The General Assembly,
Recalling Articles 8, 97, 100 and 101 of the Charter of the
United Nations,
Reaffirming its resolution 47/226 of 8 April 1993,
Bearing in mind the views expressed by Member States on
human resources management questions in the Fifth Committee during
the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly,
Having considered the relevant documents on human resources
management questions submitted by the Secretary-General to the
General Assembly at its forty-ninth session,
Having heard the views expressed by the recognized staff
representatives in the Fifth Committee in accordance with its
resolution 35/213 of 17 December 1980,
Recognizing that the staff of the Organization is an invaluable
asset of the United Nations, and commending its contribution to
furthering the purposes and principles of the United Nations,
1. Reiterates its full support for the Secretary-General
as the chief administrative officer of the Organization, and underlines
its full respect for his prerogatives and responsibilities under
the Charter of the United Nations;
2. Expresses its support for the efforts of the Secretary-General
towards the development of a management environment and culture
in the Organization that is supportive of having staff members
contribute to their maximum potential, effectiveness and efficiency;
Welcoming the integrated approach adopted by the Secretary-General
to human resources management planning as reflected in his strategy
for the management of the human resources of the Organization,
Concerned about the existing problems in vacancy management,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Joint
Inspection Unit,
1. Endorses the strategy for the management of the human
resources of the Organization contained in the report of the Secretary-General;
2. Approves the establishment of a planning unit within
the Office of Human Resources Management, authorizes the use of
general temporary assistance funds in the amount of 496,100 United
States dollars for this purpose in 1995, and requests the Secretary-General
to report thereon in the context of the final performance report
for the biennium 1994-1995 and to submit a comprehensive proposal
for the continued funding of this planning unit in the context
of his proposed programme budget for the biennium 1996-1997;
3. Also approves the proposals of the Secretary-General
for implementation of the Performance Appraisal System and requests
him to make every effort to implement them from within existing
overall resources, if necessary concentrating on the P-4 level
and above world wide in 1995, and to ensure that from 1 April
1996 the system is implemented at all levels;
4. Notes that the strategy proposes to explore alternative
ways of recruiting staff and that the Secretary-General intends
to implement them on a limited and experimental basis, but requests
the Secretary-General to ensure that such projects are monitored
and evaluated closely and in a timely manner for both effectiveness
and cost;
5. Expresses its concern about the potential adverse effects
of the use of retirees on recruitment and promotion in the Secretariat,
and requests the Secretary-General in this regard to submit detailed
information to the General Assembly at its resumed forty-ninth
session on the practice of the use of retirees in the Secretariat,
including information on their effectiveness, number, nationality,
gender, fields of work, remuneration, the duration of their contracts
and the reasons for their employment;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to implement the Performance
Appraisal System, including at the Under-Secretary-General level,
and to ensure that equal employment opportunities for staff selection
and advancement, career counselling for staff and appropriate
staff training and development are identified as specific performance
indicators in the performance appraisal of all managers;
7. Welcomes the efforts of the Secretary-General to develop
and strengthen the internship and fellowship programmes, regrets
that there may be a need temporarily to postpone the implementation
of these programmes, and requests the Secretary-General to make
every effort to identify resources for this purpose and would
welcome the contributions of Member States to that end;
8. Notes that the strategy for the management of the human
resources of the Organization requires the active implementation,
as a management tool, over a period of several years beginning
in 1995, of an enhanced attrition programme, and requests the
Secretary-General to report on the initial phase of implementation
of the programme in the context of the agenda item on the proposed
programme budget for the biennium 1996-1997, together with proposals
on the longer-term management of separation and retention, and
the future use of agreed separation arrangements after the current
programme has been completed, with a view to avoiding the need
for such programmes in the future;
9. Notes also that the strategy calls for mobility on the
part of all new internationally recruited staff, that staff regulation
1.2 gives the Secretary-General the authority to assign all internationally
recruited staff to any of the activities or offices of the United
Nations, and therefore urges the Secretary-General to apply the
mobility elements of the new strategy to internationally recruited
staff;
10. Requests the Secretary-General to give particular attention
to effective vacancy management in implementing the new strategy
for the management of human resources;
11. Endorses the recommendation of the Advisory Committee
on Administrative and Budgetary Questions contained in paragraph
7 of its report, requests the Secretary-General to integrate,
for budgetary presentation and management purposes, Professional
posts P-1 and P-2, and P-3 and P-4, and requests that these recommendations
be implemented on an experimental basis in his proposed programme
budget for the biennium 1996-1997;
12. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to hold
national competitive examinations at the P-1 and P-2 levels as
a useful tool to select the best-qualified candidates;
13. Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to
hold national competitive examinations at the P-3 level, with
due regard to the promotion prospects at the P-2 level and a maximum
of efficiency and economy;
14. Urges the Secretary-General to take all the necessary
measures to ensure that successful candidates at the P-2 and P-3
levels are offered positions within one year after their selection,
subject to the availability of approved posts;
