CHAPTER-II

WOMEN AND INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVICE

The present chapter mms to discuss the nature and functions of the

international civil service and examine the efforts in the direction of ensuring better

representation to women in it so as to help the goal of international governance. While

doing so, it seeks to analyse the approaches to recruitment of women for

administrative services. The chapter examines how the principal commitments made

in international instruments, in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights, especially in respect of equal rights to both men and women in all

aspects of life are implemented in domestic and international contexts. Lastly, this

chapter attempts to offer a perspective on the involvement of women in the

international civil service and also examines the reasons for denying women a role in

the policy-making, decision-making and policy-execution platforms at the

international level.

International civil service is the lifeline of international organizations.

Although there are similarities between the national bureaucracy and international

civil service, the latter is comparatively small in size. But its size has grown over the

years from a few hundreds to approximately 150,000. Behind these numbers is the not

so smooth evolution of the institution of international civil service beginning from the

late nineteenth century.

International Civil Service: Concept and Characteristics

The concept of international civil service (ICS) in general needs to be

discussed before looking into details about the role and status of women in the

International Civil Service under the UN and its affiliated bodies or even the World

Bank. The United Nations is similar in structure to national mechanisms of

governance and decision-making. It consists of deliberative and quasi-legislative as

also negotiating executive and adjudicative organs to which the concerned countries

designate representatives. Its administrative organs have imbibed some of the

characteristics of the predominantly western/British civil service, including its

organizing principles related to recruitment, promotion and career development.

4R

Working in international civil service is different from national civil service because

of the composition of personnel of different nationalities. Despite differences in

values and culture the personnel learn to work together to achieve a common goal.

The main objective of international governmental organization is to pursue common

aims and aspirations i.e. to safeguard peace and security and to solve the differences

among the countries, which seeks to prevent the member states from waging wars. A

competent administrative set up is crucial in the executive or management of tasks

assigned such as humanitarian services to the population affected by political conflicts

or natural and man-made disasters (Udom 2003).

The genesis of international civil service goes back to a series of low-key, ad

hoc developments beginning in the nineteenth century. Ad hoc conferences were

organised with ad hoc secretariats, generally facilitated by the host country with a few

civil servants from other countries such as the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), where a

Prussian diplomat serving under the government of Austria took charge of the

secretariat. The Congress of Paris ( 1865) was served by a French diplomat; the

London Conferences of 1867 and 1871 were looked after by British diplomats.

Diplomats from several countries served The Hague Conference of 1899 and the

Peace Conference, which established the League, were serviced by multinational

secretariat. However the International Telegraph Union founded in 1865, the

Universal Postal Union founded in 1874, the International Union for the Protection of

Intellectual Property, 1883, and the Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic

Works, 1886 recruited their secretariat personnel either from the host country or

seconded by member governments and did not represent a multicultural workforce

(Ali 1995: 1.114).

The League of Nations needed competent men and women to assist the world

public service to achieve its multifarious mandate. The creation of International civil

service (ICS) was a necessary and indispensable instrument to carry out the global

mandate. The Covenant of the League of Nations did not lay down any principles

regarding personnel. Thus since the founding of the League of Nations in 1920, the

nature and functions of the personnel became a subject of debate. Sir Maurice Hankey

(British Cabinet Secretary) and Sir Eric Drummond (the first Secretary General of the

49

League of Nations) had differences on the best ways to organize the League

Secretariat. Drummond announced conception of a politically neutral secretariat

recruited internationally and loyal only to the organisation. This appeared to prevail

over Hankey's conception that the secretariat should be drawn from national

delegations emphasising on loyalty to its own country which was still the primary

ingredient of nationalism and a value to which the member governments subscribed

strongly. For example, the United States challenged the Drummond conception that

an international secretariat should be composed of nationals of the member states who

were loyal only to the organisation in which they served (Jordan 1991: 353).

Sir Eric Drummond was a prime guiding force in establishing the concept of

an international civil service. He pioneered and promoted the principles that founded

and shaped the secretariats of international organizations of his time. He recognised

the dangers emanating from the attempts by states to institutionalise national interest;

he aimed to prevent the establishment of permanent delegations to the League in order

to avoid governmental pressure on the personnel. Thus, he wanted to organize

independent international staff, taking instructions from the Secretary General and

which acted only in the interests of the League. In other words, the staff duties were

not to be confined with national duty but to be considered as international duty

(Bennett 1995:408). Moreover, the international civil servant's vision would be

pursued through embodiment and the institutionalisation of the ideals of international

cooperation. International administration is an instrument in the service of the

international community devoted exclusively to the achievement of common goals

defined in the constitutive documents of different organisations, and elaborated in the

decisions of the appropriate organs that constitute them (Bennett 1995:409).

No doubt this conception came under severe stress . during 1930s after

Drummond demitted office. But the normative precedent is clearly upheld when the

Charter of the United Nations was negotiated after the Second World War. The

above-mentioned characteristics are clearly inscribed in the Charter. Article 100 ( 1) of

the Charter of the United Nations states:

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"In the performance of their duties the Secretary-General and the staff

shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any

other authority external to the Organization. They shall refrain from any

action which might reflect on their position as international officials

responsible only to the Organization."

At the same time, according to Article 100 (2):

"Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to respect the

exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the

Secretary-General and the staff and not to seek to influence them in the

discharge of their responsibilities."

Thus, the Charter may be said to have recognized the explicit supranational

loyalty, impartiality, and independence of administrative staff in order to help

effective pursuit of the aims of an international organization. Article 1.9 of Staff

Regulations of the international civil service refers to oath by officials, which reads

as: "I solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience the

functions entrusted to me as an international civil servant of the United Nations, to

discharge these functions and regulate my conduct with the interests of the United

Nations only in view, and not to seek or accept instructions in regard to the

performance of my duties from any Government or other authority external to the

organization." The stated oath of office clearly expects the international officials to

commit and uphold the trust placed in them by the international organization

(ST/SGB/Staff Regulations/Rev.l2, 1979).

The staff members are expected to serve the Secretary-General or designated

head of the secretariat of an international organisation and obey the instructions of the

internal authorities of the organisation. Bennett suggested that if complete loyalty of

the staff members in a secretariat is to be attained, then, at least two-thirds of the

personnel must have permanent status. A career with adequate pay, promotion, and

retirement benefits is pertinent to the building of the organisation's vision and

fulfilment of its purposes and principles. He pointed out that this could result only

51

from continued experience and interaction among personnel of various regions.

Through long stay in the Secretariat, the civil servant could gradually absorb the spirit

of cooperation and enterprise that would enhance the Secretariat in its functioning.

The temporary employee for one or two year term generally could not attain the same

amount of loyalty to the organisation in which he or she is placed since their

permanent career is with their national government (Bennett 1995: 410-411). Former

Secretary-General Hammarskjold believed that yielding to the demands and pressures

from governments to increase substantial proportion of Secretariat staff on short

fixed-term contracts would make the UN organisation like inter-governmental body

and not an international body. It would lose the characteristic of being an independent

body and would also reverse the principles mentioned in Articles 100 and 101 of the

Charter (Bennett 1995: 41 l ).

In the early days, many temporary appointments were authorized in order to

meet immediate staffing needs. Such a tendency was also influenced by a natural

reluctance on the part of many to accept the permanence of an international

organization. Communist countries had favoured short-term international assignments

for most of their nationals. This attitude had prevented the international secretariats

from functioning independently. Earlier the African states due to a shortfall in skilful

administrators were reluctant to part with substantial numbers of qualified personnel

for long-term careers in international secretariats (Bennett 1995: 411 ).

The temporary assignment device was helpful in avoiding the loss from

national service of individuals who accepted international responsibility and also

aided in achieving the objectives of geographical distribution. Conceited efforts were

made in this regard to increase the number of permanent appointments in relation to

those of temporary nature. The strength of the career system tended to be measured by

the rise in this ratio. However, with the passage of time temporary assignments have

grown in strength and in many cases have led to the advancement of important

positions in the United Nations. With the apansion of technical assistance in a

number of different organizations in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the only means

for staffing missions has been to accept a high ratio of temporary appointments with

adequate professional skills (Macy 1970: 261 ).

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Furthermore, Article 104 the United Nations Charter states:

"The Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members

such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions

and the fulfilment of its purposes."

It also supported the freedom beyond the confines of headquarters necessary for

international administration where it grants the officials complete autonomy in a host

country (UN Charter 1997).

International Civil Service in the United Nations and International

Organizations

Broadly speaking, international civil serv1ce as constituted in the United

Nations can be analysed in terms of two categories of personnel - professional and

generals. Professional and senior posts category comprises of specialist, qualified staff

such as economists, administrators (specialists in personnel, budget, finance,

procurement, and management analysis), agriculture/forestry experts, political

scientists, engineers, doctors, legal experts, translators, statisticians and computer

specialists. In UN nomenclature, the grades in the professional categories consist of

lower and upper grades. The lower grades comprise of 'P' /Principal Officer Category

which include five grades numbering P-5 to P-1, and P-1, Assistant Officer, is the

most junior level. Grade P-2 is Associate Officer, P-3 is Second Officer and P-4 is

First Officer. Competitive examination is now conducted for recruitment of the P1/P2

grades (Bertrand 1995).

'D' I Director Category includes levels 0-l and D-2, D-1 is Principal Officer

and D-2 is Director, the most senior level equivalent to the rank of Senior Executive

Service. USG (Under-Secretary-General) is the highest rank. Just below the USG

level is the ASG (Assistant Secretary-General) (Williams 1987: 253). The

overwhelming majority of the specialists who may be employed in the Secretariat

belong to respective national civil services. Therefore, governments play a very

important role in nominating candidates (Basu 1989).

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An Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official

within the United Nations System normally appointed by the UN General Assembly

on the recommendation of the UN Secretary-General for a repeatable term of four

years. Others (normally special envoys, Secretariat-appointees and non-programme

management positions) are appointed directly by the UN Secretary-General on his

own authority. However, all USGs report to the UN General Assembly through the

UN Secretary-General. The only exception to this is the Under-Secretary-General for

Internal Oversight Services who reports directly to the General Assembly. The

Deputy Secretary-General is the second highest-ranking official in the UN System

after the Secretary-General. Mark Malloch Brown is the current office holder. An

Assistant-Secretary-General functions under an Under-Secretary-General within the

UN hierarchy. The Assistant-Secretary-General is often deputies within departments

or programmes reporting to their respective Under-Secretary-General and through

him/her to the UN Secretary General (Wikipedia 2006).

