Open letter to FAFICS members, 4 January 2018

OPEN LETTER TO FEDERATION OF ASSOCIATIONS OF FORMER INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS (FAFICS) MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Dear FAFICS members and associate members,

Please find four articles containing information below of vital interest to participants and beneficiaries of our UN Pension Fund. 

This information concerns the following issues (see corresponding links to the articles):

1) a recent General Assembly resolution (A/RES/72/266, dated 24 December 2017, not yet published) calling for checks and balances between the Pension Board and the Pension Fund leadership and a comprehensive audit of the governance structure of the Fund;

2) A letter dated 7 December 2017 from the Chef de Cabinet to the Pension Board Chair, informing her that the Secretary-General has accepted the Board's recommendation to reappoint the Fund's Chief Executive Officer for a second term of three years, subject to an annual review of his performance, i.e., in effect, placing the CEO on probation.

3) The role of the FAFICS president, who up to last year was also the AFICS/NY president, in pushing back against the  concerns of members, most of which have been  borne out in the reports of UN governing bodies; moving to discourage the UN internal audit of the payment backlog;  and consistently leading the charge in the Board in support of the CEO. 

4) A statement from the UN Staff Unions highlighting the results of two audits conducted by the Office of Internal Oversight Services on a) mismanagement of  IPAS implementation that contributed to the unprecedented backlog in pension payments, 2017/104; and b) contract and procurement irregularities by the Fund, 2017/110. 

http://unpension.blogspot.com/2017/12/pension-fund-un-general-assembly-calls.html

http://unpension.blogspot.com/2017/12/pension-fund-ceo-on-probation-un.html 

http://unpension.blogspot.com/2017/12/un-pension-fund-if-wishes-were.html

http://unpension.blogspot.com/2017/12/un-staff-unions-procurement-scandals.html

Please note that the GA resolution (A/RES/72/266) is not yet publicly available. The letter from the Chef de Cabinet to the Pension Board Chair dated 7 December 2017 is also not in the public domain, and it's been reported that the Pension Board Chair has not yet shared the letter with Pension Board members. Reference to the General Assembly resolution can be found in this document "Meetings Coverage and Press Release, GA/11997.

https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ga11997.doc.htm

4 January 2018