Document 6573027

NATIONS UNIES
UNITED NATIONS
WORLD
HEALTH
ORGANISATION MONDIALE
ORGANIZATION
EXECUTIVE BOARD
_ 一 «~
DE LA SANTÉ
EB4/AF/MLn/l
‘
1 8
J u l y
Fourth Session
1 9 4 9
••丨丨
ORIGINAL:
RESTRICTED
STANDING COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATION AMD FINANCE
PROVISIONAL MINUTES OF THE FIRST MEETING
Palais des Nationsд Geneva
Monday, 1 8 J u l y 1949，at 3 , 0
p.m.
CONTENTS
Note:
1,
Election of Officers
2.
Discussion on information wanted by the committee
Corrections to these provisional minutes should reach the
Editorial Section, Division of Editorial and Reference
Services, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, before
31 August 1949.
5
э э
一
ENGLISH
First Meeting
Monday, 18 July 1949, at 3 p,m..
CHâIRMA.Nj
Dr, H, S. GEAR (Union of South Africa)
Present:
Designating Country：
Dr.
Dr.
Dr,
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.
Netherlands
United States
United Kingdom
Egypt
Yugoslavia . . .
Philippines
С, van den BERG
H. HYDE
M. MACKENZIE
NAZIF Bey
A. STAMPAR
A. VILLARAm
SECRETARY» Mr. Milton P. Siegel, Director,
Administration and Finance
•
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Mr, SISGEL, pending the election of the Chairman, convened the
meeting and called for nominations for the office of Chairman*
Decision： Dr. Gear was nominated and unanimously elected Chairmanf
Dr# Gear took the Chair*
Decision} On the nomination of the Chairman, Dr« Nazif Bey was
elected Vice-Chairman, and it was decided that the election of
a Rapporteur should be deferred.
2.
DISCUSSION ON INFORMATION WANTED BY ТШ, COMMITTEE
The СКМШИШ read the instructions sent to the committee by the
Executive Board (document EB4/44, Part I V , page 2 ) , and invited
members of the committee to give their views as to what information
should be submitted by the Secretariat prior to the committee1s
next session.
He directed attention to the relevant docments,
A2/110 (page 50) and EB4/3S,
As Chairman he would endeavour to follow the normal practice of
guiding the debate, but as and when occasion arose he "would state his
personal views.
Mr. SIEGEL, Director, Administration and Finance, said there was a
point on which he would like the instructions of the committee•
Was 、
it desired that the External Auditor should be asked to Ъе present
throughout the next session of the committee, as had been thought
desirable by the Executive Board?
As the External Auditores home was
4
not in Geneva, it would be necessary to know the committee's wishes in
advance.
In reply to a point raised by the Chairman, he stated that it was
highly probable that the External Auditor would be in Geneva for most of
the time during which the committee and the Executive Board would be
meeting in January next：
he might at that time bq carrying out the
audit of the accounts of WHO and those of ILO, for 油 i c h he also
served as e t e r n a l Auditor.
Dr. HYDE felt that the moment might be opportune to define the
status ôf the External Auditor, i f he were to be invited to be present
at the committee's meetings.
Dr. van den BERG advocated the attendance of the External Auditor
at meetings, as and when desired by the committee， in an advisory capacity.
Decision: It was agreed that the External Auditor should
be requested to be present in Geneva for the next meeting
of the committee and the Board and.to be available for consultation in an advisory capacity when required.
Mr‘ SIEGED noted that the committee was required to undertake two
main tasks:
f i r s t , the reviewing of the budget estimates for 1951 and
secondlyí the examining of the organizational structure of IHO.
The
latter might comprise a wide variety of subjects and the committee might
wish to interpret it as including the consideration of any proposed revisions of the Financial Regulations and the Staff Regulations of the
Organization.
The First Health Assembly, in adopting the Provisional
Financial Regulations and the Provisional Staff Regulations, had provided
for their review after one full year's operation.
He suggested that,
as both matters were of great importance in connexion with the
organizational structure of WHO, the Secretariat might be requested to
submit to the conmittee any proposed changes in either set of
regulations, together with the comments of the External Auditor on the
Financial Regulations.
In reply to a query by Dr. Villararaa, he stated that it was expected
that the Director-General's proposals for the programme and budget for
1951, at least in draft form would be mailed, on or about 10 December
1949, to all members of the Executive Board, so that there should be
an opportunity for the members of the committee to.appraise them prior
to the committee's next session.
The CHAIRMAN asked for observations in regard to the examining by
the committee of tha organizational structure of 1H0.
