Sixty-third General Assembly

Fifth Committee

18^th Meeting (AM)

BUDGET COMMITTEE CONCLUDES DEBATE ON PROPOSALS

 

FOR HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT REFORM

 

Concluding debate on the main issue of its current session, human resources management reform, several delegates of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) offered alternatives to proposals on contractual arrangements and expressed concerns on the harmonization of conditions of service and mobility policy.

On contractual arrangements, the representative of Japan cautioned against granting continuing appointments that would ensure lifetime employment and require Member States to fund them regardless of the mandate.

The United States representative, similarly, had reservations on proposals for the streamlining of contracts.  “In the best of all possible worlds, abandoning the very complex system currently in place and implementing a simpler, more modern system might be considered”, he said, “but, given the lateness of the hour and the size of such an undertaking, an alternative to the proposals previously presented to the Committee that adhered closely to the existing system was needed.”

The representative of the Russian Federation, too, “had serious doubts regarding the rationale of the Secretary-General’s approach to contractual arrangements …”.  Instead, he proposed a single fixed-term contract for all, with the addition of temporary, short-term appointments.  He would eliminate the possibility of continuing contracts, proposed by the Secretary-General, which would create unequal conditions for staff -- some with fixed, some with continuing contracts, all doing the same work, at the same Secretariat -- but with different levels of job security.  Fixed-term contracts would put all staff on equal footing and ensure that they continued to hone their skills, he maintained.

He also expressed concerns on proposals for the harmonization of conditions of service, finding them very costly and insufficiently justified.  They also did not take into consideration the proportion of field staff belonging to various organizations.  Until the compensation package in non-family duty stations became a part of the common system and relevant General Assembly decisions became binding for all entities of the United Nations system, it would be impossible to seriously discuss the harmonization of service proposals.

In contrast, the delegate from Cameroon said that harmonization of service, if done well, should help renew human resources, reduce staff vacancies and could promote staff mobility throughout the United Nations system.  At the same time, that mobility must not cause turmoil in activities away from Headquarters, especially in peacekeeping operations.

Viet Nam’s representative agreed that the mobility policy could help Headquarters staff better understand the situation on the ground, but was concerned that it not present staff and their families with too many personal burdens.  He suggested a set time frame of five years in one location, before deployment to another, to minimize the side effects of mobility policy.

Stressing the need for balance in gender and geographical representation in the Secretariat staff, many delegates agreed with the representative of Algeria in his assessment that it was intolerable that countries submitted to the same rules in determination of contributions to the United Nations, but were not equally represented on staff.  The representative of Senegal also spoke for many when he said that the new recruitment mechanism under enterprise resource planning must respect equal opportunity for all candidates at all post levels.

That thought was further supported by Yemen’s delegate who noted that the least developed countries lacked the modern technology to have access to the vacancy posts advertised under the Galaxy system.  Replacing that system with another would continue to prevent many qualified candidates in unrepresented and underrepresented countries from submitting applications for vacancies.

Also participating in the debate were representatives of the Republic of Korea, India, Singapore, Myanmar, Iran, China, Belarus, Côte d’Ivoire and Libya.

Representatives of the Office of Human Resources Management and the Department of Field Support also spoke.

The Fifth Committee will next meet at a time to be announced.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) continued its discussion of human resources management reform this morning.  For background, see Press Release GA/AB/3877 of 13 November 2008.

Statements

ABDELATIF DEBABECHE (Algeria) associated himself with the statements of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China and of the African Group.  He reiterated that there was an important symbiosis between sovereign mandates and their implementation by a highly qualified staff, motivated to carry out well-defined responsibilities, while benefiting from the legal protections needed for the accomplishment of their mission.  An organization was only as good as its management, he said, and whatever was lacking in managerial competence was reflected throughout the organization.  An organization with the ambitious workload of the United Nations had its credibility at stake any time it was unable to act, or the behaviour of one of its agents was unbefitting.

The Secretary-General’s report, where it touched on the selection and recruitment of management, did not address the basic concern, he continued.  He considered the announcement, last spring, of an independent selection committee for senior staff to be an important step, noting that reform of that process should also take into consideration equitable geographical rotation of posts throughout the Secretariat.  He noted that the terms of resolution 59/272 had not been scrupulously followed.  He further regretted the marginalization of resolutions 60/260 and 61/245, along with the failure to consult with other organizations and entities of internal control during preparation of the report.

He said that the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) statutes should be revisited to clarify that its sole role was not only to define percentages for staff salary increases tied to inflation and other currency fluctuations.  He further congratulated the special investigations team for procurement for its professionalism, and endorsed the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) to permanently integrate its members into the Organization.  He insisted on preserving the total independence of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).

On imbalances in geographical distribution of staff posts, he said that “it was intolerable that countries subjected to the same quotas in determination of contributions … were represented differently” when it came to staffing.  A single road map for all must be implemented without delay to gradually remedy the situation, he said.  Accountability for results would be expected.