Most UN employees are experts in their field with extensive technical

experience to meet the Organizations' need for experts with advanced degrees and

language skills. They require multi-lingual knowledge of one of the official UN

languages i.e. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish as their second

language, while English and French remain the working languages of the United

Nations. Thus, Europeans have greater advantage than their counterparts elsewhere

because of their knowledge of these languages. Special efforts have been made by

different organizations to enable their officials to acquire command over one of them

as the second language. But by the time an official had learnt that she/he might be

leaving the organization soon enough. As such, she/he is unlikely to learn a new

language, while the organization might be less inclined to impart the knowledge (Ali

1995: 1.1/14).

Currently, the United Nations and its specialized agencies have some 54,000

staff members, both locally and internationally recruited, serving at over 600 duty

stations. To ensure such diversity the UN employs qualified people from all over the

world, recruiting both globally and locally. Competitive examinations are held to

54

recruit the core professional staff at the junior and middle levels. The staff

composition of the United Nations system is made up by two major groups i.e. the

internationally recruited or Professional and higher category staff numbering some

18,500 worldwide and the locally-recruited or General Service and related categories

with some 35,500 staff (ICSC 2004).

The World Bank is one of the major international organisations that are not

part of the United Nations common system but which accepts the statute of the

International Civil Service Commission (ICSC). The 'common system' is not a

unified international civil service but a collection of separate services which had

attained a degree of administrative uniformity and which applied certain common

standards (UN 2003 Yearbook 2005).

The World Bank Group hires both at an international and local level. Global

mobility and international experience are essential for international appointments;

these appointments are for positions in World Bank Group headquarters in

Washington, DC. Global mobility and international experience are not required for

local appointments. The country offices undertake these appointments (Frankovits

2004)

The Bank gtves preferences to experts with strong academic training,

successful records of achievement (generally a minimum of five years of relevant

experience), a broad and in-depth understanding of development issues and

international work experience, preferably at the policy level. Work experience in the

private sector is also valued and is viewed as a way of renewing and updating the

Bank's skills base and improving diversity. Excellent interpersonal and

communication skills for working in an international and team-based environment are

preferred. In addition to proficiency in English, language skills in Arabic, Chinese,

French, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish are often required. There seems to be a move

towards more experienced candidates with relevant, practical work experience and a

master's degree either in economics, finance, or health, education and population.

55

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) recruits business administration

graduates for top-level management from the US and Europe, with a background in

finance and, ideally, some developing-country experiences. Approximately 10 to 15

fresh recruitments are made annually along with 30 to 40 arts graduates for the analyst

programme. Mid-career professionals with prior experience in project finance are also

hired, often sourced through staff referrals or external advertising.

The Bank recruits 250 to 300 people per year from all over the world who are

in their mid-career level of professional work with 10 to 15 years of relevant work

experience. The disciplines include health, education, public-sector management,

private-sector development, finance, economics, transport, water and procurement.

The Bank offers a variety of employment contracts for mid career professionals,

open-ended or term-based, commensurate with the business needs of specific units.

Open-Ended Appointment is an appointment for an indefinite duration. Term

Appointment is an appointment for a specified duration of a minimum of one year and

a maximum of four years (Frankovits 2004). A comprehensive and integrated

approach to management selection and professional development has been introduced.

Searches are undertaken internationally for jobs that require global outlook and

experience and for which staff are expected to be globally mobile. Managers also

hired locally when their work programmes warrant it. The Bank has developed

professional training programmes, which allow access to development and training

opportunities for staff in local offices. A systematic and sustained programme was

designed for the World Bank Group recruitments in order to retain a diverse

workforce of professional excellence.

In the European Union (EU) the nature of Civil Service is largely influenced

by French model and to a lesser extent by the German and Dutch systems. German

and Dutch systems favoured appointment to a position, as opposed to the French

system of appointment to a career. These two approaches were incorporated into the

EU Civil Services by the adoption of two basic principles - appointments and

positions are to be statutory and the scope for career advancement must be duly

recognized. The EU practices both closed and open systems for appointment and

promotion Positions are classified A, B, C, D in descending order in accordance with

56

the associated duties and powers. Category A consists of A 1 - A 7. A 1 is the highest,

which is Director-General and A 7 is the lowest comprising of the position of the

Administrator. Similarly, B comprises of B1 - B5; Bl standing for Principal

administrative assistant and the lowest position B5 representing Secretarial assistant.

C comprises of C1- C5. Cl is Principal Secretary and the lowest position C5 is filled

in by the Clerical assistant. Category D comprises of positions D 1 - 04. D 1 is Head

of Unit and 04, which is the least, is unskilled employee/worker. Language service

consists of UA 3- UA 8. UA 3 is Head of a translation or Interpretation division and

the least is UA 8 that is Assistant translator/interpreter.

The EU Civil Service is organised pursuant to the Staff Regulations as

amended from time to time. The Staff Regulations are binding on the institutions and

are directly applicable in the Member States. In accordance with Article 27 of the

1986 Staff Regulations, recruitment and appointment to the posts in EU is through

competition, with the intention of obtaining the highest possible standards. In

principle, no positions are reserved for nationals or any particular Member State and

selection is made without references to race, creed or sex. However, in practice it is

acknowledged that geographical or national balance should be maintained in order to

assure access (Eachaidh 1995:V.7/4) and that sexual equality should be promoted.

In enhancing career prospects the EU practices impartiality in promotion and

goes by the criteria as regards performance, appraisal reports and adequacy of

opportunity to move up in grade and classification. For filling vacancies, the

appointing authority must first consider whether to promote or transfer within the

institutions, whether to hold ·an internal competitive test and what applications for

transfer have been made. Finally, the appointing authority must follow the prescribed

competition procedure. Posts requiring special qualifications and AI and A2

appointments may be dealt with differently. The appointing authority must then

appoint a Selection Board which will draw up a list of suitable candidates and decide

upon the appointment.

Promotion and seniority are strictly regulated and dependent upon periodic

reports on performance at least once every two years, respectiag ability, efficiency

and conduct. Officials may be transferred from one service to another or promoted

57

from one class to another only on the basis of a competition. Committees such as Staff

Committee, Joint Committee and Report Committee were set up by the Staff

Regulations for specified functions to address to the different needs and issues in the

service. A Staff Regulations Committee is also created for the purpose of discussion

of and making suggestions with respect to the Regulations themselves (Eachaidh

1995: V.7/6).

Common Institutional Arrangement: International Civil Service Commission

With the increased in the size of the international civil service there was a

profound need for more effective coordination of personnel practices and policies of

the many organizations to maintain and strengthen the common system. In 1972 the

General Assembly decided to establish the International Civil Service Commission

(Renninger 1977: 391 ).

The desire for the creation of International Civil Service Commission was felt

since 1945 when the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations recommended

the creation of an International Civil Service Commission and the 1946 General

Assembly recommendation. It did not materialize then; but to advise on personnel

practices the Assembly set up the International Civil Service Advisory Board

(ICSAB) in ·1948. The ICSAB played a vital role in shaping the evolution of the

United Nations "common system" of personnel policies and practices. The United

Nations common system was created in 1946 where the specialised agencies and other

organizations affiliated with the United Nations agreed to enact similar staff rules,

policies and practices.

In 1974, the General Assembly created an International Civil Service

Commission to regulate and coordinate the conditions of service of the staff within

the United Nations family of agencies, which is also known as the 'common system'.

The Commission is allowed to exercise certain amount of power but on most matters

its role is to make recommendations.

The International Civil Service Commission composed of 15 members

appointed by the General Assembly in their personal capacity. Two members of the

58

Commission were designated Chairman and Vice-Chairman and serve on a full-time

basis. The Commission normally meets twice a year to consider proposals requested

by the General Assembly or other sources. In arriving at its technical decisions, the

Commission takes into account the views of the member states, organizations and

their staff (UN 2003 Yearbook 2005). The ICSC is responsible to General Assembly.

The ICSC panel is composed of four members, nominated by the Secretary-General.

The ICSC panel consider ways to better equip the Commission with the tools to

implement its tasks. It studies and reports on ways to enhance the Commission's

capability to reinforce, modernize and thereby strengthen the international civil

service to meet new and complex challenges (UN 2003 Yearbook 2005).

In order to regulate the conditions of service of United Nations common

system the General Assembly enabled the International Civil Service Commission

(ICSC) to bring about necessary changes in policies from time to time. The member

states of the international organizations utilize the international commission for the

delivery of programmes and activities mandated by the General Assembly. For the

effective delivery of programmes and activities another responsibility of the

international commission is to balance the interests of member states and other

concern areas of organizations, which includes management of the process efficiently

- within budgetary constraints and financial uncertainty. Due to the complexity of

United Nations the ICSC has a difficult mandate. The administrative structure of the

international civil service includes composition of a staff from all over the world and

which is reflective of the diversity in size, structure, location and mandate of the

common system organization~. The Commission in its initial years of establishment

was primarily concerned with unifying the salary system. The Commission

formulated policies and methodologies that aimed to ensure that staffs working in

common system organizations were given equal pay for equal work and had equity of

purchasing power regardless of the staff posting (ICSC 2004).

The Commission performs its functions in respect of the United Nations and

its specialized agencies and other international organizations of the United Nations

common system, which accept the staiute of the ICSC. This 'common system'

included other organiz~tions, which were subsidiaries of the General Assembly or

organizations such as the IAEA and the WTO that have special status. The 'common

59

system' is not a unified international civil service but a collection of separate services

which had attained a degree of administrative uniformity and which applied certain

common standards. The principles governing duties and obligations were mentioned

in the report on the standards of conduct of the international civil service issued in

1954 (Williams 1987: 253).

The United Nations and 13 related organizations that had accepted the ICSC

statute are given in Table 2.1., which shows the organizations that are part of the

common UN pool-the International Labour Organization (ILO); the Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the World Health Organization (WHO); the

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); the Universal Postal Union

(UPU); the International Tele-communication Union (ITU); the World Meteorological

Organization (WMO); the International Maritime Organization (IMO); the World

Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); the United Nations Industrial

Development Organization (UNIDO); the International Atomic Energy Agency

(IAEA) and the World Tourism Organization (WTO). Other organizations such as the

International Training Centre of the ILO (ICA T); International Court of Justice (ICJ);

the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); the International Trade

Centre (ITC); the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); the Joint United

Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); the office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); the United Nations

Children's Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations Institute for Training and Research

(UNIT AR); the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS); the United

Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

(UNRWA); the United Nations University (UNU); the World Food Programme

(WFP). These are related to the United Nations through special agreements and

specialized agencies coordinate their work with the United Nations. These are,

however, separate autonomous organizations. However, common standards, methods

and arrangements are being applied to salaries, allowances and benefits for the staff of

the United Nations system. The common system is designed to avoid serious

discrepancies in terms and conditions of employment, to avoid competition in

60

recruitment of personnel and to facilitate the interchange of personnel among

common system organizations (United Nations 2003 Yearbook 2005: 1431).

