Statement by Mr. Keisuke Fukuda
First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations

Agenda item 141: United Nations common system

 Main Part of the 71st Session of the Fifth Committee
Of the United Nations General Assembly
27 October 2016

 

 

Madam Chair,

 

          At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation to Mr. Kingston Papie Rhodes, Chair of the International Civil Service Commission; Mr. Johannes Huisman, Director of the Programme Planning and Budget Division; and Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, for introducing their respective reports.

 

Madam Chair,

 

          Japan has expressed its support for the goal of the Common System; namely, to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the conditions of service for all staff of all participating organizations. My delegation continues to believe that the United Nations’ greatest asset is its staff. The Common System of compensation should be transparent, fair, simple and sustainable in order to maintain the highest motivation and confidence of the staff.

 

          In this regard, my delegation recognizes with pleasure that the Commission has started to undertake a comprehensive review of the compensation package of the National Professional Officer, General Service and related categories after the conclusion of its review of the Professional and higher categories. We agree with the observation of the Commission on the necessity to review the apparent overlap of functions between categories and to conduct further analysis on the current practice of nationalizing staff functions. We request the commission to undertake these reviews in a timely manner.

 

Madam Chair,

 

          Consistent with the contractual framework adopted by the Commission (A/60/30), the General Assembly decided to introduce to the United Nations Secretariat a simplified and streamlined contractual arrangement that would better serve operational requirements and ensure transparency, fairness and consistency in the treatment of staff. Since the contractual reform took effect on 1 July 2009, the percentage of fixed-term appointments has dramatically increased. We request the Commission to analyze the impact of contractual reform.

 

          My delegation’s position is that we basically respect the unanimous agreement of the technical body of the Commission. However, with respect to the introduction of end-of-service severance pay, we would like to point out the lack of consistency among human resources policies. According to the Administrative Instruction of the United Nations Secretariat, a former staff member will be ineligible for reemployment on the basis of a temporary appointment for a period of 31 days following separation. This means that a staff member has no choice but to receive this separation payment since he/she is not allowed to be appointed to a temporary position even if he/she is eager to continue to serve at the United Nations. While we understand the thought behind this limitation, it is our view that the Commission and member organizations should harmonize unemployment benefit policy with reemployment policy.

 

Madam Chair,

 

          Finally, my delegation would again like to express its support for the Commission, as well as our sincere hope that it will continue to play a key role in guiding all entities under the Common System towards more coherent and effective management. We would like to be kept informed of any significant challenges it faces, and we intend to participate actively in all constructive discussions on how to surmount them.

 

I thank you, Madam Chair.