The United Nations Secretariat is one of the six major organs of the United
Nations the General Assembly; the Security Council; the Economic and
Social Council; the defunct Trusteeship Council; and the International Court of
Justice. The Secretariat is the United Nations' executive arm. The Secretariat
has an important role in setting the agenda for the UN's deliberative and
decision making bodies of the UN, and the implementation of the decision of
these bodies. Secretary General, who is appointed by the General Assembly, is
the head of the secretariat. The strength of secretariat staff, which is
staffed by nationals of member states, has increased from 1,549 in 1949 to
43,747, in 2011. Mandate of the UN Secretariat
The mandate of the secretariat is a wide one. Dag Hammerskjold , the United
Nations second Secretary General, described its power as follows: "The
United Nations is what member nations made it, but within the limits set by
government action and government cooperation, much depends on what the
Secretariat makes it... [it] has creative capacity. It can introduce new
ideas. It can, in proper forms, take initiatives. It can put before member
governments findings which will influence their actions". The United
Nations Department of Political Affairs, which has a role analogous to a ministry
of foreign affairs, is a part of the secretariat. So is the department of
United Nations Peace Keeping Operations. The secretariat is the main source of
economic and political analysis for the General Assembly and Security Council,
it administers operations initiated by UN's deliberative organs, operates
political missions, it prepares assessments that precede peacekeeping
operations, it appoints the heads of peacekeeping operations, it conducts
surveys and research, and communicates with non-state actors such as media and
non-government organizations, it is responsible for publishing all of the
treaties and international agreements. Staffing
The Secretariat has 44,000 international civil servants. Eligibility for civil
service is based on a UN-administered examination offered worldwide, in
addition to a competitive application process. Qualifications for membership
include "the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity",
according to the UN Charter. Staff-members are appointed by the
Secretary-General alone and are assigned to the organs of the United Nations.
Staff members are appointed on a temporary or permanent basis, under the
discretion of the Secretary-General. During staff recruitment, geographical
variety is an especially prominent selection factor in order to accurately
reflect the scope of member states present in the UN. The charter states
that staff members are responsible "only to the organization" and are prohibited
from any action or influence that would suggest affiliation with a government or
organization outside the UN. Headquartered in New York, the
Secretariat functions through duty stations in Addis Ababa, Bangkok,
Beirut, Geneva, Nairobi, Santiago and Vienna, in addition to offices all over
the world. Status of Women in the Secretariat
Representation of women in the United Nations, particularly at managerial and
decision-making positions at the D-1 level and above, has been a United
Nations General Assembly concern and goal since 1970. Since 1984, the UN
Secretariat, in order to achieve early Gender Equality, issued several five
year “Action Plans" , including Strategic Plans, to improve the status
of women in the Secretariat. These plans, however, did not have the desired
impact, and progress in achieving gender parity remained slow.
In December 1994, the UN General Assembly “disappointment” that its
Gender Equality target were not met, urged the Secretary General to
prioritize the recruitment and promotion of women to reach to 50/50
representation in D1 and above posts by 2000. In Feb 2004, gender Parity target
for the secretariat was once again revised to 2015. In 2009, despite the
plans, and GA resolutions, the representation of women in the UN
Secretariat remained well below parity at 29.2 percent.
= Representation of Women at Decision making levels=
The representation of Women's in the UN secretariat, at the D1 level, in 2000,
was 30.3 percent. Instead of increasing, in the next decade, the representation
of women in the secretariat decreased to 26.7 percentIn December 2011, the
representation of women in the Secretariat at the D1 level was 27.4
percent, an increase of .6 percent over a two-year period. At the current rate
of progress, it is estimated that gender parity at the D-1 to higher levels will
be achieved after 102 years. At D2 level The representation of women in
2011 was 24.4 percent = Special Measures for the Achievement
Of Gender Equality= To ensure that the Gender Equality
target mandated by the General Assembly are met, the Secretariat, in September
1999, promulgated Administrative Instruction(AI) on “Special Measures for
the Achievement Of Gender Equality”( ST1999/9 ) Gender Equality A/I echoes
the goals of, and is in conformity with, mandate of Articles 8 and 101 of the
Charter of the United Nations, and Article 4 paragraph 1 of the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
0n 4 September 2012, Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations,
in his Annual Reports to the General Assembly, titled "Improvement of the
status of women in the United Nations system" stated that the aim of Special
Measures was to ensure "gender balance in recruitment and promotion". and that
Special measures would remain in effect until the “goal of gender parity is
achieved", and sustained for a period of time.” The Secretary General in his
Recommendations to the GA noted that the “ United Nations Secretariat, pursuant
to the decision of the Policy Committee chaired by the Secretary-General” is to
“ensure the effective implementation of special measures for gender equality.
These measures include mandatory selection of equally or better qualified
women candidates…” Secretary General
The Secretary-General's duties include helping resolve international disputes,
administering peacekeeping operations, organizing international conferences,
gathering information on the implementation of Security Council
decisions, and consulting with member governments regarding various
initiatives. Key Secretariat offices in this area include the Office of the
Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations. The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security
Council any matter that, in his or her opinion, may threaten international
peace and security. Organization
The Secretariat is divided into offices and departments. The hierarchy within
each is as follows: Office: a minimum of 20 high level
professionals under the supervision of a D-2 staff member, or in few cases an
Assistant Secretary General or Under Secretary General
Division: a minimum of 15 high level professionals under the supervision of a
D-2 staff member Service: a minimum of 8 high level
professionals under the supervision of a D-1 staff member
Section: a minimum of 4 professionals under the supervisions of a P-4 or a P-5
staff member Unit: a minimum of 4 positions under the
supervision of a chief = Offices=
Executive Office of the Secretary-General
United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services
United Nations Office of Legal Affairs United Nations Office for Disarmament
Affairs United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs United Nations Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime United Nations Office of the High
Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing
Countries and Small Island Developing States
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
= Departments= United Nations Department of Political
Affairs United Nations Department of
Peacekeeping Operations United Nations Department of Economic
and Social Affairs United Nations Department of Field
Support United Nations Department of Management*
United Nations Department of General Assembly and Conference Management
United Nations Department of Public Information
United Nations Department of Safety and Security
UNITED Nation Mine Action Services = Offices Away from Headquarters=
United Nations Office at Geneva United Nations Office at Nairobi
United Nations Office at Vienna = UN Regional Commissions=
Bangkok, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Beirut, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Addis Ababa, Economic Commission for Africa
Geneva, Economic Commission for Europe Santiago, Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean Reforms
Since its creation, the Secretariat has undergone extensive reforms. On 21 March
2005, Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposed several reforms for the
Secretariat. He announced his intentions to appoint a Scientific Adviser, create
a peacebuilding support office, establish a cabinet-style
decision-making mechanism, and strengthen the mediation function. He
also asked the General Assembly to appropriate funds for a one-time staff
buyout; to work with him in revising budgetary and human resources rules; to
grant the Secretary-General more managerial authority and flexibility; to
strengthen the Office of Internal Oversight Services; and "to review all
mandates older than five years to see whether the activities concerned are
still genuinely needed or whether the resources assigned to them can be
reallocated in response to new and emerging challenges".
See also Dag Hammarskjöld Library
International Court of Justice The Four Nations Initiative on reform of
governance and management issues in the UN Secretariat
UN Economic and Social Council UN General Assembly
UN Headquarters UN Security Council
UN Trusteeship Council United Nations Interpretation Service
References External links
UN Secretariat Kofi Annan: strengthening the United
Nations, in larger freedom, 21 March 2005.
United States Department of State – UN Division
The Four Nations Initiative