The UN Common System of operation consists of certain organs, some of

which have a permanent character and others, which have been formed on an ad hoc

basis. Their main function is to give advice to the participating organizations on

personnel policies and administration. Among the permanent organs established is at

the level of the Secretariat. It consists of the executive heads of the agencies and

subsidiary organs under the chairmanship of the Secretary General and is today

known as the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). For the preparation of

its work on personnel matters the UN has established a sub-committee- the Advisory

Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).

Above the Secretariat level, is the International Civil Service Advisory Board

(ICSAB), which was set up in 1948. It was entrusted with the task of offering

independent advice on personnel policies and administration from 1948 to 1973. The

International Civil Service Advisory Board was instrumental in the evolution and

shaping of personnel policies and practices of the United Nation "common system."

The ICSC' s 1997 report gave an overview of a range of performance

management issues within the UN common system. The report noted that due to

different organizational cultures and strategies prevailing in the common system,

imposing a uniform approach for management was not appropriate. The report

brought out guidelines that common system organizations might consider in

developing their own programmes. The General Assembly welcomed Lhe report and

encouraged the executive heads of organizations to consider the ICSC's

recommendations (ILO March 1998).

Problems of International Civil Service With Reference to United Nations

Recruitment Criteria

The UN Charter says that the essential criteria for recruitment shall be "the

highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity". Due regard must also be

ol

paid to "recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible". The staff of

the Secretariat must reflect the whole membership of the UN, so that it will be

responsive to the diverse political, social and cultural systems in the world and so that

all member states will have confidence in it.

For recruitment, the UN and other international organizations publicize vacant

positions through their own personnel departments, and through that it hires

applicants after evaluation. As already noted, the personnel within the UN system are

divided into two categories. These are the general service staffs, which are recruited

and paid on a local basis. The General Service covers such jobs as messengers, clerks,

secretaries and administrative support staff. A number of other specialized and

technica_ personnel, such as those engaged in printing, building maintenance, security

work, drivers, and laboratory technicians are included in the general service category.

There are Field Officers Category staffs employed in peacekeeping missions and in

operation of the United Nations telecommunications systems. Staff in this category

mainly comprises personnel such as radio operators, transport personnel, security

officers and office support personnel. The national professional officers are employed

by some organizations to perform professional duties that require knowledge and

experience at the national level such as in the area of development assistance and

public information, as these service could not be carried out as effectively by

internationally recruited staff (UN 2003).

There are different types of appointment for career in the UN i.e. without time

limit, fixed term, and short-term employees. There are two ways of appointment for

fixed term employees. In the first form of fixed term contract representatives are sent

by the member states to work for the UN with the understanding that they can return

to their previous position with promotion and retirement benefits intact; the other is

through direct recruitment of persons not connected with their governments. The fixed

term contract could be renewed (Jordan 1991: 354). Short-term employees are

employed for a short period of time usually for project works. Technical experts for

field missions in a particular country are often recruited on short-term contracts

(Bennett 1995: 411).

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A significant portion of those serving on international payrolls who are

appointed to general service positions in the headquarters or regional offices are

drawn from the labour market of the host country. Consequently, office workers and

manual workers have been recruited locally without regard to nationality. Though this

is decidedly a pragmatic approach, it has led to relational problems between the

locally recruited and the internationally recruited groups. Though locals receive

compensation on the basis of prevailing rates of their occupation in the host country,

they are deprived of the supplementary benefits, which are considered necessary to

compensate for the expatriation of the internationally recruited. Such differences

frequently create friction, particularly in the light of the absence of firm and definitive

job distinctions between the two groups.

Another point of disagreement between temporary and permanent appointees

is the special attention paid by the management to the international staff, resulting in

the neglect of the local group in terms of employee services, training and other

aspects of a sound career personnel policy. Certain scholars have therefore urged for

the need to allow more competent local nationals to enter the professional ranks of the

international career staff on the basis of competitive qualifications and performance

(Macy 1970: 261 ).

According to a note on the competitive examination for promotion to the

professional category of staff members from other categories (document A/C.S/54/2),

the Secretary-General reported that in accordance with General Assembly resolutions

this type of examination was brought into broad alignment with the one meant for

open recruitment. In other words, the same examination is offered to all candidates

and all candidates must possess a university degree in an area related to the subject

area of the examination. In view of the fact that the objectives of the two differ, the

upper age- limit for a candidate sitting for the national competitive examination is 32,

while candidates for the G to P examination must have five years of experience with

the United Nations, with no age criterion applied (Press Release GAl AB/3345 1999).

Many staff members in UN Specialized Agencies are employed for limited

durations. This is either because the staffs themselves consider international :;ervice as

only a phase in their professional careers or because the organization cannot predict

its requirements of staff sufficiently in advance to offer long-term employment.

Owing to this trend and under pressure from some member states (ostensibly in the

interest of improving geographical distribution) most Specialized Agencies have

considerably reduced the number of permanently employed staffs.

In earlier years, the security of tenure of the kjnd found in national civil

service was the norm. Today a high proportion of the staff in most organizations is

employed on fixed-term (contract) basis. These contracts may be renewed repeatedly,

creating the impression of a career of twenty or more years without the accompanying

assurance of continuity which characterizes civil service employment. A classic

example of this trend was evident in contracts of senior staffs in the UNESCO in

1985. These persons who have many years of service been grudgingly allowed a

renewal of their contracts by mere two or three months at a time (Williams 1990: 131-

132).

Such an approach to employment in the organizations has led some to believe

that the 'career' nature of service in the Specialized Agencies has been eroded. Since

many posts available in these organizations require staff with several years of

experience in their area of speciality, which is usualJy obtained ·outside the

organization, the average age of entry is over 40 years. Coupled with mandatory age

of retirement at 60 years of age, as is the case in most organizations, the 'career' for

most of the staff seeking permanent employment shrinks to a span of twenty years and

a maximum of two or three promotions. Under such circumstances, many staff

members tum away from the United Nations, frustrated by the lack of a career path

across the full range of opportunities in the global organization.

A survey entitled, "A Picture of United Nations Staff," which was published in

2003 and based on 5, 320 responses, revealed that two of the most discouraging

aspects of employment with the United Nations are the lack of career and promotion

prospects and the frustration caused by excessive bureaucracy (Report of The

Secretary-General 2006).

The UN Secretary General's March 2006 report on "Investing in the United

Nations: for a Stronger Organization Worldwide" in an illustration on the plight of

general staff members in obtaining promotions reveals the prevalence of employment

and administrative problems that are faced by colleagues and external applicants. A

general staff member with several years of experience in the Organization, with

adequate academic qualification and performance criteria to be employed as a

Professional, including success in the annual general and professional category

examinations, is constrained in prospects of promotion because of the limits imposed

on the number of available posts. Resignation from the United Nations and

reapplication at the Professional level, though in principle, may increase chances the

risk placed on current income for the sake of future income is usually not welcomed

(Report of The Secretary-General 2006.

Aspects of Recruitment

The protection of equal rights of men and women is embodied in the Preamble

to the Charter of the UN. To achieve equality between men and women, the

Commission on the Status of Women was established in 1946 as one of the organs of

the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Commission has submitted various

recommendations on the promotion of women's rights to the UN General Assembly

through ECOSOC.

The International Organizations are defined as organizations established for

the purpose of promoting common interests among member states. The member states

fund these organizations. There are 30 organizations, starting with the main body, the

United Nations; eight subsidiary organizations such as the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations International Children's Fund

(UNICEF) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR); twelve

specialized agencies and six other organizations. Through the International Civil

Service, the staff are recruited and appointed to service in the UN. Thus International

Civil Service signifies officials working under the UN system, generally relating to

international administration and UN programmes.

Staff members are classified into two groups: the professional and higher

category group and the general service category group. The grades in the professional

categories comprise of upper grades i.e., under and Assistant Secretary-General (UG

and ASG); a Director category and Principal Officer (D2 and D 1) and Officer

Category of five grades numbered P5-P1 (in descending order). Staffs in the

professional category are those who have professional knowledge and experience in

the field in which they work and who can carry out their duties based on their own

judgment and initiative. Staffs in the Director and higher categories are those who

manage and supervise their subordinates. The General Service staffs are assigned to

carry out non-professional work or routine work at the direction of professional and

above staff members. This category includes secretaries, clerks, guards, etc. (Williams

1987: 253).

The General Assembly, in its Resolution A/47/226, urged the Secretary­

General to review and improve personnel management where necessary and all other

personnel policies and procedures with a view to making them more simple,

transparent and relevant to the new demands placed upon the Secretariat. For a better

recruitment and retention of staff of the highest quality, the General Assembly, in its

numerous resolutions has stressed the importance of ensuring competent personnel

management. The International Civil Service Commission and the Joint Inspection

Unit have made many recommendations in this regard. Mainly three prerequisites are

suggested as essential for the United Nations for its successful recmitment, namely,

political guidance by member states for setting recruitment policy of the

Organization; modem processes and procedures to translate the member states' policy

into concrete actions; competent and strong implementation mechanism with properly

defined authority and responsibilities, including those in the area of reporting and

accountability (JIU 1995).

Joint Inspection Unit's report in 1995 on Inspection of the Application of

United Nations Recruitment, Placement, and Promotion Policies Part I- Recruitment

mentioned that in the UN there is no consi::tency in its implementation of policy. The

report also identified the shortfalls in the existing processes and procedures in being

incapable of ensuring recmitment of specialists of high calibre or brevity in the

recruitment process. As qualified by ICSC in 1982, recruitment is still based on word­

of- mouth rather than on objective selection criteria. Both inside and outside the

Organization, the present recruitment system is frequently described as anachronistic,

()()

rigid and cumbersome which discourages the hiring of qualified staff and as

particularly difficult to recruit competent candidates for upper-level posts where the

need for individuals with management and personnel skills is most critical.

Furthermore, the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) continues to

function as an entity administering the staff rather than managing human resources.

