U.N. - REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON
THE WORK OF THE ORGANIZATION - 1998

VI. Managing change

184. The United Nations is a large, heterogeneous and highly complex organization. Managing its many activities and communicating its message are vital tasks. It is also in these areas that many of the most difficult reform efforts are being pursued. Success is absolutely essential if we are to meet our mission goals in the new millennium.

Creating a culture of communication

185. Placing communications at the heart of the strategic management of the Organization is central to the ongoing revitalization of the United Nations. If the goals of this revitalization are to be clearly understood, a culture of communication must pervade the entire Organization. Such a culture, supported by corresponding institutional arrangements, will enable the Organization to communicate with its global audience with greater coherence and forcefulness.

186. The Department of Public Information is leading the implementation of the new communications strategy proposed by a high-level task force that I appointed last year. The strategy focuses on enhancing the links between the United Nations, the media and broad sectors of civil society. Implementing this strategy will require us to seek out new ways to tell the United Nations story and highlight its successes. Towards that end, the Department and other Secretariat units are working together to identify and implement information campaigns, focused on news-making aspects of the Organization's activities. A strategic communications planning group has been created within the Department to assist the Under-Secretary-General in setting goals and strategies, and reaching out to the media, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, the business community and youth.

187. The Internet has become a vital tool in strengthening United Nations partnerships around the world, given the primacy of speed in all media-related activity, and given also the access the Internet provides to vast new audiences. In future, the United Nations Web site will carry more audio and video material, including regular radio news updates; it will host on-line discussions with United Nations experts and promote the sales and marketing of United Nations publications and materials.

188. The United Nations Web site (www.un.org), winner of a number of specialist awards for its contents and ease of use, is being expanded to include all six official languages. During 1997, users accessed the Web site more than 40 million times; this number will more than double in 1998. A Web site created for the recent United Nations Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, held in Rome, provided instant news and visual material to the media and others closely following the issue. In its first two weeks, that Web site was accessed more than 380,000 times.

189. As part of the effort to deploy advanced communications and electronic publishing technology in all aspects of the Organization's work, United Nations Information Centres and services are now electronically linked both to Headquarters and to each other, providing instant, low-cost access to United Nations news, documents and reference resources. Several Centres have established their own Web sites for local audiences. On another front, the Centres are being integrated with UNDP field offices.

190. The print and audio-visual products of the Department of Public Information are increasingly tailored to meet the changing needs of media disseminators in terms of content, style and timeliness. This, too, has been helped by the introduction of radio and television programming on the United Nations Web site, as well as the rapid posting of digital photographs and print outputs of the Organization's activities worldwide. We are studying the possible creation of an international radio broadcasting service, which would put cost-effective information delivery at the disposal of the entire United Nations system, particularly in support of peacekeeping and humanitarian emergency operations.

191. Notwithstanding the vast opportunities offered by the Internet, the print medium is still the most influential in disseminating ideas and opinions. Department of Public Information publications are constantly reviewed and improved through readership surveys. Innovations include a more reader-friendly edition of Basic Facts about the United Nations and the transformation of the UN Chronicle into a lively forum of opinion and debate as well as of essential news. Development Business has launched Development Business Online in collaboration with the World Bank. Sales of United Nations publications continue to increase and are the leading revenue-producing activity of the Organization.

192. Outreach to young people is vital to the ongoing relevance of the United Nations. The Department of Public Information has placed special emphasis on education and youth, organizing guided tours, publications and workshops for teachers and students, plus special events such as Students Day at the United Nations and a youth-oriented programme on Human Rights Day. The CyberSchoolBus, the Department's on-line education project, reaches thousands of students in more than 60 countries, and is the most popular site on the United Nations Web site.

193. In the drive to build greater global public support for the Organization, the Department is working closely with non-governmental organizations. The Department is also expanding its contacts with research and academic institutions, the private sector, youth groups and global communication leaders. In September 1997, the annual Department of Public Information/NGO Conference, celebrating 50 years of partnership between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, drew more than 1,800 participants from 61 countries to United Nations Headquarters. The second United Nations World Television Forum, held in November 1997, included a number of renowned television figures and provided a venue for a fruitful professional dialogue.

