Director-General's remarks at Ombudsman's Anniversary Panel

Madam Ombudsman
Distinguished Panel Members
Excellencies
Friends and Colleagues:

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to the Palais des Nations. It is a privilege to have with us the United Nations’ Ombudsman, Ms. M. Patricia Durrant. She last visited Geneva in March 2003 on the first of her travels to United Nations Offices away from Headquarters to explain the role of the Ombudsman as a facilitator of informal conflict resolution and an agent for change. We are glad to have her back with us today.

I am also pleased to welcome three other prominent Ombudsmen – from academia, the private sector and an international organization – who will share with us their extensive experience in informal conflict resolution and their thoughts on how we may improve further relationships in the workplace.

As you know, this year we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the United Nations. But, we also mark another milestone, that of the 2nd anniversary of the establishment of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman. The creation of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman is an important element of the Secretary-General’s ongoing reform efforts aimed at strengthening our Organization and its ability to respond effectively to the challenges that it faces. The Office reflects the Secretary-General’s determination to foster excellence in our workforce by improving the way we work together, thereby making the United Nations more efficient in its efforts.

The system for resolving staff disputes and disciplinary matters has been an issue of concern in recent years. Since its establishment, the Ombudsman’s Office has complemented our existing internal justice system by offering staff and management – at all levels – an alternative avenue for dispute prevention and resolution. It provides an informal channel for mediation and issue resolution and as such it forms a central part of the process of organizational reform.

I am pleased to note that a large number of staff throughout the United Nations Secretariat have availed themselves of the Ombudsman’s services on a range of topics. This demonstrates the trust and confidence that staff place in the Ombudsman to act as an impartial and objective advocate for the fair and equitable resolution of problems that may occur in the Organization.

This is particularly important in view of the findings of the Organizational Integrity Survey that was carried out in 2004. We are all committed to promoting ethical conduct and strengthening integrity – one of our core values – in our daily work. In the Survey, staff expressed a high level of satisfaction with their current work. We should all be encouraged by this result. Nevertheless, another important finding of the survey is that staff perceive the disciplinary process to be unevenly applied and that the outcome of the process is generally not well known.

As you know, I have established, here at UNOG, a Joint Consultative Working Group on the Organizational Integrity Initiative to provide an opportunity for dialogue and to help identify issues relating to the Integrity Perception Survey and ensure appropriate follow-up discussion and action. This Working Group complements other initiatives throughout the Organization to strengthen our working practices.

Our panel discussion today is therefore most timely. I am certain that this afternoon’s exchanges will enable us to better understand the value of the Ombudsman institution in the United Nations. The lessons learnt from the first two years of its existence – and from other similar institutions in other organizations – will no doubt help us to make even better use of it. As we strengthen our ability to respond to the concerns of staff and to resolve conflicts, where necessary, we also develop our ability to prevent conflicts and disputes from arising in the first place.

Enhancing our working environment and creating a staff culture that enables staff members to contribute fully and efficiently is a priority. Only in this way can we effectively carry out our mandate.

Thank you very much.