It was also time to put an end to diverse contractual arrangements for the same duties and, as the Organization was about to embark on an ambitious information technology project, to review posts for highly technical positions in order to maintain the best technicians in a highly competitive market.  On staff mobility for current staff, he said that movement should occur from the field to the seats of the Organization, and only on a voluntary basis.  Vacancy announcements for future openings should mention the possibility of work in the field, so that candidates would make their decisions with that understanding.

In closing, he said that no reform could be imposed.  The success of reform depended on agreement among major stakeholders.

ALSUBEIHI ABDULKADER ( Yemen) supported the position of the Group of 77 and said that his delegation hoped the Member States would be able to reach concrete progress on human resources management during the current session.  Human resources development was a cornerstone of development activities.  His country had no representation in the posts within the United Nations.  Yemen was among the least developed countries that lacked the modern technology through which vacancy posts were advertised under the Galaxy system.  Now, the Secretariat was trying to replace it with another such system.  Those conditions blocked the possibility of submitting applications for vacancies.  That was why it was necessary to simplify the methods of appointment for candidates from least developed countries, who should be given enough time to apply.  Those countries should also be officially notified of vacancies.  That way, it would be possible to improve the transparency and credibility of the United Nations among Member States.

He said that the procedures for appointment should reflect the independence of the international civil service.   Yemen had, indeed, a large number of qualified candidates who met all the conditions for employment at the United Nations.  However, the abovementioned factors negatively impacted on their ability to reach the final stages of competitive exams.  He hoped the recruitment process reform would be undertaken in a fair way.  Countries like his own should be given more possibilities in that respect.

SHIN BOO NAM ( Republic of Korea) said that the success of human resources management reform was a prerequisite for ensuring that other management reforms achieved their expected outcomes and benefits in the long term.  He concurred with the Advisory Committee that, as with other reform issues, human resources management reform should take a cost-benefit analysis into account, based on the principle of efficiency and effectiveness.  It was also equally important to ensure high regard for the morale of staff.  He commended the progress achieved since the Investing in People report, including the attempt to institute a new talent management system, and welcomed the efforts to enhance the transparency of the Secretariat’s interactions with Member States.  That client-friendly approach would contribute to strengthening the trust between Member States and the Secretariat.

He said, as a matter of urgency, it was necessary to reach agreement on two important issues deferred from the previous session:  streamlining contractual arrangements and harmonizing conditions of service.  Those issues were the basis for other management reforms, such as mobility.  Member States had an obligation to guarantee that the new framework would be implemented as of 1 July 2009, as mandated in resolution 62/248.  He also urged the Secretariat to provide additional information relating to those matters listed in the ACABQ’s latest report.

Turning to the efforts to improve the geographical and gender balance within the Organization, he noted that the total number of unrepresented and underrepresented countries had remained at 40 as of 30 June 2008, the same as the previous year.  Women remained underrepresented, among others, at the higher levels, comprising some 18.5 per cent of the Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General level.  The Secretariat must redouble its efforts to expeditiously improve the gender and geographical balance.  Those issues should be given due attention throughout the talent management framework structuring process, especially from the initial stage of developing the strategic workforce planning and roster.  The initiative to reduce the period of vacancy circulation from 60 to 30 days should be pursued, on condition that the change would not reduce the opportunity for applicants across the world to take note of the vacancy and apply for it.

Turning to the National Competitive Recruitment Examinations, he said that the Examinations had served as a major cost-effective recruitment tool.  However, his delegation concurred with the Joint Inspection Unit that there were some weaknesses that needed to be addressed.  Foremost, the excessively long duration of the examination cycle had to be shortened.  The time for the examination process and recruitment from a candidate roster should be reduced, to ensure that qualified candidates were not forced to seek other job opportunities outside the Secretariat due to the long waiting period.  His delegation also recommended that the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) fully engage in the process of introducing the enterprise resource planning system and in streamlining the work process, through which the Secretariat could bring about efficiency gains.  He hoped that, in this “human resources year”, the Committee could produce a fruitful outcome on human resources management reform and pave the way towards a more efficient and attractive Organization.

PRIYA DUTT, Member of Parliament of India, supported the position of the Group of 77 and said that it was important to not only recruit high-quality staff, but also to retain them and provide motivation for continuous self-improvement and skill enhancement.  Given the critical importance of the human resources management reform and numerous proposals before the Committee, she was disappointed that the Secretary-General’s report on human resources management reforms, while providing an overview and update on previous proposals, did not provide sufficient statistical data to substantiate the progress reported, nor did it include benchmarks to measure progress.  She also concurred with the ACABQ that the report did not provide the financial implications of the initiatives, or clear timelines for their implementation.  Above all, the report failed to analyse the relations between various reform proposals that were interlinked and required synchronized implementation.

