Sixty-first session * A/61/150. Items 46, 110, 114, 115, 120, 121, 130, 145 and 148 of the provisional agenda* Integrated and coordinated implementation and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations Programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007 Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations Human resources management Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations Financing of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara United Nations reform: measures and proposals Investing in people Report of the Secretary-General Addendum Reforming the Field Service category: Investing in meeting the human resources requirements of United Nations peace operations in the twenty-first century Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 58/257 on the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on reforming the Field Service category in United Nations peace operations. The analysis and proposals presented in the report build on work begun by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations on the basis of the recommendations contained in the report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (A/55/305-S/2000/809). They represent the outcome of a comprehensive review of the Field Service category in the context of the evolving operational human resources requirements of the Organization. They also represent the culmination of the experience and assessment of the projected medium-term and rapid deployment requirements of United Nations peace operations to establish the baseline Secretariat staffing resources needed to meet operational requirements identified by the Secretary-General in his vision of human resources management reform outlined in his report entitled “Investing in the United Nations: for a stronger Organization worldwide” (A/60/692 and Corr.1). The General Assembly is requested to approve a framework of 2,500 career civilian positions in United Nations peace operations, funded against the approved budgets of authorized peacekeeping operations and special political missions, for the recruitment and management of staff dedicated to the support of United Nations peace operations. The General Assembly is further requested to approve the measures proposed in the present report to address the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit in its report on reforming the Field Service category (A/57/78), as further elaborated in the report of the Secretary-General on investing in people (proposals 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 22) (A/61/255). That report has been prepared in response to General Assembly resolution 60/260. I. Introduction 1. Over the past sixty years, the role of the United Nations has evolved to keep pace with global political, economic and social developments. Of necessity, the nature of the work of the staff of the Organization and where they perform their duties have likewise evolved from a largely static, headquarters and regionally based structure to a dynamic field-based arena. The number of field staff now exceeds the combined number of staff serving at the United Nations headquarters duty stations and regional commissions. Staff serving in peacekeeping and special political missions (hereinafter called “United Nations peace operations”) are currently deployed in 31 field locations. The vast majority of these staff work in highly volatile post-conflict situations, usually stationed far away from family and operating under security threats, hardship and stressful conditions. 2. The nature of peacekeeping has itself changed significantly since the early 1990s, moving from traditional peacekeeping observer operations to larger, multidimensional mandates incorporating responsibilities in the areas of civil affairs, rule of law, governance, human rights, child protection, disarmament, demobilization and integration of ex-combatants and security sector reform. More recently, the doctrine of integrated peacekeeping operations has evolved to incorporate strategic oversight of the post-conflict reconstruction and development and other activities of a United Nations country team. The special representative of the Secretary-General is often therefore responsible for coordinating a holistic response to provide the “time and space” for the necessary political process, establish or re-establish the rule of law and good governance and undertake the post-conflict reconstruction and development activities critical to building a sustainable peace. Missions are being deployed in more difficult, dangerous environments and staff are increasingly working side-by-side with staff of the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system. Member States have also mandated that peacekeeping missions be deployed within 30 or 90 days of the adoption of a resolution establishing a traditional or complex peace operation, respectively, thereby creating a rapid deployment requirement specific to peacekeeping. 3. Delivering highly complex Security Council mandates, managing within the complicated United Nations regulatory framework and working in the rapid pace of the operational environment of United Nations peace operations demand that leaders, managers and technical personnel have United Nations experience and be capable of handling large, complex operations with increasingly high budgets. Twenty-first century United Nations peace operations demand that specialists be qualified not only to fulfil fiduciary responsibilities and functions traditionally performed within the global Secretariat but also to perform functions that are currently not commonly found in the Secretariat, such as air operations, air safety, movement control and logistics support. 