The new name (previously Office of Personnel Services), which OHRM received in

1986 following the recommendation of the Group of 184, did not bring any changes

in its activities to adopt a human resources management concept. Moreover, two

essential functions such as policy co-ordination and especially human resources

planning, which is the very basis of human resources management, have been

abolished in OHRM. Inadequately defined mission, lack of professionalism and

authority seriously affected OHRM, which until recently, has been referred to by

many United Nations officials as dysfunctional. Interference in the recruitment and

promotion process, even for lower level staff, by some Member States and Secretariat

officials disrupts the work not only of the head of the OHRM but also of many of its

staff(JIU 1995).

Recruitment is an important part of Human Resources Management. Its basic

aim is to obtain appropriate human resources whose qualifications and skills match

functions of the relevant posts. The general purpose of recruitment is to provide an

organization with a pool of potentially qualified candidates. The specific purposes of

recruitment are as follows- to determine the Organization's long-and short-term needs

by job title and level in the Organization, which implies appropriate human resources

planning and job analysis; to obtain a pool of qualified applicants at a minimum cost

to the Organization; to help increase the success rate of selection process by reducing

the number of obviously underqualified and overqualified applicants; to develop

effective recruitment materials; to develop a systematic and integrated programme of

recruitment in conjunction with other human resource activities and with the co­

operation of programme managers; to increase organizational and individual

effectiveness in the short and long term and to evaluate the effectiveness of various

techniques and recruitment locations for all types of applicants (JIU 1995).

The absence of a recruitment pvlicy or a defective policy can be responsible

for doing great damage. Some of these are the failure to match needs with the

o7

administrative capacity to meet them, overloading personnel management units and

more importantly, negative effect on the functioning of substantive services.

Recruitment being the most frequently criticized component of United Nations

personnel management, it is not unreasonable to raise once again the fundamental

question of whether the United Nations has a recruitment policy. The answer is both

"yes" and "no." Article 101 of the United Nations Charter is clear. It states that: "The

paramount consideration in the employment of the staff and in the determination of

the conditions of service shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of

efficiency, competence and integrity." It also provides that "due regard shall be paid

to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible."

In addition to these well-known guiding principles for recruitment, the General

Assembly established the criteria for calculating member states' desi1c~ble ranges and

recruitment procedures for posts subject to geographical distribution in the United

Nations Secretariat. Other General Assembly directives for the Organization's

recruitment policy included those concerning competitive examinations at P2 and P3

levels, circulation of vacancy announcement bulletins, recruitment of women,

employment of spouses, secondment and interference of member states and semor

United Nations officials in the recruitment process (JIU 1995).

The General Assembly's most comprehensive resolution on personnel issues is

undoubtedly Resolution 35/210 of 17 December 1980. The resolution 35/210 called

for an "integrated approach to the personnel management requirements of the

Organization" and requested the Secretary-General "to establish and pursue an active

recruitment policy," in order to raise the levels of personnel recruited from

unrepresented and under-represented countries and countries below the mid-point of

the desirable ranges to the extent possible towards the mid-point. It is pertinent to note

that the resolution evidenced the concern of member states over limited achievement

in the establishment of a coherent personnel policy as well as in the implementation of

the measures set out in the preceding resolutions, particularly in resolution 33/143

(JIU 1995).

In the JIU Inspectors' view and that of some United Nations analysts, the

Organization has no such a policy which is understood as a coherent set of activities

and methods to attain the recruitment objectives formulated in Article 101.3 of the

Charter. The Inspectors pointed out that the UN in its 1981 document managed only

to set up a few administrative instructions on recruitment. The Inspectors suggested

that a comprehensive document, which clearly states the recruitment policies and

procedures was needed. It also recommended a more simplified "user friendly"

personnel manual (JIU 1995).

In the Inspectors' view, the geographical representation of member states can

be improved if the situation of grossly over-represented countries is taken into

account in future recruitment plans. The methodology of calculating "desirable

ranges" of representation of member states continues to be a contentious issue. It will

be recalled that the current formula assigns a 40 per cent weight to membership, 55

per cent to contribution and 5 per cent to population. While discuss1on on

methodology to calculate desirable ranges is continuing, the Inspectors believe that

for the purposes of the present report, it is more practical to consider how to ensure

that the Secretariat can strengthen its recruitment policy to achieve equitable

geographical distribution. The United Nations recruits annually some 600 - I 000

individuals for established posts in the two categories (Professional and General

Service posts). During the periods of freezing, the latest being introduced in 1986 and

1992, recruitment of Professional staff represented almost half that in regular years,

while General Service staff was not normally affected (JIU 1995).

The Inspectors also endeavoured to determine the relative importance of

different recruitment sources divided into major categories such as member states,

United Nations system organizations, multilateral intergovernmental institutions

outside the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and individuals.

It would also have been of interest to know how many among these recruited come

from private and public sectors or from diplomatic missions. Unfortunately, this

information cannot be reported since no record is kept in OHRM regarding the origin

of the: candidates (JIU 1995).

The deficiencies have sometimes been associated with the lack of clarity about

the mission of the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) and upto recent

r.ominations of the heads of DAM and OHRM, too little disposition on the part of the

United Nations top leadership to ensure that OHRM's function is clarified and

h9

fulfilled. Inadequate recruitment procedures have resulted in a number of staff not

being sufficiently qualified either for the positions they hold or their grade levels,

especially in management positions. Many United Nations officials holding these

positions have had neither previous experience as managers nor specific management

training. The result is badly conceived work assignments, low performance of the

respective units and frustration over poor supervision. There has also been a tendency

for political considerations and as part of favouritism to exert a strong influence on

recruitment at the level of P-3 and above.

Neither the United Nations Charter nor Staff Regulations and Staff Rules

make reference to any methodological framework for recruitment, advancement,

career development or trair,1ng. These texts contain nothing more than indications on

the various types of contract and conditions of pay. This leaves great scope for

arbitrariness in regard to career development and recruitment opportunities. With

regard to recruitment, the general practice has, in fact, been to identify posts available

for candidates known in advance instead of seeking to attract large fields of

candidates qualified to fill vacant posts. Clearly, the latter method ought to be the

rule. OHRM agrees with this observation and anticipates improvements in this area

through an enhanced OHRM planning capacity and the implementation of the human

resources strategy elements pertaining to recruitment. In reality, recruitment varies

greatly, depending upon the manager whose section or unit is hiring a new officer and

often bears little resemblance to the seemingly open and rigorous process described

above. This is because the formal system is flawed in such fundamental respects that

there is a general tendency to circumvent it through the use of ad hoc measures, which

often rely heavily on personal contacts (JIU 1995).

The most serious of these flaws is the fact that the United Nations has no

common, objective, job-specific standard to guide recruitment at the P-3/P-4 level or

the more managerial P-5/D-1 level. The existing "Standards of Recruitment and

Grading for the Professional and Higher Categories" applied by OHRM are

essentially standards for grading candidates on the basis of educational background

and work experience. The purpose is to determine whether the minimum requirements

are being met in this respect. The objective of specific job criteria which the

Inspectors have in mind is to enable OHRM to perform the fundamental task of

7()

recruitment, namely to assess the ability of the candidates to fulfill the functions of

the post. This is not the same as determining the appropriate grade of a candidate. The

grade depends on the level of responsibilities and the nature of functions but not vice

versa. Since job specific criteria are non-existent, the Organization inevitably relies

upon haphazard, subjective, highly personalized processes. The absence of such

standards as well as the lack of qualified staff in the OHRM have helped create a

situation in which OHRM makes only a desultory and superficial contribution to the

recruitment process (JIU 1995).

Equitable Geographical Distribution

Besides the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity

recruitment of staff member~ at the professional and higher levels should satisfy

another important attribute of international civil service, viz. equitable geographical

distribution. This is intended to ensure that the catchments for recruitment of staff

remains as wide spread as possible and that recruitment is not confined to a few

countries or a region at the cost of fair opportunity to nationals of various member

countries and/or geographical categories. This is how the international civil service

could remain truly international.

The important reason for recruitment on a broad geographical basis is to make

member states to have confidence in the secretariats, which is not dominated by

officials from one country, from one region or one linguistic group. It aims to achieve

a geographically diverse workplace. Thus, member states tend to have more

confidence in secretariats of international organizations if their nationals are working

within these organizations. Accordingly the United Nations and its specialized

agencies employ qualified persons from all over the world, recruiting both globally

and locally- sometimes through competitive examinations (ICSC 2006).

There exists a shade of opinion that while nationality can continue to be an

important criterion in the selection of junior recruits on a probationary basis, it should

not be allowed to block the advancement of officials of proven merit and seniority for

the upper-middle ranks. The argument is that the principle of equitable geographical

representation could deprive under-developed countries of the services of scarce

qualified or trained personnel into the international service. Another point of criticism

71

is that these countries are eager to claim their share in international civil service and

then seek urgent technical assistance from the UN on the ground that they lack

competent administrators and trained technicians (Lengyel 1959: 522).

Amir Ali states that governments are primarily interested in ensuring their

country's representation and target senior level jobs. Usually, entry into the

organisation is at a junior grade. But sometimes a new recruit joins at a high grade

and this happens due to the pressure of a government, which feel that their interests

are not met. The newcomer lacks experience and knowledge of the secretariat and is

likely to be less useful to the system (Ali 1995: 1.119).

The relative precedence between competence and wide geographical

distribution in the recruitment policy continues to be contested. Since the under­

developed and developing countries comprise about two-thirds of the organizational

membership but are generally under-represented it is impossible to avoid the issue of

staff distribution. Thus country quotas tend to fill up positions not always on the basis

of qualifications but rather on nominations or pressure from governments. The policy

has been supported by the developing countries as defence to prevent international

organizations from becoming the monopoly of nationals from large, developed

countries (Weiss 1982: 292-293).

A western analyst criticizes the priority given to geographical distribution by

holding it responsible for the declining quality of the staff. He also observes that most

of the governments give more importance to cultural diversity than to administrative

efficiency (Williams 1987: · 130). It was debated whether the principle of

geographical representation should, at times, dominate over the principle of merit in

recruitment. The problem identified was that since international civil service stands

for multicultural composition to attain a measurable concept of efficiency and

productivity, establishment of a uniform standard of merit has been difficult since its

inception (Jordan 1991: 354).

Ali cites an example of where job requirements were more important than

geographical distribution. For instance, an organisation could require a chemical

engineer who deals with technical publications in the Scandinavian languages; the

72

geographical priority for recruitment was Burundi. It seemed unlikely that Burundi

could provide a Scandinavian-speaking officer; recruitment was, therefore, sought

from Scandinavia though none of these countries was at that time under-represented.

Geography won over need (Ali 1995: 1.1110).