While commending the OHRM for its efforts, she was troubled by the OIOS findings, which underscored that the credibility of staff selection was not highly rated by stakeholders with regard to facilitating promotion opportunities, identifying highly qualified external candidates and supporting geographical representation and gender balance goals.  She was also concerned about lengthy selection time frames, lack of an integrated approach to career development, and the failure of managed mobility.  She fully endorsed the OIOS recommendations on the OHRM, especially the development of an integrated approach to enhance the staff selection process; better support for career development and staff mobility; clarification and streamlining of the delegation of authority; and prioritization of human resources management initiatives.  Those measures would make a significant contribution in expediting and facilitating efficient human resources management.

Welcoming the Secretary-General’s intention to implement integrated workforce planning through the establishment of a talent management framework, she said that she was surprised that, in a large and geographically diverse international civil service, that had not been done much earlier.  On career development and support, her delegation was convinced of the importance of training for staff development.  The United Nations should nurture the talent, learning and professional development of its staff.  She agreed with the ACABQ that a more integrated, strategic and results-based approach to training was needed, encompassing both Headquarters and the field.

Moreover, she added, clear linkages should be made between training programmes and career paths and measures to promote future leaders in the Organization.  Those should be inclusive, transparent, non-discriminatory and merit-based.  A credible, fair and fully functioning performance appraisal system was critical.  In order to develop a culture of rewarding performance and penalizing under- or non-performance, it was essential that appraisals were accurate.  She encouraged the Secretary-General to expeditiously address reported shortcomings in the existing Performance Appraisal System and establish clear links between performance and future career plans.

Continuing, she stressed the importance of streamlining contractual arrangements and harmonizing the conditions of service, saying that it was necessary to move with deliberate haste on those matters, as they had a direct bearing on the functioning of the Organization.  She looked forward to a satisfactory resolution on those critical issues in the coming weeks.  She also took note of the difficulties experienced in the initial implementation of the “managed reassignment” programme.  She called upon the Secretary-General to undertake the proposed comprehensive review of mobility, taking into account the lessons learned, the OIOS evaluation, and the outcome of staff-management consultations.  While there were challenges in achieving the desired mobility outcomes, eventual implementation of the mobility policy, if approved by the Assembly, would have to be based on a clear definition of mobility and implemented in a fair, transparent and inclusive manner, encompassing all levels of the Secretariat.

Turning to recruitment and staffing, she welcomed the efforts to achieve the gender balance and geographical distribution targets, but called for additional measures, including intensive outreach activities, to further ameliorate the situation, which was far from satisfactory.  She also endorsed the comments of the ACABQ on pre-screened rosters and broadening the scope of the national competitive examinations.  The Secretary-General had reported an increase in the use of consultants and individual contractors by 88.7 per cent and 166.6 per cent, respectively, involving a combined expenditure of $131.5 million during the reporting period.  Moreover, the majority of those employees had been engaged for programme implementation and advisory services, which should normally be the responsibility of regular staff.  The practice of hiring consultants should be restricted to only those instances where necessary in-house skills and expertise were not available.  Meanwhile, factors contributing to the use of consultants should be identified and appropriate steps taken to address the skill gaps within the Secretariat.  However, if hiring of consultants became inevitable, she called for maintaining a balance in their geographical representation.

In conclusion, she added that reform did not come free.  Even if initial costs seemed considerable, over the long run that investment would reap high dividends in the form of more efficient and effective delivery of mandates and programme implementation.

MICHAEL SCANLON (United States), noting this was the second time this year that the Committee had met to consider the Secretary-General’s proposals for reforming human resources management polices, said the principal task was the resumption of deliberations on streamlining contracts and harmonizing conditions of service.  Other issues to be considered were the Secretary-General’s omnibus report (document A/63/310), reports on the workforce’s composition, disciplinary cases, sexual exploitation and abuse, ethics, mobility, geography and related reports of the ACABQ.  Further challenges facing human resources management were highlighted by the reports of the Joint Inspection Unit and the OIOS.

In his report, the Secretary-General had strongly emphasized talent management, and the United States agreed that success in that area would help prepare the United Nations to meet current and future challenges, he said.  His delegation supported the ACABQ’s findings that more progress was needed in areas such as workforce planning and monitoring, career development and training, performance management, strengthening leadership and management capacity, and maximizing the use of information technology in human resources management.  It also concurred with the view that the OHRM needed to prioritize its work, to accomplish the most important goals first.

He said action in the areas of recruiting and retaining field staff and contracting and harmonization was essential.  Over the last six months, the United States had made strenuous efforts to better understand the issues related to streamlining contracts and harmonizing conditions of service, and consequently could not agree with the Secretary-General’s proposal on this issue, nor with the proposal that was before the Committee in March.  In the best of all possible worlds, abandoning the very complex system currently in place and implementing a simpler, more modern system might be considered.  But, given the lateness of the hour and the size of such an undertaking, an alternative to the proposals previously presented to the Committee that adhered closely to the existing system was needed.  In that, the United States intended to share its ideas more generally for consideration by the Committee and was committed to working with colleagues in a spirit of good will.

