World Meteorological OrganizationEXECUTIVE COUNCILSixty-Ninth SessionGeneva, 10 to 17 May 2017

EC-69/INF 16.1(5)Submitted by:

Secretary-General9.V.2017

This EC-69/INF. 16.1(5) refers to EC-69/Doc. 16.1

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JOINT INSPECTION UNIT (JIU) RECOMMENDATIONS

OVERVIEW OF JOINT INSPECTION UNIT ACTIVITIES AND WMO RESPONSE

The present report provides a summary of JIU reports and notes and WMO management responses to recommendations contained in them.

Since the last report to the Audit Committee in May 2016 and Executive Council in June 2016, the Joint Inspection Unit issued six reports which were relevant to WMO. Highlights of these reports and the UN system/WMO response1 are given below.

1. Succession Planning in the United Nations system organizations (JIU/REP/2016/2)

The objectives of this system-wide review are to: (a) follow up and assess the progress made in developing a framework for a succession planning strategy and implementing relevant policies; (b) identify succession planning challenges and propose solutions; (c) identify and disseminate best/good practices; and (d) propose benchmarks for succession planning.

The main findings and conclusions were - lack of formal succession planning across the United Nations system and lack of a system-wide definition and stalemate at inter-agency level. The Inspectors suggested application of five benchmarks based on leading practices in the private and public sectors.

CEB comments (summary)

Organizations note that existing rules and regulations and established procedures may not support the approach to succession planning applied in the report. Others indicate that, when introducing succession planning schemes, consideration should be given to maintaining an adequate balance between advertising vacancies internally and/or externally to avoid creating expectations of career development on the part of existing staff, along with potential demotivation should someone else be appointed.

In addition, it is considered that the implementation of some of the recommendations may imply changes in policies and therefore require consultations with governing bodies. It was also suggested that the recommendations should be addressed for information only to some small headquarters-based, normative agencies.

1 CEB prepares a consolidated response to the JIU reports to be submitted to the UN General Assembly. Complete reports and CEB responses are available on the JIU website. WMO’s response to the JIU draft report is given in this report where CEB response is not yet finalized.

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2. Fraud prevention, detection and response in united nations system organizations (JIU/REP/2016/4)

The report addresses concerns that have been voiced by Member States and oversight bodies alike regarding the status of anti-fraud efforts in the United Nations system. It examines fraud prevention, detection and response in the United Nations system at the conceptual and operational levels, and advocates the adoption of a fraud management framework that seeks to provide guidance on ways of dealing with fraud.

CEB Comments (summary)

Several organizations noted that while they agree with the overall thrust and principles expressed in the report, they considered some of the proposed recommendations excessive for small, headquarters-based normative agencies, and suggested that the reports for these entities could be offered for information only, as implementation would represent a large portion of a very small operational budget. These entities suggested that the Joint Inspection Unit could be more cognizant of the resource limitations of small United Nations agencies and the limited number of annual fraud-related allegations, and that the investment of resources for fraud prevention must be balanced with other disciplinary matters.

Implementation depends on the profile, size and type of activity of each United Nations system entity. It was also noted that the implementation of many of the recommendations would depend on the outcome of recommendation 5, which calls for each entity to conduct a corporate fraud risk assessment, the outcome of which will determine the profile and exposure of each entity with respect to fraud.

3. Meta Evaluation and Synthesis of UNDAF Framework Evaluation with a particular focus on poverty reduction (JIU/REP/2016/6)

The present meta-evaluation and synthesis exercise of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework intends to examine both the quality of Framework evaluations conducted in the period 2009-2014 and to subsequently draw conclusions from those evaluations to provide an assessment of the contribution of the United Nations system to poverty reduction.

The evaluation concludes that there is an alarming lack of commitment from stakeholders in the Framework evaluation process, highlighted by the low level of compliance with the requirement for an evaluation and with the quality standards promoted in related guidance. Furthermore, a low level of participation from national stakeholders has been identified, along with significant issues of coordination and cooperation in the evaluation activities conducted by the United Nations entities at the country level.

