HIGHLY SKILLED AND MOTIVATED STAFF ESSENTIAL FOR ACHIEVEMENT OF UNITED NATIONS GOALS, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Press Release
GA/AB/3399

HIGHLY SKILLED AND MOTIVATED STAFF ESSENTIAL FOR ACHIEVEMENT OF UNITED NATIONS GOALS, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Committee Takes up Human Resources Management Reform

None of the most ambitious goals of the Organization would come true without staff of the highest caliber, who were highly motivated and given the fullest opportunity to develop their talents, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told this morning as it took up human resources management issues, a subject which it considers in depth every other year.

As she introduced the Secretary-General’s report on human resources management reform, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette said that given the changing challenges before the United Nations, its staff should be well-rounded, multi-skilled, and able to cope with diverse challenges and demands. Two areas had been given special emphasis this year: recruitment, placement and promotion; and the question of mobility. Attracting and retaining talented staff was the core challenge of human resources management.

At the heart of the new system set out by the Secretary-General were the authority and accountability of managers, she continued. Managers would be required to develop selection criteria, which they would apply in an objective and documented manner. The new system would also reduce the time frame for filling posts from 275 to 120 days. The Office of Human Resources Management would retain a strong oversight and monitoring role, including the authority to suspend staffing actions, should irregularities be found.

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management Rafiah Salim, introducing several documents before the Committee, said that the Secretary- General’s report on human resources management reform reflected his determination to change the culture of the Organization and the ways in which it looked at the management of its human resources. It sought to meet the vision and goals of the Organization and, in turn, to carry out the mandates established by the Member States in the most effective manner possible.

Introducing the report of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on the administration of justice, Inspector Faith Aouayad Ad-Agha said that valuable as they were, the staff did not yet benefit from measures recommended on numerous occasions by the General Assembly, the JIU and other organs. In effect, there was

Fifth Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/AB/3399 17th Meeting (AM) 1 November 2000

no career development plan, and no system for rotating staff among different services. Nor did a fair and transparent appointment and promotion system exist. Indeed, one sometimes had an impression that promotion depended only on the good will of supervisors who could evaluate freely the qualifications and competence of candidates to vacant posts and who were not called upon to answer for their actions.

Other reports before the Committee were also introduced by the Under- Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Dileep Nair; the Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Angela King; the Director of the Management Policy Office of the Department of Management, Bertrand Juppin de Fondamiere; and the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), Conrad S.N. Mselle.

In the general discussion that followed the presentation of reports, speakers highlighted various aspects of human resources management. Representatives of several countries emphasized that it was important to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the unprecedented number of vacancies and a high expected number of retirements within the Secretariat. They said that it was necessary to rejuvenate the Organization, bringing in highly qualified and mobile young professionals.

Stressing the need to redress geographical imbalance in the Secretariat, the representative of Japan said that every possible measure should be taken to put all Member States within their desirable range as soon as possible. Despite the efforts to improve geographical representation, the overall situation had not significantly improved. The number of Japanese nationals occupying posts subject to geographical distribution stood at 106 at the end of June 2000 -- less than half the lower endpoint of the desirable range of 257 to 348. He hoped that the guidelines issued by the Office of Human Resources Management would assure geographical representation and that the programme managers would be held accountable when they made their final decision on staffing.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, the representative of France also supported the national competitive exams for entry to the Secretariat, saying that they remained a crucial element of recruitment on as wide a geographical basis as possible. She welcomed the Secretary-General’s unfailing commitment to gender balance in the Organization and strongly supported the general objective of making mobility an essential aspect of careers.

Addressing the problem of recruitment, appointment and promotion, the representative of China expressed hope that recruitment process would involve greater transparency in the future. Noting that the period to fill a vacancy should not exceed 120 days, he added that written announcements of vacancies often arrived late in Member States. Furthermore, it was also sometimes hard to determine whether a vacancy was open for internal or external candidates, and the United Nations personnel department seldom provided feed-back on candidates formally recommended by Member States.

Speaking about the mechanism of accountability of programme managers, the representative of Poland said that the last seven years presented a history of

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declarations of intent and of half-hearted piecemeal measures. He fully supported the need for enhanced monitoring, which would improve not only accountability, but also performance evaluation of programme budgets. In order to be effective and comprehensive, monitoring had to be based on an information technology system covering all substantive activities of the United Nations.

The representative of Pakistan said that any enhancement in the authority of programme managers must be accompanied by well-designed and foolproof mechanisms of accountability. Exercise of discretionary power was a risky business and could be most productive only if there were clearly delineated internal monitoring and control procedures in place.

Also speaking this morning were the representatives of Nigeria (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), New Zealand (also on behalf of Canada and Australia), Norway, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, India and Kyrgyzstan.

The Committee will continue its general debate on human resources management at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 2 November.

Fifth Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/AB/3399 17th Meeting (AM) 1 November 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to begin consideration of human resources management and to resume its consideration of the review of the efficiency of the administration and financial functioning of the United Nations. (For background information on reports before the Committee see Press Release GA/AB/3398 issued yesterday.)

In addition to the documents summarized in yesterday’s Press Release, the Committee had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the Improvement of the Status of Women in the Secretariat (document A/55/399), according to which there had been modest progress in improving the representation of women. Progress in improving gender balance at the senior and policy-making levels had slowed, however, following a two-year period during which significant headway was made. To date, progress in improving gender balance has been measured largely on the basis of the annual percentage increase in the representation of women and the annual rates at which women have been appointed and promoted in the Secretariat.

The report says that, in the coming year, priority will be assigned, in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), to the identification of sources of women candidates for vacancies identified in the departmental action plans, the evaluation of progress made in improving women's representation based on the implementation of the gender action plans, the refinement of strategies to increase the supply of women candidates and the examination of factors which impede the mobility of staff, both Professional and General Service, across functions, occupations, departments and duty stations.