He went on to say that, like the ACABQ, the United States believed any consideration of a special operations approach for field duty stations should be deferred.  Meanwhile, other measures should be taken to positively impact recruiting and retaining field officers.  In addition to being too costly, the special operations approach had not been proven to truly improve recruitment and retention.  Further, the United States strongly supported equitable geographical and gender representation in international organizations.  While progress had been made in that area, he encouraged the Secretariat to continue to make improvements.

Noting that progress had also been made to combat sexual exploitation and abuse by implementing the General Assembly’s comprehensive reform package, as well as the Organization’s three-pronged strategy, he called on all involved to work to create a culture that not only supported, but enforced, zero tolerance.  Still, it was disappointing that, despite the Organization’s best efforts, misconduct and criminal behaviour continued.  He noted the Secretary-General’s report on actions taken during the year ending 30 June 2008 (document A/63/202).  Additionally, he urged the General Assembly to consider additional actions to recover United Nations funds that were stolen by staff members; accessing other assets owned by those staff convicted of stealing United Nations funds, or garnishing pensions should be considered.

He stressed that the risk assessment of the Ethics Office information systems, which would ensure their continued confidentiality, integrity and availability, was important.  He also emphasized the importance of providing staff with a clear understanding of the functions of the different offices responsible for ethics, grievances, conduct and discipline, and other personnel matters, so any concerns could be appropriately raised.

He also pointed out that, although the Secretary-General’s report on implementing the mobility policy (document A/63/208) noted difficulties, it did not evaluate that policy’s effectiveness.  A thorough review should, therefore, be made, and he urged that such a review take the recommendations of the Task Force on Human Resources Management into account.  The United States strongly supported steps to reduce the time it takes to hire United Nations staff, including reducing the time period for vacancy announcements.  On the roster-based approach for staff selection, he said the Secretary-General should present more detailed proposals based on in-depth evaluation of the current roster system.

LOY HUI CHIEN ( Singapore) aligned himself with the statement of the Group of 77 and China and said that the Secretary-General’s proposals for human resources reform should be seen as an ongoing investment in the United Nations’ most valuable resource.  While agreeing with those proposals relating to streamlining contractual arrangements and harmonizing conditions of service, he said that reforms must also address such issues as recruitment, staff performance and training.  Reforms must not only fix the gaps of today’s policies, but must try to pre-empt the problems of tomorrow.  In that context, he raised three points.

The United Nations urgently needed a mobile and multi-talented workforce capable of working effectively both in the field and at Headquarters.  That required recruitment of well-qualified staff with a passion to serve.  Staff selection should be based on merit, but must also reflect the character of Member States.  Geographical diversity, lopsided in today’s Secretariat, was not an end in itself, but a way to tap talent from diverse sources to bring forth the necessary perspectives and innovative solutions to address the complex and interconnected challenges facing the world.

Continuing, he said that international civil servants must be held accountable for their performance.  Senior managers’ compacts were a step in the right direction, but lacked teeth, as they did not cover penalties for non-performance.  It was difficult to identify poorly performing staff, as over 99 per cent of staff were rated as meeting or exceeding performance expectations under the current system, he said, noting that that was unfair to those who worked hard.  He sought a credible and transparent system where those who did well were identified and rewarded, while those who performed poorly were taken to task.  There was also a need for systematic training and a good mobility system, so that staff members could find where they best fit within the Organization.

The Organization’s human resources policies needed to find a balance between staff continuity and mobility, he continued.  While mobility helped create greater staff flexibility and responsiveness, and fostered development, it should not lead to a loss of knowledge and expertise.  Noting the upcoming retirements of 30 to 40 per cent of senior staff, he spoke of the huge loss of valuable experience and institutional memory that represented, which could complicate ongoing plans to increase staff mobility.  Succession planning was urgently needed, but so was a more holistic perspective to devise long-term solutions that served the overall interests of the Organization and its staff.  The Secretariat “must try to answer the question, what sort of people would the UN need in five, 10 and 15 years’ time?”

SAM LWIN ( Myanmar), associating himself with the statement made on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, commended the Secretary-General for his vision on investing in people and stressed that ethics, fairness, transparency and accountability were as important as efficiency.  He also expressed hope that serious consideration would also be given to human resource concerns, such as delays in recruitment, staff retention in peace operations, the inability to move staff from mission to mission as operational requirements change, and the difficulty of administering the current contractual framework.  He agreed with the Secretary-General’s proposals for the streamlining of contractual arrangements and the harmonization of conditions of service.  He hoped the change would provide transparency and fairness.

He said that the Organization could no longer rely on the complex and bureaucratic systems that had developed over the years.  In that light, he welcomed the OHRM’s efforts to institute a new talent management system.  He also reiterated that achieving equitable geographical representation and gender balance of staff should be a priority in the entire United Nations system.  In that regard, he noted with concern that the share of staff from un- and underrepresented countries had continued to fall in recent years, while the share from overrepresented countries had almost doubled.

