The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is continually urging Governments to be accountable to their people, signed a new annual series of compacts last week with his own senior managers aimed at holding them accountable for their performances and at increasing transparency.
UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director, Joan Clos, and Achim Steiner, his counterpart at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), joined the signing ceremony by video-link from their global headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
“This is a compact, not only that you made, yourself, to your staff, but this is a compact and a demonstration of your commitment to the whole world,” the Secretary-General said.
All top UN officials signed the compacts for 2011. Dr. Clos said he was honoured to sign up: “Whether we want to improve the living conditions of the urban poor or encourage sustainable urban development through climate friendly cities, cooperation among all UN staff is essential. This compact will help unite our efforts to meet the common challenges facing the world today.”
Stressing the need for teamwork, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro added, “As you know, teamwork is essential to achieving our objectives. That is why the Secretary-General and I believe it is valuable and meaningful to gather as a group to sign these documents. We encourage you to work together and support one another.”
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