Administration and management

194. The Department of Management continues to focus on creating a mission-driven and results-oriented organization, which calls for better management of human resources and the Organization's programme.

195. The Department carried out a wide variety of initiatives last year. Programme managers conducted management reviews designed to enhance the delivery of mandated programmes, strengthen services to Member States and identify ways to implement their programmes within budgetary constraints.

196. In the future, greater emphasis will be given to what the Organization intends to accomplish in terms of results, as opposed to focusing on inputs and instrumental measures. With results-based budgeting it is envisaged that the weak links of the programme planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation cycle will be strengthened. Evaluation studies will address the extent to which results have been achieved, thereby helping Member States to decide on the relevance and continuing value of programmes and subprogrammes.

197. The reduction of administrative costs and redeployment of resources will free financial resources for the Development Account, financing innovative activities in the economic and social fields. To this end, the administrative bureaucracy of the United Nations is being critically reviewed with particular attention to simplifying and streamlining procedures; reducing administrative redundancies by delegating more responsibility to programme managers; creating a fully electronic United Nations; modernizing Secretariat functions; and discontinuing activities that have outlived their usefulness.

198. Close to 1,000 posts were eliminated in the 1998-1999 programme budget. Three departments were consolidated into one, while one department was re-established as an independent entity. In addition, I set up a human resources task force, which conducted an intensive review of the critical human resources issues facing the Organization. Its recommendations will improve the Organization's ability to evaluate its human resources needs more effectively, greatly accelerate the recruitment process, introduce better career planning and establish ongoing staff training programmes to ensure that staff skills respond to changing demands. Creating a results-oriented, high-performance Organization requires increased investment in human resources. Targeted learning and development programmes are being made available to staff at all levels throughout the Secretariat. Changes in the Performance Appraisal System and other initiatives are indispensable elements in our efforts to introduce a results-based work culture.

199. Every permanent mission to the United Nations in New York is now connected to the United Nations via the Internet, and is thus able to access the United Nations Web site and all documents on the optical disk system. On-line virtual meetings are supplementing video conferencing, thereby reducing the need for travel and providing greater flexibility for meeting arrangements. Beginning-to-end electronic document management systems and other software are facilitating the transition towards a paperless office environment. These moves towards an electronic United Nations will be expanded in the future.

200. In solidifying and further advancing management reforms, the Department of Management will have to address a number of concerns. First and foremost is the need to ensure the full support and participation of all staff members in the reform initiatives. During the period of transition, the Department's primary challenge will be to guarantee that sufficient time and resources are invested in maintaining staff capacity, productivity and morale. Accordingly, adequate staff development opportunities and attractive conditions of service must be ensured. Continuing support by Member States for my management initiatives will greatly facilitate the Secretariat's efforts in this respect, as their support for flexibility, managerial initiative and responsive adjustments in the implementation of programmes will speed up the implementation of managerial reform and the delivery of mandated programmes.

201. The financial situation and outlook for the Organization during the past year have remained at best unchanged. As in previous years, projections for 1998 indicate that the Organization's combined cash reserves will drop further, to about $577 million, from $669 million at the end of 1997, the regular budget portion again showing a sizeable deficit. While the level of unpaid assessments has remained relatively constant, a further deterioration in the pattern of payments has occurred because previously prompt payers are delaying their payments more and more. As a result, less cash is available and obligations exceed cash balances. With a decreasing level of peacekeeping activity, the future availability of peacekeeping cash to bail out the regular budget cash deficit is in increasing doubt. Thus, the Organization's cash position is weak and getting weaker.

Legal affairs

202. The Office of Legal Affairs continues to provide a unified central legal service to the Secretary-General, the Secretariat and the other principal organs of the United Nations and the Member States. Legal research services were provided to a number of bodies involved in the legislative process, in particular the two Commissions for which the Office serves as secretariat: the International Law Commission and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. Legal assistance was also provided for meetings of a large number of law-making bodies and conferences.