Introduction of Reports

LOUISE FRÉCHETTE, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, said that the Millennium Summit had mapped out a diverse and dynamic role for the United Nations in the twenty-first century, but none of the most ambitious goals of the Organization would come true without staff of the highest caliber who were highly motivated and given the fullest opportunity to develop their talents. The Secretary-General’s report on human resources management reform set out a comprehensive programme and provided an update on the implementation of reform in 10 key areas.

Commenting on the context in which human resources was carried out today, she said that the United Nations field presence had grown to such an extent that two out of every three staff members were involved in three operations. Peacekeeping, humanitarian operations and technical assistance programmes now employed the bulk of United Nations human and financial resources. Also, Member States had intensified their demands for “value-for-money”. The field of human resources management itself had undergone significant conceptual evolution. In the past it had often been equated with administrative processing, but today, human resources management was often understood to involve a more broadly conceived culture of staff development, high performance and continuous learning.

It was both natural and necessary that the United Nations adapt to the ever- changing internal and external environment, she continued. It was now more than three years since the Secretary-General had presented his plan for transforming the United Nations. Starting from the Secretary-General’s overall vision, submitted in the fall of 1998, a set of core values and competencies had been established. Human resources planning had been improved, the personnel manual had been streamlined and staff training programmes had been expanded. There was also much better compliance with the Performance Appraisal System, and the average recruitment timeline had been reduced from 465 to 275 days.

With the Secretary-General’s new report, the process took the next step forward, she said. Two areas had been given special emphasis: recruitment, placement and promotion, and the question of mobility. Attracting and retaining talented staff was the core challenge of human resources management. Yet, the current process of filling vacancies remained terribly cumbersome and complex and it lacked sufficient transparency. Furthermore, the United Nations needed to act more quickly and better anticipate its needs, while upholding the principles of geographical representation and gender balance.

The Secretary-General’s report set out a new system, she said. At its heart were the authority and accountability of managers. Currently, the final choice of candidates rested with the Office of Human Resources Management. Under the new system, the final decision would rest with line managers. There were compelling reasons for that change. If managers did not have a say in decisions for such centrality, how could they be held accountable for their team’s performance, she asked. Also, managers -– not the Office of Human Resources Management or staff -– were best placed to judge which candidates possessed the best combination of qualities and experiences to fill a given position.

This did not mean managers were being endowed with unfettered power, she stressed. The new authority would be exercised within very strict guidelines. Managers would be required to develop, well in advance, selection criteria, and then to apply those criteria in an objective and documented manner. Central review panels at each duty station, in which staff representatives would participate, would oversee the process. The new system would also reduce the number of steps involved, thereby cutting the time frame for filling posts even further, from 275 days to 120 days.

While those changes involved streamlining current arrangements rather than a radical departure from them, certain aspects had aroused concern, she said. One concern related to the delegation of authority to managers and accountability. In that regard, the Secretary-General’s plan called for the Office of Human Resources Management to retain a strong oversight and monitoring role, including the authority to suspend staffing actions should the central review body find irregularities. Another concern related to what was thought to be a reduction in the role of staff. That was not so. Their involvement would continue, but it would occur at earlier stages, when job evaluation criteria were being established rather than in making the actual decision about who was best for a given job. At the end of the process, the central review body would be able to examine a manager’s decision to ensure that proper procedures were respected.

On the question of mobility, she said that given the changing nature of the challenges facing the Secretariat the United Nations required its staff to be well-rounded, multi-skilled, and able to cope with diverse challenges and demands. Versatility was especially critical for managers, current and future. Staff also needed to be deployed quickly. Actual movements of staff had taken place on an ad hoc and voluntary basis, based on arrangements designed when the Organization was static. The Secretary-General had set out a new mobility policy that moved the Organization from a voluntary to a managed approach in which mobility was conceived of not just in terms of movement between duty stations, but as movement between functions and occupations across the United Nations system.

One of the policy’s key principles was that staff did not “own” specific posts and that managers did not “own” specific staff members, she continued. Over time, a time-limited occupancy of posts would be put in place and mobility and promotion would be linked. That had already begun, in a limited fashion, with the managed reassignment of junior professionals. The new demands for staff to become more mobile raised a range of issues, foremost among them questions of home and family life. Member States would be approached to discuss the question of spouse employment to see what could be done to ease legal and other restrictions that had been a hindrance to mobility. The need to revise rules that seemed to penalize mobility, and to find ways to promote staff while serving in the field was also recognized, as was the need to combat the “out of sight, out of mind” phenomenon.

She said she was convinced that the Organization could have mobility while factoring in constraints, being fair with staff and showing sensitivity to their needs. The scope, complexity and urgency of the United Nations work made it imperative that mobility be promoted and incentives for it be created. That issue was crucial to the credibility of the Organization. Many more issues would require attention in the coming year. Contractual arrangements were studied. The Secretary-General would be reviewing the issues linked to the terms and types of appointment, and continuing the dialogue with staff before presenting specific recommendations to the Assembly. He welcomed the views of the Assembly on that issue. A worldwide survey of work/life issues that influenced staff members' work and their decision about mobility had also been undertaken. Ways to strengthen the system of career development to assist in the professional growth of staff would also be studied. The internal system of justice, which was highly formalized, expensive and time-consuming, needed improvement. A proposal to create an ombudsman mechanism was contained in the Secretary-General’s report.

The theme of accountability ran throughout all of the proposals and reforms, she said. Accountability meant that every staff member in the Organization should understand what was expected in his or her job, that everyone should have the tools and the training to do those jobs, and that the means should exist to assess how well that person was meeting those expectations. Rewards for performance and sanctions for lack of performance emanated from those conditions. Without them, true and fair accountability would be impossible. The Performance Appraisal System was at the centre of the system of accountability and much had been done to improve it. It was important that the accountability chain start at the top. That was why the Secretary-General had decided to create an annual “performance compact” with his senior-most managers, which included their responsibilities in the area of human resources. Accountability would also be enhanced by the newly established Accountability Panel, which she would chair.

