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Steering Committee on Safety and Security and Operational Working Group, Geneva and New York, September and October
At the request of the Secretary-General, the High-Level Committee on Management (HLCM) at its inter-sessional meeting of 27 August 2008 established a Steering Committee to propose a coordinated response by CEB to the recommendations formulated in the report of the Independent Panel on Safety and Security of UN Personnel and Premises Worldwide (IPSS), addressing the urgent need to acknowledge, understand and respond to the "step change" in the threat to the United Nations and humanitarian personnel, to promote and strengthen a culture of safety and security within the United Nations system, and to recognize staff safety and security as an essential institutional and managerial responsibility.

The Steering Committee, which met several times since its establishment in September 2008, was chaired by Ms. Susana Malcorra, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Field Support, with the participation of representatives at the highest level of CEB member organizations (WHO, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR, UN-HABITAT, the World Bank), and representatives from the staff representative bodies, the functional networks of HLCM, and from departments with significant field presence (OCHA, DPKO).

The Steering Committee established an Operational Working Group (OWG) to follow up on the 83 recommendations contained in the Report of the Independent Panel on Safety and Security of UN Personnel and Premises Worldwide. The OWG broke down the key priorities defined by the Steering Committee into four categories:
  • Security management architecture - examination of institutional arrangements and current structure
  • Chain of authority - roles and responsibilities in the current Framework for Accountability and consideration of related issues such as centralization/decentralization of authority and resources
  • Risk management (including risk assessment) - applicable tools and alternative framework, resources (human resources and support/logistics), education/training, communication
  • Financing the security management system - cost and alternative funding mechanisms

The outcome of the Steering Committee comprised a number of recommendations, as endorsed by HLCM at its inter-sessional meeting of 20 October 2008, for immediate consideration, decision and action by CEB.

The Steering Committee also suggested action to be taken in the next months to address key aspects of safety and security management that require more in-depth analysis, before additional recommendations can be submitted to CEB again at its 2009 spring session, as part of a comprehensive plan for a system-wide security management system that responds adequately to the new needs. Preliminary considerations on such subjects can be found in the document CEB/2008/HLCM/24.