203. The Office of Legal Affairs participated in the drafting of a number of legal instruments, including the directive for the development of United Nations rules of engagement for military personnel and codes of conduct for staff members and other United Nations personnel. Advice was also provided on drafting a number of conventions and international instruments, including the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines and the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

204. The Office also advised States at the post-legislative stage, assisting them in implementing the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and in the negotiating of additional international legal instruments compatible with that Convention.

205. Assistance was provided in the preparation and drafting of international agreements between the United Nations and other international organizations and institutions - for example, a relationship agreement with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and a draft cooperation agreement with the provisional secretariat of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. The Office also assisted in the conclusion of status-of-forces agreements between the United Nations and host States.

206. Another key activity of the Office of Legal Affairs was the negotiation of contracts, leases and other legal transactions of a private law nature which involve the Organization. The Office also played an essential role in devising major reforms in United Nations procurement procedures and developed a regime of limited liability in respect of third-party claims arising out of peacekeeping activities. The Office acted for the Organization in the settlement of claims brought either by the United Nations or against it, in particular commercial claims arising out of peacekeeping activities.

207. The Office of Legal Affairs represented the Organization before the two international tribunals. One case concerned the appearance of the former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda before the International Tribunal for Rwanda. Another involved requests made in the course of proceedings before the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for access to United Nations documentation.

208. Advice was provided to United Nations organs and bodies to assist them in discharging their roles in the resolution of international disputes. For example, legal assistance was given to the group of experts whom I asked to investigate the Scottish legal system in order to devise a solution to the continuing problems arising out of the Lockerbie tragedy. Non-United Nations bodies, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, were also assisted.

209. Legal instruments were prepared to ensure that the activities of the Organization were carried out within their proper legal limits, an example being the elaboration of a draft Secretary-General's bulletin on fundamental principles and rules of international humanitarian law applicable to United Nations forces in situations of armed conflict.

210. The Office began implementing its redesigned information programme aimed at promoting understanding of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and thereby ensuring its consistent and effective application. Significant improvements were also made in the Office's publication programme. The production backlog of several regularly produced publications was eliminated, and new publications include an analytical guide to the work of the International Law Commission, a summary of the judgments and advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice and a complete index to the legal opinions appearing in the United Nations Juridical Yearbook. An audio-visual library in international law was established for lending to Governments and educational institutions.

211. In the year ahead, the Office of Legal Affairs intends to take advantage of the substantial recent increase in activity around the world aimed at reforming and modernizing commercial law by helping guide that activity in the direction of coordination, harmonization and unification of the laws of international trade. Yet another challenge of immediate concern to the Office will be to refine procedures and practices for coping, fairly and efficiently, with the increased number of requests for documents and other evidence expected to flow from the fast-growing workload of the two international tribunals.

Project services

212. The United Nations Office for Project Services provides implementation and management services to projects funded by United Nations organizations and programmes. Designed as an entirely self-financed and demand-driven organization, the Office functions like a business, yet in its operations it fully respects the values embodied in the Charter of the United Nations. It is now an important means for outsourcing inside the United Nations system. Demand for its services has been steadily increasing.

213. In 1997, the Office for Project Services delivered $463 million in services and goods worldwide and administered the disbursement of $151 million of loans by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to 63 countries. The Office has executed, or assisted in the national execution of, UNDP projects in all its focus areas. Contracted services span governance and poverty-alleviation programmes, environment programmes, and social rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction initiatives in 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Haiti and Somalia.

214. In the framework of a 15-year-long partnership with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, the Office for Project Services continues to participate in the implementation of a large portion of drug control programmes. New partnerships are being forged between the Office and other United Nations bodies, such as the Department of Political Affairs, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. On behalf of the Department of Political Affairs, the Office set up mobile investigation teams and offices throughout Guatemala to enable the Clarification Commission to prepare a database on human rights violations, as agreed in the Guatemala Peace Agreements. The Office's Mine Action Unit is assisting in the design and management of mine-clearance programmes, notably in Croatia and Iraq.

215. For three consecutive years, the United Nations Office for Project Services has been able to operate successfully in accordance with the self-financing principle, generating enough income in implementation and supervision fees to cover all administrative expenses and to maintain a financial reserve at the prescribed level.