PAUL BADJI ( Senegal) supported the statement of the Group of 77 and China.  It was essential to establish equity and justice for staff members system-wide through human resources management reform.  The new recruitment mechanism under enterprise resource planning must respect equal opportunity for all candidates at all post levels.  Women candidates, particularly those from Africa, must have access to posts at the highest levels in the Secretariat.  Precise goals for geographical representation should be set by the Secretariat and periodically reviewed by Member States.  Nothing could justify the fact that, currently, 21 States were overrepresented, while 16 were not represented at all, he added.

As the Organization strove to use its financial resources effectively and efficiently, he noted that there were over 40,000 staff members, yet close to 7,000 consultants had been brought on in 2007, at a cost of some $100 million.  At the same time, other programmes were short of funding.  The use of consultants and other outside service providers, used increasingly each year, should be reconsidered.  The monies thus freed up could be redirected to training in areas such as information technology, statistics and interpretation.  Those savings could also be used for incentives to retain highly qualified staff.

He called on the Secretary-General to define a global strategy that anticipated possible risks that could arise due to impending retirements.  Over 2,000 high-level staff, of whom 200 were in posts relating to geographical distribution, were about to retire, he noted.

JAVAD SAFAEI ( Iran) aligned himself with the position of the Group of 77 and concurred with the view of the ACABQ that a phased approach to human resources management reforms was more appropriate.  It seemed difficult to take a sound decision on those multifaceted and interlinked issues without having evaluated the effects of previous reform measures.  The proposals before the Committee should present all the elements of strategic planning, incorporating career development, transparency, accountability and geographic representation.  Member States needed to see the interrelationship between various human resources proposals as a whole and their complementarities.  A credible and efficient performance appraisal system was of vital importance.  The current performance reports needed to improve their appraisal component and capture the full range of performance.  He requested information on the Secretariat’s plan to address that issue within the framework of proposed reforms and improved accountability.

On recruitment and staffing, he emphasized the importance of the national competitive examinations as the most useful tool to achieve the benchmarks in geographic and gender representation and rejuvenate the Secretariat.  Existing flaws in the national competitive exams could be addressed through the implementation of the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit and the Board of Auditors.  He fully supported the view of the Advisory Committee that the scope of the national competitive exams should be broadened to cover more posts than those subject to geographic distribution.  He agreed with the proposals to reduce the length of the recruitment process, but could not agree with the proposal to shorten the advertising period.  That would limit the outreach to the developing countries far from Headquarters, which had limited communication facilities.  Quicker recruitment could be achieved through increased efficiency in other stages of the process.

It was a source of concern that his delegation had to repeat its request to the Secretary-General to accelerate the recruitment of candidates who had passed the national competitive examinations, at a time when a considerable number of staff got an extension beyond their mandatory age of separation.  The Assembly had strongly discouraged such extensions, which were allowed only in exceptional circumstances.  Yet, the information provided by the Secretariat indicated that such extensions, and the use of retirees, was becoming a prevailing trend in many departments.  He would also like to receive complete justification and guidelines used by the Secretariat to use gratis personnel from “entities” other than the Governments of Member States.  On the use of consultants and individual contractors, he was concerned over a recent unprecedented increase in their number and its financial implications.  He regretted that the Secretary-General had not provided information requested in resolution 57/305 on that issue.  He was even more concerned that consultants were being increasingly hired for long periods and engaged in the core activities of the United Nations.  Member States supported various proposals in order to promote maximum use of the in-house capacities of the Secretariat.

SHEN YANJIE ( China) associated himself with the position of the Group of 77 and took note of the report on the composition of the Secretariat, saying that the document showed that representation was on the mend and that the number of unrepresented and underrepresented States was on the decline.  However, low representation of developing countries in high-level and decision-making posts still existed, as well as an overall imbalance in staff distribution.  Underrepresentation of developing countries was a long-standing issue, and he urged the Secretariat to pay proper attention to that issue and look for solutions.  He also welcomed a steady increase in recruitment from national competitive exam rosters over the past three years.  The Secretariat should continue increasing its use of national competitive exam results and strengthen monitoring and control of rosters, shortening the time candidates on rosters waited for recruitment.

Streamlining of contracts was in conformity with the goals of human resources management reform, and he welcomed the efforts of the Secretariat in that regard.  The issue was complicated and touched on the interests of many.  The Secretariat should formulate a clear policy in that regard.  Strict conditions should also be put in place to prudently deal with financial and budgetary implications and other transitional issues arising from the reform.  Harmonization of the conditions for staff working in the field and those in agencies, funds and programmes was conducive to improving the conditions of service, promoting their long-term development and maintaining the common system.  It was also beneficial for attracting and retaining talented people.

On mobility, he welcomed the efforts in implementing the mobility policy, and thanked the Secretariat for its attention to the lack of incentives and imperfection of measures in implementation of mobility.  It was important to pay attention both to the needs of the job and the willingness of individuals, as well as career development.  Openness, equity and fairness were important in that regard, and it was necessary to ensure that stakeholders could express their personal wishes.  He also pointed out that the establishment of the Ethics Office had been important for the culture of ethics and integrity within the United Nations.  He commended the results achieved in the second operating cycle of the Office.  An increasing number of service requests showed that expectations for the Office were becoming higher.  He hoped it would continue to maintain its independence and fairness in discharging its mandate.