She concluded by saying that although the issue of staff security was not on the agenda, she drew the Committee’s attention to the Secretary-General’s latest report on that subject which contained very significant proposals for professionalizing and strengthening the security management system. It was important to address that subject without delay, so that staff who served the international community had the safety and protection they needed to carry out their vital assignments.

RAFIAH SALIM, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, introducing several documents before the Committee said that the Secretary- General’s report on human resources management reform reflected his determination to change the culture of the Organization and the ways in which it looked at the management of its human resources. It sought to meet the vision and goals of the Organization and, in turn, to carry out the mandates established by the Member States in the most effective manner possible.

The annual report on the composition of the Secretariat depicted several specific areas of interest to Member States, she said. The first section dealt with a statistical analysis which focused on the situation of Secretariat staff subject to geographical representation. The second section contained information on data pertinent to the application of the system of desirable ranges for the geographical distribution of staff. Finally, the third section was a more forward-looking demographic analysis of a larger population of the staff and contained a variety of human resources planning information, such as gender, staffing by department and office, age and length of service.

Turning to the report entitled “Amendments to Staff Rules”, she said that the report contained the full text of amendments to the staff rules which the Secretary-General proposed to implement from 1 January 2001. The annual report on the list of Secretariat staff reflected personnel on board as of 1 July 2000.

DILEEP NAIR, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, introduced the reports of that body. The investigation on the education grant entitlements indicated that there was a potential for fraud at Headquarters and at other offices. During 1998, more than 1,300 staff members (including staff on mission) had submitted education grant claims for approximately 3,300 dependants.

During its investigation, the Oversight Office had noted various means by which some staff members had defrauded or attempted to defraud the Organization in their claims, he continued. The amount lost to the Organization could be substantial. However, it was not the intention of the report to create a perception that most claimants were dishonest. On the contrary, while there had been 1,300 claims in 1998, only seven reports of alleged fraud had been received for the same period.

The Oversight Office believed that, in its current form, the administration of the education grant benefit was cumbersome and prone to error, he said. It was also, to some degree, subject to discretionary processing at the front line. Accordingly, corrective measures had been recommended to lessen the risk of fraud. The Department of Management had agreed with the need to simplify the process of managing the education grant and to give serious consideration to the recommendations from the Oversight Office.

Turning to the report on the follow-up audit of the recruitment process of the Office of Human Resources Management, he said that proposals had been developed for reforming the recruitment. The Oversight Office had stressed the need for the OHRM to develop a strategic plan setting out goals and action plans for their implementation. He noted that the OHRM had agreed with all the recommendations provided. That Office was also developing an innovative, intranet-based process that incorporated solutions suggested in the report. He noted enhanced Web functionality, improved tracking and monitoring and easier access to relevant documents.

The ability of the Organization to attract and retain quality staff was a high priority in which both the Secretariat and Member States had a stake, he said. The stopgap measures of the past must be replaced with bold initiatives. Programme managers must be empowered to make decisions for which they would be held accountable. They must be provided with a flexible system that would enable them to respond to emerging situation.

Introducing the report on gender issues, ANGELA E.V. KING, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, said that five years before, in Beijing, the world community had set out a comprehensive and ambitious agenda for women’s empowerment and advancement. However, despite the growing acceptance of the importance of full participation of women in decision-making, the actual representation of women at the highest levels of national and international decision-making had not significantly changed.

Within the United Nations system, the rate of progress, while not remarkable, had been better than in most countries. In the United Nations Secretariat, women presently accounted for 39.2 per cent of the Professional staff on geographical appointments. In the larger population of Professional staff with appointments of one year or more, the percentage of women was 36.5 per cent. The Organization had made significant headway in improving gender balance at the senior and policy-making levels. The number of women at the D-1 level and above on geographical appointments had increased from 57 to 96. Increasingly, women could be found in positions of authority and influence at the United Nations. Gains had been made at the P-5 level, whereas at other levels, including the higher decision-making levels, progress had slowed.

Affirmative measures had been adopted by a number of United Nations organizations, she continued. That included the establishment of targets for the recruitment of women, the strengthening of special measures governing the selection of women candidates, the evaluation of progress in meeting gender equality goals in the performance appraisal of managers, and institution of gender-sensitivity training. In line with the Secretary-General’s strategy to create a more results-oriented Organization, heads of departments and offices had been requested to develop action plans for the achievement of gender balance in their offices. Those plans were outlined in the report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat.

She went on to say that programme managers had been asked to set targets within the overall target of 50 per cent for the selection of women candidates based upon the review of their current and projected vacancies. They were also asked to actively seek out women candidates for upcoming vacancies. In the open debate in the Security Council last Tuesday, most of the 44 speakers had supported having more women serving in all aspects of peacekeeping operations. Representatives also called for women special representatives of the Secretary- General and heads and deputy heads of missions. So far, there were five.

In the quest for gender parity, she worked closely with Ms. Salim and the OHRM, she said. She hoped that Member States would accelerate the rate at which women candidates were put forward. Women were also encouraged to apply for posts. Unfortunately, there was evidence that far fewer women applied for posts than men. Recently, in one of the regional commissions with a vacancy rate of nearly 40 per cent, there had been 800 applicants, only 5 per cent of which were women. In the coming year, priority would be assigned to the identification of sources of women candidates for vacancies, for enhancing career development of General Service staff and for moving the work/family agenda forward.

Introducing the report of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on the administration of justice, Inspector FAITH AOUAYAD AD-AGHA said that on many occasions, he had heard that the staff was the most valuable asset that the United Nations had. Nonetheless, that asset, valuable as it was, did not yet benefit from measures recommended on numerous occasions by the General Assembly, the JIU and other organs. In effect, no career development plan existed. Neither a system for rotating staff among different services, nor a fair, equitable and transparent appointment and promotion system existed. Indeed, one sometimes had an impression that promotion depended only on the good will of supervisors who could evaluate freely the qualifications and competence of candidates to vacant posts, and who were not called upon to answer for their actions. Human resources management at the United Nations was not yet at the level of its principles and objectives. Neither the Organization, nor its staff, had the administration of justice they deserved.