4. In addition, the dramatic explosion in international intervention in all kinds of conflicts around the world has brought a new range of actors into the international arena. Governments have expanded their own bilateral efforts, while nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, religious groups and not-for-profit enterprises have mobilized and staffed complex operations to alleviate suffering, deliver humanitarian assistance and assist in post-conflict recovery and development. One effect of the dramatic expansion in international work has been the increased competition worldwide for qualified people. 5. The profile of mission staff has also changed over the years. In the past, the majority of mission support needs could be met by career Field Service Officers with several years of experience. The dramatic expansion in the number and complexity of the mandates of post-cold war United Nations peacekeeping operations has created human resources requirements that can no longer be met only by the Field Service category, leading, in turn, to an increasing reliance on staff appointed for service limited to a specific mission. With the exception of the 306 Field Service Officers remaining in service at the time of the writing of the present report, nearly all of the staff serving in current United Nations peace operations hold appointments limited to service at a specific mission or are on assignments or on loan from other United Nations offices. No central managerial mechanism or capacity exists to redeploy staff from one mission to another to meet urgent needs, except for a limited 90-day temporary duty assignment. Some 80 per cent of international field appointees hold appointments of one year or less duration, and nearly half are employed on 300 series appointments of limited duration. The current average turnover rate of international staff at the Professional level in field missions is approximately 30 per cent, and about one half of the Professional staff serving in peacekeeping operations currently have two years or less of experience in the Organization. 6. Coupled with the rigorous competition for qualified experts able to serve in its field operations, the Organization’s inability to recruit, retain and develop sufficient numbers of qualified, experienced and expert staff to perform high pressure functions in difficult and dynamic work environments has resulted in field missions having to rely on technically qualified but inexperienced staff. As numerous audit observations have revealed, this situation has placed field operations at financial and managerial risk. 7. These circumstances dictate that the staffing requirements of peacekeeping be re-examined and redefined. To address comprehensively the letter and spirit of resolution 58/257, in which the General Assembly approved the recommendations contained in the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on reforming the Field Service category (A/57/78), the Secretariat has built on work begun by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations based on the recommendations contained in the report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (A/55/305-S/2000/809, para. 145 (b)). The Secretariat has analysed the experience of the past 10 years and the medium-term projections of human resources requirements. The Secretariat has also conducted a comprehensive review of the Field Service category and of all field staff to identify and address the operational human resources requirements of the Organization’s field operations. These efforts have both contributed to and have been guided by the Secretary-General’s vision of human resources management reform, as outlined in his report entitled “Investing in the United Nations: for a stronger Organization worldwide” (A/60/692 and Corr.1). 8. The comprehensive review has underscored the need to recognize peacekeeping as a core activity of the Organization and to recognize therefore that the Secretariat must comprise a standing capacity of multi-skilled, versatile, competent and mobile staff to meet the baseline medium-term and rapid deployment needs of United Nations peace operations. It has highlighted the need to rebuild the Organization’s human resources framework to strengthen its ability to recruit and retain highly qualified civilian staff to meet the continuing, global staffing needs of peacekeeping operations. The analysis of the experience of the past 10 years of United Nations peace operations and projections over the medium term demonstrate the need for approximately 2,500 expert and experienced career professionals and technical civilian staff in United Nations peace operations. 9. The present report therefore responds to the specific request of the General Assembly in its resolution 58/257 to address the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit on reforming the Field Service category and seeks to address the baseline human resources requirements of current and future United Nations peace operations. It further elaborates the analyses that led to the identification of 2,500 internationally recruited positions in United Nations peace operations envisaged in the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Investing in the United Nations: for a stronger Organization worldwide” (A/60/692, paras. 28 and 29, and Corr.1). It should be read in conjunction with the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Investing in people” (A/61/255). II. Field Service category 10. By its resolution 297 (IV) of 22 November 1949, the General Assembly created the Field Service category to provide support for United Nations peacekeeping operations and special political missions in the following areas: land transport and incidental air transport; radio communication; security of United Nations premises and staff; safe custody of supplies, records and archives; maintenance of order during meetings, hearings and investigations; and guard duties at headquarters duty stations. The category was originally designed to comprise approximately 300 physically fit men between the ages of 22 and 30 with field experience and technical backgrounds, who could be deployed to any part of the world at short notice. 