VZCZCXRO7393
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUCNDT #1953/01 2851648
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121648Z OCT 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0433
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA
SUBJECT: UN OVERSIGHT: OIOS RECOMMENDS IMPROVEMENTS TO 
MANAGEMENT OF REGIONAL COMMISSION IN WESTERN ASIA 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) 
has conducted a review (A/61/61) of the program and 
administrative management of the Economic and Social 
Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).  OIOS notes that ESCWA 
consistently uses results-based management, and is one of the 
most advanced entities in the UN Secretariat in that regard. 
OIOS also highlights five challenges that impact ESCWA's 
ability to be more effective and makes 20 recommendations to 
address these challenges.  The five challenges are: a) the 
organizational structure has to be normalized; b) the 
Statistical Division needs to be reestablished; c) the 
comparative advantages of ESCWA have to be reassessed and its 
collaborative networking with regional partners strengthened; 
d) information and knowledge management must be advanced to a 
qualitatively new level commensurate with the regional role 
of ESCWA; and e) it is necessary to make the executive 
management culture more consistent, objective, and 
transparent.  ESCWA management only agrees with two of these 
five challenges and none related to the management of the 
commission.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  The OIOS report states that ESCWA management has 
introduced a "team" concept to promote multidisciplinary 
collaboration and in doing so, replaced the conventional 
structure of "branches," "sections," and "units."  OIOS 
recalls that in established management practices, 
multidisciplinary teams are created to deliver a concrete 
output and are disbanded once the objective has been 
achieved.  In addition, normal reporting and organizational 
structures remain to ensure clear reporting lines and 
accountability.  In the case of ESCWA, there is a blurred 
line due to the discontinuation of normal structures and 
authority is often unclear.  OIOS believes that it is time to 
reconsider the organizational structure. 
 
¶3.  OIOS notes that ESCWA disbanded the Statistics Division 
in 2003 and redeployed the staff to the substantive 
divisions, in order to bring the statisticians and experts 
closer together.  OIOS found that the experts and 
statisticians were working more closely, but the synergy 
between statisticians had been lost.  While a Statistical 
Coordination Unit does exist, OIOS notes that there has been 
uneven staffing and an unclear mandate for the Unit.  The 
result has been some duplication of efforts and the lack of 
timely and comprehensive collaboration with the Statistics 
Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and 
other statistical entities.  OIOS recommends that a 
Statistics Division should be reestablished.  ESCWA notes its 
intent to review the situation. 
 
¶4.  With regard to staff capacity and training, OIOS observes 
that the training plans did not reflect any meaningful 
efforts to adjust the knowledge base and skills of staff that 
had been redeployed during the previous restructuring.  Also, 
there was poor planning with regard to training opportunities 
and not enough thought was given to group training vs. 
individual training, where the former could be more 
productive and less costly.  In addition, actual expenses for 
training often exceeded allocations and proper internal 
consultations did not occur with regard to reallocation of 
funds.  This leads to a question as to how overspending for 
training was accommodated within the approved budget for 
ESCWA. 
¶5.  With regard to ESCWA's regional role, OIOS found that the 
Regional Coordination Group, which ESCWA chairs and is meant 
to serve as a way for all of the regional commissions to 
coordinate, does not meet expectations.  The Group has not 
led to better collaboration and there is still no reliable 
method to monitor and organize implementation of joint 
programs.  In addition, the Group's page on the ESCWA website 
is out of date and does not offer much valuable information. 
 
¶6.  ESCWA has made improvements to its website overall, 
though, OIOS reports.  The website has enhanced its 
visibility and outreach, though information sharing via the 
Intranet is still a work in progress.  On information and 
communication technology (ICT) overall, OIOS observes that 
there is not an overall ICT strategy focused on return for 
investment.  For example, ESCWA has nine systems in place and 
fragmented ICT reporting lines, resulting in duplication and 
dilution of resources.  OIOS therefore recommends the hiring 
of an information master.  OIOS also believes that ESCWA's 
ICT resources must be increased, as the standard for ICT 
staff resources in the UN Secretariat is five percent and 
ESCWA is at four percent.  ESCWA agrees with the 
recommendation, but notes that it is difficult to implement 
the recommendations under a zero growth budget. 
 
¶7.  OIOS also comments on knowledge management, noting that 
information voids exist and there is a need to fully realize 
the potential of the Intranet for organizing and sharing 
internal information.  OIOS notes with concern that there are 
 
USUN NEW Y 00001953  002 OF 002 
 
 
not yet fully developed shared local area network folders. 
OIOS also sees that other resources for information, such as 
the UNDP National Human Development Report, are not fully 
utilized.  OIOS recommends the creation of a dedicated post 
of knowledge manager.  ESCWA agrees with this recommendation, 
but again points out that it is nearly impossible to 
implement without additional resources. 
 
¶8.  OIOS states that ESCWA's administrative procedures need 
to be streamlined and modernized (for example, hard copy 
formats are still used for many items, such as phone billing 
and travel approval).  OIOS also raises concerns regarding 
human resource management and recalls instances where 
established policies and procedures were not followed by 
management, such as with contract renewal.  OIOS praises the 
Executive Secretary for enhancing ESCWA's regional profile 
and for his active support of staff.  They suggest, however, 
that more effective advisory mechanisms are needed, as the 
current Cabinet is too large to do this job effectively. 
They also suggest better utilizing the post of Deputy 
Executive Secretary.  ESCWA does not agree with any of the 
recommendations in this area and actually rejects the 
recommendation to "ensure that the norms of transparent and 
effective oversight are adhered to by observing established 
reporting lines and addressing accountability issues in a 
consistent and fair manner." 
 
¶9.  In conclusion, OIOS notes that the strength of ESCWA is 
its multidisciplinary experience and knowledge of the 
specificities of the region.  Its weaknesses are 
micromanagement and lapses in transparency, insufficient 
information sharing and difficulties in mobilizing 
extrabudgetary resources. 
 
¶10. COMMENT: USUN recommends that the U.S. follow established 
practice and join consensus in a resolution that "takes note" 
of the inspection report.  Many of the management issues that 
OIOS raises should be addressed in the context of the 
2008-2009 biennium budget and after further information is 
provided by ESCWA with regard to its implementation of the 
OIOS recommendations.  END COMMENT. 
BOLTON