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The 64th FICSA Council was held at the Pan American Health Organization in Washington, D.C. from 14-18 February 2011.

Council adopted three resolutions. On the recognition of domestic partnerships for dependency purposes, Council called on all organizations to recognize domestic partnerships and/or same gender marriages of staff, regardless of nationality.

 On the eventuality of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) leaving the UN common system, Council strongly affirmed its support for the IFAD Staff Association in its endeavours to keep IFAD in the UN common system;  called on the IFAD Administration to disclose the report in full to the ICSC and to the IFAD Staff Association in order to give them the opportunity to analyse it and provide a response thereto; and called on Member States of the UN common system agencies to refrain from making proposals based on the report until such time as the ICSC has had the chance to respond and IFAD Management has established a thorough consultation mechanism with IFAD staff on the HR implications.

On the release of the FICSA President and General Secretary, Council instructed the Executive Committee to continue pursuing the approval of cost-sharing among the member organizations concerned as a sustainable and fair solution to funding the release of FICSA officers.

FICSA invited four keynote speakers to address the Plenary session.

 The first keynote speaker, Mr. Kingston Rhodes, Chairman of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), stressed the importance of FICSA to the work of the Commission and the Federation’s input to the formal sessions of ICSC and the various working groups and other meetings. They were essential to achieving the common goal of improving and harmonising the conditions of service of United Nations staff. The active role that the Federation played had been borne out by its contributions to the joint working groups on such issues as the review of the General Service salary survey methodologies and the mobility and hardship scheme, as well as performance management. He assured Council of the Commission’s total commitment to supporting organisations and staff throughout the system so that they could attract, develop and retain the best possible staff as well as maintain a well functioning unified common system that balanced the needs of the organisations, Member States and staff alike: no easy task.

 ICSC and FICSA had ideals in common; they both sought to improve the conditions of service. They also strove to create a workplace that engendered a sense of pride among the employees in working for an organization with which they could identify, working for leaders they trusted and respected and performing jobs for which they were suited and in which they could grow. Motivated staff translated into solid outcomes: efficiency and innovation. The help of FICSA was key to achieving full mobility - the fluid movement of staff across common system organisations and geographic locations. It was one of the most effective ways of improving organizational performance, facilitating staff development and stimulating professional interest.

The second keynote speaker, Ms. Marta Leichner-Boyce, Senior Inter-Agency Advisor on Human Resource Management, addressed the session via video-conference. She spoke on behalf of the Secretariat of the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), representing the High-Level Committee on Management (HLCM) and the Human Resources (HR) Network. She stressed the importance of staff participation in the efforts to bring about reforms in human resources management. FICSA, she noted, had contributed in many areas, such as the development of a disability policy, various security-related initiatives, dual career and staff mobility programmes. The Federation had also ensured that staff views were made known in various ICSC technical working groups such as those dealing with mobility and hardship allowance and the General Service survey methodology.

In the current year, one of the priority activities of the HR Network would be the implementation of some of the recommendations stemming from the review of contractual arrangements, staff regulations and rules, policies and practices. The Federation’s participation in that harmonization initiative would be of crucial importance.

The third keynote speaker, Mr. Gérard Biraud of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) also addressed Council via video-conference. In describing the Unit’s activities in relation to the study on staff/management relations in the common system, he stressed the role of the JIU inspectors as evaluators, investigators and inspectors on self-selected topics that cut across the common system organisations. They were accountable to the General Assembly and the legislative bodies of the respective organisations and agencies. Intent upon the improvement of efficiencies, they proposed reforms that they deemed necessary to the organizations and their executive heads; some organizations were willing to accept and others were not. The Unit’s current involvement in staff/management relations stemmed from a formal request by Ms. Angela Kane, Under-Secretary-General for Management, the HR Network and the staff representatives from Geneva and New York: it bore testimony to the trust placed in the JIU.

In embarking on the first stage of the study, the JIU soon realized the complexity of the staff/management relations in the United Nations, compounded by the various categories of staff and operational difficulties. The first stage was limited to the United Nations and associated funds and programmes, as well as the UN Administrative Tribunal and the UN University. In the second stage, the focus would shift to other common system organisations, although emphasis would continue to be placed on decisions that pertained to the common system as a whole.

The fourth keynote speaker, Mr. Gregory Starr, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), presented a comprehensive picture of the overall security management system in the United Nations that was designed to enable the safest and most efficient conduct of the UN common system programmes and activities in all locations. Given the proliferation of incidents and attacks in the various UN facilities (6,400 in toto) and the ever-increasing number of missions, the key aim was to ensure the effective application of security policies and guidelines so that people returned home safely.

Since 2002, the blue flag no longer provided its customary protection, thus necessitating the introduction of better and larger security programmes. In that context, he noted that security for national staff was not as comprehensive as security for international staff. 95 per cent of all International staff underwent security training, yet only 5 per cent of the national staff. Although more national staff were killed, in percentage terms they suffered fewer fatalities than international staff. That notwithstanding, the system had to exercise due diligence and care for both categories. Moreover, the United Nations spent USD 8 billion each year on security. It was thus legitimate to ask whether the common system was getting value for that money which others might have wished to see going to food and health programmes.

In describing the new security level system (SLS), Mr. Starr stressed that it was not a replacement for the security phase system. SLS permitted the definition and measurement of threats within a common system. Once the threats were known, a risk-analysis was performed and mitigation measures identified, on the basis of which the ‘residual risk’ could be determined. He cited examples of locations where crime rates were high, yet thanks to the mitigation measures in place, the residual risk was low. Criticality reviews enabled one to determine the high residual risks in locations with high threat levels despite extensive mitigation measures.

Each of the keynote speakers responded to questions from the participants. Their replies can be found in the full report of the FICSA Council, to be issued shortly.

The Council report also contains the deliberations and recommendations of the standing committees in the following areas: human resources management, staff-management relations, legal questions, Professional salaries and allowances, General Service questions, social security/occupational health and safety and conditions of service the field. Council adopted its budget for 2011-2012.