CEB Comments (summary)

Organizations of the United Nations system welcomed the report and supported the key conclusions and recommendations, noting that implementation of the recommendations would result in higher levels of effectiveness, reduced transaction costs and higher accountability for the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.

4. Comprehensive review of United Nations system support for small island developing States: final findings (JIU/REP/2016/7)

The report assesses the system-wide coherence of the United Nations system support in implementing the SAMOA Pathway within the context of other relevant global mandates, with emphasis on the linkages with the overarching objective of sustainable development, following

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the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (General Assembly resolution 70/1).

WMO Comments (summary)

The report contains useful recommendations which are being considered by EC Working Group on Strategic and Operational Planning.

5. First State of the internal audit function in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2016/8)

Internal audit is a well-recognized and utilized function, which needs to be further capitalized on by governing bodies and donors for assurance on governance, internal control and risk management processes in United Nations system organizations.

Executive Heads need to institute effective management practices to ensure that oversight recommendations are effectively followed up and action plans are successfully concluded. A notable achievement across the United Nations system in recent years has been the establishment of independent oversight committees in large and most medium-sized organizations. The recommendations in this report are intended to strengthen an already sound internal audit function in the United Nations system organizations.

UN-RIAS Comments (summary)

The United Nations Representatives of Internal Audit Services (UN-RIAS) welcome the report of the Joint Inspection Unit of the UN system (JIU) on the “State of the Internal Audit Function”.

UN-RIAS wishes to underline the challenges faced by the internal audit functions given the diverse nature and varying geographical coverage of mandates, operations, capacities, business models, risk profiles and risk appetite across the UN organizations. When it comes to internal audit approaches, one size cannot therefore fit all.

The JIU report also seeks to address the harmonization of internal audit practices and collaboration across the United Nations system and gives due credit to the work of UN-RIAS, highlighting its importance as a forum to strengthen and harmonize the internal audit practices among the UN system organizations, and having done so despite resource constraints.

6. Safety and security in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2016/9)

The scope of the present review is system-wide. It covers the United Nations, its funds, programmes and specialized agencies, focusing on the Joint Inspection Unit participating organizations and members of the Inter-Agency Security Management Network. The review focuses on the services that the Department of Safety and Security, as the primary coordinating actor of the United Nations security management system, needs to effectively provide to the United Nations system; it addresses strategic system-wide issues and does not look into specific technical areas of safety and security.

WMO Comments (summary)

The report is relatively less relevant to WMO which has small field offices and operations which are collocated with NMHSs or UNDP and draw upon their security services, as recognized in the report. Recommendation numbers 3 and 5 calling for inclusion of compliance with security mechanisms in the performance appraisals of all staff members and incorporation of indicators in this respect in the performance appraisals of management and senior level staff are not consider pertinent due to the reason stated above and are therefore not considered practicable for WMO whose field staff are few and do not have assigned responsibilities in this regard.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS

In all, these reports contained 38 recommendations of which 11 were addressed to the “legislative bodies2” and 27 to the “executive head3”.

WMO response to the recommendations (including those ongoing from prior periods) is given in the Annex. Table 1 contains the recommendations addressed to the legislative bodies and Table 2 containing the recommendations addressed to the executive head.

__________

2 The WMO Executive Council or the Congress as appropriate3 The Secretary-General

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TABLE 1RECOMMENDATION FOR DECISION BY LEGISLATIVE ORGAN

RecommendationWMO

responsible officer

Acceptance Implementation Management Comments

Recommendations from Prior Periods2015/4 Public information and communications policies and practices

1. The legislative/governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should request the executive heads to embrace the nine benchmarks proposed in the present report, in order to enhance the strategic role of the public information and communications function in contributing to the achievement of organizational goals and priorities, thereby promoting global support for their organization.

D/CER Accepted Implemented

WMO has supported the recommendation and the benchmarks will be adopted as appropriate.