In 1999, at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of UN, where

a consideration of United Nations human resources management came up, it was

pointed out that the examination which gave General Service staff the opportunity to

be promoted to the Professional level was a promotion exercise not a recruitment

exercise. The representative of the Philippines, speaking on behalf of the Association

of South-East Asian Nations, insisted that the General Assembly was required to

consider its decision taken in its last session that emphasized upon the significance of

the nationality of staff as a factor in determining whether promotions should occur as

a result of success in this examination. The representative of Jamaica also spoke on

behalf of the Caribbean Community and suggested to the Committee that national

competitive examinations should be held in under-represented Member States. This

would help the Organization recruit from those countries and thereby broaden the

geographical spread of United Nations staffs.

The President of the Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions

and Associations of the United Nations System (CCISUA), Mehri Madarshahi, said

that equitable geographical distribution should be secondary to competence, integrity

and efficiency at the United Nations. According to Madarshahi, proposed human

resources reforms had failed to address most of the Organization's fundamental

human resources problems, and had instead focused on delegating human resources

authority to programme managers without means for proper scrutiny of their

decisions, and on simplifying rules and procedures so they could be more easily used

or abused.

The Committee also considered the issue of gratis personnel - staff provided

free-of-charge to the Organization to perform certain specified functions. Regarding

this issue statements were made during the Committee's discussion by the

representatives of Mozambique, Japan, Syria, Chile, Russian Federation, South

7~

Africa, Pakistan, Cuba, United States, India, Egypt, Brazil, Costa Rica, Algeria,

Morocco and Uganda.

For the purpose of consideration of UN human resources management, the

Committee had before it a report by the Secretary-General on the post structure of the

Secretariat (UN doc. A/53/955). This report presents statistics for the past five biennia

relevant to the human resources management policy the Secretary-General intends to

develop, and to the impact this policy should have on post structure in the future. The

report stated that it was difficult to define an optimal post structure for the Secretariat

as a whole at a time of changing mandates. Each department had to be viewed as a

separate entity to ensure that programme managers have the resources they need. The

changing roles and responsibilities of departments however made it difficult. The

detailed elements of the mandates for each department determine the number of posts

at each grade required to fulfil the particular mandate. The post structure thus reflects

programme decisions. With an expanded human resources planning capability, the

Department of Management has worked with programme managers to analyse human

resources trends within specific departments in order to forecast vacancies, identify

losses of skills and competencies through retirement and other forms of attrition,. and

ensure that the Organization is capable of effectively fulfilling its mandates.

The Committee also had before it a report by the Secretary-General on

amendments to the staff rules (document A/54/272) containing the full text of those

amendments in an annex effective from 1 January 2000.The report said that a number

of provisions of the Staff Rules had been simplified by removing procedural aspects,

which were to be reflected in relevant administrative instructions to be issued

subsequently to the promulgation of the Rules.

The Committee also had before it a report by the Secretary-General on

amendments to the staff regulations (docLment A/54/276), which was submitted in

response to a request from the General Assembly to prepare a text of the Staff

Regulations drafted in gender-neutral terms. The amendments proposed to ensure that

the text of the Staff Regulations were in gender-neutral terms and are contained in the

scope and purpose provision in regulations 1.1 (b), 1.2 (c) and (n), 3.3 (a), 8.2, 9.1 (a)

74

and (c), 9.3 (b), 10.1, 1 0.2 and 11.1 and in paragraph 6 of annex I to the Staff

Regulations.

The Committee also had before it a report of the Secretary-General on the

composition of the Secretariat (document A/54/279). This report contained updated

information on changes in the desirable ranges of Member States, analysing the main

characteristics of the staff of the Secretariat as well as the results of an inventory of

staff skills.

As of 30 June 1999 the total number of staff of the United Nations who held

appointments of one year or more was 32,856 according to the report. Of this total

14,319 staffs were assigned to the Secretariat and 18,537 to other entities of the

United Nations. Within this 32,856 a more limited group was recruited under the

system of desirable ranges, referred to in the report as "staff in posts subject to

geographical distribution"; they numbered 2,410.

As of 30 June 1999, 24 Member States were unrepresented (the same number

as in June 1998): Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei

Darussalam, Guinea-Bissau, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic,

Liechtenstein, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco,

Mozambique, Palau, Republic of Moldova, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe,

Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vanuatu.

Thirteen Member States were under-represented, compared with 10 in June

1998: China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia,

Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, and United Arab

Emirates. Thirteen countries were over-represented (the same number as in June

1998): Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland,

Russian Federation, Thailand, Trinidad ar:j Tobago, and Ukraine. All other Member

States were within range.

On the question of gender distribution, the report noted that during the period

1 July 1995 to 30 June 1999 the number of female staff members at the D-1 grade and

above went up from 57 to 92 - an increase of 61.4 per cent.

75

The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management drew

attention of the Fifth Committee to the implications of the inclusion of the concept of

equitable geographical distribution and over I ,000 staff expressed grave concern

about the implications of the change by in a letter to the Secretary-General, which was

repeated at the annual global Staff-Management Coordination Committee meeting in

July.

Pending Assembly consideration, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human

Resources Management informed staff that all eligible candidates would be allowed

to take the examination but the results, including the marking of the papers of

nationals of over-represented countries, would be subjected to the outcome of the

review of the issue by the fifty-fourth Assembly session. In view of concerns about

the change, the Secretary-General asked the Assembly to reconsider the issue with a

view to removing the concept of equitable geographical distribution as a factor in the

alignment of the examinations.

The Committee also had before it a report of the Secretary-General on

consultants and individual contractors (document A/C.5/54/4). This report notes that a

total of 2,775 persons were engaged as consultants in 1998. Of that number, over one

quarter were women, 74 were retirees, 298 were non-retired former staff aged 60 or

over and 64 were non-retired former staff under the age of 60. A total of 3,786

separate contracts were issued during the year. There were 922 persons engaged as

individual contractors in 1998 (1,823 contracts). Of that total, one half were women,

35 were retirees, 47 were non-retired former staff members aged 60 or over and 60

were non-retired former staff under the age of 60. The number of persons engaged in

1998, either as consultants or individual contractors, was 3,624. A total of 73 persons

were engaged in both capacities during 1998. In 1998, fees for consultants totalled

$25.1 million; fees for individual contractors totalled $6.5 million.

Consultants from 158 different countries were engaged in 1998, although five

countries accounted for one third of all consultants engaged (Canada, Chile, France,

United Kingdom and the United States). For individual contractors, engagements

were from 91 different countries: in that category, six countries accounted for more

7o

than one half of all engagements (Chile, Ethiopia, France, Lebanon, United Kingdom

and the United States).

The Committee also had before it a note by the Secretary-General on

personnel practices and policies (document A/C.S/54/21 ), prepared at the request of

the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, which made a

number of general observations on the specific roles of the General Assembly and the

Secretary-General in the area of personnel management. The Committee noted that in

carrying forward the human resources management reform effort the Secretary­

General was frequently assisted by decisions of the General Assembly. But in certain

cases problems encountered in the implementation of General Assembly resolutions

have affected the Secretary-General's efforts to move forward with his human

resources management strategy.

The note highlights certain current implementation issues: the need for more

flexibility for the Secretary-General in conducting P-3 examinations, which may

impede career development possibilities for staff at the P-2 level; the inconsistency

between the requests to make existing recruitment procedures more timely and the

request to double the time for circulation of vacancy announcements; the lack of

flexibility gi·ven to the Secretary-General in assigning staff; the inclusion of equitable

geographic distribution as a factor in the G to P examinations.

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, Rafiah Salim

introduced the Secretary-General's reports on human resources. Salim affirmed the

urgency in the request for a review of changes that imposed geographic distribution

considerations on the outcome of the G to P promotion exam. She drew attention to

changes in the year's report on the composition of the Secretariat that responded to

Assembly requests including listing of staff according to the major geographical

regions from which they came. Salim drew attention to the skills inventory that had

been included, a project which involved the participation of about forty per cent of the

staffs.

Felipe Mabilangan, representative of Philippines, speaking on behalf of the

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed deep concern over the

77

inclusion of equitable geographical distribution as part of the realignment with the

national competitive examination of the G to P exam. He was seriously concerned that

the provision of a paragraph in the General Assembly resolution would exclude

General Service staff of certain nationalities, many of whom were from developing

countries, from the opportunity of promotion to the Professional category through the

G to P examination.

The ASEAN considered the G to P examination a promotion and not a

recruitment exercise like the national competitive examination. Mabilangan wished to

show that the General Assembly had recognized the necessity of providing all staff

members in the General Service category, irrespective of nationality, who possessed

the requisite e)_~erience and academic qualifications, equal opportunity to be

promoted to the Professional category through an internal examination. He therefore

agreed with the Secretary-General that the General Assembly should reconsider its

decision with a view to deleting the concept of equitable geographical distribution as

a factor in the alignment of the two examinations.

The ASEAN also believed that more needed to be done to improve the

representation of women from developing countries and in this regard the Secretary­

General was urged by the Philippine representative to exert greater efforts.

Patricia Durrant (Jamaica), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community

(CARICOM), emphasized that CARICOM continued to be committed to the idea of

equitable geographical distribution and therefore supported the holding of national

competitive examinations in under-represented Member States. However, the national

competitive examinations and the G to P examinations served two distinct and

essential functions -- the latter being designed specifically for the movement of staff

from the general to the professional level. Durrant also referred to the affirmations

made by the General Assembly and the Secretary-General for the need for a career

development system, of which promotion on the basis of merit would be an integral

pari. Durrant stressed that any deviation from this position would have the unintended

effect of repressing the career path of staff members solely on the basis of their

nationality. Durrant restated CARICOM's commitment to supporting efforts to

improve the status of women in the Secretariat in tune with Article VIII of the

7R

Charter. She opined that though there had been a gratifying increase in the number of

women at the different levels there was sti11 a long road ahead.

Nuno Tomas, speaking on behalf of the Government of Mozambique said that

while the United Nations needed a Secretariat composed of qualified personnel, this

argument should not be used to prevent an equitable geographical distribution of

Secretariat staff. This question needed to be given special attention otherwise many

developing countries would remain marginalized in the next century.

