Organization of the Secretariat: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 14:30, 26 April 2022

The Secretary-General's Bulletin on the Organization of the Secretariat sets out the organizational structure of the Secretariat, the main coordination bodies, and the responsibilities of heads of departments/offices, programme managers and executive offices/administrative units.

Organization of the Secretariat

The current bulletin on the Organization of the Secretariat is ST/SGB/2015/3.

Previous bulletins:

ST/SGB/1997/5, amended by ST/SGB/2002/11
ST/SGB/Organization

Departments and offices

Current departments and offices

The bulletins for current departments and offices are as follows:

Department	Short form	Current bulletin	Previous bulletins^[1]	Notes
Executive Office of the Secretary-General	EOSG	ST/SGB/1998/18	N/A
Department for General Assembly and Conference Management	DGACM	ST/SGB/2021/3]	ST/SGB/2005/9, ST/SGB/1997/6	Renamed from Department of General Assembly and Conference Services
Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs	DPPA	N/A	N/A	Established 1 January 2019 as part of peace and security reform
Office for Disarmament Affairs	ODA	ST/SGB/2008/8	ST/SGB/2004/12, ST/SGB/1998/10
Department of Peace Operations	DPO	N/A	N/A	Established 1 January 2019 as part of peace and security reform
Department of Operational Support	DOS	N/A	N/A	Established 1 January 2019 as part of management reform
Office of Legal Affairs	OLA	ST/SGB/2021/1	ST/SGB/2008/13, ST/SGB/2006/12, ST/SGB/1997/8
Department of Economic and Social Affairs	DESA	ST/SGB/1997/9	N/A
Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development	UNCTAD	ST/SGB/1998/1	N/A
Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Programme	UNEP	ST/SGB/2006/13	ST/SGB/1999/21
Secretariat of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme	UN-Habitat	ST/SGB/2002/14	ST/SGB/1999/22	Renamed from United Nations Centre for Human Settlements on 1 January 2002^[2]
Office on Drugs and Crime	UNODC	ST/SGB/2004/6	ST/SGB/1998/17	Renamed from United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention on 1 October 2002
Secretariat of the Economic Commission for Africa	ECA	ST/SGB/2005/12	ST/SGB/1998/4
Secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific	ESCAP	ST/SGB/2005/11	ST/SGB/2000/12
Secretariat of the Economic Commission for Europe	ECE	ST/SGB/2008/9	ST/SGB/1998/3
Secretariat of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean	ECLAC	ST/SGB/2000/5	N/A
Secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia	ESCWA	ST/SGB/2010/7	ST/SGB/2002/16, ST/SGB/1999/1
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights	OHCHR	ST/SGB/1997/10	N/A
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs	OCHA	ST/SGB/1999/8	N/A	Reorganized from the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) in 1998^[3]
Department of Global Communications	DGC	ST/SGB/1999/10	N/A	Renamed from Department of Public Information (DPI) on 1 January 2019
Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance	DMSPC	N/A	N/A	Established 1 January 2019 as part of management reform
United Nations Office at Geneva	UNOG	ST/SGB/2000/4	ST/SGB/1999/14
United Nations Office at Vienna	UNOV	ST/SGB/2004/5	ST/SGB/1998/16
United Nations Office at Nairobi	UNON	ST/SGB/2009/3	ST/SGB/2008/7, ST/SGB/2000/13, ST/SGB/1999/20
Office of Internal Oversight Services	OIOS	ST/SGB/2002/7	ST/SGB/1998/2
Department of Safety and Security	DSS	ST/SGB/2013/5	ST/SGB/1998/11 (OCSS), section 5	Also referred to as UNDSS
Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States	OHRLLS	ST/SGB/2020/2	ST/SGB/2007/7
Office of the Special Adviser on Africa	OSAA	ST/SGB/2003/6	N/A
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict	OSRSG CAAC	N/A	N/A
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict	OSRSG SVC	N/A	N/A
Ethics Office	N/A	ST/SGB/2005/22	N/A
United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services	UNOMS	ST/SGB/2016/7	ST/SGB/2002/12
Office of Administration of Justice	OAJ	ST/SGB/2010/3	N/A
United Nations Office for Partnerships	UNOP	ST/SGB/2009/14	N/A
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction	UNDRR	N/A	N/A	Short form was UNISDR until April 2019^[4]
Development Coordination Office	DCO	N/A	N/A	Established 1 January 2019
Office for Outer Space Affairs	UNOOSA	ST/SGB/2020/1]	N/A

Departments and offices formerly part of the Secretariat

The bulletins for entities no longer considered part of the Secretariat are as follows:

Department	Short form	Final bulletin	Previous bulletins	Notes
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East	UNRWA	ST/SGB/2000/6	N/A
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees	UNHCR	ST/SGB/1998/9	N/A