2014/9 Contract Management and Administration1. The legislative bodies of the United Nations system organizations should direct the Executive Heads of their organizations to update and, when necessary, develop specific policies, procedures, guidance and follow-up systems to ensure effective and efficient management of post-award contract activities.

D/REM Accepted In Progress

A Contract Management guide is being developed and should be circulated by the 2nd quarter of 2017.

3. The legislative bodies of the United Nations system organizations should direct the Executive Heads of their organizations to put in place a system whereby the persons designated to manage contracts after award are notified in writing about their accountability and responsibilities when managing a contract, and possess the required qualifications to manage the contract.

D/REM Accepted In Progress

New Contract Management tool in Oracle has been deployed. This measure, coupled with the development of a contract management guide currently being developed, shall address the recommendation.

2014/8 Use of non-staff personnel and related contractual modalities4. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should strengthen their internal monitoring, control and oversight of the use of non-staff personnel, through the sustained application of effective internal control mechanisms, systematic

D/REM Accepted In Progress March 2017: This recommendation cannot currently be addressed for lack of resources in HRD, the unit responsible for non-staff resources.

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corporate monitoring and information/data collection, analysis and audits. They should ensure that a central department/unit at the corporate level is held responsible for global monitoring, analysis and reporting on the issue.

5. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should ensure periodic analytical reporting both internally (to senior management) and externally (to the respective governing body) on the use of non-staff personnel in their organizations. Such reports should include detailed data and analysis on the use of non-staff, including the number of non-staff and associated expenditure, their weight in the total workforce, the breakdown of contractual modalities and the areas and locations used, the developing trends and the potential risks and corresponding measures

D/REM Accepted In Progress

March 2017: This recommendation cannot currently be addressed for lack of resources in HRD, the unit responsible for non-staff resources.

2013/4 Implementing Partners

6. The Executive Heads of United Nations system organizations should act to strengthen Implementing Partner agreements and other legal instruments in line with good practices so as to ensure the inclusion of all provisions needed to safeguard the interests and rights of their organizations.

D/REM Accepted In Progress

March 2017: A new section of the SI has been drafted to better define scope of application and process for the approval of LoA and MoU. This draft was submitted to Legal Counsel for review in October 2016. Still awaiting comments.

Recommendations from Current PeriodSuccession Planning (JIU/REP/2016/2)

1. The legislative/governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should exercise their oversight role and examine the causes for the lack of, and/or the delay in, the introduction of formal succession planning in their respective organizations, including the adequacy of current funding; and request the Executive Heads of

D/REM Not accepted The reason of non- acceptance was given to the JIU/CEB are reflected CEB comments to UNGA.“Organizations note that existing rules and regulations and established

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these organizations to develop formal succession planning without any further delay, by the end of 2017.

procedures may not support the approach to succession planning applied in the report. Others indicate that, when introducing succession planning schemes, consideration should be given to maintaining an adequate balance between advertising vacancies internally and/or externally to avoid creating expectations of career development on the part of existing staff, along with potential demotivation should someone else be appointed.”The WMO will continue its efforts towards improving those aspects of its internal processes which enable effective succession planning and are compatible with its regulatory framework and management practices

Fraud prevention, detection and (JIU/REP/2016/4)16. The legislative and governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should: place on their respective agendas a permanent or standing item relating to fraud prevention, detection and response; review on an annual basis the consolidated and comprehensive management report presented by the executive head on anti-fraud policy and activities; and provide

D/IOO Accepted Implemented The cases of fraud investigations are reported in IOO's annual report. In view of few such cases (1-2 per year) a separate agenda item is not considered necessary.

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high-level guidance and oversight on fraud-related matters.

Comprehensive review of United Nations system support for small island developing States: final findings (JIU/REP/2016/7)

1. The governing bodies of the United Nations system and of the multilateral environment agreements, taking into account the findings of the comprehensive review, should give precise system-wide coordinated guidance to the organizations so as to ensure that the priorities of the SAMOA Pathway are mainstreamed in the strategic plans, within the realm of the organizations’ mandates, and should encourage all stakeholders to make sufficient and predictable resources available for the effective and accelerated implementation of the Pathway.

