Remote interpretation paperless offices.

In keeping with the goals of the Secretary-General's reform measures, the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) has undertaken a thorough and wide-ranging review of its activities in order to enhance its effectiveness.

As a result, the Office - whose work is consolidated into the promotion of human rights and humanitarian assistance, economic, trade and development activities, science and technology, disarmament negotiations, and research and training - has introduced working methods aimed at maximizing the potential of a reduced workforce. Within its budgetary constraints, UNOG has maintained a fundamental objective of becoming a more modern and more responsive organization, serving the needs of Geneva's international community.

The reform efforts have developed in two directions: to further streamline UNOG activities in order to run smoother programmes and deliver better services to Member States; and to adapt to new realities, new emerging circumstances and new international players. Following the announcement on 16 July 1997 by Secretary-General Kofi Annan of his reform programme, those efforts have been placed in a broader context.

For example, in the administration and management field, streamlining and productivity improvements not only continued in 1998 but were expanded, and thus allowed for savings of some 20 per cent in dollar terms for the programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999, as compared to the biennium 19961997. This is being achieved through structural, procedural and other management changes, which were introduced in 1997 and are being improved further during this biennium.

In the field of technological innovation, UNOG has invested heavily in the implementation of information technology in order to provide better services to the Missions of Member States, in particular information services, and to implement technological innovation at all levels of the Secretariat's work to make it more efficient and reduce costs. For example, the increased use of the Optical Disk System (ODS) and printing-on-demand has eliminated high print runs and excessive storage of documentation. UNOG plans to encourage other UN entities in Geneva, as well as European duty stations, to provide information for the ODS, thus enabling the Missions to easily acquire documents from one convenient source. An agreement on this issue has already been signed with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

Remote translation and text-processing for conferences outside Geneva are fully operational and has been used in 1998 for meetings held in Bonn, Buenos Aires, Dakar and Rome.

Also, a first comprehensive test of remote interpretation - soon to be undertaken by United Nations Headquarters, UNOG and the United Nations Office at Vienna - will allow interpretation of a conference emanating from another duty station.

Some other steps taken by UNOG on the road to reform include: simplification of processes, procedures, rules and services; enhancement of the flexibility and responsibility of line managers; expansion and strengthening of common services; creation of an electronic United Nations as a corollary, of a paperless-office concept; and equitable cost recovery for services rendered to extrabudgetary activities. For example, the budget of the Office of the Director-General is now $4,404,000, down from $5,130,000 in 1996-1997. The total number of UNOG professional and general service posts is down to 1,077, from 1,229 in 1996-1997. with the number of posts in the Information Service now totalling 23, down from 31 in the preceding biennium.

A multidimensional centre

The reform measures provide for a natural link between the past and the future, and Geneva is becoming a multidimensional centre of UN activities. That includes international norm-setting, the availability of know-how and expertise, and operational activities.

From the very beginning, UNOG reform plans envisaged: more delegation of authority from New York Headquarters to Geneva: consolidation of activities in priority fields: strengthening cooperation among the organizations of the UN system, in particular in better sharing common services that would help reduce costs; and more active promotion of technological innovation. These plans include measures to simplify rules and procedures as well as their implementation and to increase the capacity of training and retraining of staff.

The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights added new impetus to the reform efforts at UNOG, which was underlined by the signing, on 14 August 1998, of an agreement between the UNOG Director-General and Switzerland's Permanent Oberver to the United Nations on the transfer of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Palais Wilson, a building made available to the United Nations by the Swiss Government. This event indicated the growing importance of human rights work for the United Nations, emphasized the leading role of Geneva in this field and marked an important step in the development of cooperation between the United Nations and the host country.

The reform process has renewed, revitalized and reinvigorated the role of UNOG from a substantive as well as operational standpoint. Nevertheless, progress still has to be achieved both within the UN system itself and in relations between the United Nations and Member States, as well as with other international entities.

