monitors to the former Yugoslavia or other missions, the monitors must be prepared to act effectively and quickly. The Department of Peace-keeping Operations had developed and dispatched Selection Assistance Teams to

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countries to help test and choose monitors so that police officers would have the necessary requirements when they reached mission areas. That initiative had improved monitoring and saved the Organization $1.7 million last year, with comparable results being obtained this year.

Regarding the Mainframe Consolidation Team, he said that the United Nations mainframe operations were consolidated, as of 30 April, at the International Computing Centre in Geneva. That had saved some $1.2 million yearly and improved services for New York-based mainframe users. The New York-Geneva team, from the International Computing Centre and the Information Technology Services Division, had planned and completed the project on schedule.

As for the UN-I-QUE Database Team, he said that the Dag Hammarskjöld Reference Desk staff had designed and put on line the database to guide researchers around the world through 50 years of United Nations documents. Delegates, researchers and students could now find United Nations documents -- for instance, reports of the Commission on Human Rights since 1947 or general debate speeches by Ghana -- within seconds.

Speaking on the Internet Connection Team, the Under-Secretary-General said that, through the efforts of the Team, made up of staff members from the United Nations, the UNDP and the Informatics Group of the Economic and Social Council, every permanent mission in New York had been linked to the Internet. As a result, they had rapid electronic access to United Nations documents through its Home Page and the Optical Disk System, and to Home Pages and Services offered by the United Nations website.

The Ombudsman and Staff Counsellor Team in the United Nations office in Nairobi, Mr. Connor said, mediated disputes, and advised and counselled staff, resolving problems quickly. That saved the Organization the time, costs and disruption involved in lengthy recourse procedures and appeals, and enhanced staff welfare. Made up of only two people, the team had made a major contribution to the drive for efficiency in the office.

Discussing the Postal Administration Counter Sales and Graphics Team, the Under-Secretary-General said that, through a variety of creative measures, the Postal Administration was enjoying record sales that was 50 per cent above last year's. A team of graphics, building management and counter sales people had worked on signs directing people, on display advertisements, and on new lighted panels.

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