DRA Accepted Implemented

17th World Meteorological Congress considered the SAMOA pathway strategy for SIDS and existing efforts of WMO and approved the creation of programme for SIDS and Member Island Territories through Resolution 54.

2. The governing bodies of the United Nations system should ensure that the strategic plans and work programmes of the system organizations include specific objectives related to the implementation of the SAMOA Pathway, within the realm of their respective mandates, to be measured against a set of established key performance indicators to monitor and report on the achievements.

DRA Accepted Implemented

UN system implementation matrix for the SAMOA pathway, containing action by the UN system falling within their respective mandates, time frame and deliverables has been prepared which addresses the actions called for these recommendations

3. The governing bodies of the United Nations system, in adopting the strategic plans and work programmes of the organizations, should encourage the organizations to ensure that the activities in support of sustainable development of SIDS, within the realm of the mandate of each organization, are aligned with the regional and national priorities identified by the Governments of those States, regional organizations and SIDS development partners, so as to foster the implementation

DRA Accepted Implemented Activities in support of sustainable development of SIDS are included in operating plans of relevant regional associations, Global Framework for Climate Services – for the SIDS (GFCS-SIDS), implementation plan for WMO Capacity Development Strategy and

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of the SAMOA Pathway as the blueprint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of SIDS.

other relevant programme initiatives.

4. The governing bodies of the United Nations system should request the organizations to coordinate the planning and implementation of their capacity-building activities in close consultation with the small island developing States and all partners for development so as to strengthen effectiveness and efficiency in providing support to achieve the goals defined in the SAMOA Pathway, while avoiding saturation of the absorptive capacity of SIDS at the country level.

DRA Accepted Implemented

The SAMOA pathway implementation matrix captures specific mandates of the UN system and areas where they expressed interest in focussing its work. Apart from WMO, the organizations that are part of the actions include IFAD, UNEP, UNIDO, UNCTAD, UNESCAP, UNISDR, UNDP etc.

6. The governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should encourage the allocation of predictable multi-year funding to facilitate the effective implementation of programmatic activities in support of the small island developing States, based on needs assessments prepared by the United Nations system organizations in consultation with SIDS and their relevant partners.

DRA Accepted Implemented

WMO continues to seek voluntary contribution for its initiatives in the SIDS region supporting the action for SAMOA pathway. The activities are also supported from regular budget to the extent possible.

7. The legislative and governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should ensure, based on the ongoing work of the United Nations Statistical Commission and, when relevant, on the work of the inter-agency forums and expert groups created to advise Member States, that the specificity of SIDS is explicitly considered in defining the elements of monitoring and accountability frameworks to report on progress made on the Sustainable Development Goals, so that processes and indicators are adapted to their needs and priorities identified at the national and regional levels.

DRA Accepted Implemented

SAMO Pathway implementation and reporting matrix aligns itself with sustainable development agenda of 2030 and integrates monitoring and accountability for the deliverables.

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8. The governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should coordinate their efforts in designing monitoring and accountability frameworks and tools adapted to the capacity of SIDS to monitor and report on the implementation of the SAMOA Pathway and other sustainable development-related global mandates, while avoiding the burden of multiple reporting frameworks.

DRA Accepted Implemented

The UN system efforts are coordinated through the combined efforts of the organizations. WMO activities are sought to be included in the operating plan as requested by the resolution, with appropriate performance indicators. WMO continues to coordinate its efforts through the coordination mechanisms of the UN system.

State of the internal audit function in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2016/8)1. Governing bodies should direct Executive Heads of United Nations system organizations to ensure that their heads of internal audit/oversight and oversight committee chairpersons attend the meetings of the governing bodies at least annually and are given the opportunity to respond to questions raised about their respective annual reports.