YURI YAROSHEVICH ( Belarus) said that equal geographical and gender representation was indispensable for advancing democracy in the United Nations, particularly concerning the appointment of senior staff in all departments of the Secretariat.  There was no excuse for a lack of representation or underrepresentation of regional groups at the highest levels of the Secretariat.  The five highest posts in each department should be allocated among the five regional groups, in a gradual process.

He welcomed the efforts made to address the geographical balance in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, such as offering the national competitive exams to nationals of unrepresented States, but more effective measures could be taken.  He requested that the Secretariat prepare updated information on the geographical distribution of Professional and higher staff in all its departments and offices prior to informal consultations on the human resources management agenda item.

YASUO KISHIMOTO ( Japan) said reform of human resources management should start with a shared idea of the current problems.  The current system’s functions should be carefully evaluated to identify specific issues for reform.  All key players should be involved in that process and should participate in good faith.  Underlying the “structural problem” in human resources management, he said that the human resources responsibility had been widely delegated to programme managers who tended to focus on their immediate tasks, not the longer-term interests of the Organization.  The poor results of measures made so far on mobility, recruitment and geographical representation revealed that the structure of human resources management had to be changed.  A panel of external and independent experts should be set up to make recommendations.  Achieving the aims of the Secretary-General in that area would be impossible unless the authority for human resources was centralized and each programme manager made an agent for realizing organizational goals and held accountable to the Secretary-General and the Member States.

He said current recruitment delays seemed to derive from two factors:  the advertisement of vacancies and the selection of candidates were governed by programme managers; and there was a lack of specific selection criteria.  On the first, if a pre-screened roster were to be introduced, an important prerequisite would be that a placement of staff be managed by the central human resources authority.  Simplifying the current procedure could easily result in arbitrary selections, including nepotism, already seen in the current system.  Further, the current proposed pre-screened roster system would leave behind qualified candidates from underrepresented countries for years.  On the second factor, urgent consideration on how to put a fair and transparent selection system in place was needed.  A personal score system that would translate work experience and organizational needs, among other things, into a numerical score, merited consideration.  Strategic workforce planning should also be considered in conjunction with career development polices across departments.  The current excessively specialized job categories should be integrated into a broader pool, while the current top heavy structure could be rectified as high volumes of employees retired.

Turning to the issue of geographical distribution, he said that the fact that the proportion of nationals from underrepresented Member States had decreased from 14.8 per cent in 2002 to 9.6 per cent in 2008 signalled the need for significant improvement.  Strengthening the central authority of human resources management was necessary to achieve agreed-upon goals.  Concrete numerical targets in the Human Resources Action Plan and senior managers’ compact should be set according to a department’s circumstances.  The monitoring mechanism of the current Management Performance Board should also be strengthened.  Participation in the interview panel of the Office of Human Resources Management should be mandatory.  Recruitment authority should be centralized in the Human Resources Officer in each department’s executive office.  Central review bodies should be empowered to have a say in candidate selection.  Meanwhile, outreach to unrepresented and underrepresented countries remained a continuing and core mandate of the OHRM.

He said that, to ensure successful career development in the United Nations, people who had real managerial capacity should be selected for managerial posts.  A 360-degree performance appraisal for all current and potential managers should be carried out and used to select candidates for D-1 positions and above.  Clear target groups for strategic career development were needed.  The national competitive examinations should be improved at both the recruitment stage and through every career tenure, starting with a statistical examination of staff recruited by those exams at P-4 and above.

It was also clear, he said, that policy integration on mobility was lacking and the inherent conflict of interest between line managers and the Organization had to be addressed by centralizing the mobility function.  While Japan believed that mobility needed to be promoted for a healthier civil service, the managed reassignment programme revealed that the current mobility policy was cumbersome.  A more strategic approach with a focused target group was needed.  Further, the performance management tool should be revised based on earnest dialogue between staff and management.  The results of the current e-Performance Appraisal System had rated 99.4 per cent of staff at fully satisfactory or better -- meaning that their fixed-term appointments would automatically continue.  Because that was precisely what should be avoided, it was clear that the current performance system needed remodelling.

The long-term implications of streamlining the contractual arrangements should also be carefully considered, he cautioned.  Granting continuing appointments would ensure lifetime employment, forcing Member States to fund them regardless of the mandate.  Lessons should be taken from the experiences in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where indefinite contracts were granted.  The proposal to establish civilian career peacekeepers through a competitive process had to be considered.  As the contractual arrangements were essentially a recruitment tool, they did not guarantee fair recruitment, mobility or integration between Headquarters and the field.

