The General Assembly,
Recalling Articles 1 and 101 of the Charter of the United
Nations,
Recalling also Article 8 of the Charter, which provides
that the United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility
of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions
of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs,
Recalling further the relevant paragraphs of the Nairobi
Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, especially
paragraphs 79, 315, 356 and 358,
Recalling the relevant resolutions and decisions of the
General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and other bodies
that have continued to focus on this area since the adoption of
Assembly resolution 2715 (XXV) of 15 December 1970, in which the
question of the employment of women in the Professional category
was first addressed,
Concerned at the serious and continuing underrepresentation
of women in the Secretariat, particularly at the higher decision-making
levels,
Convinced that the improvement of the status of women in
the Secretariat could significantly enhance the effectiveness
and credibility of the United Nations, including its leadership
role in advancing the status of women worldwide and in promoting
the full participation of women in all aspects of decision-making,
Recalling the goal set in its resolutions 45/125 of 14
December 1990 and 45/239 C of 21 December 1990, which was reaffirmed
in its resolutions 46/100 of 16 December 1991, 47/93 of 16 December
1992 and 48/106 of 20 December 1993, of a 35 per cent overall
participation rate of women in posts subject to geographical distribution
by 1995,
Noting with concern that the current rate of increase in
the appointment of women may not be sufficient to achieve the
objective of a 35 per cent participation rate of women in posts
subject to geographical distribution by 1995,
Recalling the goal set in its resolution 45/239 C, which
was reaffirmed in its resolutions 46/100, 47/93 and 48/106, of
a 25 per cent participation rate of women in posts at the D-1
level and above by 1995,
Noting with disappointment that the participation rate
of women in posts at the D-1 level and above remains unacceptably
low, and well below the 25 per cent goal,
Noting the efforts made in the past year by the Secretary-General
and the Office of Human Resources Management to integrate the
objectives set by the General Assembly for the improvement of
the status of women in the Secretariat into the overall strategy
for the management of the Organization's human resources, and
noting also that such a comprehensive approach will be conducive
to enhancing the status of women in the Secretariat,
Recognizing the importance of providing equal employment
opportunities for all staff,
Aware that a comprehensive policy aimed at preventing sexual
harassment should be an integral part of personnel policy,
Commending the Secretary-General for his administrative
instruction on procedures for dealing with cases of sexual harassment,
Bearing in mind that a visible commitment by the Secretary-General
is essential to the achievement of the targets set by the General
Assembly,
1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General;
2. Takes note of the strategic plan of action for the improvement
of the status of women in the Secretariat (1995-2000) contained
in section IV of the report, and the goals and objectives of the
strategic plan as proposed by the Secretary-General;
3. Urges the Secretary-General to implement fully the strategic
plan, noting that his visible commitment is essential to the achievement
of the targets set by the General Assembly and the goals and objectives
contained in the strategic plan;
4. Welcomes the Secretary-General's intention to ensure
implementation of the strategic plan through, inter alia, the
issuance of clear and specific instructions as to the authority
and responsibility of all managers to implement the plan and the
criteria by which performance will be appraised;
5. Urges the Secretary-General, in accordance with the
Charter of the United Nations and consistent with the strategic
plan, to accord greater priority to the recruitment and promotion
of women in posts subject to geographical distribution, particularly
in senior policy-level and decision- making posts and within those
parts of the United Nations system and its specialized agencies
where representation of women is considerably below the average,
in order to achieve the goals set in its resolutions 45/125 and
45/239 C of an overall participation rate of 35 per cent by 1995
and 25 per cent in posts at the D-1 level and above by 1995;
6. Also urges the Secretary-General to examine further
existing work practices within the United Nations system with
a view to increasing flexibility so as to remove direct or indirect
discrimination against staff members with family responsibilities,
including consideration of such issues as spouse employment, job-sharing,
flexible working hours, child-care arrangements, career-break
schemes and access to training;
7. Further urges the Secretary-General to increase the
number of women employed in the Secretariat from developing countries,
particularly those which are unrepresented or underrepresented,
and from other countries that have a low representation of women,
including countries in transition;
8. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that equal
employment opportunities exist for all staff;
9. Also requests the Secretary-General to enable, from
within existing resources, the focal point for women within the
Secretariat effectively to monitor and facilitate progress in
the implementation of the strategic plan;
10. Strongly encourages Member States to support the strategic
plan and the efforts of the United Nations and the specialized
agencies to increase the percentage of women in Professional posts,
especially at the D-1 level and above, by identifying and submitting
more women candidates, encouraging women to apply for vacant posts
and creating national rosters of women candidates to be shared
with the Secretariat, specialized agencies and regional commissions;
11. Requests the Secretary-General further to develop comprehensive
policy measures aimed at the prevention of sexual harassment in
the Secretariat;
12. Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that
a progress report on the status of women in the Secretariat containing,
inter alia, information on activities undertaken towards the achievement
of the goals and objectives contained in the strategic plan and
policy measures aimed at the prevention of sexual harassment in
the Secretariat, is presented to the Commission on the Status
of Women at its thirty-ninth session, in accordance with the relevant
rules on the delivery timetable for documentation, and to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session.
94th plenary meeting
23 December 1994