Defunct departments and offices

The bulletins for select defunct departments and offices are as follows:

Department	Short form	Final bulletin	Previous bulletins	Notes
Department of Administration and Management	DAM	ST/SGB/255		Reorganized into Department of Management in 1997
Department of Field Support	DFS	ST/SGB/2010/2	N/A	Reorganized as part of the management reform
Department of Political Affairs	DPA	ST/SGB/2009/13 and Corr.1	ST/SGB/2000/10, ST/SGB/1998/14, ST/SGB/1997/7	Reorganized as part of peace and security reform
Department of Peacekeeping Operations	DPKO	ST/SGB/2010/2	ST/SGB/2000/9	Reorganized as part of the peace and security reform
Department of Management	DM	ST/SGB/2010/9	ST/SGB/2005/8, ST/SGB/2003/15, ST/SGB/1997/11	Reorganized as part of management reform
Department of Management: Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts	OPPBA	ST/SGB/2003/16	ST/SGB/1998/13
Department of Management: Office of Human Resources Management	OHRM	ST/SGB/2011/4	ST/SGB/2004/8, ST/SGB/1998/12
Department of Management: Office of Central Support Services	OCSS	ST/SGB/2013/1	ST/SGB/1998/11
Department of Management: Office of Information and Communications Technology	OICT	ST/SGB/2016/11	N/A	OICT now has dual reporting line to DMSPC and DOS following the management reform
Peacebuilding Support Office	PBSO	N/A	N/A	No longer exists as standalone entity; merged into new DPPA as part of peace and security reform
United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace	UNOSDP	N/A	N/A	Closed in 2017

Organizational nomenclature

The norms established for organizational nomenclature^[5] are as follows:

Level	Element	Description
1	Department, Secretariat or Office	A minimum of 30 posts in the Professional category and above, headed by an Under-Secretary-General. For regional commissions, the title of Executive Secretary is used.^[6]
2	Centre	A minimum of 20 posts in the Professional category and above, headed by an officer at the D-2 level, and exceptionally at the ASG level. The term is to be used in exceptional circumstances, e.g., as a result of a decision of the General Assembly or other organs.
3	Division	A minimum of 15 posts in the Professional category and above, headed by a Director at the D-2 level. (For regional commissions, a minimum of eight posts in the Professional category and above, headed by a Chief at the D-1 level.)
4	Branch/Service	A minimum of eight posts in the Professional category and above, headed by an officer at the D-1 level with the title “Head of Branch”. The term “Service” is to be used for elements whose work is essentially of an administrative support or service nature. The terms “Branch/Service” should not be used in the regional commissions.
5	Section	A minimum of four posts in the Professional category, headed by a Chief at the P-5 or P-4 level.
6	Unit	A minimum of four posts and headed by Chief of Unit. For use of the term, there should be a demonstrated need for a designated supervisor and for recognition outside the department/office.

In cases where an organizational element meets the criterion of number of posts, but the level of the head is above the criteria for that level, more weight should be given to number of posts than to level of head.^[7]

References

↑ i.e. those issued after the abolishment of the Organization Manual by ST/SGB/1997/5
↑ General Assembly resolution 56/206
↑ A/51/950 Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform
↑ Memo from CdC to SRSG DRR, dated 8 April 2019
↑ ST/AI/409 Restructuring of Secretariat departments and offices, Appendix IV; although this ST/AI was abolished with the issuance of ST/SGB/1997/5, no new guidance on organizational nomenclature has since been issued.
↑ As noted in paragraph 6 of A/C.5/33/6, “In addition to the use of the terms secretariat, office and centre to designated hierarchical levels 1 and 2 respectively, it was recognized that these terms would have to continue to be used on the basis of established practice (e.g. United Nations Information Centres) or to designate the immediate staff attached to senior officials of the Secretariat or bodies such as functional commissions, boards, committees, etc. The working group recommended, however, and the Secretary-General has agreed that the use of the term “office” in the generic sense should be limited to use only at hierarchical level 3 (division) and above.”
↑ ST/AI/409 Restructuring of Secretariat departments and offices, Appendix IV

[1] .e. those issued after the abolishment of the Organization Manual by ST/SGB/1997/5

[2] General Assembly resolution 56/206

[3] A/51/950 Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform

[4] Memo from CdC to SRSG DRR, dated 8 April 2019

[5] ST/AI/409 Restructuring of Secretariat departments and offices, Appendix IV; although this ST/AI was abolished with the issuance of ST/SGB/1997/5, no new guidance on organizational nomenclature has since been issued.