D/IOO Accepted Implemented

In WMO D/IOO and the chairperson of the AC present their reports to the EC every year.

9. Governing bodies of United Nations system organizations should ensure that the conditions for effective, independent, expert oversight committees are in place, and that the committees are fully functional in line with previous Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) recommendations, as reinforced in this report.

D/IOO Accepted Implemented

The AC terms of reference and effectiveness are reviewed by the Committee regularly and recommendations are made to EC if required.

TABLE 2RECOMMENDATION FOR ACTION BY EXECUTIVE HEAD

Recommendation WMO responsible

officer

Acceptance Implementation Management Comments /Focal Point

Assessment

Recommendations from Prior Periods2014/9 Contract Management and Administration

1. 4. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations

D/REM Accepted In Progress March 2017- New Contract Management tool in Oracle has been

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should re-assess the financial and human resource needs for post-award contract management in terms of current and projected contract volume, value, complexity and type and decide on the best support structures required (e.g. centralized or decentralized) to ensure best value for money and the achievement of the organization’s objectives.

deployed. This measure, coupled with the development of a contract management guide currently being developed, shall address the recommendation.

2. 5. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should develop a specific contract-management training programme in their organizations that would include courses offered as a requirement for all persons managing contracts of a certain size, value and complexity.

D/REM Accepted Implemented March 2017- New Contract Management tool in Oracle has been deployed and related training has been provided. It is proposed to close this recommendation.

3. 6. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should ensure that supervisors of persons managing contracts incorporate contract-management criteria in these persons’ annual performance evaluations.

D/REM Accepted In Progress March 2017- New Contract Management tool in Oracle has been deployed. This measure, coupled with the development of a contract management guide currently being developed, shall address the recommendation.

2015/5 Activities and resources devoted to address climate change4. 3. The Executive Heads

of the United Nations system organizations involved in areas with clear cross-linkages with climate change should elaborate and agree upon a common methodology to establish criteria to ensure the traceability of specific funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation, seeking consistency and

D/CER Accepted In Progress The recommendation will be addressed along with other UN organizations through coordination mechanisms of HLCP, HLCM and CEB

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coherence in the context of the climate change regime methodologies.

5. 4. Executive Heads of the member organizations of the CEB, under the leadership of the Secretary-General in his capacity as Chairperson of the CEB, should promote the development of a common information-sharing system for the measurement and monitoring of the United Nations system activities and resources aimed at addressing climate change, by sector and type of funding, so as to ensure the most cost-efficient and effective delivery of activities to tackle climate change.

D/CER Accepted In Progress WMO will work with CEB to evolve the common reporting system for activities and resources related to climate change activities.

Recommendations from Current PeriodSuccession Planning (JIU/REP/2016/2)

6. 2. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations, who have not yet done so, should instruct their human resources management offices to develop and implement appropriate frameworks for succession planning strategies, and devise appropriate guidelines on the succession planning process without any further delay, by the end of 2017.

D/REM Not Accepted

The WMO believes that the recommendations on succession planning, in the form proposed by the JIU, cannot be accepted since they conflict with the basic principle of competition which is applied in recruitment.The reason of non- acceptance given to the JIU/CEB are reflected in CEB comments to UNGA. “Organizations note that existing rules and regulations and established procedures may not support the approach to succession planning applied in the report. Others indicate that, when introducing succession planning schemes, consideration should be given to maintaining an adequate balance between advertising vacancies internally and/or externally to avoid creating expectations of career

7. 3. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should instruct their human resources management offices to adopt the benchmarks set out in the present report with a view to ensuring that their organizations have a sound succession planning process, and should report on the progress made to their legislative/governing

D/REM Not Accepted

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bodies. development on the part of existing staff, along with potential demotivation should someone else be appointed.”WMO will continue its efforts towards improving those aspects of its internal processes which enable effective succession planning and are compatible with its regulatory framework and management practices.Nevertheless, WMO is convinced of the importance of putting in place effective succession planning mechanisms to ensure that key positions becoming vacant can be filled without delay to ensure business continuity and avoid operational risks. For these reasons, WMO has implemented a range of measures, including identification of expected retirements, definition of acting arrangements, internal transfers and accelerated recruitment procedures to deal with such cases.

