Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations

United Nations Budget and Human Resources Management

In various thematic areas of the UN, such as peacekeeping, disarmament, human rights, and environment, the UN Secretariat implements numerous programmes and activities to ensure the mandates and duties entrusted by the Member States to bring tangible results in headquarters and field missions around the globe. All activities of the UN including its delivery of mandates require financial and human resources. It is thus both the right and responsibility of Member States to ensure that the financial and human resources of the UN, comprised of valuable contributions of the Member States, are utilized effectively and efficiently through healthy management system.

The Republic of Korea, as the 9th largest contributor to the UN Regular budget and the Peacekeeping Budget, has been expanding its role in supervising and overseeing of the UN’s administrative and budgetary issues. We believe that adequate levels of human and financial resources should be allocated to the UN to ensure smooth and effective delivery of mandates and duties. At the same time, the Republic of Korea strives to make sure that the Secretariat uses financial resources under strict budgetary discipline to further enhance efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of the Organization.

The Republic of Korea has also played a crucial role in putting a great emphasis on improving human resource management policies of the UN, including the recruitment process, managed mobility, and performance management. It also pays great attention to the UN management reform initiatives, such as the enterprise resources management system(Umoja) and restructuring of the administrative functions, for a more efficient and responsive UN. Through this process, we believe that all UN staff can reach their full potential and maximum competency as the world’s best civil service personnel. As a way of enhancing our contribution to the international community as well as promoting our national interests, the Republic of Korea actively supports talented candidates to join the staff of the UN and its other related organs.

We believe that the UN should transform into a more adaptive and agile organization in order to function as the leading global forum to meet the myriad challenges of a fast-changing world, especially with the growing uncertainty about the international economy. In this regard, the Republic of Korea will continue to take part in discussions of long-term issues, including reforming the Secretariat’s management structure and working culture, to further raise its national status as one of the major contributing members of the UN system.