If integrated human resources were necessary, he added, the details of the Secretary-General’s report (document A/61/850), which had not been discussed in March, should be examined.  It should also be recognized that each mission had a finite mandate, and the difference between the ongoing need for peace operations and the temporary needs of each mission had to be considered.  Finally, staff entitlements should be thoroughly reviewed during the overhaul of the entire contractual structure.  They should reflect the nature of the contract and mandate; indeed, the staff for peace operations was different from the staff for funds and programmes.  The staff for funds and programmes were subject to a rotation policy that governed long-term organizational strategy, while peace operations staff were employed to carry out mandates of finite duration at specific times and locations.

BROUZ RALPH COFFI ( C ôte d’Ivoire) supported the statements of the Group of 77 and China, and the African Group, noting that those statements spoke for his delegation fully.  He went on to point out an anomaly in the ACABQ report on the security rating of Abidjan and urgently requested that a corrigendum, correcting its security rating and listing that city as a family duty station, be issued without delay.  That was especially important to Ivorian authorities, as they were engaged in implementation of the Ouagadougou Agreement, which process must not be undermined by such errors.

TOMMO MONTHE ( Cameroon) supported the statements of the Group of 77 and China and the African Group.  Regarding recruitment, he noted a need for strategic planning and supported measures undertaken by the Secretary-General towards that end, as well as the comments of the ACABQ.  He said that, since authority had been given to programme directors, staff had been dissatisfied.  That state of affairs could be corrected if the OHRM would develop oversight measures to track how programme managers handled the authority delegated to them.  The OHRM should sanction or recall any programme director that used authority abusively, while those who did well should be commended and publicly congratulated.  The Secretary-General had ultimate authority and should establish mechanisms to ensure that the delegation of his authority to the Department of Management and programme managers was used properly.

Mobility policy should not be a cause for fear among staff, he continued.  Managers should not use it as punishment.  Mobility should allow staff to gain a broader perspective and serve as ongoing training and professional development, which a complex and diverse civil service required.  Mobility must be managed with tact and skill and be transparent to staff and Member States alike.  Proper mobility planning was important.  All data assembled on mobility should be provided to the Fifth Committee to facilitate its decisions.

He supported simplification of contractual arrangements.  Ambiguity on continuing contracts must be eliminated by clarifying criteria for the granting of such contracts, so that managers would not use it to hold people hostage or get rid of them.  The Advisory Committee had made relevant comments on the issue, he said.  On another topic, he continued, the ACABQ noted that staff hired for peacekeeping operations who had proven competence, effectiveness, ability and integrity should have their contracts extended.  The lack of long-term prospects at the conclusion of missions made vacancy notices for those posts less attractive, he added.

Harmonization of service, if done well, he said, should help renew human resources and reduce staff vacancies.  Harmonization of conditions of employment system-wide would promote mobility throughout the system.  At the same time, that mobility must not cause turmoil in activities away from Headquarters, especially in peacekeeping operations.  Finally, he said that the Secretary-General must improve the relationship between staff and the administration, especially at Headquarters and in Geneva.

HUSEIN O.A. ABUSHAWASHI ( Libya) supported the positions of the Group of 77 and China, and the African Group, and said that human resources management reform was one of the most important items discussed by the Fifth Committee.  All Member States consistently called for the improvement of management, increasing transparency and adherence to the highest standards of conduct.  They also emphasized the importance of the provisions of the Charter regarding the need to ensure the highest level of efficiency and competency, as well as just geographical distribution.  He supported the human resources management reform and believed that just geographical representation was of the utmost importance.  It was a source of concern that many countries remained unrepresented and underrepresented in the Organization.

His country was underrepresented, and its representation would diminish even further, unless a number of its citizens were appointed to Secretariat positions.  A just and comprehensive system of recruitment was needed, and the OHRM should make efforts to increase the just representation of Member States that were under- or unrepresented.  Contractual measures should be made with the countries concerned, and Secretariat examinations should be carried out in those countries.  It was not fair to have employees chosen from one overrepresented country, when there were so many under- and unrepresented countries.

Regarding the proposal to shorten vacancy announcements from 60 to 30 days, he said that it was unfair to the many candidates from countries that had limited access to the United Nations website.  He emphasized the ACABQ recommendations, in that regard.  He appreciated the efforts made in reform and hoped the Secretary-General would continue his efforts to achieve just geographical representation and ensure that it took place in all departments.  There should be equity between developed and developing countries in higher positions at the United Nations.

BUI THE GIANG ( Viet Nam) shared the views expressed on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.  He said that human resources management reform was a continuous process, which would not result from mere physical and financial efforts or wishful thinking.  Measures taken so that the Organization’s staff could better deliver their mandates took time to produce visible results.  All the while, United Nations staff should enjoy equal treatment and have their needs met, including equitable remuneration and opportunities for career development.  Staff members who had proven to have high qualifications and efficient performance in the field should not have to reapply for their jobs when their terms expired, as if they were new candidates, he added.

He expressed appreciation for efforts to simplify contractual arrangements and to achieve a single set of regulations system-wide.  To that end, he urged concrete actions to accelerate the harmonization of conditions of service in such areas as remuneration, health care and education benefits.