11. The Field Service category has significantly evolved since 1949, from its original occupational groups intended to provide auxiliary support services to a cadre of experienced, qualified staff serving in administration and managerial functions. Those functions include budget, finance, human resources management, procurement, claims, visa and customs arrangements, buildings management and registry and archives. Currently, some 35 per cent of serving Field Service Officers perform administrative and finance functions. 12. Staff were initially recruited to the Field Service category at the entry level for one of five occupations: security; secretary; radio technician; radio operator; and vehicle mechanic. Recruitment for other occupations expanded to include other areas of technical expertise, such as generator mechanic and electrician. The Field Service salary structure initially comprised five levels and was later expanded to include the FS-6 and FS-7 levels. The two highest levels, FS-6 and FS-7, are deemed equivalent to the P-3 and P-4 levels, respectively. Field Service Officers were appointed under 100 series fixed-term contracts that were not limited to service with any specific mission. As was the case for all other regularized Secretariat staff, Field Service Officers were granted permanent appointments prior to the freeze on permanent contracts introduced in 1995. In the event that a mission closed or was downsized, Field Service Officers were placed in another mission, thereby enabling the Organization to retain the skills and experience gained from one mission and apply them to another. Field Service Officers were subject to rapid deployment at short notice (usually within 48 to 72 hours) to any field operation. The movements of Field Service Officers between missions were managed by Headquarters, allowing the Organization to respond quickly and effectively to emerging global staffing requirements and priorities. 13. As international recruits, Field Service Officers have been eligible for expatriate benefits, including post adjustment, assignment grant, shipment of personal effects and education grant. Provisions were made for family members in situations where Field Service Officers were recruited to an established duty station where eligible family members were installed. On initial recruitment, Field Service Officers were normally assigned to a long-established mission, where they received on-the-job training and mentoring from more seasoned Field Service Officers. Later, when called upon to deploy to a non-family duty station, Field Service Officers retained the allowances and benefits of the established, family duty station, where family members remained during the period of the Officer’s assignment to a nonfamily mission. A Headquarters-based joint staff-management review body conducted a yearly promotion review of all eligible Field Service Officers based on performance appraisals, reviews and recommendations by field missions. The conditions of service and contractual arrangements were critical factors that enabled the Organization to meet the rapid deployment and staffing requirements of peacekeeping operations up until the early 1990s. III. Evolving staff requirements 14. The establishment in the early 1990s of such large missions as the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM I and II), the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and the United Nations Mission in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) raised unprecedented needs for civilian staff. The size of the operations and the changing nature of the mandated activities demanded both dramatically increased numbers of civilian staff and different sets of skills. The limited number of staff in the Field Service category and their expertise in a small number of occupational groups could not meet the sudden, extraordinary growth in civilian staffing requirements. At the time, the increased demand was perceived as reflecting a temporary peak in peacekeeping activity. The appointment of limited duration under the 300 series of the Staff Rules was introduced as a contractual mechanism to employ staff to meet that perceived temporary upsurge. Thus, the human resources strategy of the early 1990s emphasized the recruitment of large numbers of staff for limited periods. 15. When the appointment of limited duration was introduced in 1994, the Secretariat had little experience with the new concept of a special mission. Special missions were expected to be short-term, and it was not expected that the lifespan of a mission would extend beyond the four-year maximum duration of the appointment of limited duration. It was not then expected that the Organization would continue to require the services of thousands of civilian peacekeepers. For this reason, the appointment of limited duration became the principal mechanism for the recruitment of all staff in special missions, regardless of the functions to be performed, and recruitment to the Field Service category was concurrently suspended. 16. Experience has shown that the growth in peacekeeping activity has not been a temporary phenomenon and that there is a continuing requirement to retain the services of the majority of mission personnel beyond the four-year limit stipulated under the appointment of limited duration. Many special missions have a lifespan well beyond four years. 17. Experience also demonstrates that United Nations peace operations have a long-term need for a standing capacity of expert, experienced, well-trained and multi-skilled civilian specialists, leaders and managers capable of handling large, complex operations with increasingly high budgets that must be managed within the Organization’s complex regulatory framework. Such a capacity can only be developed over time. Recruits require a number of years of experience, best gained through work at both headquarters duty stations and in the field, so as to be able to operate effectively in the dynamic field environment, in particular at the start-up of a mission, and to be able to provide effective support from Headquarters. 