Dr. STAMPAR felt that a time commensurate with the importance of
EB4/AF/Min 1
page 5
.
the matter had not' been availabla for consideration of the budget estimatQS
for
1949
Л
'
was
unlikely that, in the future, the resources of
the Organization would be to any great extent altered, and he advocated
the giving of more time to consideration of future budget estimates in
order to ensure that the available resources were being put to the best
possible use.
‘
The examination of the administrative organizati n and structure of
the headquarters office and the regional offices constituted a vexy
difficult task, and one which would also require a great deal of time if
it were to be properly done. He thought that the appointment of a small
group of the committee to carry out an investigation into tha present
adniinistrative structure of the organi Z ation by interviewing would prove
°f
great
Value
t0
the
committee in carrying- out that part of its task. He
suggested that such a group miëht meet for a short time in NovemberД94 9
aS
he
WaS
mS6tingS
°f °pinion
i n
J a n
that
1950
W
thG
贿
days contemplated for the coanittee's
1 d
be fully
0ccupi3d
in studying- the budgat
estimates for 1 9 5 1 .
In reply to a point raised by Dr. Hyde, he stated that it would be
VÔiy
dlffiCUlt
t 0
revi3W
the
budget estimates for 1951 without first
Studying the administrative structure of the organization； the lattar
WOUld
have
Dr
'
a
definit
Van
den
®
^ n u a n c e on the budget estimates.
BERG
was
in
agreement with Dr. Stampar that the only
satisfactory way to ехашШе the organisational structure was by personal
lnterVÍeW
尥让仏
°f
the
haVlng
the
^ani-tion.
eXaminati
°n
He was not, Ьсжеуег, entirely in favour
_
by a s m l l group of the oommittea.
I f the ten days contemplated for the next session of the cc-nlttee should
Pr
°Ve
ÍnSUffÍCÍent
SUPPOrt
Sh
°Uld
thS
Pr0Ve
aPP
for
°intment
adequate
>
out of its tasks, then ha would
of
he
a
麵 H
• 山
^ o u p ； i f on the contrary the time
prefer that the c o ^ t t e e as a whole
should undertake the investigation..
.
Dr. HYDE agreed as to the heavy responsibility resting upon the
committee. .
I t s establishment had arisen out of certain fears that the
Organization was becoming a centralized bureaucracy with an o v e h e a v y
administration.
л general statement from the Director-General setting out
bis philosophy in regard to the administration of the Organization, past
problems he had encountered arid iiis future plans - perhaps with particular.,
reference to the question of centralization - would be necessary to guide
•the committee in its deliberations.
That statement should include his
views on decentralization, the carrying out of the Organization's pro—
grammes and the standards for administrative and professional personnel,
both for headquarters and the regional offices.
It would be useful also to
have an idea of the changes which might veiy possibly be resulting from
changes in high-terel personnel, such as the recent appointment of a new
assistant Director-General.
The Direсtor-General would in that way have
an opportunity to determine his policy and to indicate "trends as he caw
them}
in that connexion, the committee would need information in some
detail on the administrative structure at the beginning of 1950 and beyond
that date, as contemplated by the Direсtor-General.
A general statement
along those lines and supported by diagrams and the relevant factual
information was necessary before the committee could make a detailed study
of the question and reach its conclusions as to the direction the
organizational structure of TOO should take.
He doubted the usefulness of an investigation such as had been
suggested without prior considération of the basic elements involved in the
question and without the committee first having reached a common understanding on the way in which it was desired that the organizational
Structure of WHO .should be developed.
Furthermore, such an on-the-spot
investigation might well have serious effects in hampering the normal work
of the Secrétariat.
It seemed to him that throughout the whole structure of the United
Nations and the specialized agencies the time modality in which the work
was being carried on was wrong.
VJhat had been done in ТШ0 had been to
introduce the one-year tima-basis of national administrations.
Sooner
or later serious consideration would have to be given to the question of
whether the budget should be on a two-year basis.
It was an inescapable
fact that the holding of the Health Assembly annually and meetings of
the Executive Board twice a year entailed the doing of many bureaucratic
jobs by the Secretariat, such as the preparation of documents, reports,
etc.
He would hesitate to impose on the Secretariat yet another committee
which might enterrupt its work between now and January 1950.
I f there
were too many bureaucratic jobs being done, the fault lay in the decision
taken in regard to the frequency of meetings;
the Director-General.
it was not the fault of
Sooner or later that question would have to be
given serious consideration by the Health Assembly.
