Composition of the staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Commission on Human Rights,

Recalling that, in its report to the Special Commission of the Economic and Social Council (E/CN.4/1988/85 and Corr.1), the Commission on Human Rights reaffirmed that the paramount consideration for employing staff at every level was the need for the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity and was convinced that this objective was compatible with the principle of equitable geographical distribution and took into account Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling also Part II, paragraphs 11 and 17, of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (A/CONF.157/23), in which the World Conference on Human Rights requested the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to provide sufficient human, financial and other resources to the Centre for Human Rights to enable it effectively, efficiently and expeditiously to carry out its activities, while recognizing the necessity for restructuring United Nations human rights machinery, in accordance with its real needs,

Taking into account the need to pay particular attention to the recruitment of personnel for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner from developing countries, thus improving the present staff composition, based on a more equitable geographical distribution,

Noting with concern that the report of the High Commissioner submitted pursuant to resolution 1998/46 (E/CN.4/1999/97) concerning the geographical composition and the functions of the Office staff clearly reflects that one region is unequivocally over-represented in the staff composition,

Expressing its concern again over the under-representation of the developing countries on the staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, particularly bearing in mind the criteria of equitable geographical distribution,

1. Takes note of the report of the High Commissioner on the composition of the staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (E/CN.4/1999/97);

2. Reiterates its support of the statement of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Third Committee at the fifty-second session of the General Assembly, in which she expressed her willingness to ensure a good geographical balance and a sense of bringing together North and South in a joint commitment to human rights, in the process of filling key senior positions in the Office as well as the post of Deputy High Commissioner;

3. Reaffirms that Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations should guide the Secretary-General in his policy for recruiting the staff of the Organization, mindful of the criteria of equitable geographical distribution;

4. Considers that it is necessary, in the process of restructuring the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to take urgent, concrete and immediate action to change the currently prevailing geographical distribution of staff of the Office in favour of a more equitable distribution of posts, in accordance with Article 101 of the Charter, particularly by recruiting personnel from developing countries, including to key posts;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to ensure that particular attention is paid to recruiting personnel from developing countries for the existing vacancies and for other additional posts in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure an equitable geographical distribution, giving particular priority in this regard to recruitment for high-level and Professional posts and to the recruitment of women;

6. Requests once again the Secretary-General, in signing agreements with countries as a result of which Junior Professional Officers are provided to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to urge those countries to ensure the allocation of additional financial resources to guarantee that personnel from developing countries are able to work as Junior Professional Officers, with a view to conforming with the principle of equitable geographical distribution;furthermore, a permanent mechanism must be established, by virtue of which every Junior Professional Officer from a donor country who joins the Office will be matched by another Junior Professional Officer from a developing country;

7. Emphasizes the importance of openly advertising all posts, including ad hoc appointments for field operations, including the dissemination of detailed job descriptions among all States prior to filling those posts;

8. Requests the High Commissioner to ensure that Junior Professional Officers are not given sensitive political assignments where their impartiality may be questioned;

9. Reaffirms the importance of ensuring universality, objectivity and non-selectivity in the consideration of human rights issues, and requests the High Commissioner to continue ensuring that the fulfilment of her mandate and that of the Office is guided by these principles;

10. Stresses that the staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights need to continue maintaining their neutrality and fully respecting the independence of the work of all mechanisms of the Commission on Human Rights and the treaty bodies, while providing support to their functioning;

11. Requests the High Commissioner to submit a comprehensive report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Commission at its fifty-sixth session, which should include:

(a) The composition of the staff of the Office, organized by the five United Nations regional groups established by the General Assembly (African States, Asian States, Latin America and Caribbean States, Western Europe and Other States and Eastern Europe States) and reflecting, inter alia, grade, nationality and gender, including with regard to non-regular staff;

(b) Measures adopted to improve the current situation and their results;

(c) Recommendations to improve the current situation;

12. Decides to consider this matter under the same agenda item at its fifty-sixth session.

58^th meeting
28 April 1999

[Adopted by a roll-call vote of 34 votes to 16, with 3 abstentions. See chap. XVIII.]