28 March 2001

1. FICSA President Bernard P. Grandjean, General Secretary André J. Heitz and Research and Liaison Officer Anne Marie Pinou met with key decision-makers in New York (19 to 23 March) to promote the rights and interests of the staff of the United Nations system. They were supported in this exercise by Ms. Judey Austin, Executive Committee Member for the Americas .

2. The main items addressed were:

   The safety and security of staff, particularly with regard to the follow-up to the petition - signed by over 14,000 staff - requesting a special session of the Security Council on this issue;

   Human resources management reform in the United Nations;

   The review of the mandate, composition and functioning of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC).

3. The advocacy campaign coincided with the resumed 55th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which began on 12 March 2001, and the second round of discussions on human resources management.

4. The FICSA delegation met with representatives of the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Jamaica, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America; and the European Union.

5. After a first meeting with the Fifth Committee representative from the United States of America, the FICSA delegation was invited to meet with Ambassador Hays (U.S. Ambassador for UN Reform) for an extensive discussion on all items mentioned above.

6. The FICSA delegation paid a visit to Ms. Rafiah Salim, Assistant Secretary-General, Office of Human Resources Management. As a result of the discussions on two elements of the Secretary-General's proposals for human resources management reform, namely contracts and mobility, the FICSA President wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Informals of the Fifth Committee, Mr. Mohammad Reza Salamat (Islamic Republic of Iran), to state that, as further explained by Ms. Salim and taken at face value, those proposals merited discussion.

7. The FICSA delegation also met with Mr. Patrizio Civili, Secretary of the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination (ACC), to learn more about the arrangements made for the functioning of the High Level Committee on Management (HLCM).

8. The FICSA delegation paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Reinhart Helmke, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

9. The FICSA delegation met with Ms. Diane Russler, Deputy Security Coordinator.

10. Finally, the General Secretary was invited to meet with the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Staff Council.