EU Presidency Statement - Human resources management

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), the associated countries of Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and an EFTA country belonging to the European Economic Area (Norway), align themselves with this statement.

Mr. Chairman,

Human resources management is a vast and complex subject, with numerous aspects, and it is important to approach any discussion of it in full possession of the facts. Many documents produced by the 55th Session have already been presented by the Secretariat, and other very important documents are still to arrive before we can discuss the various agenda items in a comprehensive fashion.

The European Union wonders whether, at least in the case of some of the issues for discussion, it is not a little premature to embark today on a discussion that would rapidly prove incomplete and thus of little real use.

Mr. Chairman,

I should like to take each item in turn and state the conclusions we have reached on them.

On the question of the delegation of authority and the Joint Inspection Unit's report, which the Committee has already examined, the European Union is concerned at the comments and recommendations formulated by the ACABQ in its report A/56/7 on the Office of Human Resources Management. The European Union would refer to the provisions of A/55/258 in which the Secretary-General was asked to report to the 57th Session on "responsibility in the reform of human resources management as well as the monitoring and control mechanisms and procedures".

The European Union is nevertheless aware that a short-term solution must be found to this issue, which has been with us for many years. It will therefore be particularly vigilant, in a spirit of constructive cooperation, in ensuring that the 57th Session achieves concrete results.

Mr. Chairman,

The question of the use of retirees is without doubt an important problem, but the European Union considers however that this subject cannot be discussed independently from the examination of the overall report on staff policy, which the Secretary-General is due to present to the 57th Session. Moreover, discussion of the delicate, but essential question of the ceiling on salaries requires the additional information, which the Secretariat has promised for 2002.

Mr. Chairman,

The European Union noted with interest the reports by the JIU and the Secretariat on the use of consultants, and the pertinent remarks of the ACABQ on the subject. The technical information contained in those reports enabled the European Union, in full possession of the facts, to define the position, which I have the honor to present today.

On the principle of geographical balance as highlighted by the JIU, the European Union would again point out that the choice of consultants must be consistent with the existing rules and regulations of the UN system, in other words the criterion must be the highest quality of service at the lowest cost, in conformity with Resolutions A/55/232 and A/55/247.

The European Union endorses the ACABQ's recommendations for the establishment of an inventory of skills available in the Secretariat and for budget documents to give more precise information on requirements for consultants and justification for the use of outside expertise. It would also point out that information on the use of consultants is incomplete and regrets that there is no satisfactory system for comprehensive management of this information.

Given the workload of this session, the European Union is ready to follow a possible consensus to postpone this issue.

Mr. Chairman,

I shall end by stating that the European Union has duly noted the changes that the Secretary-General intends to make to the Staff Rules.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

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