He noted that many developing countries were concerned with the issue of recruitment.  While he welcomed measures to reduce the complexity of recruitment processes, he noted a continued imbalance in gender and geographic representation and called for stronger measures to address that problem, particularly regarding improvement in the geographical representation of developing countries.  Further, good planning must help avoid future generational gaps.  He joined other delegations in calling for effective and feasible measures to increase transparency.

On mobility, he noted the Secretary-General’s request to suspend current practice while reviewing current policy.  Mobility policy should help Headquarters staff better understand the situation on the ground, without presenting staff and their families with too many personal burdens.  He suggested a set time frame of five years in one location, before deployment to another, to minimize the side effects of mobility policy.

ANDREI KOVALENKO ( Russian Federation) said that his delegation would continue to consider the proposals on human resources management, particularly from the standpoint of increasing the effectiveness of staff policy and meeting the Organization’s needs for qualified staff, as well as successful functioning of the Secretariat and alignment of possible decisions with the financial possibilities of Member States.  The “human resources” session was always a good possibility to give some thought to the conceptual vision of what the international civil service should be, what should be its major parameters, to what extent human resources management policy met the long-term needs of the Organization and challenges before it.  Unfortunately, the reports before the Committee did not contain a strategic vision of the development of the Organization and its human resources management.

Turning to the proposals on contracts and harmonization of the remuneration package in non-family duty stations, he said that they required careful analysis.  In particular, he had serious doubts regarding the rationale of the Secretary-General’s approach to the contractual arrangements, which boiled down to further development of career service and its extension to peacekeeping operations.  The proposed reorganization of the contract system would lead to almost universal transition to quasi-permanent contracts (the new continuing contracts), as well as de facto disappearance of fixed-term contracts, which would, in fact, turn into a long-term probation until a staff member was given a continuing contract.  That was contrary to the principles of effective and flexible staff management, bearing in mind the changing needs of the Organization, Secretariat mandates and the number of required staff.

Possible modification of the proposal on contracts and introduction of limits on the number of continuing contracts also had substantive deficiencies, he said.  He doubted the need to use continuing -- or quasi-permanent -- contracts, in general.  In practice, they would create conditions for inequality of staff -- some with fixed, some with continuing contracts, all doing the same work, at the same Secretariat -- but with different levels of job security.  The use of continuing contracts would not stimulate self-improvement, as staff with such contracts did not need to demonstrate their suitability and usefulness.  In that connection, he suggested that the Committee should give thought to using just one basic contract, a fixed term -- in addition to temporary ones.  That would have significant advantages, compared with the Secretary-General’s proposal, as it would not put staff in unequal positions and would simplify the contract system, make it understandable to all, and avoid the complexities in connection with the continuing contract.  Fixed term was an optimal tool for staff management.

Regarding harmonization, he confirmed his delegation’s position that the proposal was very costly and insufficiently justified.  It also did not take into consideration the proportion of field staff belonging to various organizations.  Unfortunately, the compensation package in non-family duty stations was not part of regulations within the common system, and the ICSC had not proposed any realistic mechanisms for their regulation and oversight.  Until the compensation package in non-family duty stations became a part of the common system and relevant General Assembly decisions became binding for all entities of the United Nations system, it would be impossible to seriously discuss the harmonization of service proposals.

The Russian Federation was prepared to carry out a point-by-point discussion on rosters, but had serious doubts regarding that proposal, especially in view of the deterioration of transparency in staff selection and emergence of new problems in connection with a possible decline in the number of potential candidates, who would hardly be able to apply for non-existent vacancies.  At the same time, he welcomed possible measures to reduce timelines for staff selection.  Regarding mobility, he noted that the policy, which had been formally adopted in 2006, had not brought about positive results and had, in fact, failed.  In that connection, he took note of the Secretariat’s intention to take a pause and give some thought to how the mobility programme could be improved.  Any possible modifications of the policy should be looked at by the General Assembly before they were implemented.

On geographical representation, he was concerned over a continued trend towards tightening up so-called geographical quotas, which -- one should not forget -- were “desirable quotas”.  The Secretariat should take measures to recruit from unrepresented and underrepresented countries, but the use of the geographical factor should not lead to discrimination against overrepresented countries.  The OHRM should more actively explain the existing rules and procedures in that regard, in particular, that staff selection from overrepresented countries was not an exception to those rules.

CATHERINE POLLARD, in concluding remarks from the Office of Human Resources Management, assured Member States that all of their statements were taken very seriously and that she and her colleagues would be available to Member States throughout their informal discussions.  She asked her colleague from the Department of Field Support to address the question raised by the representative of Côte d’Ivoire.

Ms. MAYFIELD, Department Of Field Support, regarding the error in Annex II of the ACABQ report, recognized that Abidjan was, in fact, in security phase two.  That correction would be made.  However, Abidjan had not yet been shifted to a family duty station and would remain a non-family duty station in the report.

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For information media • not an official record