Yukio Takasu (Japan) described as essential the improvement of equitable

geographical representation of Member States within the Secretariat. From this point

of view, TaLtsu highlighted that the serious under-representation of Japanese

nationals in the United Nations had attracted keen interest in Japan. While he was

pleased with some of the improvements achieved as a result of serious efforts to place

successful candidates of national competitive examinations he remained deeply

concerned that the number of Japanese nationals subject to geographical distribution

remained well below half the lower endpoint of the desirable range. In this regard

certain measures were suggested to the Secretary-General on behalf of the Japanese

government. Firstly, an improvement in geographical representation was suggested at

the senior and mid-professional levels. Secondly, an increase in fresh recruitment at

the entry level was thought of as essential to rectify geographical imbalance in the

Secretariat and to rejuvenate the Organization. According to Takasu, the national

competitive examination was the most effective way to improve geographical

representation in the Secretariat. Japan, therefore, strongly supported the expansion of

the programme and the early placement of successful candidates (Press Release

GAl AB/3345 1999).

The President of the Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions

and Associations of the United Nations System (CCISUA), Mehri Madarshahi, said

there were many questions on human resources reform. The human resources

management proposals did not fully address the existing and persistent problems of

personnel management facing the Organization. She cited job security, the variety of

contractual arrangements, the performance appraisal system, the P-2 professional

entry point, the classification of posts and others issues. The process of placement and

70

promotion m the Secretariat was deficient and the rank-in-post system was not

conducive to credible and constructive career development.

At the Committee, Madarsahi added that the latest General Assembly

resolution on personnel reform, which introduced new criteria for eligibility for

promotion, ran counter to the principles of the Charter and the principles of good

human resources management. Equitable geographical distribution should play a

secondary role to competence, integrity and efficiency.

Madarsahi in her statements brought to light the abysmal record of the United

Nations with respect to lateral mobility - at only about 1 per cent. Under such a

system the point of entry determines the entire career. Madarsahi believed that the

main thrust of the reforms on delegation of all authority on post and staff management

to the programme managers without a proper system of scrutiny, and to simplify the

basic rules and procedures so that the layman could use, abuse and operate them,

would easily lead to an array of fiefdoms where a programme manager could rule and

decide issues related to staff and their well-being. Madarsahi lamented that under such

circumstances the Organization would be managed more like a business inspired by

the private sector rather than a system benefiting the only global multilateral and

multicultural Organization (Press Release GAl AB/3345 1999).

Status of Women

The report recalls that the first formal recognition of the importance of the

status of women in the UN by the General Assembly was registered by the adoption

of resolution 2715 (XXV) of is December 1970; the Assembly also urged the UN and

its agencies to take appropriate measures to ensure equal opportunities for the

employment of qualified women in senior and other professional positions. Since

1970 progress has been made with regard to the elimination of provisions from the

Staff Rules, which discriminated between staff members on the basis of gender. The

report clearly states the following in order to improve the situation:

"Issuing Secretary-General's bulletins setting out UN policies on the equal

treatment of women and men; modification of terminology to include gender neutral

80

and bias free language in official documents; introduction of gender-sensitivity

training; development of guidelines for addressing sexual harassment; introduction of

a family leave programme; and the institution of special measures governing the

recruitment, placement and promotion of women. "

The Commission, the General Assembly and the governing bodies of the other

organisations are concerned about the status of women in various job positions in the

UN. In 1985 ICSC published a report on the representation of women in the

Professional and higher categories. The study indicated that at the end of 1984 only

4.6 per cent of the staff at senior levels (P-5 and above) were women. Support

services boosted women representation only to substantiate the claim that women

were given due representation in various UN programmes and vast majority carne

from Western Europe, North America and the Caribbean. The study in conclusion

stated that special recruitment measures were required to bring about more equal

representation in staffing positions in the UN. It was also considered essential to

create a climate that would allow women to participate in management and, therefore,

in the formulation of policy in substantive areas. By expanding the recruitment source

the study concluded that such a move was not incompatible with UN procedures. The

Commission made specific recommendations to the organisations and it requested

them to give priority to recruiting women at s"enior levels. Member states

governments were advised to explore recruitment sources and to designate more

women for technical working groups and advisory bodies and to introduce sensitising

courses for all staff in order to bring about behavioural change. ICSC further

recommended that organisation, which had not brought about gender equality, should

establish a staff/management body, which would be responsible for advancement of

women staff, developing timetables, formulating action programmes and monitoring

progress. The Commission also asserted that specific responsibility such as

establishing quantitative, geographical and occupational targets for the recruitment of

women at various grade levels must be specifically dealt with. Moreover, the

promotion procedure of the women in the services of the UN must be reviewed so that

any sort of disparity is left at the minimum level and would not disturb their overall

performance.

81

The recommendations of the Commission were well received and the UN

General Assembly advised various organs of the UN to implement its

recommendations. The organisations were also to report back to the Commission on

their implementation procedure of its recommendations. However, in July 1988 it was

found from their reports that few bodies of the UN had actually followed up on the

Commission's recommendations (Goossen 1995: INT,ADMIN D.l/31).

General Assembly may also ensure the availability of women candidates so as

to increase their number in the Secretariat staff. To enable as many member states as

possible to have their nationals represented on the professional staffs the UN and

some other international organizations have agreed to consider maintaining a

geographical balance while filling vacancies. Some UN agencies have developed

formulas for determining to secure a desirable equitable representation of staffs from

the member countries. These formulas are generally based on member states' financial

contributions, their population, and general membership. Some UN agencies give

priority to qualified women applicants in the hope of increasing their representation in

professional and senior posts. The geographical distribution requirements have

resulted in the appointment of many able officials from previously un-represented

countries. Nonetheless, the Charter's priorities have been reversed and a situation, in

which a recruit is appointed essentially because of his country of origin, rather than on

merit, is clearly undesirabie. The solution lies essentially in the hands of member

countries to ensure that their national quotas are filled by men and women of the

highest ability and even should waive their quotas if eligible candidates are not

available for the moment. The guidelines lay down by the General Assembly need to . .

be followed so as to safeguard the merit principle.

The report of the fifty-first sessiOn of the General Assembly stated the

responsibilities of governing bodies and member states. Prior to it was mentioned in a

report of 24 February 1992 on the status of women to include special measures for

their recruitment in the International Civil Service Commission. At the national as

well as international levels the United Nations system fails to make women participate

in sufficient numbers in all disciplines and decision-making positions. There is a need

to expedite efforts in order to bring about a more equitable representation of women

R2

in the Secretariats of organizations of the UN system. Member states were urged to

upholding the policy and responsibility by placing gender balance on an equal footing

on the basis of geographical distribution (General Assembly, Fifty-first session 1996).

The General Service and related categories are not obligated to fo!low the rule

of geographical distribution. Although the staffs in these categories are in principle

locally recruited there is an attempt by the organisations to employ staff of different

nationalities to the extent possible (Goosen 1995). Gender parity has been achieved at

the Junior Professional and General Service categories. Report of the Secretary­

General 2004 state that within the Secretariat a majority of the General Service

category were women (62 per cent), in which there were significant numbers of

women with advanced qualifications. The analysis revealed that progression for this

category of staff was severely constricted as they had to pass the G to P examination

and the imposed limitation of 10 per cent of vacant P-2 posts. Interviews reveal the

existence of certain gender bias in General Service categories adding that the current

system is widely regarded as inequitable and a source of discouragement. General

Service staffs on short-term field assignment are of the opinion that increased

responsibility in the field is not taken into consideration in the promotion process to

the P-2 level. A series of measures were recommended for review to expand

opportunities for promotion from the General Service to Professional Je.vels (UN

General Assembly 2004).

The promotion rates for women at the professional level and director level has

almost reached fifty percent b_ut at the most senior levels gender disparity continues to

persist. The member states were urged to support the UN's efforts to increase the

percentage of women in professional and decision making positions by identifying

and encouraging more women to apply and by nominating more women candidates.

Moreover, the Secretariat officials need to be held more accountable for their

decisions in the Organization's hiring goal (Garcia, Human Resources Management,

in the Fifth Committee, 28 October 2004).

In 1970, for the first time, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 1715

(XXV) the text of which had been proposed by the Economic and Social Council

concerning the employment of qualified women in senior and other professional posts

in the Secretariats of organizations in the United Nations system. It urged the United

Nations to take adequate steps to ensure equal opportunities for the employment of

qualified women in such positions and requested the Secretary General to include in

his report to the General Assembly on the composition of the Secretariat data on the

employment of women including their numbers and the positions they occupied (Basu

1989: 67).

A Joint Inspection Unit's report in 1971 on personnel problems noted a

"recruitment crisis" in the United Nations Secretariat. High levels of vacancies were

the main findings of the report and there was also confusion about the specific needs

for generalist and specialist staff. A tendency to recruit persons w1ch just university

degree and some language skills was also observed. Uncertainty prevailed over

recruiting and using modern management expertise. The report stressed the following

measures: more publicity for vacancies, active candidate searches along with detailed

job descriptions, competitive examinations, staff training, competence and

qualifications, and long-range recruitment planning and forecasting during the 1970s.

Despite considerable efforts situation seems to have changed little.

In a 1989 JIU report, Erica-Irene Daes, a long-time observer of United Nations ·

personnel activities pointed out that there was no proper recruitment policy and made

a case for objective methods of recruitment at all grade levels. Therefore, progress

was made in a few sub areas but not in the Secretariat.

The JIU has prepared a number of reports relating to the status and

advancement of women in the United Nations and the United Nations system in the

past years. The reports examined measures and steps needed to eliminate prejudices

against women and establish and maintain gender equity in the United Nations

Secretariat. It also explored ways to strengthen the status and advancement of women

as part of new policies calling for greater transparency, accountability and strategic

management of human resources in the Secretariat.

An outdated organizational culture, "non-transparent" administrative

processes and lack of clearly stated policies dominated the United Nations recruiting

R4

process. Various vague ways constituted the UN's procedure for recruitment. This in

a way contributed to the United Nations failure to increase the number of professional

women staff despite the special recruiting arrangements (Daes I994 ).

The General Assembly Resolution 3009 (XXV II) in I972 and 3352 (XX I) in

1974 expressed concern at the lack of an equitable balance between men and women

in recruitment and promotion at senior levels and requested the Secretary General to

make efforts to achieve an equitable balance between men and women staff members.

From the beginning of the I980s till the present day ensuring the equitable

distribution of positions between men and women in the Secretariat has been a major

principle governing the recruitment policy of the United Nations General Assembly.

Resolutions from time to time have urged member states to recom111end qualified

women candidates for professional posts and the Secretary General to intensify

recruitment for such posts. They urged the Secretary General to pay special attention

in the Staff Development Programme to impart training that would assist women in

increasing their career opportunities. The demand for priority to be given to

candidates from under-represented countries reflects the anxiety of these countries; it

shows that representation from developed counties has a large supply of qualified

candidates including women. Thus, women candidates are usually found in Western

Europe, North America, and in over-presented developing countries, such as Egypt,

India, Iran, Pakistan the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The scarcity of qualified women

candidates in certain professions and in some geographical areas and cultural

inhibitions to the candidacy of women remain the major obstacle to enhance gender

representation in international civil service (Basu 1989: 68).

