UNESCO

The United States, citing concerns about mismanagement, spiraling budgets, and politically biased programs, withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1984. Little management reform occurred at UNESCO until after the election of a new Director General in 1987. Since then, member states and UNESCO officials have strengthened the organization's general management; the Executive Board has provided oversight leading to management reforms; and the Director General has been delegating authority, with directors now making decisions for their units. While UNESCO has not shifted a greater proportion of its resources to the field, it is trying to decentralize services. The Director General has improved UNESCO's accountability by expanding the role of the Inspector General and by filling vacancies in that office. UNESCO is now focusing on fewer activities. Program planning documents now specify program objectives, but not their expected results; UNESCO has evaluated the impact of only eight percent of its activities since 1986. UNESCO introduced a new staff appraisal system in 1990 tied to actual job performance, and a promotion system based on competition and merit is in the works. New controls over the use of consultants and other supplementary staff have been introduced, but notable gaps in implementation exist. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: UNESCO: Management Reforms Since the United States Withdrawal, by Frank C. Conahan, Assistant Comptroller General for National Security and International Affairs Programs, before the Subcommittee on Environment, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and before the Subcommittees on Human Rights and International Organizations and on International Operations, House Committee on Foreign Affairs. GAO/T-NSIAD-92-44, June 25, 1992 (eight pages).

GAO found that: (1) the United States withdrew from UNESCO in December 1984, stating that UNESCO was mismanaged, budget growth was out of control, and programs were politically biased; (2) the UNESCO General Conference, which makes policy for UNESCO, has adopted resolutions for management reform based on UNESCO Executive Board recommendations; (3) UNESCO directors are exercising their delegated authorities concerning personnel and funding; (4) UNESCO has taken steps towards decentralization by collecting information on field offices' needs and resources and strengthening their management by providing them with financial training and additional authority; (5) to ensure accountability, UNESCO has expanded the Inspector General's role, increased his staff and required field and headquarters administrative officers to report to the Deputy Director General for Management; (6) UNESCO has begun to narrow the focus of its work and to plan its activities more effectively, but program plans rarely specify the expected impact of programs or include quantitative indicators for measuring success; (7) UNESCO has introduced such personnel system reforms as a staff appraisal system based on job performance and reassessment of its job positions and salary grades to conform with International Civil Service Commission standards; (8) since 1988, UNESCO has reduced the real growth rate of its regular budgets, and its budget presentation has become clearer; and (9) UNESCO generally complies with its financial management regulations.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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