COMPETENT, ETHICAL CIVIL SERVICE PRECONDITION FOR DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS CONFERENCE ON PUBLIC SERVICE
Press Release
SG/SM/6397
COMPETENT, ETHICAL CIVIL SERVICE PRECONDITION FOR DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS CONFERENCE ON PUBLIC SERVICE
19971117 Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's message to the Conference on "The Public Service Transition: Enhancing Its Role, Professionalism, Ethical Standards and Values", delivered on his behalf by the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Vladimir Petrovsky in Thessaloniki, Greece on 17 November:It gives me great pleasure to convey a message to this important Conference. I would like to salute the Government of Greece for its initiative and ongoing commitment to United Nations ideals and objectives, and Thessaloniki for its hospitality.
Despite obvious differences between the Secretariat of the United Nations and the national civil services of Member States, there are significant parallels between the reform process that is currently transforming the United Nations and many of the issues to be explored at this Conference. Enhancing performance. Raising morale. Improving professionalism. Enforcing the highest possible ethical standards. Instilling a sense of core values and principles. These are among the goals we share. They form our common agenda for change and renewal in a new global era.
Public services around the world face unprecedented challenges. Globalization, democratization and economic liberalization have prompted dramatic changes in the role of the State. New opportunities and freedoms have raised expectations of individual citizens. An emerging, increasingly vocal civil society does not hesitate to call governments to account.
A report of the Secretariat circulated at this Conference highlights one major problem: corruption and related criminal activities. Corruption and poor administration inhibit a country's development and penalize its citizens. But the effects are wider still, touching neighbours and entire regions, as States with weak institutions and laws become bases for ill-intentioned persons and their illicit operations.
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Indeed, gone are the days when problems -- not only corruption, but also environmental degradation and an array of others -- could be resolved by countries acting in isolation. Today, there is a global dimension to nearly all human pursuits, and consultation, cooperation and compromise among States is essential. Governments, and in particular their public services, must rise to the occasion.
Prevention -- in the form of strong, proactive strategies and measures - - is always the best medicine. But no coherent framework can be developed or sustained without the steady help of policy advisers, public managers, performance monitors and evaluators. Civil society, for its part, has a vital role to play by providing feedback to public servants.
A competent, efficient and loyal civil service imbued with ethical standards is neither a luxury nor a dream. Quite the contrary, it is a basic precondition for democratic government and sustainable socio-economic development. Here, too, regional and international cooperation holds great promise. In field after field, we have witnessed the advantages of collective efforts to establish norms to which governments are committed and which groups in civil society promote with great ardour and impact. Human rights offers one such example; standards of conduct for public servants could yet prove to be another.
Effective cooperation requires a shared programme framework and common database. The vital importance of an information clearinghouse has been demonstrated in Thessaloniki through the imaginative use of websites by many of the conference participants, which has created linkages among major organizations working on public service issues in eastern and central Europe. In time, such a clearinghouse could serve as a hub for networks and activities encompassing civil service reform, codes of conduct for public servants, career development programmes, techniques for performance monitoring and evaluation, and related training activities.
In a Europe that so clearly aspires to greater unity and cooperation, the prospects for such action have never been so favourable. This high-level Conference is yet another hopeful sign, for political leadership is crucial, not only in setting the civil service on the path of reform, but in keeping it on course. The Untied Nations, as ever, stands ready to assist. Please accept my best wishes for a successful Conference.
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