Administration of justice offering international civil servants a means to assert their rights could not be considered a concession on the part of the administration, he continued. Far from it, the right of access to a system of administration of justice allowing staff to ensure respect for their rights was universally recognized. Now it had become necessary to establish internal recourse systems offering international civil servants the same guarantees offered by domestic courts, to ensure that internal recourse systems in the international organizations could still compare with the internal recourse systems found in Member States. Above all, it was necessary to ensure that the privileges and immunities of international organizations were not used to protect the organizations against the legitimate demands of their employees.

The report before the Committee was not revolutionary, he said. He did not believe that the recommendations were difficult to read or understand. The document proposed the establishment of an Office for the settlement of disputes and the administration of justice, because now the organs charged with resolving conflicts between the staff and the administration were part of the administration itself. The United Nations currently had no effective mechanism to settle disputes between staff and managers through conciliation, mediation and negotiation. Accordingly, the JIU had proposed the creation of the post of ombudsman. The Unit had also proposed a series of measures to eliminate present restrictions on the authority of the Administrative Tribunal to give it more independence and respect.

At present, the maximum amount of compensation fixed by the United Nations Administrative Tribunal could not exceed two years’ net base salary of the appellant, he said. For many years, the administration had been able to get out of trouble, paying appellants only a handful of dollars -– for the compensation rarely reached the maximum. But the situation was changing. In effect, the actions of a senior official, which had been declared arbitrary or even illegal by the Tribunal, had already cost the Organization nearly half a million dollars in compensation paid to only three appellants. The Tribunal had suggested that the senior official responsible for unfair decisions answer for the consequences of his actions, and the administration was at present considering that case.

During the preparation of the report, the JIU had observed that a high proportion of the unanimous recommendations of the Joint Appeals Board -– more than 43 per cent -– were rejected by the administration. That was a great waste of time and resources. It was necessary to ensure that the members of the Board had better knowledge of the law, and he was pleased that the JIU recommendations in that respect had been endorsed.

Another recommendation of the Unit concerned the establishment of higher appeal instances, he said. That could be envisaged only in consultation with all the organizations of the United Nations system. The Unit was preparing the second part of the report, where it would formulate recommendations concerning that aspect of its study. The last recommendation had been formulated, because the JIU had found that the staff did not seem to enjoy the same degree of legal protection as management, which was contrary to the fundamental principle of access to justice. Once again, the administration had endorsed that recommendation -– though not to the letter. That was a positive step, and others should be expected.

BERTRAND JUPPIN DE FONDAUMIERE, Director, Management Policy Office, Department of Management, introduced the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Management irregularities causing financial losses to the Organization”. He emphasized that the subject of that report was very complex and covered a wide range of issues. Its preparation required consultation with several Offices and Departments, which provided many opportunities for dialogue and exchange of views on the subject. On the specific question of procedures for determining gross negligence and the financial responsibility that might be incurred by those who had been found to have committed such negligence, financial recovery was vigorously pursued in respect of those who had committed fraud. Issues of gross negligence had been more difficult to define, as was enforcement of financial recovery. That was due mainly to a lack of specific procedures to determine whether gross negligence had actually occurred in particular cases so that the staff rule which provide for financial recovery for the resulting loss could be implemented.

With the assistance of the Office of Legal Affairs, he said that several options had been identified to establish procedures for determining gross negligence and ensuring the effective implementation of the staff rule for financial recovery of resulting financial losses. He could not but overemphasize the importance of measures to prevent and detect management irregularities. It was preferable to take preventive action by encouraging good management practices rather than taking action afterwards, once a management irregularity had occurred. Identifying risk factors that exposed the Organization to management irregularities, and taking appropriate measures for lessening those risks, was therefore a crucial management tool to prevent those activities. On strengthening accountability at the top management level, it was also important to stress that a major factor for success in that area was strengthening the management capacity of individual programme managers.

CONRAD S.M. MSELLE, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), then introduced that body’s reports. During the examination of reports, the Advisory Committee had requested additional information, which was attached in annexes 1 to 8 of the report. Should there be requests for clarification, the Secretariat was requested to provide that information to the Fifth Committee.

The ACABQ, he said, had not taken a decision on the central proposal of the Secretary-General on the three types of appointment of contracts. The ACABQ noted that the Secretary-General, in paragraph 50 of his report on human resources management reform, was requesting the views of the General Assembly. Because differences between current permanent contracts and proposed continuing contracts had not been adequately explained in the Secretary-General’s report, the Advisory Committee had sought additional information. That was provided in annex 5.

The Advisory Committee welcomed the Secretary-General’s efforts to promote the mobility of staff, he said. It had criticized the practice of giving short- term contracts of 11 months with a break of one month before rehiring the same staff member. The ACABQ advised that that practice should end.

On management irregularities and accountability, he said the Advisory Committee was of the view that administration of justice should be considered within the context of the Secretary-General’s overall human resources management reform. Fair administration of justice would be a key ingredient in the successful implementation of reforms, including those measures designed to hold programme managers fully accountable for their actions.

Statements

OLUSEGUN APATA (Nigeria), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that human resources were a vital component of the Secretariat necessary for the fulfilment of the Organization’s programmes. The staff had a fundamental role in the efficient and effective functioning of the United Nations.

The Group recognized that the staff of the Organization was its most important asset and played a fundamental role in its efficient and effective functioning. He welcomed the improvement in human resources management in order to provide the best possible conditions of service to the staff and to make the Organization more efficient and staff more competent.

Having studied the report of the Secretary-General on human resources management reform, his delegation believed that the process should be aimed at better consideration of equitable geographical distribution throughout the system; better conditions and quality of service for United Nations staff; better environment and communication between the staff and administration; a comprehensive and fair system of placement, recruitment and promotion; and a well- designed and transparent system of delegation of authority accompanied by proper system of accountability and responsibility and administration of justice.