[6] As noted in paragraph 6 of A/C.5/33/6, “In addition to the use of the terms secretariat, office and centre to designated hierarchical levels 1 and 2 respectively, it was recognized that these terms would have to continue to be used on the basis of established practice (e.g. United Nations Information Centres) or to designate the immediate staff attached to senior officials of the Secretariat or bodies such as functional commissions, boards, committees, etc. The working group recommended, however, and the Secretary-General has agreed that the use of the term “office” in the generic sense should be limited to use only at hierarchical level 3 (division) and above.”

[7] ST/AI/409 Restructuring of Secretariat departments and offices, Appendix IV

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 * ST/SGB/Organization
-== Departments and Offices ==
+== Departments and offices ==
 === Current departments and offices ===
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 | Executive Office of the Secretary-General || EOSG || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1998/18 ST/SGB/1998/18] || N/A ||
 |-
-| Department for General Assembly and Conference Management || DGACM || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2005/9 ST/SGB/2005/9] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/6 ST/SGB/1997/6] || Renamed from Department of General Assembly and Conference Services
+| Department for General Assembly and Conference Management || DGACM || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2021/3 ST/SGB/2021/3]] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2005/9 ST/SGB/2005/9], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/6 ST/SGB/1997/6] || Renamed from Department of General Assembly and Conference Services
 |-
-| [[Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs]] || DPPA || N/A || N/A ||
+| [[Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs]] || DPPA || N/A || N/A || Established 1 January 2019 as part of [[peace and security reform]]
 |-
 | Office for Disarmament Affairs || ODA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2008/8 ST/SGB/2008/8] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2004/12 ST/SGB/2004/12], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1998/10 ST/SGB/1998/10] ||
 |-
-| [[Department of Peace Operations]] || DPO || N/A || N/A ||
+| [[Department of Peace Operations]] || DPO || N/A || N/A || Established 1 January 2019 as part of [[peace and security reform]]
 |-
-| [[Department of Operational Support]] || DOS || N/A || N/A ||
+| [[Department of Operational Support]] || DOS || N/A || N/A || Established 1 January 2019 as part of [[management reform]]
 |-
-| Office of Legal Affairs || OLA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2008/13 ST/SGB/2008/13] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2006/12 ST/SGB/2006/12], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/8 ST/SGB/1997/8] ||
+| Office of Legal Affairs || OLA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2021/1 ST/SGB/2021/1] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2008/13 ST/SGB/2008/13], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2006/12 ST/SGB/2006/12], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/8 ST/SGB/1997/8] ||
 |-
 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs || DESA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/9 ST/SGB/1997/9] || N/A ||
 |-
 | Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development || UNCTAD || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1998/1 ST/SGB/1998/1] || N/A ||
 |-
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 | Secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia || ESCWA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2010/7 ST/SGB/2010/7] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2002/16 ST/SGB/2002/16], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1999/1 ST/SGB/1999/1] ||
 |-
-| Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights || OHCHR || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/10 ST/SGB/1997/10] || N/A ||
+| [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]] || OHCHR || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/10 ST/SGB/1997/10] || N/A ||
 |-
-| Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs || OCHA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1999/8 ST/SGB/1999/8] || N/A || Reorganized from the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) in 1998<ref>[https://undocs.org/a/51/950] Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform</ref>
+| [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] || OCHA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1999/8 ST/SGB/1999/8] || N/A || Reorganized from the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) in 1998<ref>[https://undocs.org/a/51/950 A/51/950] Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform</ref>
 |-
 | Department of Global Communications || DGC || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1999/10 ST/SGB/1999/10] || N/A || Renamed from Department of Public Information (DPI) on 1 January 2019
 |-
-| [[Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance]] || DMSPC || N/A || N/A ||
+| [[Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance]] || DMSPC || N/A || N/A || Established 1 January 2019 as part of [[management reform]]
 |-
 | United Nations Office at Geneva || UNOG || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2000/4 ST/SGB/2000/4] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1999/14 ST/SGB/1999/14] ||
@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 | Department of Safety and Security || DSS || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2013/5 ST/SGB/2013/5] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1998/11 ST/SGB/1998/11] (OCSS), section 5 || Also referred to as UNDSS
 |-
-| Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States || OHRLLS || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2007/7 ST/SGB/2007/7] || N/A ||
+| Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States || OHRLLS || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2020/2 ST/SGB/2020/2] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2007/7 ST/SGB/2007/7] ||
 |-
 | Office of the Special Adviser on Africa || OSAA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2003/6 ST/SGB/2003/6] || N/A ||
 |-
-| Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict || OSRSG CAAC || N/A || N/A ||
+| [[Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict]] || OSRSG CAAC || N/A || N/A ||
 |-
-| Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict || OSRSG SVC || N/A || N/A ||
+| [[Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict]] || OSRSG SVC || N/A || N/A ||
 |-
 | Ethics Office || N/A || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2005/22 ST/SGB/2005/22] || N/A ||
@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 | United Nations Office for Partnerships || UNOP || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2009/14 ST/SGB/2009/14] || N/A ||
 |-
-| United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction || UNDRR || N/A || N/A || Short form was UNISDR until March 2019
+| United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction || UNDRR || N/A || N/A || Short form was UNISDR until April 2019<ref>Memo from CdC to SRSG DRR, dated 8 April 2019</ref>
+|-
+| [[Development Coordination Office]] || DCO || N/A || N/A || Established 1 January 2019
+|-
+| Office for Outer Space Affairs || UNOOSA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2020/1 ST/SGB/2020/1]] || N/A ||
 |}
@@ Line 106: / Line 110: @@
 |-
 ! Department !! Short form !! Final bulletin !! Previous bulletins !! Notes
+|-
+| [[Department of Administration and Management]] || DAM || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/255 ST/SGB/255] ||  || Reorganized into [[Department of Management]] in 1997
+|-
+| [[Department of Field Support]] || DFS || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2010/2 ST/SGB/2010/2] || N/A || Reorganized as part of the [[management reform]]
 |-
 | [[Department of Political Affairs ]] || DPA || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2009/13 ST/SGB/2009/13] and [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2009/13/corr.1 Corr.1] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2000/10 ST/SGB/2000/10], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1998/14 ST/SGB/1998/14], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/7 ST/SGB/1997/7] || Reorganized as part of [[peace and security reform]]
 |-
-| [[Department of Peacekeeping Operations]] || DPKO || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2010/1 ST/SGB/2010/2] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2000/9 ST/SGB/2000/9] || Reorganized as part of [[peace and security reform]]
+| [[Department of Peacekeeping Operations]] || DPKO || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2010/1 ST/SGB/2010/2] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2000/9 ST/SGB/2000/9] || Reorganized as part of the [[peace and security reform]]
-|-
-| [[Department of Field Support]] || DFS || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2010/2 ST/SGB/2010/2] || N/A || Reorganized as part of [[management reform]]
 |-
 | [[Department of Management]] || DM || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2010/9 ST/SGB/2010/9] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2005/8 ST/SGB/2005/8], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2003/15 ST/SGB/2003/15], [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1997/11 ST/SGB/1997/11] || Reorganized as part of [[management reform]]
@@ Line 121: / Line 127: @@
 | Department of Management: Office of Central Support Services || OCSS || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2013/1 ST/SGB/2013/1] || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/1998/11 ST/SGB/1998/11] ||
 |-
-| Department of Management: Office of Information and Communications Technology || OICT || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2016/11 ST/SGB/2016/11] || N/A || New OICT reports to [[DMSPC]] and [[DOS]]
+| Department of Management: Office of Information and Communications Technology || OICT || [https://undocs.org/ST/SGB/2016/11 ST/SGB/2016/11] || N/A || OICT now has dual reporting line to [[DMSPC]] and [[DOS]] following the [[management reform]]
 |-
-| Peacebuilding Support Office || PBSO || N/A || N/A || Merged into new [[DPPA]]
+| Peacebuilding Support Office || PBSO || N/A || N/A || No longer exists as standalone entity; merged into new [[DPPA]] as part of [[peace and security reform]]
 |-
 | United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace || UNOSDP || N/A || N/A || Closed in 2017
 |}
-== Organizational Nomenclature ==
+== Organizational nomenclature ==
-The norms established for organizational nomenclature are as follows:
+The norms established for organizational nomenclature<ref>[https://undocs.org/ST/AI/409 ST/AI/409] Restructuring of Secretariat departments and offices, Appendix IV; although this ST/AI was abolished with the issuance of [https://undocs.org/st/sgb/1997/5 ST/SGB/1997/5], no new guidance on organizational nomenclature has since been issued.</ref> are as follows:
 {| class="wikitable"
 ! Level
 ! Element
-! Description<ref>[https://undocs.org/ST/AI/409 ST/AI/409] Restructuring of Secretariat departments and offices, Appendix IV</ref>
+! Description
 |-
 | 1
@@ Line 165: / Line 171: @@
 == See also ==
 * [[Administrative issuances]]
+=== Documents ===
+* [https://undocs.org/a/c.5/32/17 A/C.5/32/17] Organizational nomenclature in the Secretariat: Report of the Secretary-General
+* [https://undocs.org/a/c.5/33/6 A/C.5/33/6] Organizational nomenclature in the Secretariat: Report of the Secretary-General
+* [https://undocs.org/ST/AI/409 ST/AI/409], Annex: Guidelines for the preparation of ST/SGB/Organization
 == References ==
 [[category:Organization]]

Organization of the Secretariat: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 14:30, 26 April 2022

Contents