Fraud prevention, detection and (JIU/REP/2016/4)8. 1. The Secretary-

General of the United Nations and the Executive Heads of other United Nations system organizations should, in the framework of the Chief Executives Board (CEB), adopt common definitions regarding fraudulent, corrupt, collusive, coercive, and obstructive practices and present these to their respective legislative and governing bodies for endorsement. In this regard, the definitions used by the multilateral

D/REM Accepted In progress D/REM will actively pursue this recommendation in the context of the HLCM, being understood that its accomplishment depends upon the collective will of this body. For this reason, no binding target date can be provided for the fulfilment of this recommendation. (see also response to recommendation AC28).

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development banks should be considered for adoption. Concurrently, a joint statement with a clear and unambiguous position on fraud should be adopted by the CEB to set an appropriate “tone at the top” on a system-wide basis.

9. 2. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations, if they have not already done so, shall develop a corporate anti-fraud policy for their respective organizations or update an existing one, taking into account leading practices in the public and private sectors. The policy should be presented to the legislative and governing bodies for information, adoption and/or endorsement and should be reviewed and updated regularly.

D/REM Accepted In progress It is intended to address this recommendation in close cooperation with the newly recruited Ethics Officer. Initial discussions have taken place soon after his taking up of duties in November 2016. Target date for the completion of this recommendation is June 2017.

10. 3. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should take expeditious action to designate an overall corporate manager or entity at senior level to be the custodian of the anti-fraud policy and be responsible for the implementation, monitoring and periodic review of the policy.

D/REM Accepted In progress As part of the definition of the WMO anti-fraud policy, D/REM intends to propose that C/HRD is formally designated as custodian of this policy. Target date for the completion of this recommendation is June 2017.

11. 4. On the basis of a comprehensive needs assessment, the Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should establish a dedicated anti-fraud training and fraud awareness strategy for all members of the organization. At a minimum, anti-fraud training should be mandatory for staff in functional areas most prone to fraud and staff operating in fragile and

D/REM Accepted Implemented Anti-fraud training was provided to all the staff members in 2015. WMO is further exploring options of trainings available through UNKAMPUS portal.

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high-risk field environments.

12. 5. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should, if they have not already done so, conduct a comprehensive corporate fraud risk assessment, as an integral part of their enterprise risk management system or as a separate exercise, addressing fraud risks at all levels of their respective organization, including headquarters and field offices, as well as internal and external fraud risks. Such assessments shall be conducted at least biennially at the corporate level, and more frequently, based on need, at the operational level.

SPRMO Accepted In Progress Fraud risk assessment will be incorporated in the biennial risk assessment exercise and annual statement on internal controls.

13. 6. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations, if they have not already done so, should develop organization-specific comprehensive anti-fraud strategies and action plans for implementing their respective fraud policies. Such anti-fraud strategies should be based on the organization’s corporate fraud risk assessments and shall be an integral part of the overall organizational strategies and operational objectives. Based on the level of fraud risk, proportionate resources should be dedicated to operationalize the strategies and action plans.

D/REM Accepted In Progress To be done in conjunction with development of Fraud Management Policy - recommendation 2

14. 7. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations, if they have not already done so, should initiate

D/REM Accepted In Progress

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a review of their internal control framework to ensure that proportionate anti-fraud controls do exist and that fraud risks identified in the fraud risk assessments are adequately addressed in the internal control frameworks.

15. 8. When introducing or updating statements of internal controls, the Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should ensure that the statements address the adequacy of organization-wide anti-fraud controls, in accordance with good practices and applicable international standards. In the absence of a formal statement of internal controls, Executive Heads should certify in their annual reports to legislative and governing bodies that their organization has in place proportionate anti-fraud controls based on fraud risk assessments, and that appropriate fraud prevention, detection, response and data collection procedures and processes exist.