The CHAIRMAN agreed that such a statement would ultimately be
necessary but the Director-General would be unable to prepare it until
members of the Executive Board had made known their views on proposals
for a general programme of work covering a specific period, in accordance
with the Executive Board1 s resolution on that matter (document ЕВ4/51
A d d . l ) , which he read.
In reply to the Chairman, Dr. HYDE stated that the document to be
prepared by the Director-General in accordance with the terms of the
resolution in question would be adequate to meet the needs of the
conmittee, as he saw them, since it would be prepared in the light of
the comments of the Executive Board.
Mr. SIEŒL, in reply to a point raised by the Chairman, said that,
i f it were clearly understood that members of the Executive Board should
communicate their views by 15 October 1949, not only on the proposed
programme, but also on its technical and administractive aspects, he would
not hesitate to say that the Director-General1 s report could be prepared
Dr. van den BERG disagreed with Dr。 Hyde's views.
It was necessary ‘
to distinguish between the study of a factual situation and the changes
proposed for the future.
The committee needed a basis for its study5
as
soon as the present situation had been appraised, discussion with the
Director-General on his plans for the future could take place and the
committee could then give its views on the present situation and the
development considered desirable.
He was quite certain that no difficiítíes
would arise in the matter with the Secretariat or with the Director-General.
Dr, MACKENZIE also stressed the importance and difficulty of the
committee'3 task.
I t should be approached in an absolutely judicial
capacity with no preconceived views as to the efficiency or otherwise of
the Organization.
Their task was to report to the Health Assembly, i n the
interests of the Board and of the Director-General, i f any difficulties
within the Organization were found.
The important aspect to be studied
was whether the machinery formed by the organizational structure was as
efficient as it could possibly be made.
He was opposed to having a meeting before January I950 as it would
be necessary, before the committee could carry out its task, to have a
considerable amount of information from the Secretariat.
He suggested that,
i f necessary, the committee should meet again after the January session of
the Executive Board and perhaps report direct to the Health Assembly.
'It
was important that all members of the committee should participate.
He presented the following list of points on which it would be
desirable to have information and hoped that it might be made available
two or three weeks prior to the committee's meeting in January:
1.
The Standing Committee should have a statement showing т/vhat the
Organization is in much more detail than is in the table at the end
of the Director-General's report.
2,
They should have also details of the staff in each section,
showing position, grade and salary scale„
EB4/AFAinA
page 9
3.
For some sample sections of the Secretariat^ what is the
chain of responsibility, from bottom to top? In particular, are
the steps by which questions are referred upwards or instructions
passed downwards based on the grading of the officers concerned
or adapted in each case to the nature of the work?
4# T/Vhat is done to secure that officers working in. a particular
division of the Secretariat acquire a knowledge of the work of
the different departments of the office?
5# The Standing Committee should have a concise desoription of
the procedures for selection and appointment.
•
(a) Is full consideration given to the different
qualifications needed for, e«g« Field work, collating
information and requests, translating into action the
recommendations of Expert Committees?
(b) Yiihat is done to make clear to applicants exactly
what their work will be?
( c ) How is i t judged whether an applicant is likely to
work well in an international team? (The highest ability
is of little use for such work if there is also marked
national or racial prejudice)»
( d ) What criteria determine the grade in which a new
recruit is placed?.
lhat are the ordinary lengths of contracts in the different
categories? If they are of different lengths, what criteria
determine the length of contract in each case? Are permanent
contracts contemplated? May we have the Director-General1s views
on the question generally.
7» Vftiat is the percentage turnover during the past year of staff
i n each categoiy, with example s of reasons given for leaving or
for the Director-General1 s terminating their employment.
8會
What is the estimated total cost in 1951 oft
(a)
Staff
(salaries and allowances)
Headquarters
Regional Offices
Field
(b)
Travelling (excluding that.covered in (c) below)
T/lfho sanctions travelling, in the sense of deciding
that a particular journey is necessary?
( с ) Meetings i
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
of Assembly；
of Executive Boafd;
of Expert Committees
showing travelling costs separately.
9 . Vihat is the cost of attendance of Regional Directors throughout
meetings of the Assembly and the Executive Board?
10. Tñ/hat proportion of the staff have in the last twelve months
received within-grade promotions for meritorious service?
11. Tii/hat estimated percentage of the time of the staff, excluding
clerical and typing staff, is devoted to preparation of documents
for meetings of the Board and Assembly and ¿xpert Committees?
12. What is the cost of attendance of WHO observers at meetings
of UN and of ether specialized agencies?
