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FICSA mourns the death of WHO staff member Glenn Thomas in Malaysian Airlines MH17 crash

The Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations (FICSA) remembers the life of Glenn Thomas, who was aboard Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 that crashed in eastern Ukraine on 17 July. Glenn was a Media Officer in the Department of Communications at WHO and was on his way to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne.

Glenn joined WHO more than 10 years ago and previously worked for the BBC. A talented and skilled communicator, known for his ready laugh and his passion for public health, he will be sorely missed by his colleagues.

Also aboard the flight were two former UN staff members, Joep Lange and Nora Rahimmah Noor-Tournier. Joep Lange was widely regarded as a leading pioneer in the field of AIDS research and served as a former president of the International AIDS Society. From 1992 to 1995, he was chief of clinical research and drug development at the Global Programme on AIDS at the World Health Organization in Geneva. Nora Rahimmah Noor-Tournier was a former staff member with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Residing in Geneva following her retirement, she was on her way to Malaysia to visit her family.

FICSA expresses its deepest condolences to Glenn’s partner, Claudio, and his twin sister, Tracey, the surviving family of Joep Lange and Nora Rahimmah Noor-Tournier, as well as all those mourning the loss of family and friends who were killed in this tragedy.

 

 

7 July 2014 - The UN will now recognize all same-sex legal unions

The UN Secretariat has finally amended its HR policies on the Recognition of Personal status, moving forward from the “nationality” approach to the “Jurisdiction” approach as WFP did recently.

Announced on i-Seek:

Secretary-General Announces New Policy on Personal Status for Same-Sex Couples
Thursday, 3 July 2014, Global | DM

Acting on his conviction that “equality begins at home,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced a new way of determining personal status applicable to same-sex couples across the UN Secretariat.

Previously, a staff member’s personal status was determined by the laws applicable in their country of nationality. Now, personal status will be determined instead by the law of the competent authority under which the personal status was established.

As such, if a same-sex couple get married in a country where same-sex marriages are legal, the personal status of the staff member(s) involved will be determined on that basis.

“All staff members are part of the UN family and deserve to be treated equally,” said the Secretary-General in a recent article on LinkedIn.

This landmark policy reform follows a pledge by the Secretary-General to address discrimination against staff based on sexual orientation. On 16 November 2012, he held the first-ever meeting of any Secretary-General with representatives of UN-GLOBE, which represents lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) UN staff, hearing their concerns and announcing steps to foster greater equality.

Describing the new policy, the Secretary-General said, “Human rights are at the core of the mission of the United Nations. I am proud to stand for greater equality for all staff, and I call on all members of our UN family to unite in rejecting homophobia as discrimination that can never be tolerated at our workplace.”

30 June 2014 - 68th FICSA Council dates and venue

We are pleased to announce that the Union of General Service Staff of FAO/WFP will host the 68th session of the FICSA Council in Rome from 2 to 7 February 2015.

***

Nous sommes heureux de vous annoncer que le Syndicat du personnel de la catégorie des Services généraux de la FAO/WFP accueillera le 68ème session du Conseil de la FICSA à Rome du 2 au 7 février 2015.

30 June 2014 - UNSSAG news

UNSSAG News - Premier Bulletin électronique du "United Nations Staff Syndicate and Association Group" au Cameroun

L'idée de créer une fédération au Cameroun avait débuté en octobre 2013 et le nouveau Groupe, UNSSAG, a vu le jour peu de temps après en janvier 2014 à l'occasion de la journée des Nations unies.

Le Comité exécutif de la FICSA saisit cette occasion pour présenter ses plus vives félicitations à tous les collègues au Cameroun pour cette excellente initiative. UNSSAG News N°00 June 2014

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