18. Moreover, since late 2003, the peacekeeping doctrine has evolved to incorporate the concept of integrated peace operations, which represent a holistic response to observing and keeping the peace, establishing or re-establishing the rule of law and good governance and undertaking post-conflict reconstruction and development efforts critical to addressing the root causes of the conflict and building a sustainable peace. United Nations peace operations therefore require staff from virtually all areas of the Secretariat, as well as qualified staff for specialist functions that are not traditionally found in the Secretariat, including in the areas of civil affairs, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, air operations, movement control and other specialist logistics functions. Maintaining such a workforce requires contractual instruments and conditions of service that will attract and retain highly qualified personnel, facilitate mobility between Headquarters and field locations and offer career development and management systems that provide individual staff with both a rewarding career and the well-rounded skills and expertise needed to meet evolving operational needs. 19. In addition, as described in the report of the Secretary-General on the civilian rapid deployment roster (A/59/763), experience has shown that with the establishment of rosters of self-nominated volunteers for rapid deployment opportunities was insufficient to meet the requirements for deploying a new mission within 30 or 90 days of adoption of a mandate by the Security Council. 20. In 1994, the Field Service category consisted of 633 Field Service Officers. Through attrition, the number of Field Service Officers has declined to 306 as of August 2006, meaning that career Field Service Officers represent only about 6 per cent of serving international staff in United Nations peace operations. As a result, the Organization has neither sustained its capacity to rapidly deploy highly qualified, expert and experienced staff nor has it developed the capacities required to support the broader needs of United Nations peace operations, as they have evolved. The failure to meet this requirement puts the Organization at managerial and financial risk. IV. Meeting the continuing, global staffing requirements of United Nations peace operations 21. In its report on reforming the Field Service category, the Joint Inspection Unit recognized that the concept of a category of highly mobile field specialists has acquired increased relevance. In recommendation 1 of the report, the Joint Inspection Unit called for a comprehensive proposal on the future composition of the Field Service category. In an effort to address the myriad challenges presented by a rapidly diminishing standing capacity of civilian peacekeepers, chronically high vacancy rates and high turnover of staff, the Secretariat has addressed the reform of the Field Service category in the broadest sense in order to meet the continuing, global staffing requirements of twenty-first century United Nations peace operations. 22. Based on the experience of United Nations peace operations since the early 1990s and on an examination of current trends, a new human resources framework for staffing missions must go beyond the reform of the Field Service category to investing in building an integrated Secretariat staffing capacity that is able to: (a) Meet the baseline staffing requirements of United Nations peace operations; (b) Rapidly deploy staff in sufficient numbers in relevant occupational groups to new or expanding operations; (c) Develop broad organizational knowledge and capacity both to function effectively in United Nations peace operations and to support the operations effectively from Headquarters; (d) Meet projected future Secretariat requirements, both at Headquarters and in the field, for leadership, managerial and technical positions through targeted staff development. 23. The experience gained since the early 1990s and a projection of current trends dictate that the staffing strategy for twenty-first century peace operations must meet the baseline staffing requirements in critical functions to support a minimum of 12 ongoing operations at any one time (two complex, multidimensional/integrated missions; four multidimensional/integrated missions; and six traditional peacekeeping missions). The Organization’s human resources requirements go beyond the reform of the Field Service category to the need to build a standing capacity of 2,500 staff in both the Field Service and the Professional categories. 24. The expansion of operations over the past decade illustrates that the prediction of new operations is an uncertain enterprise and authorized levels of international staff requirements can vary. A study conducted to analyse the staffing levels of the past 10 years in the period following the introduction of the appointment of limited duration showed that the lowest number of international civilian positions in peacekeeping operations was 2,626 in 1998, with the highest authorized level reaching 7,080, in June 2006. Staffing levels for the period from 1996 to 2006 are shown below: Year Staffing Level 1996 3 081 1997 3 524 1998 2 626 1999 2 677 2000 4 977 2001 5 272 2002 5 204 2003 4 729 2004 5 862 2005 6 611 June 2006 7 080 25. The evolution to a field-based Secretariat and integration of peacekeeping as a core organizational activity highlights the need to sustain an experienced and expert staffing capacity to meet both field-based and Headquarters needs in critical functions. Building on the analysis of staffing requirements over the past 10 years and anticipated staffing needs for the medium term, the Secretariat proposes to establish a standing capacity of 2,500 civilian career positions in both the Field Service and Professional categories, including in the occupations listed in the annex to the present report to meet the baseline staffing requirements for peace operations. The baseline capacity would include functions that are: required under the mandates of virtually all peace missions; of a long-term, enduring nature; and, critical to the rapid deployment of new/expanding peace operations. The standing capacity would be subject to rotation and rapid deployment at any time and would be developed over time through training and job assignments to meet future needs for experienced and expert leaders and managers. The standing capacity would perform critical functions including political affairs, civil affairs, legal affairs, communications and public information, administrative (human resources management, finance, budget, procurement and management oversight) and logistics support (transport, aviation, aviation safety, movement control, information technology and communications, engineering, supply), police and military advisory functions, conduct and discipline and thematic policy guidance (e.g., disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, rule of law, gender, HIV/AIDS). 