DSGSPRMO

Accepted Implemented The ERM process in WMO has been adjusted to explicitly address fraud risk is a key input to the SG's statement on Internal Controls. Statement on Internal Controls has also been adjusted to include the consideration of fraud related risks.

16. 9. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should instruct their legal offices to review and update the legal instruments for engaging third parties, such as vendors and implementing partners, with particular attention to anti-fraud clauses and provisions.

D/LC Accepted In Progress

17. 10. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should ensure that proportionate fraud prevention and detection capabilities are an integral part of

D/REM Accepted Implemented WMO management is of the opinion that the WMO ERP system already provides proportionate fraud prevention and detection capabilities. These capabilities are constantly monitored

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automation systems’ functionalities, including automated activity reports and data-mining modules in their respective enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs).

and adapted as necessary, in view of emerging needs and threats to ensure that they remain effective in conjunction with other organizational anti-fraud measures, being understood that no systems can provide a 100% guarantee. It is proposed to close this recommendation.

18. 11. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations, if they have not already done so, should revise their whistle-blower policies with a view to adopting good practices, and extend the duty to report fraud and other misconduct to contract employees, United Nations volunteers, interns and other non-staff, as well as to third parties, including vendors, suppliers, and implementing partners.

D/LC Accepted Implemented The WMO policy of protection against retaliation, already applies to all categories of staff including interns and volunteers.

19. 12. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organization, if they have not already done so, should implement the good practice of establishing a central intake mechanism for all fraud allegations in their respective organizations. In the interim, for organizations with decentralized intake mechanisms, immediate action should be taken to: (a) establish an obligation for decentralized intake units to report to a central authority any allegations received, ongoing cases under investigation and closed cases, indicating the action taken; and (b) establish formal intake procedures and guidelines, including: clear criteria for the preliminary

D/IOO Accepted Implemented All fraud allegations in WMO are handled by the Internal Oversight Office as per financial regulations and the charter of the IOO.

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assessment, the official, office or function authorized to make the assessment, the process to be followed and the arrangements for reporting on the results of the preliminary assessments.

20. 13. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations, in consultation with the audit advisory committees, should ensure that the investigation function of their respective organizations establishes key performance indicators for the conduct and completion of investigations, and has adequate capacity to investigate, based on a risk categorization and the type and complexity of the investigations.

D/IOO Accepted Implemented The investigation case load in WMO is small (1.5 cases per year). They are investigated in a timely manner and reports submitted. Summary of investigation activity is reported to AC.

21. 14. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations, in consultation with the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) of the United Nations, and their respective legal offices, should strengthen existing protocols and procedures for referrals of fraud cases (and other misconduct) to national enforcement authorities and courts for criminal and civil proceedings, as well as for asset recovery, and ensure that referrals are done in a timely and effective manner.

D/LC Accepted Implemented WMO has small field offices and operations. Consultation with national authorities can be carried out if required. The current arrangements are adequate

22. 15. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should present to their legislative and governing bodies on an annual basis a consolidated and comprehensive management report on

D/IOO Accepted Implemented The annual report of the Internal Oversight Office contains summary statistics on investigations into frauds/allegation of fraud.Progress in risk management which will now explicitly consider fraud risks is submitted

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the performance of anti-fraud activities, based on key performance indicators. The report shall include, inter alia, the level of fraud exposure, status of compliance with anti-fraud policies, fraud statistics, sanctions imposed, fraud losses and recovery of assets, and lessons learned.

to the Audit Committee. Current arrangements are considered adequate.

Meta-evaluation and synthesis (JIU/REP/2016/6)23. 4. The Secretary-

General should, in consultation with the Chief Executives’ Board for Coordination as appropriate, request other United Nations agencies to better coordinate their evaluation activities at the country level so that such activities can be better integrated into the United Nations Development Assistance Framework evaluation process.

D/CER Accepted Implemented WMO continues to participate in the CEB mechanism and align its practices according to the decisions taken.