216. This performance is the result of the Office's own reform efforts. In addition to introducing value-for-money contracting, it has striven to lower costs and to improve the quality of its services by means of decentralization. Offices have been opened in Kuala Lumpur, Geneva and Copenhagen, as well as sub-offices in Nairobi and San Salvador. A new office was established in 1997 in Abidjan, initially devoted to servicing rural development projects financed or co-financed under IFAD loans in western and central Africa.

Accountability and oversight

217. In its fourth year of existence, the Office of Internal Oversight Services has significantly contributed to my reform programme. Its activities have covered all offices, from New York and Geneva to Nairobi and Vienna, the regional commissions, and many separately administered funds and programmes.

218. Special emphasis was placed this past year on ways in which the United Nations monitors improvements in its operations and reform initiatives. In addition to auditing all peacekeeping operations, the Office of Internal Oversight Services reviewed the programme administration of the headquarters of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its field activities in 14 countries. The lessons learned from the liquidation and closure of peacekeeping missions in Haiti, Liberia and the former Yugoslavia have now been institutionalized, and UNHCR procedures for the selection and supervision of implementing partners - the Governments and non-governmental organizations that are responsible for roughly 40 per cent of UNHCR annual programme expenditures - have been made more effective.

219. Management audits have become a highly effective oversight mechanism. For example, a management audit of the personnel recruitment process of the Office of Human Resources Management showed that it was expensive and time-consuming (with the average recruitment taking an incredible 460 days to complete), but that the Office was moving towards streamlining its practices. Similarly, a management audit of security at United Nations Headquarters found that this essential function was accorded a relatively low priority, and was neither adequately staffed nor funded. The Office of Internal Oversight Services recommended the allocation of additional capital funds to enhance the physical security of the United Nations premises, as well as a number of other security measures.

220. Guidelines on programme monitoring and evaluation were issued by the Office of Internal Oversight Services in November 1997, setting out the managerial elements of programme monitoring and evaluation that should be in place in each department and office. Training workshops and other services to help implement the guidelines are being established; the first workshop was held by ESCAP in December.

221. In-depth evaluations of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division were completed. Reviews of the implementation of recommendations adopted by the General Assembly three years ago on the start-up phase of peacekeeping operations and on UNEP were also undertaken. The Committee for Programme and Coordination reviewed those reports, as well as a report on strengthening the role of evaluation in departments and offices of the United Nations, endorsing all their recommendations. The programme management evaluation of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division was also conducted. It was found that the programme has become less focused and priorities are not given sufficient attention. The Division immediately accepted the findings of the Office of Internal Oversight Services and its recommendations.

222. The Office also prepared my recent report on programme performance of the United Nations for the biennium 1996-1997, which reflects the extent of implementation of outputs identified in the programme budget. It indicates which programmed activities were modified during the biennium and which new activities were introduced, while highlighting the reasons for the non-implementation of programmed activities. Despite the financial constraints and the consequently high average personnel vacancy rate of 13 per cent, the balance sheet of the Organization in terms of output was largely positive: 80 per cent of mandated activities are implemented.

223. A follow-up review of the actions taken by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in response to the recommendations made by the Office of Internal Oversight Services in a report to the General Assembly of August 1995 revealed that the Field Administration and Logistics Division had taken appropriate and corrective action to address the concerns raised by the Office.

224. In its drive to increase accountability, the Office has also played a valuable role in helping to bring to justice a number of cases of fraud perpetrated against the Organization. One case involved a senior staff member and a sum of some $600,000; others have involved outside contractors.

225. In the coming year, the Office will continue to support my efforts to reform and restructure the Secretariat in New York and major offices and programmes around the world. The focus will be on the restructuring of United Nations offices at Nairobi, as well as the reform of personnel recruitment and management, and the delivery of common services. A comprehensive review of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia will also be conducted.

226. In short, the critical institutional infrastructure that makes it possible for the United Nations to serve its clientele has undergone considerable change and innovation. Vital reforms in personnel policy must still be undertaken, but the Organization is more responsive, more efficient and more accountable than it was only a few short years ago.

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