CCISUA’S XVIII ^th General Assembly

Shuibao LIU and Ridha Zargouni

The Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions & Associations (CCISUA) held its XVIIIth General Assembly at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya from 9 to 13 June 2003. ICTR (Inter- national Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) Staff Union was warmly received as its new member; the UNESCO Staff Union, after two years of absence, came back to CCISUA.

“Staff management consultation/SMCC issues” was one the most important agenda items. After heated discussions and debates, the Assembly endorsed CCISUA’s resolution on Staff Management Consultation adopted at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), which had been held earlier this year in New York, and the EGM “Strategy for Action”.

The report of this Assembly stated that “All members of CCISUA will attend SMCC only when all previous SMCC agreements have been implemented. A time frame of six months is given as a reasonable demand.” (Once finalized, both the report and relevant EGM documents could be viewed from “Staff Council Activities” on UNOG’s Bulletin Board in Geneva and should be available in other duty stations either on the similarly bulletin boards or hard copies in respective staff councils/associations).

Another important issue debated at the meeting was how to strengthen CCISUA itself. For this purpose, a working group consisting of Staff Unions of ICTR, UNESCO and UNOG would be mandated to draft a union official “Bill of Rights” as well as the “Draft Consultation Policy”. Another working group consisting of Staff Unions of UNOG, UNON, UNESCO & NY would be commissioned to receive submissions from CCISUA members on suggestions of changes to the Statute. It was agreed to allow three months (end of September 2003) for members to submit proposals and thereafter three months (end of December 2003) for the working group to complete a new Statute. Meanwhile, the CCISUA Paper entitled “Centre of Excellence” would be circulated to all Staff Representatives Committees for consideration and implementation.

On the issue of cooperation with FICSA, the Assembly received a message from the latter, expressing the same desire. Consequently the Assembly agreed to pursue unified positions on certain staff issues, for example a common position paper between FICSA and CCISUA encompassing all issues relevant to ICSC.

Concerning the CCISUA Scholarship Fund, the Assembly decided to recommend the transfer of the funds to the “Nobel Peace Prize” Scholarship Fund and to seek a position of membership in the relevant committee. If the Secretary-General accepts the transfer, CCISUA would close its Scholarship Fund.

On the issue of internal justice system, the Assembly agreed to support the establishment of an Ombudsman in Geneva.

The Assembly discussed many other important issues and reached agreements. For their details, please see the above-mentioned report and relevant documents.

The Assembly also elected CCISUA’s following new Bureau:

All CCISUA’s members present at its XVIII General Assembly felt that the session had been conducted with a positive and friendly spirit, thanks to the able leadership of the Chairman, Mr. Markandey Raï, President of Nairobi Staff Union and all the colleagues in his Union. This spirit that was recognized by the participants as the “Nairobi Spirit” enabled a constructive atmosphere to prevail, allowing the session to focus on substance while respecting differences of each and all. Furthermore, they also considered that the presence of UNON’s Director-General, Dr. Toepher, at CCISUA’s working session in Nairobi was an inspiring example to all other Heads of Agencies of the United Nations Organisations. They thought that such an attitude would help strengthen good relationship between Staff and Management, and hoped that a similar harmonious spirit would continue at CCISUA’s next General Assembly to be held in Beirut.