26. Fifty-three per cent of the 2,500 positions would be in the Professional category and 47 per cent in the Field Service category. Overall, approximately 27 per cent of the positions would be in the substantive area, 28 per cent in administration and 65 per cent in logistics functions. The high number of positions in the logistics area is mainly owed to the requirement for technical specialists at the Field Service level. At the Professional level, 51 per cent of all Professional positions would be in the substantive area, 25 per cent in administration and 24 per cent in logistics support. With respect to the distribution of the 2,500 positions by level, 2 per cent would be at the D-1 level, 26 per cent at the P-5/P-4 levels, 25 per cent at the P-3/P-2 levels and 47 per cent at the Field Service level. 27. Given the complexity of the United Nations regulatory framework and the pressures of the operational environment, the continuing, global functions would require not only significant experience, expertise and technical knowledge but also strong leadership and managerial qualities. As such, the functions to be performed by the standing capacity would primarily be at the P-4 through D-1 levels in the Professional category and the FS-5 through FS-7 levels in the Field Service category. A number of P-3 and P-2 positions would be included and would be available for the managed mobility of staff and for successful candidates from the National Competitive Examination, as appropriate. In addition, some highly technical functions required to sustain a reliable rapid deployment capacity would require career staff at the FS-4 level. 28. Positions at the D-2, Assistant Secretary-General and Under-Secretary-General levels would not be included in the proposed standing capacity, and the Secretary-General would continue to exercise personally his authority for appointments to such positions. Seconded, active-duty military and police personnel serving on United Nations contracts limited to a specific mission would likewise not form part of the standing capacity. Although the security, internal oversight (investigations and audit) and human rights occupational groups meet the broad criteria applied in designating baseline requirements of peacekeeping, the 2,500 baseline capacity does not include posts earmarked for these occupational groups, in view of the central role of the Department of Safety and Security, the Office of Internal Oversight Services and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, respectively, in managing staff performing these functions. Collaborative arrangements will be made to ensure that staff performing security, internal oversight and human rights functions will have the possibility to have service with a United Nations peace operation form part of their career development opportunities. 29. To meet higher than baseline needs, the standing capacity would be supplemented by additional staff appointed specifically for service limited to a particular mission and by staff on temporary assignment, loan or secondment from departments and offices, within the Secretariat or within the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system. Short-term recruitments would meet temporary functional requirements for clearly identified periods. Staff recruited for short-term requirements would hold temporary appointments for service limited to a particular mission. 30. Staff selected for the 2,500 peacekeeping positions would be charged against a post in the mission organizational unit in which they were serving; there is thus no intention to add to existing staffing levels. The cost implications related to the establishment of the peacekeeping cadre are included in the overall financial implications for the harmonization of conditions of service for staff serving in field missions, as reflected in the report of the Secretary-General on investing in people. V. Management of career personnel 31. As elaborated in the report of the Secretary-General on investing in people, standard organizational procedures would be applied to the selection of career civilian staff in United Nations peace operations, including review by a joint staff-management central review body, thus addressing recommendation 5 of the report of the Joint Inspection Unit. That recommendation suggested that the procedures and criteria for the recruitment and promotion of Field Service Officers should comply with those applicable to General Service or Professional staff at Headquarters and that efforts should be made to improve gender balance and geographical representation. As agreed at the twenty-seventh session of the Staff Management Coordination Committee in June 2006, as a transitional measure, all serving Field Service Officers would be considered for the new career civilian peacekeeping positions. If selected for a career position, the conditions of service of the career peacekeeping group would apply. Those Field Service Officers not selected for a career position would retain their status as Field Service Officers, including the conditions that their services would not be limited to a particular mission and that they would continue to retain a parent duty station while on assignment to a special, non-family mission. 