Interview with Alicia Barcena, Under-Secretary-General for Management

by Lydia Swart
9 April 2008

The Center interviewed Alicia Barcena, Under-Secretary-General for Management, the day before the 8-9 April 2008 Thematic Debate on Towards a Common Understanding on Management Reform. Thus far, the Center has focused on the perspectives of Member States on this topic and Barcena’s interview constitutes a first step in filling this lacuna.

With her focused energy and strong command of a myriad of complex issues, there is no doubt that Alicia Barcena is the right person in the Secretariat to talk to about efficiency and effectiveness, two of the key issues in the management reform debate currently taking place at the United Nations.

The interview began with a question about the concerns of many Member States that the 2008-2009 UN budget was being presented in a “piecemeal” fashion by the Secretary-General, and consequently the budget approved in December 2007 did not include all expenditures foreseen during the period. So-called add-ons were to be approved in resumed sessions of the Fifth Committee (the committee in the General Assembly dealing with budgets and administration) in March and May of 2008, or even at the 63rd session beginning in September 2008. The US and Japan, especially, are concerned that these add-ons could result in an increase of one billion dollars to the roughly four billion dollar two-year budget.

Barcena agrees with Member States that this issue will require careful reflection. She explained that a combination of factors caused the add-ons this time. The new Secretary-General and his team inherited many specific management reform proposals which were adopted by Member States at the World Summit in 2005. While Kofi Annan had provided detailed reports in this regard, Member States had nonetheless requested additional information on key issues which took some time for the new management team to flesh-out. Furthermore, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his team felt that some of the outstanding proposals – especially those dealing with accountability – warranted presentation to Member States in a much more consolidated way, resulting in the recent report on the Secretariat’s accountability architecture. At the same time, action has been taken to strengthen internal oversight in response to the requests of Member States. Another factor has been that in addition to the ongoing proposals, Ban has presented some proposals of his own, such as those on reforming the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and strengthening the Department of Political Affairs. Furthermore, Member States themselves requested a detailed proposal to strengthen the development pillar at the UN. All in all, there were demands for reports on numerous reform proposals that will be key to the performance of the Secretariat for many years to come; each one of them was considered too important to rush.

Asked about the outstanding reports on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), for instance, Barcena explained that besides the fact that the new Assistant-Secretary-General on IT, Choi Soon-hong, had just started when the budget was presented, he understandably wanted to have a thorough consulting process with key managers on their needs before presenting options to Member States. Working out some IT governance issues was also taking time. Finally, it was decided to centralize IT and have Choi report directly to Ban. Being able to devise a new ICT infrastructure, Barcena pointed out, offers a transformational and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the UN function more efficiently and effectively. Though it will require considerable investment up front, a better IT system would in the end result in cost-savings by improving coordination.

Another great opportunity to rationalize and modernize the UN system will also present itself in the next few years: 40% of staff at the Director level will be retiring. This led to our discussion on reforming human resources management (HRM) – an issue Barcena is clearly passionate about. Most of the Secretariat’s budget goes to staff costs. Having well-trained, motivated, and efficient staff members, who are held sufficiently accountable for their performance, has to be a top priority for management in any organization, she argues. Simplifying the complex contract system and harmonizing the conditions of service, will address inequity and frustration among staff. Barcena believes that some of the HRM reform proposals were probably deferred to the next session by the Fifth Committee – in spite of the many reports available from the Secretary-General and advisory bodies of the General Assembly – because some of the Fifth Committee delegates have to work within a financial framework set for them by their capitals and the proposed reforms will clearly result in additional costs. Especially the biggest donors seem to have concerns about the roughly 225 million dollars involved in the HRM reform proposals, she admits.¹

Having followed the Fifth Committee’s reform negotiations, I couldn’t help noting that the Secretariat must answer the same questions many times. First, before issuing the Secretary-General’s report, when they need to consult with Member States’ regional groups and other blocs such as the Group of 77 and China; then when they provide answers to the Advisory Committee on Budgetary and Administrative Questions (ACABQ); and finally by responding to detailed queries from delegates in the Fifth Committee. I asked Barcena whether this doesn’t lead to a lot of repetition and ineffective use of Secretariat’s staff time. “Informal interactions with Member States provide us with a lot of feedback,” she replied diplomatically, adding that interactions with the Friday Breakfast group ² and the Geneva Group ³ are similarly useful. Though the questions may be repetitive here and there, she admits, the Secretariat is allowed to present the same written responses to the ACABQ and Fifth Committee. Barcena goes on to tell me that she has increasingly come to the realization that answers should not only be provided by budget officers in the Secretariat, which result in rather technical answers, but that probably senior staff could explain relevant policies of the Secretariat better. She plans to address this issue internally.

Asked about the 32 proposals of the Four Nations Initiative (Chile, South Africa, Sweden, and Thailand) to improve governance and management of the Secretariat, Barcena responded that it was a great initiative that had benefited from a wide consultative process.⁴ The governance versus management distinction, she explains, makes a lot of sense. The initiative has already influenced thinking in the Secretariat, especially in regard to an examination to determine which actions in human resources management should be the prerogative of the Secretary-General and which ones particularly of the Member States. Changes in the staff rules and regulations, likely to be discussed in the 63rd session of the General Assembly, will be very important to make the Secretariat more efficient and effective, she added. Obviously, this will entail inclusive consultations with staff.

Asked about where the Secretariat could reduce costs – as it is urged to do by some of the biggest donors – she explained that the Capital Master Plan for the renovation of the UN headquarters will result in cost-savings as the building is far from energy-efficient at present. Other technological innovations may result in reducing the cost of operations. As to space management, she explained that her own office, for instance, was much bigger than necessary. Nor does she need her own meeting room – one per floor for general use would be better. Her modesty and no-nonsense approach must serve the Secretariat well in completing the management reforms.

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Barcena's remarks of 9 April 2008 at the Thematic Debate on management reform.