Page 237 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

• in the area of trade and development, the United Nations Centre on
Science and Technology for Development, as well as the Centre on
Transnational Corporations, were recently incorporated into the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD);
and
• the United Nations Office for Project Services, which implements
technical assistance projects for Member States and for other UN
entities, is opening an office in Geneva next month.

The global financial crisis the Organization is facing, coupled with the very
sizeable budgetary reductions requested by the General Assembly, has led us to
devise a number of measures leading to increased efficiency in the administra-
tive and conference service areas, with a view to avoiding duplications and to
streamlining our services.

These are but a few examples of an overall efficiency exercise currently
taking place at UNOG:

• we have merged a number of units;
• we are in the process of streamlining distribution of documents and
man both from the conference and general service areas;
• we are enhancing our use of technological innovations notably in the

security area with video surveillance and in the conference field with
teleconferencing to compensate for the reduction in personnel due to
budget cuts;
• we are going to limit free usage of telephones by staff for local calls
with a view to reducing our costs;
• we are also looking at the possibility of outsourcing some of our tasks
which may be accomplished in a more efficient and economical
manner by outside connectors.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Member States that accepted
our suggestion to renovate existing rooms or install their own new national
room at the Palais. In the past two years, five rooms have been renovated in this
manner, which has saved the Organization about one million dollars.

The substantial budgetary reductions requested by the General Assembly
will, per force, have an impact on staff as we will have no choice but to freeze or
abolish some 200 posts in Geneva over the 1996-1997 biennium. This will be

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