United Nations Common System : Report of the International Civil Service Commission

A/RES/65/248View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 136 United Nations common system, published in 2011.

What other versions does this mandate have?

12 versions · 1989–2016

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/70/244

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2016	A/RES/70/244	United Nations common system : report of the International Civil Service Commission	3,128	19%Compare
2015	A/RES/69/251	United Nations common system : report of the International Civil Service Commission	1,265	50%Compare
2014	A/RES/68/253	United Nations common system : report of the International Civil Service Commission	1,306	33%Compare
2013	A/RES/67/257	United Nations common system : report of the International Civil Service Commission	899	—
2012	A/RES/66/235A	United Nations common system : report of the International Civil Service Commission	—	—

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports · 2004–2016

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2016	A/71/323	Overview of human resources management reform : towards a global, dynamic, adaptable and engaged workforce for the United Nations report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/70/244
2004	A/59/399	Report of the Panel on the Strengthening of the International Civil Service note		A/RES/57/285

What subjects does this mandate have?

14 subjects

Duty Stations Education Grant Field Offices Field Staff General Service Staff International Civil Service Paid Leave Professional Staff Recruitment Salaries and Allowances Separation Payments Top Echelon Staff Travel Costs Working Conditions

What’s in this document?

36 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the work of the International Civil Service Commission;

Takes note of the report of the Commission for 2010;Error: Reference source not found

Encourages the Commission to continue to coordinate and regulate the conditions of service of staff of the organizations of the United Nations common system, bearing in mind the limitations imposed by Member States on their national civil services;

Reaffirms the role of the General Assembly in approving conditions of service and entitlements for all staff serving in the organizations of the United Nations common system, bearing in mind articles 10 and 11 of the statute of the Commission;³

³Resolution 3357 (XXIX), annex.

Recalls articles 10 and 11 of the statute of the Commission, and reaffirms the central role of the Commission in regulating and coordinating conditions of service and entitlements for all staff serving in the organizations of the United Nations common system;

A.Conditions of service applicable to both categories of staff

1.Education grant

Approves, with effect from the school year in progress on 1 January 2011, the recommendations of the Commission in paragraph 83 of its reportError: Reference source not found and annex III thereto;

Invites the organizations of the United Nations common system to harmonize the education grant eligibility criteria with respect to the minimum age, the maximum age and the coverage of post-secondary education, as specified in paragraph 62 (a) of the report of the Commission;

2.Separation payments

Endorses the conclusions of the Commission in paragraph 101 of its report,Error: Reference source not found and invites the governing bodies of the organizations of the United Nations common system to harmonize their termination indemnity schedules with that of the United Nations, as approved in General Assembly resolution 63/271 of 7 April 2009;

Decides to revert, at its seventy-first session, to the issue of the introduction of end-of-service severance pay in the organizations of the United Nations common system for fixed-term staff involuntarily separating upon the expiration of their contract after ten or more years of continuous service;

Requests the Commission to promulgate guidelines for the Organization to follow when it terminates a staff member based on the agreement of both sides;

B.Conditions of service of staff in the Professional and higher categories

1.Base/floor salary scale

Recalling its resolution 44/198, by which it established a floor net salary level for staff in the Professional and higher categories by reference to the corresponding base net salary levels of officials in comparable positions serving at the base city of the comparator civil service (the United States federal civil service),

Approves, with effect from 1 January 2011, as recommended by the Commission in paragraph 120 of its report,Error: Reference source not found the revised base/floor scale of gross and net salaries for staff in the Professional and higher categories as contained in annex VI to the report;

2.Evolution of the margin

Recalling section 1.B of its resolution 51/216 and the standing mandate from the General Assembly, in which the Commission is requested to continue its review of the relationship between the net remuneration of United Nations staff in the Professional and higher categories in New York and that of the comparator civil service (the United States federal civil service) employees in comparable positions in Washington, D.C. (referred to as “the margin”),

Reaffirms that the range of 110 to 120 for the margin between the net remuneration of officials in the Professional and higher categories of the United Nations in New York and officials in comparable positions in the comparator civil service should continue to apply, on the understanding that the margin would be maintained at a level around the desirable midpoint of 115 over a period of time;

Notes that the margin between net remuneration of the United Nations staff in grades P-1 to D-2 in New York and that of officials in comparable positions in the United States federal civil service in Washington, D.C., for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2010 is estimated at 113.3 and that the average margin level for the past five years (2006–2010) stands at 114.0;

3.Children’s and secondary dependant’s allowances

Approves, with effect from 1 January 2011, as recommended by the Commission in paragraph 162 of its report,Error: Reference source not found the revised children’s and secondary dependant’s allowances and the transitional measures relating thereto;