15. Requests the Secretary-General to give due priority
to training and implementation of the strategy in drafting the
proposed programme budget for the biennium 1996-1997;
Bearing in mind the report of the Working Group on the
equitable geographical representation of Member States in the
Secretariat,
Reiterating the need for the full implementation of the
principle of equitable geographical distribution when appointing
staff in the Secretariat,
Concerned that the Secretary-General did not resume the
annual publication of the list of staff of the United Nations
as at 30 June 1993,
1. Reaffirms that no post should be considered the exclusive
preserve of any Member State or group of States, and trusts that
the Secretary-General respects this principle when appointing
staff members, including at the highest level;
2. Recognizes that the system of desirable ranges is the
principal guideline for the recruitment of staff for geographical
representation of Member States in posts subject to geographical
distribution in accordance with Article 101, paragraph 3, of the
Charter of the United Nations;
3. Urges the Secretary-General, whenever making appointments
at all levels to posts subject to geographical distribution, to
continue his efforts to ensure that all Member States, in particular
the unrepresented and underrepresented Member States, are adequately
represented in the Secretariat, bearing in mind the need to increase
the number of staff recruited from Member States below the mid-point
of their desirable ranges;
4. Requests the Secretary-General in this regard to exercise
flexibility in the application of desirable ranges in individual
recruitment cases, keeping in view all parts of the present resolution;
5. Also requests the Secretary-General to sustain the present
ratio between career and fixed-term appointments, and to submit
to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session specific proposals
on what proportion of appointments should be made on a fixed-term
basis;
6. Welcomes the publication of a comprehensive list of
staff of the Secretariat as at 30 September 1994, and requests
the Secretary-General to update it annually for the regular session
of the General Assembly;
7. Requests the Secretary-General to increase his efforts
in improving the composition of the Secretariat by ensuring a
wide and equitable geographical distribution of staff in all departments;
8. Decides to continue its consideration of this issue
at the resumed forty-ninth session, inter alia, in the light of
the report to be submitted by the Joint Inspection Unit;
Recalling Articles 8 and 101 of the Charter of the United
Nations,
Reaffirming that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate
Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibility
for administrative, budgetary and human resources management matters,
including, inter alia, the issue of the representation of women
in the Secretariat,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Joint
Inspection Unit,
1. Expresses its concern that the goals set in its resolution
45/239 C of 21 December 1990 may not be met;
2. Urges the Secretary-General to implement fully the strategic
plan of action for the improvement of the status of women in the
Secretariat 1995-2000;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to include full implementation
of the strategic plan of action as a specific performance indicator
in the performance appraisal of all managers;
4. Appeals to all Member States to support the efforts
of the United Nations, the specialized agencies and related organizations
to increase the participation of women in posts in the Professional
category and above, by identifying and nominating more women candidates
with the requisite qualifications, especially for senior policy-level
and decision-making posts, encouraging more women to apply for
vacant posts and to sit for the national competitive examinations
where applicable, and creating and maintaining national rosters
of women candidates to be shared with the United Nations, the
specialized agencies and related organizations;
5. Notes the intention of the Secretary-General to include
the activities of the Focal Point for Women in his proposed programme
budget for the biennium 1996-1997;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to enable, from within
existing resources, the Focal Point for Women effectively to monitor
and to facilitate progress in the implementation of the strategic
plan of action;
7. Urges Member States to make voluntary contributions
to that end;
Welcoming the intention of the Secretary-General to
strengthen the internal justice system of the Organization,
Noting the intention of the Secretary-General to achieve this
by facilitating the earlier resolution of disputes before they
become formal appeals and professionalizing the appeals and disciplinary
machinery,
1. Welcomes the intention of the Secretary-General to consult
fully with the staff representatives in the development of a new
system of internal justice;
2. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a detailed
proposal covering, inter alia, the specific institutional, legal
and procedural changes required in this regard during the resumed
forty-ninth session of the General Assembly in early 1995, and
decides to continue its consideration of this issue during the
resumed session;
1. Requests the Secretary-General, in the light of the
information on staff representation provided to the Fifth Committee
during the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly, to issue
a corrigendum to its report on the costs of staff representation
activities and to report separately to the General Assembly, at
the earliest possible opportunity, on the modalities and costs
of staff representation since 1992;
2. Also requests the Secretary-General to report comprehensively
to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session on the implementation
of all issues covered in the present resolution;
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General,
Approves the amendment to staff regulation 11.1 as set
forth in the annex to the present resolution.
95th plenary meeting
23 December 1994
Amendment to the Staff Regulations of the United Nations
Regulation 11.1
For the existing text, substitute:
"The Secretary-General shall establish administrative machinery with staff participation to advise him in case of any appeal by staff members against an administrative decision alleging the non-observance of their terms of appointment, including all pertinent regulations and rules."