Dr# SÎA.MPAR, speaking of Dr# Hyde's observations, said that i t
was for the Committee to report to the Health Assembly whether or not
criticisms made in regard to the administration of WHO had been justified^
the time required for investigating the matter should be ampler
At the
recent Executive Board meetings much time had been spent in discussing
comparatively minor administrative questions.
He was not avare of the
exact devision of authority as between the Director-General and the
Executive Board, but he considered that the Di re с tог-Gene íal would
welcome collaboration*
I f the Committee was to make a close study of the
machinery of the Organization, i t should have personal contact with the
personnel, starting with the Director-General.
In regard to Dr» Hydef s comment on the number of meetings of the
Executive Board, he was of the opinion that if•those meetings were to be
further curtailed the Executive Board would become a mere figurehead for the
approval of reports.
The acceptance of Dr. Mackenzie r s suggestion would
probably mean that members of the Coimsittee would have to remain in ^Geneva
for at least one month in January.
The majority of the members had other
responsibilities and might find it difficult to remain for that length of
time*
Mr. SIEGEL assured the committee that the В1гес+,ог^Гтепега1 felt
that all the information desired should be made available and, in
addition, there might be further information which the DirectorGeneral considered would be of value in considering the matters
before the committee.
In reply to Dr. Mackenzie, he stated that some of the information
asked for could be supplied very easily;
a considerable amount of work
would, on the other handj be involved in preparing answers to s ото of
the points.
In
of the amount of work that would be necessary,
he wondered whetner the committee would be willing to authorize the
Directo3>«General to employ additional staff on a temporary basis for
the purpose, as he was unable to seo how the present staff could cope
with that task, in addition to their noimal work.
He enumerated some
of the tasks facing the Secretariat between now and the end of the year
and noted, in addition^ that many of the staff had been working
unreasonable hours for some time without vacations and that most o.f ttiem
were entitled to, and would be taking, vacations within the next few
months.
It was his view that i t would be quite impossible for the
present staff to underba].<e that' additional work without working
unreasonable hours 5 and that should not be expected of them.
Dr. NAZIF Bey agreed wl-th Dr, Stajiipar's suggestion that a small group
might be appointed to conduct an Investigation and suggested that such a
group might meet immediately after the present meeting.
I t was very-
important that eirorything should be in readiness for the next session of
the committee»
Dr. STAMPAR was opposed to the employment, of additional staff on a
temporary basis s
he would prefer to resign from the Executive Board
rather than agree to such a measure,
Dr. van den BERG3 while still of the opinion that there were some
objections to the investigation being conducted by a small group,
nevertheless felt that Dr. Nazif BeyTs proposal should be considered.
Mr* SIEGEL felt i t might be useful i f he gave some indication of
the policy followed by the Director-General i n regard to organizational
structure since the establishment of the Organization i n September 1948•
At the First Health Assembly it had been decided that regional offices
should be established as soon as practicable»
At that time indications
had pointed to the fact that regional offices would not be developed to
any extent before the middle of 1949, and that had proved to be the case#
The Dire ctor-General had believed it desirable that the i n i t i a l
organization of WHO should be set up primarily on a centralized basis,
with a ma iked degree of centralization and planning of operations from
Headquarters.
He had made it plain that the organizational structure
would be reviewed and revised i n the light of regional and other
developments »
It had been expected that as regional organizations were
established, the policy urould be to decentralize, and that process was
just about to start•
The Director4îeneral had not yet crystallized his ideas as to the
way in which the organizational structure should be altered i n order to
give effect to the degree of decentralization which would appear to be
consistent with regional development•
It would therefore appear that,
from the point of view of the Director-General, a meeting at the present
time would be premature•
There was no doubt that some changes in the
organizational structure would be necessary in the near future and the
D i r e c t o G e n e r a l had, i n the last two months, devoted some thought to
the matter;
the time at his disposal, having regard to his other
duties, had not, however, been sufficient to allow him to come to
definite conclusions*
It was contemplated that, by January 1950， the
DirectorKxeneral would either have made some changes in the ôrganizatkînal
structure or would have proposals to that end to discuss with the
committee 9
He stressed once more that it would be premature to tackle
the problem within the liext two months •
EB4/ÁF/ÍíinA
page 13
Dr, NAZIF Bey said the fact that the Director-General's plans were
not yet ready made it all the more important that a meeting should be held
at the present time•
The matter was one for
committee and the Director-Generala
co-operation between the
it would be much better to co-operate
at the present time instead of at a later date when plans had already been
drawn up.
.