However, he regretted that the ACABQ had been unable to come up with constructive recommendations regarding the proposals on human resources management reform, which would highlight the sensitive nature of those proposals. Regarding the proposal of the Secretary-General on mobility, he requested more information regarding its implications on the promotion of staff, the maximum and minimum terms of each post, and the availability of expertise in the Organization. Due consideration should also be given to the importance of institutional memory within the Organization. Further clarification was needed on the proposals concerning contractual arrangements, particularly on the difference between the permanent and continuing contracts, and implications of the proposals for the United Nations staff and for the international character of the personnel.

Mandatory age of separation should be 62 years for all staff, he said. Staff hired prior to 1990 should be given the option of retiring at 60 years with full benefits or continuing in service to the age of 62. He was concerned about the delay in appointment procedures and stressed the need to avoid double standards as stressed by resolution 53/221. Delegation of authority should be implemented, taking into account the provisions of that resolution which stated that, before delegating authority, well-designed systems of accountability should be put in place.

He went on to say that the General Assembly should be provided with comprehensive proposals in order to improve the administration of justice, taking into account the central role of the OHRM in setting the relevant policies and guidelines and monitoring their implementation. Human resources management reform should be considered in a comprehensive manner -- a piecemeal approach to that important question was not desirable. In conclusion, he stressed that human resources management reform should not entail any reduction of staff or budget.

HELENE DANTOINE (France), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said that the Union had been supporting the Secretary-General’s efforts to create in the United Nations a culture favouring adaptability, creativity and innovation, continuing training and excellence in carrying out tasks and in management. The human resources management reform was a determining factor in the continued improvement of United Nations programmes and their practical effects. It was creating a sense of responsibility of accountability, and staff who were competent and motivated.

The United Nations staff were the greatest asset of the Organization, she continued. The European Union welcomed the dialogue between the administration and the staff. The adjustment of management techniques was a way of ensuring that the high standards of the Secretariat’s work would continue in the future. She attached great importance to the system of planning and human resources management at a time when the United Nations would have to deal with a wave of retirements. Planning should enable adequate resources to be provided, and it must be examined at the same time as measures to organize staff careers and training. That would emerge from the current process of skills inventory. Training measures would allow staff to acquire the knowledge necessary to carry out more diversified duties.

It was necessary to develop arrangements on rationalization and simplification of contractual arrangements, she said. The new contractual arrangements should be clear and transparent. They should also provide the possibility of more harmonious career development and give increased guarantees for the future, allowing the maintenance of the independent nature of the staff. Social aspects of leaving the service should be taken into account.

Continuing, she said she supported the Secretary-General’s initiatives in the area of recruitment, placement, promotions and mobility. The Union welcomed the 40 per cent reduction over two years in the average time taken to fill a post. Nevertheless, it still took 275 days, and further progress was needed. The objective of 120 days was reasonable. Welcoming the proposed new method of filling vacancies, the Union stressed the importance of monitoring over decisions by programme managers.

Turning to the national competitive exams for entry to the Secretariat, she said that they remained a crucial element of recruitment on as wide a geographical basis as possible. She welcomed the Secretary-General’s unfailing commitment to gender-balance in the Organization, and strongly supported the general objective of making mobility an essential aspect of careers. Mobility was one of the obligations of all officials recruited at the international level. It also involved constraints for officials with families, and back-up measures were needed to take account of that.

In conclusion, she paid tribute to the United Nations staff who worked in the field in increasingly dangerous conditions, sometimes putting their lives in danger. The Union welcomed the reports and proposals on staff safety, stressing the importance of respect for the privileges and immunities of staff, including locally recruited personnel. It was the responsibility of the governments hosting United Nations operations to provide security and protection of staff.

MICHAEL POWLES (New Zealand), speaking on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (CANZ), said that one of the key issues that the Committee was taking up in the current session was the Secretary-General’s report on the human resources management reform package. That package was the next step arising from the Secretary-General’s 1997 programme of measures and proposals for United Nations reform. The need for human resources management reform had been acute in 1997. Internal and external realities made it even greater today. The United Nations had changed and had developed from a Headquarters’ based Organization to one with a strong field presence. That required a mobile workforce. There was also need to address high vacancy rates and the imminent departure of a great number of staff, making immediate staff urgent and future planning a must.

Changes outside the Organization had also had an impact, he continued. Member States were examining the United Nations with greater scrutiny to ensure that resources were managed effectively and efficiently. To attract the talent needed in the twenty-first century, the United Nations needed policies that would invigorate and rejuvenate its human resources. The Secretariat must, therefore, adapt and modernize its human resources management policies to be an employer of choice and to attract the best and brightest. It must offer a challenging and rewarding work environment and attractive opportunities.

The CANZ group fully supported the Secretary-General’s reform proposals, he said. They advanced a human resources management vision for the Organization that made sense. The Secretary-General’s report demonstrated that a great deal of effort and a good deal of progress had been made over the last two years in reforming the system. The reforms were comprehensive. Most importantly, the report showed that the Secretary-General had rightly moved forward under his authority as Chief Administrative Officer of the Organization.

He noted that the package required the Committee’s agreement on only one issue, that of changing a staff rule related to recruitment, placement and promotion. That was as it should be. Managers must be allowed to take forward the reform agenda as expeditiously as possible. The CANZ group also strongly supported the concrete steps that had already been taken in all other areas of the package, in particular the measures to enhance mobility. Those measures were proactive and would help to achieve a more versatile, multi-skilled and experienced international civil service. He also welcomed action to adapt contracts to better serve the Organization and its employees, as well as to bring the United Nations into line with the practices in other international organizations.

He said the CANZ group had long advocated gender parity in the Secretariat, supported the Assembly’s goal of 50/50 gender balance and encouraged the Secretary-General to speed up efforts to implement that goal with the primary criterion always being that of merit. Sustaining meritous performance from staff and managing them capably were fundamental to the Organization’s success in meeting the goals of the United Nations.