C.Conditions of service in the field

Harmonization of the conditions of service of staff of the organizations of the United Nations common system serving in non-family duty stations

Stresses that the authority delegated by the Secretary-General to the executive heads of the United Nations funds and programmes should be exercised in full compliance with General Assembly resolutions, the statute of the CommissionError: Reference source not found and the appropriate rules and regulations of the United Nations;

Requests the Secretary-General, subject to the provisions of the present resolution, to ensure cooperation and compliance by the executive heads of all organizations to which he has delegated authority on human resources matters, with the immediate implementation of the recommendations of the Commission concerning the harmonization of the conditions of service in non-family duty stations, as reflected in the report of the Commission,Error: Reference source not found and to report thereon to the Commission;

Also requests the Secretary-General, subject to the provisions of the present resolution, to exert his leadership as Chair of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination to ensure the system-wide implementation of the recommendations of the Commission concerning the harmonization of the conditions of service in non-family duty stations, as reflected in the report of the Commission;

Requests the organizations of the United Nations common system to report annually to the Commission on the implementation of contractual arrangements and conditions of service for all of their staff serving in family and non-family duty stations;

Requests the Secretary-General, in his capacity as Chair of the Chief Executives Board for Coordination, to invite the executive heads of the agencies, funds and programmes participating in the United Nations common system to report to their respective governing bodies on the compliance of the organizations with the decisions of the General Assembly on the harmonization of the conditions of service;

Approves the recommendations of the Commission on the harmonization of the conditions of service of staff of the organizations of the United Nations common system serving in non-family duty stations, as contained in its annual report for 2010, subject to the provisions of the present resolution;

Decides that, six months after the adoption of the present resolution, all new staff who are assigned to non-family duty stations shall be under the non-family hardship element;

Also decides that the organizations of the United Nations common system shall cover only the travel costs of the rest and recuperation framework, until a further decision of the General Assembly on this issue is taken at its sixty-seventh session;

Further decides that the additional costs related to the above arrangements for the harmonization of the conditions of service, as related to the United Nations Secretariat, shall be absorbed by the Organization within existing resources, without impacting on the operational costs and without undermining the implementation of mandated programmes and activities, and requests the Secretary-General to report thereon in the context of the relevant performance reports;

Requests the Commission to submit recommendations to the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session concerning the United Nations common system harmonized subsistence allowance or lump sum during rest and recuperation;

Requests the Secretary-General to identify offsets that can be used to implement the Commission proposals on a harmonized subsistence allowance or lump sum during the rest and recuperation break in a cost-neutral manner without impacting on operational costs and without undermining the implementation of mandated programmes and activities;

Requests the Commission, in its annual report, to report to the General Assembly on the implementation of its decisions and recommendations by the organizations of the United Nations common system;

Recognizes the importance of mobility as a means of developing a more versatile, multi-skilled and experienced international civil service that is capable of fulfilling complex mandates;

Notes with concern the high vacancy rates in the field and the negative effect that this has on the ability of the organizations of the United Nations common system to carry out their mandates;

Requests the Secretary-General to report on the criteria and process followed for designating family and non-family duty stations to the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, in the context of human resources management;

Regrets that the special operations approach has led to significant variations in the compensation package of staff of the organizations of the United Nations common system in non-family duty stations;

Recalls paragraph 42 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions on human resources management,⁴ and emphasizes the importance for the Secretary-General and the executive heads of the United Nations funds and programmes to work closely with the Commission in addressing and mitigating any unintended consequences of the harmonization proposal;

⁴A/65/537.

Requests the Commission, in the context of its annual report, to report to the General Assembly on the implementation of its decisions regarding the harmonization of the conditions of service in non-family duty stations during the transition period;

Decides that the rest and recuperation framework should be regulated by the Commission;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that rest and recuperation entitlements are used by staff in a timely and effective manner;

Requests the Commission to keep the issue of the United Nations common system conditions of service in the field under review;

D.Other matters

Notes that the following measures, among others, could improve the selection process and conditions of service for executive heads of the organizations of the United Nations common system:

Conducting hearings and/or meetings with candidates running for the post of executive head, in order to enhance the transparency and credibility of the selection process and make the process more inclusive of all nationalities;

Ensuring that the hearings and/or meetings with the shortlisted candidates are conducted by members of the executive boards, advisory committees and/or other legislative bodies of the United Nations funds and programmes and/or other subsidiary organs and entities;

Adopting provisions comprehensively addressing conflicts of interest pertaining to, and/or wrongdoing or misconduct allegedly committed by, executive heads, if such provisions have not yet been adopted.