Dr# STAMPAR said that one of the weak points in the Organization was
that the programme had been discussed by the Executive Board only in
relation to the budget and not as a separate entity.
Both the Director-
General and the Executive Board had responsibilities to the Assembly, and
he thought it would be logical for the Director4}eneral to await the
result of the committee1 s investigations and then present a new programme
to the next Assembly.
Dr# HYDE felt there were two ways of approaching the matterí
one was
to invest responsibility in one person, A e r e a s the alternative was to
divide the responsibility^
He personally preferred that the Directors-
General should have the responsibility, otherwise the Secretariat might
become engaged in unnecessary bureaucratic work*
•
He thought the urgent
‘
task was health work in the field.
. » •
While the Executive Board could advise
and consult with the Director-General, the latter was the officer :
responsible administratively and technically for. carrying out the programme
that the Health Assembly and the Board had approved»
‘
Dr. MACKENZIE felt it was impossible for a group or a committee to
devise the organization which was a task that must be done by an
individual.
He thought the best procedure would be for the Director-
General to present his report the following January, at which time a
definite decision could be taken by the Board.
EB4/A_n/1
page 14
職 Ь
he agreed with D r . Hyde that field work was important, the
COmmittee
ASS6mbly
had
°n
a
deflnite
the
脚 触 e
彻
to report to tha next World Hoalth
'
e m c i e n c y of the Organi 2 ation.
a t i v e
He was in favour of the co.nnattee meeting in January.
Dr>
V a n d 6 n
Referrlng
t0
BERG
the
agrSed
QUeSti0n
the O r g a n ^ a t i o n .
°
f
船
Ь
h
state m ent made b y D r . Mackenzie.
版
—
b
e
Bureaucracy waa not the
felt there was H t t l e within
Same
as adMnistration, which
was necessary provided it was efilcient.
.The
that
3
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'
C M I R M M stated that the three proposals ЬеГоге the c o ^ t t e e
舰
Ц
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0
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r
-
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e t
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comndtt，at the session beginning on 6 Janùary.
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P
°
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°
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an
the Director^eneral could base his
planning.
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— f o n d a t i o n o f t h , p r o g r a m was as strong a S
view that the C o r t e e
Dr
S
bad been given the opportunity o f
吻
^
n t
^
D i r e c t o ^ e n e r a l and the Secretariat
版
disad咖tage
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i t
i n
p i n i n g the
the p r o g n e .
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r
0
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should meet either in November or in January.
W S
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depend on whether, i r the
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bad not been c o v e t e d in the ten-day period prior to the n o t i n g of the
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C U U V e
B
°ard
1П
-
^ t u n i t , would be available to i l n i s h
the work after that session.
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tten
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35
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_
that
細 ！ 版
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^
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of
a
m e eting
not earlier
necessar, i n f e c t i o n would be
fonn before that t i m e . .
-
EB4/AF/Ííin/1
page 15
•
Mr* SIEGEL, in reply to a question by the Chairman, said the only
information the Organization would be preparing for the External Auditor
would be the final accounts of 31 December, but they would not be ready
until some time in February, 1950•
Some recommendations might also be
made on a few changes in the Financial Regulations, which the External
Auditor would be asked to consider, but he did not think that
information would be the type of information that Dr. Mackenzie had
requested.
Dr. van den BERG requested that, after the questions presented by
Dr, Mackenzie had been revised, copies would be distributed to members of
the Committee in order that they mi^it request further information i f '
necessary,
Dr
« MACKENZIE stressed that the enquiry must be a judicial one.
He
thought one of the most important documents for the Committee to consider
would be the Director43eneral's proposals for reorganization of the
Secretariat.
Dr« STAMPAR pointed out that ten days prior to the Executive Board
session would be insufficient for discussions both on the budget and on the
structure of the Organization, and he did not think it would be possible .
for most members of the Committee to be absent from their home countries
for one long period entailed by the Committee meeting again after that
session.
He would not press for a meeting in November, but thought it
might be wise to set up a small working party to meet in November to make
preliminary investigations.‘
The DIRECTOR-GENERAL emphasized that, without engaging special staff
for the purpose, it would be virtually impossible to produce any
documentan on for November,
The personnel of the Organization was very-
overworked, and contrary to allegations that had been made both at the
Assembly and in the Executive Board, the Organization was definitely
understaffed •
After further discussion it was decidcd that the Committee would
reconvene on 6 January to,oxamine the organizational structure and
review the budget estinàtes for 1 9 5 、 it to be decided at that time
whether it would be necessary for the Committee to meet again after the
session of the Executive Board•
The meeting r.oso at 5^05