Topnews, Statements
10. September 2015
STATEMENT DELIVERED BY THE CHAIR OF THE AFRICAN GROUP, AMBASSADOR TEBOGO SEOKOLO, GOVERNOR/RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SOUTH AFRICA TO THE IAEA, BOARD OF GOVERNORS, 7-11 SEPTEMBER 2015, VIENNA, AUSTRIA
AGENDA ITEM (8b):
PERSONNEL MATTERS
STAFFING OF THE AGENCY’S SECRETARIAT
Madam Chair,
It is my pleasure to deliver this statement on behalf of the African Group. The Group thanks the Director General for his report regarding Personnel matters.
Madame Chair,
The African Group welcomes the Agency’s efforts to reduce time needed for recruitment, as well as its augmented talent acquisition programme to include a more focused sourcing strategy. Whilst we appreciate these efforts, we note with concern that as of 1 June 2015, out of the total number of regular posts in the professional and higher categories, 1144 of which, 97 were vacant.
The Group also notes that during the reporting period, the regional representation of the African region decreased to 8.3% of all Agency staff in the professional and higher positions. The African Group remains concerned that nationals of unrepresented or under-represented Member States accounted for 18.6% of all external applications and constituted only 16.7% of the total applicants. In this context, the Group wishes to strongly encourage the Agency to continue to prioritize its outreach to unrepresented or under-represented Member States in order to identify qualified staff and promote their job applications.
Madame Chair,
The African Group has also noted that the number of staff members from developing Member States decreased from 322 to 320, resulting in an unchanged representation of 31%, while Western Europe has the highest number of staff representation, followed by Eastern Europe, North America and the Far East. This situation continues to be undesirable, and the African Group strongly urges the Secretariat to work closer with developing countries in order to identify the skilled and competent work force that is needed from the African region and other developing Member States.
With these remarks the African Group recommends the Board to take note of the reports and submit it to the General Conference for consideration.
Thank you Madame Chair.