Definition of accountability and roles and responsibilities in UN Secretariat

UN GA Decides that accountability shall be defined as follows:

Accountability is the obligation of the Secretariat and its staff members to be answerable for all decisions made and actions taken by them, and to be responsible for honouring their commitments, without qualification or exception.

Accountability includes achieving objectives and high-quality results in a timely and cost-effective manner, in fully implementing and delivering on all mandates to the Secretariat approved by the United Nations intergovernmental bodies and other subsidiary organs established by them in compliance with all resolutions, regulations, rules and ethical standards; truthful, objective, accurate and timely reporting on performance results; responsible stewardship of funds and resources; all aspects of performance, including a clearly defined system of rewards and sanctions; and with due recognition to the important role of the oversight bodies and in full compliance with accepted recommendations.

Personal and institutional accountability

13. Emphasizes the importance of establishing and fully implementing real, effective and efficient mechanisms that foster institutional and personal accountability at all levels;

14. Recalls section I, paragraph 4, of its resolution 63/250 of 24 December 2008, and requests the Secretary-General to analyse the impact of his proposed human resources management reform measures on personal accountability;

15. Requests the Secretary-General to propose concrete and comprehensive measures to strengthen personal accountability at all levels within the Secretariat, based on the definition of accountability as outlined in paragraph 8 above; and its link with institutional accountability towards Member States on results achieved and resources used;

16. Also requests the Secretary-General to further improve the managers’ evaluation system, and to clearly identify the critical linkages between institutional and personal accountability through the senior managers’ compacts, and the performance appraisal system of all staff below the level of Assistant Secretary- General, and to establish proper accountability mechanisms for under-performance at all levels;

17. Further requests the Secretary-General to further develop and take appropriate measures to hold staff accountable for mismanagement and wrongful or improper decisions and to strengthen efforts to increase recovery actions by those convicted of fraud in the Organization;

18. Notes the measures taken by the Secretary-General to improve assessment of each senior manager’s performance, and requests the Secretary- General to ensure that the weaknesses identified by the Management Performance Board are fully and appropriately addressed;