CL 129/INF/5

Council

Table of Contents

General comments

Comments on recommendations

1. This JIU Report is accompanied by the comments of the Director-General.

2. Given the subject matter, it is suggested that this JIU Report be considered by the Finance Committee. The Committee is invited to endorse the comments the Director-General made on the report.

JIU REPORT 2004/10

Harmonization of the Conditions of Travel
throughout the United Nations System

Comments of the Director-General of FAO

General comments

The recommendations addressed below, according to the established format, are those deemed to be of direct relevance to FAO. Comments in respect of other recommendations are made as follows:
In relation to recommendation 2, it may be noted that FAO is quite advanced among UN system organizations in the use of lump sum arrangements, including lump sum payments for non-staff and consultants to be introduced in the near future. FAO is also studying the feasibility of lump sum payments for shipping entitlements.
Concerning recommendation 4, it may also be noted that FAO already uses self-certification procedures coupled with random audit, backed by a web-based administrative tool.
Concerning recommendation 10, FAO has already increased the minimum threshold for rest stopovers to 18 hours for all types of travel.

Comments on recommendations

Recommendation 1:

The General Assembly should mandate the Secretary-General to review, within the framework of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), the criteria used to determine the class of travel of staff members, with a view to adopting a common policy at the United Nations system level in particular with regard to the minimum travel time for entitlement to business class. CEB should take into account the recommendation of the International Civil Service Commission contained in its annual report of 1997. ¹

Among other factors to be taken into account are the drastic changes in the airline industry in recent years and the resulting deterioration of travel conditions, the increase in travel time as a consequence of tightened security and the opinion of the United Nations Medical Service on the health risks of long haul air travel and measures to minimize them (including the possibility of establishing a threshold by age for entitlement to business class).

In addition, as a rule, only the heads of the organizations should travel first class and travel entitlements of high-ranking officials should align to business class in order to achieve greater uniformity (paras. 23 - 30).

Explanation and/or Proposed Action: Should a review under the auspices of CEB be undertaken as recommended, and should a lower than 9-hour threshold for business class (as applied in FAO) be adopted as a general rule, this would improve travel conditions for staff and other FAO travellers, but would have significant cost implications which would not be compatible with current budgetary constraints.

Recommendation 3:

The executive heads of the organizations of the United Nations system paying a lump sum amount for home leave, family visit and education travel should use as a benchmark 75 per cent of the full economy fare (the International Air Transport Association (IATA) published fare, by most direct route) (paras. 55 - 60).

Explanation and/or Proposed Action: FAO is already achieving savings through its 80% lump sum arrangement. A change to 75% is not expected to generate significant incremental savings, but its eventual implications may be studied.

Recommendation 6:

The executive heads of the organizations of the United Nations common system should enforce the use of alternative modes of transportation when more cost-effective in the interest of the organizations. Relevant rules and provisions should be modified as applicable in each case (paras. 37 - 43).

Explanation and/or Proposed Action: First class rail travel can be more expensive than discounted economy class airfare.

Recommendation 8:

In the interest of streamlining procedures for reimbursement of travel by private car, the Secretary-General should review the current mileage system with a view to replacing it by a standard rate to be applied worldwide by the organizations of the United Nations system (paras. 45 - 48).

Explanation and/or Proposed Action: The recommendation is supported as indeed the present mileage system is complicated and prone to interpretation. Current arrangements for settlement of travel by private car are unnecessarily cumbersome.

Recommendation 9:

The executive heads of the organizations which do not pay full advance of subsistence and/or terminal expenses (ILO, WHO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, ICAO, UPU and IMO) should introduce this best practice currently in place in various organizations of the system in order to reduce workload for processing of travel claims. Organizations should seek to automate (online) the processing of travel claims (paras. 68 - 71).

Explanation and/or Proposed Action: As regards the first part, FAO already pays 100% of DSA and terminal expenses to travellers. The on-line processing of travel claims is supported, subject to current budgetary constraints.

¹ A/52/30 “Report of the International Civil Service Commission for the year 1997”, para. 275.