Setretary-General in 1985 pointed out that some departments and occupations

and countries or regions had very low proportions of women representation. The

recruitment tactics and numerical targets were not sufficient but successful

recruitment depended largely on the commitment within the Secretariat. (ICSC 2004)

Gender Under-representation in the United Nations Secretariat

The General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution on improvement of

the status of women in the Secretariat (A/RES/541139) in which the Assembly, inter

alia, welcomed the progress made but expressed concern that the representation of

women at the senior and policy-making levels remains significantly below the goal of

50150 gender distribution at these levels; reaffirmed the urgent goal of achieving

50150 gender distribution in all categories of posts within the UN system with full

respect for the principle of equitable geographical distribution and also taking into

account the continuing lack of representation or under-representation of women from

certain countries, in particular developing countries and countries with economies in

transition; urged the Secretary-General to intensify efforts to meet the goal of 50150

by the end of 2000; welcomed the continued provision of specific training

programmes on gender mainstreaming and gender issues in the workplace tailored to

meet the special needs of individual departments and commended those heads of

departments an<i offices who have launched gender training for their managers and

staff; strongly encouraged heads of departments and offices who have not yet

organized such training to do so by the end of the next biennium.

The General Assembly insisted upon the Secretary-General for total

implementation and monitoring of the strategic plan of action in order to improve the

status of women in the Secretariat (1995-2000 -- N49/587 and Corr.l, sect. IV). It

also requested the Secretary-General to appoint , more women as special

representatives and envoys. It was also argued that in order to pursue good offices on

his behalf women must be inducted into positions, especially in matters related to

peacekeeping, peace-building, preventative diplomacy and economic and social

development. In operational activities, including resident coordinators, as well as to

appoint more women to oth~r high-level positions the General Assembly requested

the Secretary-General to develop innovative recruitment strategies to identify and

attract suitably qualified women candidates. It was indicated that women particularly

in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, other states that

are unrepresented or under-represented in the Secretariat and in occupations in which

women are under-represented should be included within the overall strategy of

recruitment by the UN.

Encouraging states to regularly submit more women candidates for

appointment to various bodies and to identify women candidates for assignment to

peacekeeping missions the General Assembly also stated that the representation of

women in military and civilian police contingents must be strengthened in future

operations.

Throughout the history of peacekeeping there have been only two women at

the top decision-making level: Ms. Margaret Anstee, Special Representative in

Angola (UNA VEM) and Ms. Angela King, the Chief of Mission in South Africa and

then Deputy Special Representative. Ms. Anstee was the only woman among 25

Special Representatives appointed by the Secretary-General since 1945. Ms. King was

the head of United Nations Observer Mission to South Africa (UNOMSA) in its

earliest phase when it was a small unit and included 50 per cent women among its

staff. With the expansic.1 of the mission before the elections and the arrival of a new

male head of mission and many male monitors selected by Governments the

participation of women dropped dramatically (UN Commission on the Status of

Women 1995).

It should be noted that an increase in women's participation at senior decision­

making levels brings, as a consequence, a greater possibility for career advancement

for women. In the four United Nations agencies headed by women executives there

has been a steady general increase in the proportion of overall women professionals

and for the most part, at both the middle and senior management levels (UN

Commission on the Status of Women 1995). The former executive director of the UN

children's agency, UNICEF, Carol Bellamy addressed a news conference where she

regretfully observed that positions of power continued to elude women, including at

the United Nations. She pointed out that the UN Secretariat's recruitment policies are

heavily weighed against women's larger involvement in positions of power in any

meaningful decision-making. Bellamy further stated that UNICEF was among the few

UN agencies that had appointed woman as the head of the organization. She also said

that during her 10 years of tenure at UNICEF she discovered that the importance of

women in development efforts was mostly being "grievously overlooked."

Personalities like Charlotte Bunch of the Centre for Women's Global

Leadership expressed their disappointment in the General Assembly over the efforts

made by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In the 1995 Beijing conference

R7

review on women and women's organizations were sharply critical of Secretary

General Kofi Anan, who had failed to honour his own commitments to gender

equality in the UN system. She also argued that there was an urgent need to upgrade

some of the divisions and departments dealing with women's issues. She further

pointed out that out of the 31 Under-Secretaries-General (USGs) in Annan's 'senior

management group,' only eight were women, including his deputy Louise Frechette

of Canada. The other seven were: Catherine Bertini (U.S.), head of management and

administration; Anna Tibaijuka (Tanzania), head of Habitat in Nairobi; Brigita

Schmognerova (Slovak Republic), head of Economic Commission for Europe; Mervat

Tallawy (Egypt), head of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia;

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid (Saudi Arabia), head of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA);

Louise Arbour (Canada), High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Carol Bellamy

(U.S.), Executive Director, UNICEF.

Bunch said there were about 60 'special representatives' and 'deputy special

representatives' of the Secretary-General (dubbed SRSGs and DSRSGs) who were

personally appointed by Annan to oversee political and humanitarian crises

worldwide. But of these only four were women, she added. Out of 26 peace

operations in the peacekeeping and political and peace-building missions, the

Secretary-General had appointed 2 women as head of mission or SRSG and one

woman as DSRSG. DSRSG Ameerah Haq (Bangladesh) led Afghanistan (UNAMA)

since June 2004. Earlier it was led by Eva Margareta Wahlstrom (Sweden). In the UN

mission in Burundi (ONUB), the SRSG and Chief of Mission is Carolyn McAskie

(Canada) since June 2004. Similarly, at Georgia (UNOMIG), the SRSG and Chief of

Mission is Heidi Tagliavini (Switzerland) since July 2002. Roza Otunbayeva

(Kyrgyzstan) also ied had led the mission as DSRSG. Till 2000 only 4 women had

ever served as SRSGs (Peace Women 2005).

Jessica Neuwirth, President of the New York-based Equality Now, pointed out

that the representation of women in the professional and higher categories was 3 7.1

per cent. The General Assembly has expressed concern at the "slowing of progress"

and work between 1998 and 2003 showed almost no progress in this particular

category, she noted (Deen 2005). An overview of the current status is provided in the

report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the status of women in the

Secretariat (A/54/405). Detailed statistical data and information on, inter alia, gender

distribution of staff at the Professional and higher levels in the Secretariat, the

Professional and higher categories appointments in the Secretariat, issues concerning

the appointments and promotions of staff in women in the General Service and related

categories; the gender distribution of staff at the Professional and higher levels in

organizations of the UN system, Steering Committee report on development since

1998 for the Improvement of the Status of Women in the Secretariat as well as action

plans to achieve gender balance in departments and offices were deliberated upon. It

was argued in the report that representation of women in peacekeeping operations,

gender mainstreaming and gender sensitivity training, network of senior women staff

members, work/family agenda should be increased.

The report also points out that the UN's profile has changed the presence of

women in highly sensitive, technical and visible positions, such as directors of

divisions, chiefs of information centres, and heads of peacekeeping missions. It is no

longer looked upon as controversial. Women's perspective has also started getting

recognition. The report also states, however, that while progress has been made in

improving the representation of women at the senior and policy-making levels slow

progress in improving women's representation in the overall Professional and higher

categories has stunted growth. The goal of 50150 gender distribution was not met by

2000.

Concerning the Steering Committee for the Improvement of the Status of

Women of 1998, in the Secretariat it is pertinent to initiate and review proposals for

policies and concrete measures for the achievement of the goal of gender balance and

also ensure that overall supportive environment exist within the structure of the UN to

initiate change.

On action plans for the improvement of gender balance in individual departments and

offices, the report notes that the plans would like to delineate and identify the

opportunities and limits for achieving gender balance in individual departments and

motivate qualified women to stay on in the UN. The institution of these plans would

also provide the Secretary-General with a tool for measuring the performance of

individual departments and offices and for ensuring the accountability of individual

managers.

The report refers to the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations,

which examined gender balance and gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping

operations in March 1999. In her presentation to the Committee, the Special Adviser

on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women put forth her experiences in conflict

prevention, peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction essential to the peace­

building process. She also observed that the integration of women's interests was

crucial for the success of a mission. A critical component of women in all aspects of

peacekeeping operations, particularly at the decision-making levels, would broaden

perspectives and bring a new dynamic to the peace-building process. As of 151 January

1999 two women headed peacekeeping missions. The priority should be to strengthen

the contingent of qualified women candidates from all regions for posts in

peacekeeping, including leadership positions. In its report (see AJ54/87) the Special

Committee expressed its support for the development and implementation of

innovative strategies for increasing the participation of women on a broad

geographical basis in all aspects of peacekeeping operations.

Concerning the work/family agenda, the report asserts that dual-career

households, legal and other obstacles remain an issue. This would also include

negotiating arrangements for spouse employment with a number of host countries and

providing more comprehensive information to candidates and new recruits on

applicable visa and work permit regulations, child-care arrangements and employment

opportunities. The March 1999 decision that the UN would voluntarily deduct the

amounts owed from the salaries of staff members found to be in default of court­

ordered family support payments and pay them to the spouse and/or children,

provision of advice and assistance to women staff members on a largely contractual

basis and career development issues and matters pertaining to the workplace. This

would also include appointments and promotions under the special measures for

women, transfers in between duty stations for family reasons, and harassment in the

place of work.

The report concludes by stating that the framework for action must include the

following elements if the goal of gende1 equality is to be achieved and sustained in

the early years of the next century. This would include design of innovative

on

recruitment strategies to identify and attract women candidates, mostly from those

under-represented and developing countries. The implementation of special measures

for women in order to achieve the goal of gender balance must also be encouraged.

The International Court of Justice, the Joint Inspection Unit, the International

Tribunals and the International Civil Service Commission are a few of the

organizations that follow these rules.

The Assembly called upon the Secretary-General to implement fully and to

monitor the strategic plan of action for the improvement of the status of women in the

Secretariat (1995-2000 -- N49/587 and Corr.l, sect. IV). It also encouraged the

Secretary-General to appoint more women as special representatives and envoys and

to pursue good offices on his behalf, especially in matters related to peacekeeping,

peace-building, preventative diplomacy and economic and social development, and in

operational activities, including as resident coordinators, as well as to appoint more

women to other high-level positions. It also requested the Secretary-General to

develop the innovative recruitment strategies to identify and attract suitably qualified

women candidates. The arrangements of childcare and eldercare needs were brought

to the notice of the Secretary-General. He was also asked to develop further the policy

against harassment, including sexual harassment, and to issue clear, detailed

guidelines for its application at Headquarters and in the field.

