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things that my colleagues and I are do- panels where gender balance is not
ing with some success. The challenge "The first respected. That very quickly changed
is also to make sure that everybody commitment that things. Now after one and half years,
understands what is happening. There there are few panels where there are no
is a lot of pressure on us to utilize our we all share and women or no men. It goes both ways.
space better, and of course people are My other two commitments involved
afraid of that. They are used to having that everybody has devising and implementing a geneder
their own spacious office, so, that's an- to sign up to is that policy for the UNOG that did not exist
other issue. We have to do it in a way before. It works, and I will give you an
that takes into account the well-being we will never again example. We are doing quite well actu-
of staff. We have to take into account participate in panels ally in the United Nations Geneva in
the requirements of each work-unit, terms of parity of staff. Over all we have
and we are working on that, too. The where gender 48 per cent women, while the problem
challenge is to deliver all this on time is still at the top level. That is typical for
balance is
and within budget. any business, whether public or private.
not respected." When we started this in 2015, women
Geneva has a good track record of de- the top grades represented 34.4 per
livering and keeping within budget for cent. At the end of 2016, a year later, it
the construction carried out in the past and I would like to was 41per cent. So, we have done quite well. I'm asking all
ensure that we live up to that reputation. the managers to be very attentive to how they hire.

Q: You are one of the initiators of the Gender Champions Q: Finally, Mr Director-General, what would you like to
Initiative. How did the idea come about? achieve in the years to come, and do you have a particu-
It came about in a conversation between the American lar message to convey to our readers?
Ambassador at the time, Pamela Hamamoto, Caitlin Kraft- In this coming year a big focus is going to be on the Sus-
Buchmann, Head of the NGO Woman@theTable and me. tainable Development Goals implementation. As you may
There had been a lot of talk about gender parity and gender know, I have created a new little unit in my office called
activities but little action. It was their idea, and I just jumped the SDG Lab. It is basically a facilitating entity for all stake-
on it. We needed to find very practical, measurable project holders, both inside and outside the United Nations family,
that would push people to think differently - nothing oner- to share information, to share best practices and to be a
ous, but something practical, measurable and accountable resource centre for people who want to improve the way
that makes sense. We are more successful than I thought we they implement these goals. We would like to know what
would be, and I am very happy about that. There are three others have done, not re-invent the wheel. It has been in
commitments, and one is the same for everybody. It's at a existence for only a couple of months, but it's working. It
personal level, so, each one is personally responsible for it. has, in fact, become somewhat a victim of its own success
You are going to be monitored by your peers. If you are not as we are getting more and more requests, and not yet able
doing what you should be doing, it will be made public. So to deliver on all requests. But it's not fully staffed yet. I am
there is pressure, it's practical. It's measurable. We now have not paying for staff because I do not have any money. It is
more than 130 Champions in Geneva. It has been replicated all voluntary funding, and it works. We have staff from all
in New York and Vienna. The Secretary-General has become over the world, each region. So I would like to scale that
a Champion. He was already one when he was High Com- up, and continue to increase the outreach and the narrative
missioner. We are now looking at replicating it Nairobi and of what we do, both on the SDGs and in general. The per-
Rome. Possibly in other places too. Here we have expanded ception project is another unit that we created that is also
it. It is not just the diplomatic community or the United working hard on that. I would also like to continue to work
Nations family, it's also businesses and local politicians. on this "human engineering' get the private sector closer
Francois Longchamp is a Champion. The World Economic to what we do, get Switzerland and Geneva closer to what
Forum is another one. We have just talked to all the sports we do. We now have an agreement with the city and the
federations, and several of them are now coming on board. canton of Geneva that they will finance a Geneva Room in
CEOs of multinationals are coming to see me, and they tell the Palais as a gift from them. So I would like to continue
me that they like the idea. They themselves are also becom- that too, and to do some more fund-raising.
ing Champions, and they are using the concept in their own
business. So, it works and has an impact. Leaving the DG's office one can only admire of all the
things he has put in place during his years in office, and
The first commitment that we all share and that everybody hope that United Nations in Geneva will benefit from his
has to sign up to is that we will never again participate in dynamic spirit even longer.
July 2017, MF

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