ERLING SKJONSBERG (Norway) said that his country supported the Secretary- General’s vision of an even more efficient Secretariat that achieved the results decided on by Member States. Norway supported the Secretary-General’s proposals for human resources management reform presented in 1997 and was pleased to note progress made in carrying out those reforms. Only a global team of motivated and highly competent staff could turn that vision into reality. He noted that a Secretariat-wide human resources management system had been set up and was being refined. While he was encouraged to note the existence of planning tools, he underlined the importance of further development of those tools. The Organization must make use of the opportunity for rejuvenation in the years ahead. In light of the Organization’s age profile, he stressed the importance of retaining younger staff.

Norway agreed that a competitive package of conditions of service was an essential element in the successful achievement of the goals set by the Secretary- General, he said. He welcomed the worldwide survey of work/life issues that influenced staff members’ work and decisions about mobility. Norway had earlier welcomed the introduction of flexible working hours, sick leave for family-related emergencies and the introduction of paternity leave under the maternity leave entitlement. He encouraged the Secretary-General to continue to look for ways to address the needs of dual-career families and other personal needs to promote optimal performance by all staff members. That would be instrumental in achieving the goal of 50/50 gender distribution in the Secretariat.

The existing process for filling posts was complex, he said. There was clearly a need to shorten the period it took to fill new posts to avoid losing the best candidates. Every effort should be made to shorten the period it took to recruit new personnel even further. The complexity of the Organization’s activities required a versatile and multi-skilled international civil service. Norway supported the movement from a voluntary to a managed approach to mobility as long as mobility was understood in a broad sense to include movement within and between functions, departments, occupations, duty stations and United Nations organizations.

Norway also fully supported the proposed changes in the role of the Office of Human Resources Management, he said. He was pleased to note that a performance appraisal system had been implemented throughout the Secretariat and encouraged the Secretary-General to review and revise that system in light of experience and feedback from staff and managers.

He said that it was crucial that the staff had the required competence and that the Secretariat was able to develop a culture of continuous learning. The competency model that had been developed seemed to be a promising start. Integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity should be cores values in that model. Norway was concerned about the practice of offering 11-month contracts, which were frequently renewed after a break of one month. That raised issues of budgetary transparency. Pretending that staff in that category were short-term was hardly in accordance with sound personnel management. The practice of renewing 11-month contracts indicated that the present system of contractual arrangements was too rigid and administratively complicated. Norway had studied the preliminary proposals regarding contractual arrangements and could in general support them.

JANUSZ STANCZYK (Poland) said that the position of his country had been expressed by the representative of France on behalf of the European Union and associated States. Human resources management reform was a part of the overall process of change and modernization of the United Nations. It could not be achieved without a comprehensive overhaul of personnel policies and a review and upgrading of its mechanisms in order to implement the legislative intent of Member States as reflected in General Assembly resolutions. He had read with great concern the alarming findings of the latest JIU report that no fair and transparent appointment and promotion system existed. Some changes had been introduced, but a comprehensive plan clearly stating results to be attained within a specific time frame was lacking, as were procedures for monitoring its implementation and evaluation of achievements to be reported to Member States. He welcomed the measures introduced so far by the OHRM and saw the role of that Office as crucial.

According to the report of the Secretary-General on human resources management reform, the situation at the United Nations was unprecedented, he continued. The number of vacancies was large, and a turnover of retiring staff was expected. That situation presented a challenge, but also an opportunity to attract personnel of the highest qualifications. The proposals of the Secretary- General related to recruitment, placement and promotion of staff were in line with time-tested experience of national and international institutions aimed at attracting high quality and the right mix of talents able to deliver results.

Continuing, he asked a number of questions about the new process. He wanted to know what the role of missions would be in the recruitment process; what the role and function of a global electronic job bank would be; and who would provide data input for the bank. Other questions related to the means of informing countries about job opportunities and of ensuring transparency and fairness in the recruitment process.

Regarding contractual arrangements, he said that the issue should be debated thoroughly in informal consultations on the basis of more specific information about implications of the new concepts. As for the mechanism of accountability of programme managers, the last seven years presented a history of declarations of intention and of half-hearted piecemeal measures lacking specificity. He fully supported the need for enhanced monitoring which would serve not only for accountability purposes, but also for improved performance evaluation of programme budgets. In order to be effective and comprehensive, monitoring had to be based on an information technology system covering all substantive activities of the United Nations. The Secretariat should be further encouraged to develop existing elements of the information technology system, which was now limited only to economic and social activities.

Safety and security of all categories of United Nations personnel was an issue of great concern, he said. Thousands of Polish nationals serving on peacekeeping and other missions were directly exposed to high risk. Poland supported the measures of enhanced security and safety for personnel on missions and was in favour of review of the level of resources earmarked for that purpose.

ANTONIO MACHEVE (Mozambique) said that the reforms under way were recording positive appraisals. He welcomed the positive developments and progress towards reforming and refining the recruitment process. However, he remained deeply concerned about the large amount of time needed for filling posts. As potential causes for delays in recruitment procedures, the report presented a lack of qualified candidates on the shortlist and an elaborate internal evaluation process. The lack of qualified candidates reflected the inability of the United Nations to attract the best and most qualified personnel. That had also been illustrated by the significant number of resignations of young professionals at the Secretariat.

His delegation had repeatedly called for streamlining the internal bureaucratic procedures, which would permit speedy recruitment. That had not been adequately addressed, and he urged the Secretary-General to speed up the reform of the recruitment process. He fully endorsed the recommendation calling for the establishment of a strategic plan that would integrate all reform initiatives under a single umbrella.