32. Career peacekeeping staff would be managed and developed in a systematic way to ensure that they possess the skills, experience, competencies and training needed to carry out their duties effectively and remain responsive to evolving operational requirements. As a first step, career models would be developed for all career functions, outlining the skills, education, training, experience and competencies needed. Managerial and technical training programmes would then be designed to articulate the certifications, training and developmental experiences, including the types of assignment and mobility requirements, needed to progress to the higher level. In line with the proposals of the Secretary-General on career development and mobility, as set out in his report on investing in people, managed rotations, including between Headquarters and the field, would allow Secretariat staff the opportunity to gain the developmental experience needed both for higher level positions and for better supporting Headquarters and field activities. Building on strategic human resources planning, this framework represents an essential tool for developing career staff in a deliberate and sustained manner to meet anticipated organizational requirements in United Nations peace operations. 33. The career development and mobility concepts will also address the concerns expressed by the Joint Inspection Unit in recommendation 2 of its report on reforming the Field Service category, in which it requested that training programmes be developed to address the shortage of managerial, supervisory and specialized training skills among Field Service Officers. Mobility and rotation policies will be aligned across the Secretariat and adjusted to reflect hardship and security factors. These measures will also respond to recommendation 4 of the report, in which the Joint Inspection Unit called for the development of a new policy on mobility and rotation. In the meantime, Field Service Officers will also continue to be given opportunities to participate in managerial, supervisory and specialized training programmes. Moreover, as agreed at the twenty-seventh session of the Staff Management Coordination Committee, as a transitional measure and to the extent possible, Field Service Officers would be placed in suitable vacancies in established missions and the mobility of Field Service Officers who remained in established missions for longer than five years would be required, in line with standing Organizational mobility requirements. 34. In line with the reform initiatives set out in proposal 4 of the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Investing in the United Nations: for a stronger Organization worldwide” (A/60/692 and Corr.1) and as set out in section VI of his report on investing in people, all staff recruited for field positions will be appointed under one United Nations staff contract, initially on either a temporary or fixed-term basis. The duration of appointment of both career and supplemental personnel serving in United Nations peace operations will vary depending on the individual’s length of continuous service, as follows: (a) Temporary, for a maximum period of two years; (b) Fixed-term, for six months with extensions up to five years; (c) Continuing, for over five years. 35. Temporary appointments of up to two years could be given to field staff recruited to respond to supplemental and strictly short-term requirements above and beyond the 2,500 baseline staffing capacity. Staff on temporary contracts would need to apply for advertised longer-term positions through a competitive process involving a central review body in order to be appointed under fixed-term appointments for a period of two years or longer, which could be extended subject to satisfactory service and continued need. Upon reaching five years of continuous service, staff would be considered for conversion to a continuing contract against the same criteria as other staff members. The appointments of field staff recruited for service at a specific mission would be limited to service at that mission, whether the staff members were on a temporary, fixed-term or continuing contract. The appointments of staff selected to career positions in United Nations peace operations would not be limited to a particular mission, and they would be included in the Secretariat-wide mobility programme. 36. In proposal 4 of his report on investing in people, the Secretary-General proposes steps to harmonize the conditions of service of Secretariat staff in the field with those of the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system. These steps would address recommendations 3, 4 and 5 of the Joint Inspection Unit report, which called for the concept of a parent duty station to be revisited, the designation of duty stations as family and non-family to be revised, and for measures to be taken to alleviate the strain of field service life on individual staff members and their families. The concerns expressed by the Joint Inspection Unit in recommendation 6 have been addressed through organizational policy, and measures taken to ensure that qualified stress counsellors are available to all staff serving in United Nations peace operations. Field Service Officers will also be included among the categories of staff eligible for the buyout programme, as set out in proposal 22 of the report of the Secretary-General on investing in people. 37. The International Civil Service Commission has decided to establish a working group to review the compensation packages for internationally recruited staff serving in non-family duty stations and to submit proposals for a harmonized approach within the United Nations system to the sixty-fourth session of the Commission, in March 2007. The recommendations of the Commission, which will review the special operations approach, will be submitted to the General Assembly at the second part of its resumed sixty-first session. 