Comprehensive review of United Nations system support for small island developing States: final findings (JIU/REP/2016/7)

24. 5. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations should ensure the participation of their organizations in the process led by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development to actively contribute to addressing the specificity of SIDS as a special case with tailor-made solutions, and should also ensure that new parameters of eligibility are designed for better access to financing for development for SIDS.

SPO Accepted Implemented WMO is not a development agency; however, it will work with the Inter-Agency Task Force on financing for development in this regard.

State of the internal audit function in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2016/8)25. 2. Executive Heads of

United Nations system organizations should involve the oversight committees and consult with the governing bodies in the

D/IOO Accepted Implemented In WMO, recruitment and separation of D/IOO is done in consultation with the President of WMO. Additionally the chairperson of the AC is

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hiring of the heads of internal audit/oversight, and in the termination of their tenure.

included in the interview board for recruitment of D/IOO.

26. 4. Heads of internal audit/oversight of United Nations system organizations who have not yet done so should consolidate in their annual/periodic or other report findings of recurring issues emanating from individual internal audit reports that cut across various offices, units or departments so as to enable the executive heads to systematically address them.

D/IOO Accepted Implemented WMO is a primarily a headquarter-based organization and to that extent the recommendation is less relevant. The annual report of the IOO presents the summary findings for Audit Committee and the Governing Bodies.

27. 5. Executive Heads of United Nations system organizations should ensure that their internal audit services have adequate financial and human resources to expand the use of information technology (IT) auditing techniques, and to employ, as appropriate, advanced data analytics and remote auditing, with a view to leveraging technology to provide more economical and comprehensive audit coverage.

D/IOO Accepted Implemented The IOO staff has requisite expertise in IT Audit.

28. 6. Executive Heads of United Nations system organizations, on the advice of their oversight committees, should allocate adequate financial and human resources to the internal audit services to ensure sufficient coverage of high-risk areas and adherence to established auditing cycles, as identified by the heads of internal audit/oversight during risk-based audit planning.

D/IOO Accepted Implemented The AC reviews the risk assessment, annual plan and resources as per its terms of reference.

Safety and security in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/2016/9)29. 1. The Executive Heads

of United Nations system organizations,

LC Accepted Implemented The recommendation has been brought to the notice of Legal

EC-69/INF. 16.1(5), p. 21

through the respective designated officers and in coordination with the Department of Safety and Security and the Office of Legal Affairs, should ensure that, by no later than April 2018:• Existing host country agreements within their respective organizations reflect the current security threats and contain commensurate security measures necessary to protect United Nations system organizations’ personnel and premises;• Future host country agreements contain a security annex reflecting the main responsibility of the host country with respect to the security of United Nations system organizations’ personnel and premises;• Existing and future host country agreements are regularly reviewed to reflect and adapt to changes in the respective security environments.

Counsel for ensuring that host country agreements entered into by WMO satisfy these requirements.

30. 2. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations, through the Inter-Agency Security Management Network and the Department of Safety and Security, should ensure that, by no later than January 2018, a comprehensive system-wide policy for road safety is finalized and ready for implementation within each of their respective organizations.

D/REM Accepted Implemented WMO will continue to follow the security policies as evolved through IASMN and DSS

31. 3. The Executive Heads of the United Nations system organizations that have not yet done so should ensure that, by no later than January 2018, appropriate security

D/REM Not Relevant WMO staff in the field are generally co-located with UNDP and do not have responsibilities for security management.

EC-69/INF. 16.1(5), p. 22

compliance mechanisms commensurate with the risk level assessed in each particular duty station are included in the individual performance appraisal systems in place for all staff within their respective organizations.

32. 5. The Executive heads of the United Nations system organizations that have not yet done so should, by no later than January 2018, incorporate safety and security compliance indicators in the performance assessments at every management level, including senior management.

D/REM Not Relevant WMO staff in the field are generally co-located with UNDP and do not have responsibilities for security management.

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