Another area of great concern was the need to ensure equitable geographical representation in the Secretariat, he continued. Qualified personnel could be found in unrepresented and under-represented countries. Therefore, he urged the Secretary-General to aggressively pursue recruitment from those countries. He commended increased efforts to conduct national competitive examinations in unrepresented and under-represented countries and encouraged the Secretary-General to continue that practice. However, those examinations had not been effective in achieving the desired goals, and the time of publication of results remained long. Alternative models for increasing recruitment should be explored.

Mozambique also attached great importance to ensuring gender balance, he said. His country had endorsed the goal of 50/50 balance by the year 2000, established by the General Assembly in 1990. Regrettably, despite the growing number of women in the Secretariat, that target had not been met. Specific strategies should be set to achieve gender balance in the near future.

Human resources management was of great importance to the efforts to reform the Organization, he said. Reforms in the field of human resources management were needed and urgent. However, the existing process was complex. Planning was absent and decision-making was diffused, leading to a lack of accountability. Such an appalling situation should not be allowed to continue indefinitely. A strategy was needed to address the issue comprehensively. With a high number of vacancies, it was necessary to rejuvenate the Secretariat with young, highly qualified, competent and motivated professionals.

KIYOTAKA AKASAKA (Japan) said that Japan attached great importance to the issue of human resources management. The staff of the United Nations Secretariat was an invaluable asset to the Organization, one on which its efficient and effective functioning was entirely dependent. The Committee had a unique opportunity to implement human resources management reform because the Organization would have an unprecedented number of vacancies and retirements over the next five years.

He urged the Secretary-General and heads of departments and offices to take every possible measure, including the recruitment of senior staff and early recruitment through the national competitive examinations, to redress the geographical imbalance in the Secretariat and put all Member States within their desirable range as soon as possible. It was important to enhance the universal and international character of the Organization by achieving equitable geographical representation. To ensure that programme managers dealt with that issue properly, the Assembly should review the progress they made. Japan requested that the Secretary-General submit to the Assembly a more detailed and comprehensive report on the composition of the United Nations Secretariat, particularly the progress made in addressing the situation of both unrepresented and under-represented States.

While noting the efforts made by the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management to improve geographical representation, he noted with concern that despite such efforts the overall situation had not improved as much as he had hoped over the past few years. The number of Japanese nationals occupying posts subject to the principle of equitable geographical distribution stood at 106 at the end of June 2000, which meant it was less than half the lower endpoint of the desirable range of 257 to 348. The situation of under-representation in the Secretariat continued to be a matter of great concern to his Government, and Japanese political leaders took a very grave view of the current status. Japan hoped that the standards and guidelines issued by the Office of Human Resources Management would assure geographical representation and that the programme managers would be held accountable when they made their final decision on staffing.

On the issue of recruitment, Japan strongly supported the national competitive examination as it was an important tool for recruiting qualified personnel and correcting inequities in geographical distribution. He also wanted to confirm his understanding that posts at the P-2 and P-3 levels would continue to be filled through the national competitive examination, and hoped that the Office of Human Resources Management would continue to see that progress was made in rectifying those problems by filling available posts. The process of recruitment, placement and promotion was too slow and cumbersome. That was clearly an obstacle in attracting the best-qualified candidates, who had many job opportunities other than those offered by the United Nations. He welcomed the Secretary-General’s initiatives to make the recruitment process more expeditious and hoped that progress could be made with respect to the lengthy process of recruiting through the national competitive examinations.

In the area of human resources management, it was essential to ensure fairness, equity and transparency, as well as to establish accountability with respect to decisions on appointments, he continued. The appointment process had not been transparent and lines of authority and responsibility were often blurred. Japan had frequently pointed out the need to establish a long-term career development plan. To develop and retain versatile and experienced staff, they must be provided with opportunities to develop their careers.

In that regard, he said, mobility was one of the keys to career development. However, the United Nations offered very few opportunities for the staff to move, especially between Headquarters and field offices. Staff of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs frequently moved from New York to other places, in developed and developing countries. Mobility was the order of the day. He did not see any problem with that kind of mobility being emulated in the case of United Nations staff and officials. He was pleased that the Secretary-General would take measures to promote mobility within the Secretariat.

He said he would like to come back to the issue of safety of United Nations personnel at a later stage. He welcomed the proposed contractual arrangements as they would better serve the operational needs of the Organization. In many instances, different types of appointments were used for purposes other than those originally intended. His delegation had participated actively in a spirit of cooperation in the discussion of the agenda item and would continue to do so.

SHAMSAHD AHMAD (Pakistan) said that, at a time when the United Nations was facing severe financial constraints, the need to use human resources responsibly could not be overemphasized. The timing of the Secretary-General’s initiative to strengthen the United Nations management system was propitious. Only last month, at the Millennium Summit, heads of State and government had called upon the Secretariat to make optimal use of the existing human and material resources. It was his hope that the deliberations on the important issue would go a long way in transforming the United Nations into a more productive, truly representative and international, results-oriented Organization.

While the Secretary-General’s report contained many dynamic and forward- looking ideas, certain aspects of the report, such as recruitment, placement and promotion, mobility and contractual arrangements required further clarification, elaboration and even adjustments. On the question of enhanced delegation of authority to programme managers, the Committee must keep in mind the dire need to ensure that any enhancement in the authority of programme managers must be accompanied by well-designed and fool-proof mechanisms of accountability. Exercise of discretionary power was a risky business and could be most productive only if there were clearly delineated internal monitoring and control procedures in place.

On the question of recruitment, he said he agreed that the existing process for filling posts was complex and not as transparent as Member States would like it to be. Member States had expressed concern over the inordinate length of the recruitment process. There had also been the complaint that job criteria were tailor-made to cater to some favorites. Vacancies were publicized for appearances’ sake -- selections were already made behind the scene on political or non-professional considerations.

It was regrettable, he said, that the principle of equitable geographical distribution was not applied throughout the United Nations system and was, in fact, restricted to only a small segment of the total staff strength of the United Nations Secretariat. The key to successful and effective implementation of all initiatives lay in a clear delineation of the exact role and responsibility of the Central Review Body and the Office of Human Resources Management in the accountability process.