The Assembly encouraged member states to identify women candidates for

assignment to peacekeeping missions, and to improve the representation of women in

military and civilian police contingents (General Assembly 1999).

Member states must also set a strong example at the United Nations in

advancing the General Assembly's objectives but their performance has not been

much better than that of the Secretariat. The report of JIU explained the way that

various parties consistently shifted the responsibility onto each other. It also stressed

on the need for attitudinal changes, management commitment, and concerted action.

The report forwarded an action programme based on extensive consultations and

analysis of the main problem areas by a newly appointed Co-ordinator for the

Improvement of the Status of Women. This action programme primarily aimed to

overcome the main obstacles through work plans in five areas, which would create a

OJ

"framework for change" for women's advancement. Although the action programme

optimistically hoped for prompt and speedy corrective actions the effort has been

lacklustre. A consultant's assessment in 1992, which led to formulation of a new

action programme extending through 1995 confirmed that the obstacles identified in

1985 still continue to fester.

The failure, however, has occurred not only because of weak implementation

of the women's action programmes but also because the Secretariat has made little

progress in overall human resources planning and management (JIU 1994).

In recent years all the organisations have been committed to increasing the

proportion and numbers of women officials in the Professional categories. Thi~ then

becomes an additional factor in recruitment. It might be mentioned "in passing that

governments that are most vociferous about the need to increase the numbers of

women are seldom inhibited from being the most assiduous in pressing male

candidates on the organisation (Ali 1995).

Pro-Gender Advocacy in World Forums

Article 8 of the United Nations Charter explicitly states "The United Nations

shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any

capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs." For

improving the status of women the UN has been instrumental in initiating certain

changes and raising awareness of women's rights at the global level. The UN has

provided a forum for women across the world to come together to promote their

rights. The year 1975 was declared by the UN to be International Women's Year and

1976-1985 the UN Decade for Women. The first global conference ever held on

women was convened in Mexico City (1975) followed by world conferences in

Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985) Beijing (1995) Beijing+5 (2000) and Beijing+ 10

(2005)

The equal rights agenda has been promoted within the Secretariat itself over

the past fifty years. However, it has been painfully slow. Strong policy statements

haYe been followed by apathetic actions. Initial efforts seemed promising. In 1946

the Convention for the Status of Women was established to initiate and monitor

92

human rights issues of special concern to women. The Universal Declaration of

Human Rights of 1948 was proclaimed and adopted to apply to "everyone ... without

distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex ... " (United Nations Human Rights

1998).

The United Nations and the International Labour Organisation adopted

conventions during the 1950s on equal pay for equal work, political rights of women,

and elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation and workers with

family responsibilities. Despite these significant policy developments women's

advancement in the Secretariat was meagre during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. In

1971 the Secretary-General reported for the first time that the number of women by

scales of grade in the Secretariat was only 17 per cent of professional staff i1, posts.

These posts were also subject to geographical distribution and a mere 2.6 per cent of

staff at Director Levels or above were women. In 1972, a UNIT AR colloquium

produced a comprehensive set of recommended actions to remove discrimination and

provide equal opportunities for women (JIU 1994).

Many detailed and increasingly urgent General Assembly resolutions

concerning the advancement of women in the Secretariat were crafted in the 1970s

and 1980s. A 1970 resolution expressed the hope that the Secretariat and the system

would set an example in providing opportunities to women at senior and other

professional staff levels. Subsequent resolutions highlighted the need for high-level

leadership, interagency co-operation, and member state co-operation to advance

women's status by increasing their presence at senior and policymaking levels in

departments and overall professional posts.

A second UNIT AR colloquium in 1977 took stock of the disappointing

scenario of gender representation. Few women were given senior posts at

headc:uarters and in the field. General Assembly delegations and Permanent Missions

in New York saw the number of women employees rose only slightly (to 9 and 12

percent respectively in 1976-1977). Following the colloquium the Secretary-General

called for increased employment of women and setting 1980 as a goal for

achievement of an "equitable balance" of men and women in the Secretariat. The

General Assembly resolutions in the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s finally allowed

women's issues to break out of their limited human rights focus to include aH types of

fundamental women's issues. The International Women's Year of 1975 and the United

Nations Decade for Women (1976-1985) built up the momentum and led to the

creation of many new United Nations system institutions and programmes for the

advancement of women (Harrison 1998: 227-231). The Convention on the

Elimination of AJJ .Forms of Discrimination against Women adopted in 1979 finally

entered into force in 1981. Most importantly, the World Conference to review the

Decade for Women in Nairobi in 1985 led to "forward-looking strategies", systemic

plans and effort to assess progress and pursue strategies for the advancement of

women up to the year 2000. At the same time the JIU progress reports on the

advancement of women in 1980 and 1982 found little substantive change from first

JIU status report in 1977. Concerned by this lack of progress and failure to achieve a

25 per cent target till 1982, ECOSOC requested the Secretary-General in 1984 to

implement the relevant recommendations of the General Assembly and the JIU. In an

extensive 1985 report the Secretary-General admitted that 23 per cent of women in

posts subject to geographical distribution in mid-1985 stiJJ feJJ short of the General

Assembly's target of 25 percent to be met by 1982. Moreover, women were

concentrated at lower levels (P-1 to P-3), and in "service-oriented" rather than

"substantive" occupations. Severe disparities across departments and in regional

commissions existed. Many UN activities lacked a vision for women's employment:

technical cooperation in particular was "virtually without women at any level. The

Secretary-General established an action programme and work plans which would

"aim at the creation of a framework for the advancement of women ... " in Secretariat

employment. Five areas: recruitment, career development, training, work/family­

related issues and systems to ·redress grievances were covered by the Action Plan. A

temporary Coordinator (an Assistant Secretary-General) with four staff members to

initiate the programme was established by the Secretary-General. The staff members

were later reduced to a single Focal Point (Director, D-1, extra budgetary) in OHRM

with one assistant to look into the problems related to low representation of women.

Five years later, however, the implementation process was in tethers. In 1990

and 1991 General Assembly resolutions noted with concern that a target of 30 per cent

women in posts subject to geographical distribution, a target set in 1985, had not been

achieved and that the smaJJ number of women in senior posts had actuaJJy declined.

New target of overall 35 per cent was set by the General Assembly alongside a target

of 25 percent for senior posts (D-1 and above) was also set to be achieved by 1995

(JIU 1994).

A new action programme for the advancement of women for 1991-1995 was

called upon by the Assembly filled the gaps in the 1985-1990 programmes. The

Assembly defined that the programme should continue to seek attitudinal changes and

management commitment, provide a comprehensive analysis of main obstacles, and

ensure adequate machinery to implement a detailed programme of activities,

including monitoring and timetables for their completion. Despite excellent education

and experience credentials well above those of some professional staff, the staffs are

severely constrained in upgrading career horizons. Moreover, modem technology is

rapidly changing the nature and responsibilities of General Service work. As noted by

the 1972 UNIT AR Colloquium the General Service women face many significant

problems and grievances. Though these problems differ to a large extent from other

professional working women's work trajectory others are common problems that

should be addressed as an integrated set of women's issues. The Steering Committee

observed in its most recent report of 1991 that specific recommendations were made

in 1986, which were approved by the Secretary General later, mostly related to

restructuring of the secretarial occupation, opportunities for movement to the

professional category, and studies of examination processes. However, further action

is not forthcoming. According to the JIU's Inspector, this neglect of women in

General Service staff is a major defect of the current action programmes that must be

remedied.

The United Nations had become all too aware of the problem after more than

40 years of effort to meet Charter obligations under Article 8, and after 20 years of

detailed General Assembly resolutions calling for specific actions to achieve equal

treatment of men and women in the Secretariat. It is not anywhere near the target set.

From a proportion of about 17 per cent women in professional posts subject to

geographical distribution in 1971, the UN Secretariat was able to reach the level of

only 32 per cent women in late 1993. This clearly was not a satisfactory result (JIU

1994).

Table 2.1: Women in UN Secretariat, 1985 and 1993.

30 June 1985 31 December 1993

Categories Total Women Total Women

Number Number Percent Number Number Percent

Senior Officials 407 29 7 346 47 14

Professional Staff 2,695 687 25 2,238 779 35

Language Staff 1,010 327 32 870 304 35

Other related categories 1,232 180 15 1,090 176 16

General Service 8,342 4,774 57 8,208 4,589 56

Totals 13,686 5,997 44 12,752 5,895 46

Source: Prepared by Jomt InspectiOn Umt, JIU/REP/94/3, May 1994.

An analysis of table 2.1 shows that women representation m the General

Service category was 78 per cent (4,589 of 5,895) of the total women in the

Secretariat, which comprised a steady majority - 56 to 57 per cent - of the total

General Service staff over the decade. As a group it was more than five times as large

as the group of women professional and also the staff amenable to geographical

distribution (4,589 compared to 826). The Secretariat's most important component is

the General Service staffs, which carries out the critical operational functions. Salaries

of senior General Service staff overlap with junior and even mid-level professionals.

Yet General Service staffs are "office workers" and remain at the bottom of the

hierarchy with little recognition. They are often called on to work well beyond their

established duties.

The only way through which General Service staff can presently advance to

the professional category is the "G to P" examination system. (In contrast, Field

Service staff, for instance, can take the competitive examination and, at higher levels,

can be directly converted to the professional category). This examination has an

impressive record in that a substantial number of successful women candidates

(averaging about 60 per cent) in recent yerus. Nevertheless, the overarching

constraints on recruitment have shut this doorway, producing only about 20 successful

candidates each year, which is inclusive of a low average 12 for women. Twelve posts

represent a very small target of opportunity for those thousands of women in the

General Service staff who would like a decent chance to move up.

Q{;

Summary Observation

The chapter elaborates on UN Charter provisions espousing equal opportunity

for men and women and also traces the evolution of the International Civil Service

since the days of the League of Nations.

The chapter concentrates on the terms of employment within existing

international civil services ad emphasizes upon the need for fixed-term and permanent

employment in order to meet with the objectives and purposes of the Organization.

The chapter explores the importance of employment of staff members on the basis of

geographical distribution so as to make the Organization more representational in

character.

Finally, this chapter considers measures adopted by the United Nations for

fulfilling the mandate reached in the Beijing Conference. Among other things, the

chapter examines the role of the Strategic Plan of Action for the Advancement of

Women and considers the position of women in the UN Secretariat.

07