38. The proposals included in the present report have been the subject of broad consultations in the context of the working group on people of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, which comprises representatives of all areas of the Department, staff representatives of the Department and Headquarters staff representatives and the President and Vice-President of the Field Staff Union. The proposals regarding conditions of service, including those relating to the transitional and other measures to be applied to Field Service Officers, have been the subject of staff-management consultations within the context of the Staff-Management Coordination Committee and between the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Field Staff Union. VI. Conclusion and recommendations 39. In establishing the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in May 1948, the Security Council took the first step to employ United Nations peacekeeping as a critical instrument in preserving international peace and security. In establishing the Field Service category in 1949, the General Assembly recognized the need for dedicated and skilled staff to meet the identified needs of first generation peacekeeping. Since then, United Nations peacekeeping has continued to evolve, to where it now represents a central, core activity of the Secretariat. While efforts were made to ensure that the role and composition of the Field Service category also evolved to keep pace with the needs of United Nations peacekeeping, the role and composition did not keep pace with the dramatic changes to the role and mandates of United Nations peace operations in the post-cold war period. The baseline requirements for expert and experienced staff to serve in United Nations peace operations have not been met by the human resources strategies developed and applied since the mid-1990s. The failure to sustain a cadre of career civilian peacekeepers in sufficient numbers and in the required range of skills has taken its toll. The Secretariat now finds itself in the untenable position of relying on a relatively transitory staffing complement in United Nations peace operations that, as substantively and technically qualified as it may be, simply does not fully possess the degree of experience and expertise required to work effectively in the complex United Nations regulatory framework and highly operational field environment. Despite active recruitment programmes that have yielded some 2,000 recruitments per year over the past two years, high turnover rates and persistently high vacancy rates demonstrate the failure to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of staff with United Nations experience and expert staff, thus putting the Organization at operational, managerial and financial risk. 40. The proposed creation of a standing capacity of 2,500 established positions in key occupational groups required to support United Nations peace operations is based on an analysis of the evolution of United Nations peacekeeping in the post-cold war period and a projection of human resource needs over the medium term. Success in meeting the mandates entrusted to United Nations peace operations depends in great part on the capacity of the individuals who serve in the field and those who support them from headquarters duty stations. Investing in building an integrated, versatile, mobile, experienced and expert workforce capable of working both at Headquarters and in the field is indispensable to meeting the complex mandates entrusted to our Organization. 41. The General Assembly is requested to approve a framework of 2,500 career civilian positions in United Nations peace operations, funded against the approved budgets of authorized peacekeeping operations and special political missions, for the recruitment and management of staff dedicated to the support of United Nations peace operations. The General Assembly is further requested to approve the measures proposed in the present report to address the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit in its report on reforming the Field Service category, as further elaborated in the report of the Secretary-General on investing in people (proposals 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 22). Annex Occupational groups of standing capacity Administrative functions Budget Claims and board of inquiry Contracts management Finance General administration Medical Operations and planning Personnel Procurement Property control and inventory Receipt and inspection Registry and archives Training Travel and shipping Visa and customs Logistics functions Air operations Aviation safety Contingent-owned equipment Electrical Technician Engineering Equipment Technician Facilities management Generator Technician Geographic Information System Heating, ventilation and air conditioning Information technology Logistics management Movement control Radio Operator Radio Technician Rigger Supply (including warehousing, fuel and rations) Telecommunications Technician Transport management Vehicle dispatch Vehicle Technician Substantive functions Best practices Chief of Staff Civil affairs Conduct and discipline Corrections Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration Gender affairs Head of regional office HIV/AIDS affairs Joint Mission Analysis Centre Judicial affairs Legal affairs Policing functions (training, reform and restructuring professional standards) Political affairs Public information Radio/Video Producer Reports writing Special assistant Spokesperson   sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/61/255/Add.1 sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/61/255/Add.1 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 06-47566 \* MERGEFORMAT 14 \* MERGEFORMAT 15 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 06-47566 United Nations A/61/255/Add.1 General Assembly Distr.: General 22 August 2006 Original: English jobn \* MERGEFORMAT 06-47566 (E) 150906 Barcode \* MERGEFORMAT *0647566*