Traditional family offices provide personal services such as managing household staff and making travel arrangements.

Ensure that the staff of United Nations country offices is representative of the cultural diversity of the population in the country

That difference should be reflected in the future strengthening of the subregional offices.

(b) Communication officers should be redeployed to the subregional offices to strengthen their outreach capacity.

The utilization of the vacant subregional office posts by ECA headquarters on a temporary basis only aggravates the situation by delaying the strengthening of subregional offices.

The field offices have been closed the Commission's staff contracts have been terminated and its assets in the field have, for the time being, been placed in the custody of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

OIOS believes that the issues of skills alignment among subregional office staff and the promotion of their operational expertise require immediate attention.

Subregional office directors should participate as a matter of course in the meetings of the senior management team through teleconferencing.

Another strategy would be to relocate some of the staff, including those in functional departments, to regional offices in the field.

Other tasks include coordinating training programmes for the staff of the 48 customs offices in the detection of chemical, biological and radioactive products, explosives and weapons.

That means that the budgeted strength of subregional offices is at least 20 per cent below the target, a significant shortfall.

By the mid 1990s, most United Nations staff members working from offices were comfortable with personal computers as a basic working tool and with ICT as tools of information sharing.

OIOS noted the concern of staff at subregional offices regarding insufficient training opportunities, especially when compared with ECA headquarters.

During 2004, emergency preparedness activities in the field intensified through increased coordination among emergency preparedness officers and focal points at the regional bureau level.

UNICEF is also working closely with the UNEG to ensure that regional and country office staff are equipped to support national evaluative efforts.

Economies of scale should be taken advantage of in arranging training in conjunction with services provided by regional advisers or consultants to enhance and diversify the skills of subregional office staff.

The memorandum provided for gender in development advisors on a pilot basis training of gender focal points (GFPs) in all country offices, along with key government and non governmental organization (NGO) staff and an interactive electronic research and learning network that still exists.

The project was originally approved in 2001 on the assumption that 159 United Nations common system personnel from outside locations would need to be accommodated in the new office building.

In addition, there is a lack of knowledge about the Plan among United Nations staff in field offices, even in those United Nations funds and agencies with a stated commitment to mainstream ageing in their development activities.

Further, in view of the absence of staffing benchmarks to date, it is difficult to establish which procurement volume would justify full time specialist procurement staff in the field offices, and perhaps even at Headquarters.

The Executive Secretary of ECA should prepare a realistic plan of action aimed at further strengthening subregional office staffing and aligning staff skills profiles and operational expertise with the specific needs of the subregions.

Since the primary responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of United Nations staff and premises lay with host countries, risk assessments should be carried out by field offices on the basis of information provided by host Governments.

Knowledge sharing activities will also include online discussions relating to SSC among UNDP staff in country offices around the world and other members of the international development community.

Regional and branch offices

Regional and country offices

Electoral Assistance Section

36 NS (5 NSb), 2 NO

10 GS, 31 NS,

Mission and

The Office continues to follow up the reports with the offices concerned and with those of the United Nations Development Programme.

OIOS also noted that there is a mobility policy which supposedly guides the deployment of staff with a view to enhancing their field exposure. However, in practice it does not appear to be functional, as most subregional office staff professed no knowledge of it.

For example, in resolution 51 231 of 13 June 1997 (para. 31), the Assembly invited the Secretary General to intensify training programmes for all procurement personnel at Headquarters and field offices.

32. Notes that threat and risk assessments will be conducted primarily by the field offices and reviewed by the regional desks

The strength of the subregional offices is at the level of 21 per cent of all ECA professional staff or 14 per cent of all ECA staff, including General Service.

It is equally important that a common outreach strategy be developed jointly by ECA headquarters and the subregional offices and then customized to specific subregional needs by communication officers redeployed to each subregional office.

The Procurement and Logistics Division is working with CIPS, the internal training cadre and the UNRWA training coordinator to ensure that training is offered and made as accessible as possible to all Procurement and Logistics Division staff in all locations.

(b) Assessment of the amount of 168,592,800 for the period from 1 October 2004 to 31 March 2005

Field office review

Rule 45

Relationships with other offices

Field office review

Geographic desks in Geneva

Additional RCF level information was obtained through the distribution of a questionnaire to all relevant country offices and regional programme managers.

Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel

Staffing of the procurement function in the network of the organizations' country offices (over 130 of them for UNDP, UNHCR and UNICEF, for example) seems particularly blurred.