An important clement of the reform is the consolidation of common services and facilities, such as publishing. UNOG is ready to discuss how best publishing facilities could bc regrouped in Geneva to create a single publishing house that would serve UN entities located in Geneva, as well as other duty stations. Another area where consolidation is most beneficial is training of both United Nations and Missions staff. UNOG has an extensive programme of staff development, providing courses and learning opportunities in the fields of language and communication, information technology and management.

Following the stated desire of the Secretary-General to provide an electronic United Nations at the service of Missions, UNOG Training Service has offered, in cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union for the second year in succession, an integrated informatics training curriculum to diplomatic staff accredited to Geneva-based international organizations. This curriculum comprises hands-on training on the use of the Internet, including means to access and download United Nations and other international documents from their own desks. This year, 189 diplomats from 49 countries, including four ambassadors, have taken part in the courses.

Advances in technological innovation were particularly apparent in conference services which concentrates the largest portion of resources, corresponding to UNOG's initial vocation as the largest conference centre of the system. The Conference Services Division, although operating with a reduced budget, by 13 per cent compared to the 1996-1997 biennium, maintained equilibrium through enhanced efficiency measures, improved its capacity and fulfilled its tasks between September 1997 and August 1998 by servicing 8,374 meetings.

It is projected that reform measures envisaged in UNOG for the 2000-2001 biennium will result in sizeable savings in the $10 million range, which will be used as management targets to achieve productivity gains. Once achieved, the actual savings will be redeployed to the Development Account which remains one of the cornerstones of the Secretary-General's reform proposals, as it would allow such savings to be invested in economic and social projects.

New environment

The Geneva Office, in order to provide better services to Member States, must remain abreast of new and emerging trends in areas of primary concern to the world Organization - maintenance of international peace and security, sustainable economic and social development, respect for human rights and the rule of law.

As the largest United Nations Office in Europe, UNOG is well positioned to maintain and further enhance cooperation with regional entities and structures, and has already developed ties with several established European intergovernmental bodies. It has also taken the initiative in facilitating relations and exchange of information between Geneva-based UN institutions and these organizations.

The first major step in this direction was taken in 1993 when UNOG suggested to the Council of Europe and to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe that periodic meetings be held between the three organizations to improve coordination, cooperation and exchange of information on issues of mutual concern, particularly in conflict areas where diverse organizations with different mandates had a presence in the field. Since then, this informal process of tripartite consultations has evolved into a useful mechanism which fosters new channels of communication and interaction. The high-level gatherings have been supplemented by target-oriented meetings at the expert level on specific topics, as well as meetings on electronic information exchange, with the aim of developing a common information pool, including the development of joint electronic databases. The first such database, focusing on activities in the Caucasian Republics, was initiated earlier in 1998 (and is hosted by UNOG).

In the past few years, UNOG established good cooperation with several new regional and subregional structures, particularly in countries with economies in transition, including the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and intends to further develop these tics. Also, a dialogue is being developed between UNOG and other regional organizations, such as the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Organization of African Unity. Due to its geographical location and proximity to Africa and Asia, UNOG serves as a focal point to the Secretary-General, providing him with information on regional development in these areas.

Parliamentarians play an increasingly active role in international affairs, with the effect that more and more delegations of lawmakers from around the world visit Geneva. Following the signing in 1996 era cooperation agreement between the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council, UNOG has deepened its ties with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Secretariat of which is based in Geneva. It has been agreed that UNOG will join forces with IPU in helping it to familiarize parliamentarians more fully with the work of the United Nations.

In 1999, the international community will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Geneva Conventions which, together with The Hague Conventions adopted a century ago, laid the foundations of international humanitarian law. This will offer a good opportunity to intensify efforts to promote humanitarian law and values worldwide and to formulate the new humanitarian agenda for the United Nations in which Geneva should play a well deserved role as the major international centre of humanitarianism.