He said that he also found merit in the premise underpinning the Secretary- General’s recommendations on mobility that staff did not own their posts and managers did not own their staff. Horizontal and vertical mobility must be part of a comprehensive career development system with provision of appropriate training wherever necessary. Concerning the issue of contractual arrangements, he said that the Secretary-General had cited noteworthy advantages for the continuing contracts in terms of administrative simplicity and equality of treatment with no impact on the independence of the international civil services. The subject needed further discussion and a frank and dispassionate dialogue with staff before the Assembly could approve the package.

SUH DAE-WON (Republic of Korea) said that his country had consistently supported the reform efforts of the Secretary-General. The Organization currently faced the dual challenge of meeting ever-growing demands with limited resources. He welcomed the report on a comprehensive human resources management implementation programme and said that his delegation attached great importance to recruitment, mobility, performance management and career development. Given the unique characteristics of the United Nations, it was also important to ensure respect for diversity, due process, transparency and equal and fair treatment as well as geographical and gender balance.

Delegation of authority to programme managers was an integral part of human resources reform, he continued. However, it was necessary to install an effective mechanism to ensure full accountability of the delegated authority.

Continuing, he noted with concern the increasing average age of the staff, which now stood at 45.8 years. To facilitate the inflow of young staff, it was necessary to redress the inefficiency of the current recruitment process. He looked forward to further improvement in the recruitment process and hoped that it would be speeded up to 120 days.

He went on to note the efforts by the Secretariat to recruit national competitive examinations candidates. He also welcomed a continued decrease in the number of unrepresented and under-represented countries. As for female staff, it was encouraging to see an increase of 1.5 per cent within the Secretariat as compared with last year. However, female staff representation still remained low at the senior levels.

Another priority area was the management of staff mobility, he said. It was cause for concern that staff mobility still remained on an ad hoc and voluntary basis. The new system should reflect the need to move from a voluntary to a managed approach to mobility. He also hoped that the unprecedented number of vacancies would present an opportunity to rejuvenate the Secretariat and redress gender and geographical imbalances.

LI TAIZHANG (China) said that his delegation highly valued the initial results of human resources management reform. At the same time, he wanted to point out that like reform in any other area, it must be an orderly and gradual process. Better and consistent application of equitable geographical distribution was important. It should be achieved through pragmatic medium- and long-term planning for human resources management. It was important to take into account such key elements as staffing structure, vacancies, geographical allocation of posts and the optimal mobility of staff. He hoped that a personnel management structure would be established at all levels, which would clearly define individual authority and responsibility, as well as effective monitoring mechanisms.

The OHRM should have the authority for overall planning and management of posts, he continued, to achieve the goal of their proper allocation among Member States and to effect a radical change in the situation where personnel decisions were the prerogative of the heads of departments and offices. Although fully aware of anomalies, personnel officers are unable to intervene and correct them. It was necessary to increase the number of nationals from under- and unrepresented countries. The OHRM should regularly report to Member States on the implementation of the principle of equitable geographical distribution.

Turning to the appointment system, he said that permanent contracts stifled competition and took away the initiative of staff and their desire for improvement. He welcomed the appointment system proposed by the Secretary-General and expressed hope that the new contractual system would gradually eliminate the current system of permanent contracts, thus creating the environment where every staff member was motivated to perform well.

Continuing, he said that young people were often not given appointments or training opportunities. Instead, so-called “free-lancers” were used, who were usually former staff members. One of the reasons for such practice were savings, for allegedly, local recruitment cost less than international recruitment of temporary staff. His delegation could not agree with such a rationale. He was not opposed to employing capable free-lancers, but the failure to employ qualified young people was wasteful. If that practice was allowed to continue indefinitely, it would create an imbalance in the age structure of the staff.

On the recruitment, appointment and promotion system, he said that the period to fill a vacancy should not exceed 120 days. Also, written announcements of vacancies often arrived late in Member States. It was often hard to determine whether a vacancy was open for internal or external candidates. The United Nations personnel department seldom provided feed-back on candidates formally recommended by Member States. He hoped that the department would increase transparency with regard to the recruitment process. As for the human resources reform process on the whole, it was important to have both clearly defined reform goals and practical measures to solve existing major problems.

RATTAN LAL KATARIA (India) said that his delegation agreed that mechanisms of accountability, monitoring processes and control procedures were integral parts of any new initiatives in the area of human resources management. The Secretary- General rightly emphasized the fundamental role that the staff of the Organization would have to play. The organizational culture should be responsive, reward creativity and innovation and promote continuous learning, high performance and managerial excellence.

Staff had a crucial say in the effective and efficient functioning of the United Nations and he hoped that the Organization would be in a position to provide conditions of service that were capable of attracting and retaining staff with the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. Given the meagre financial and human resources available, he doubted if this was currently possible.

In view of the unprecedented number of vacancies that would arise over the next five years, an important opportunity presented itself to rejuvenate the Organization. India hoped that the 500 regular budget posts, and the 2,400 extra-budgetary posts would be quickly filled. Priority should be accorded to ensuring a systematic rejuvenation of the Secretariat and of retaining younger staff. Regarding recruitment, placement and promotion, while he agreed that programme managers must be responsible for taking final decisions on the selection of staff, he looked forward to hearing the views of other delegations.

He also agreed with the ACABQ when it stressed the need for advance planning in the recruitment process that would give additional time to programme managers to screen and judge the suitability of all qualified candidates. He was mindful of the current practice of writing job descriptions to suit specific individuals. Career development and conditions of service were most important since they determined, to a great extent, the success of any human resource development initiative.

MARAT RYSMENDIEV (Kyrgyzstan) asked when the JIU report on senior-level appointments would be considered.

JOSEPH ACAKPO-SATCHIVI, the Committee’s Secretary, said that report would be considered once the Committee received the Secretary-General’s comments.

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