BRUSSELS — The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is in the process of moving 14% of its headquarters’ staff out of Geneva and New York, citing operational efficiency and costs. The decision has angered the staff council, which says it no longer accepts management’s explanations after years of ongoing restructuring.
The latest move impacts about 60 staffers, most of whom will go to The Hague and Istanbul, while the rest will move to regional offices, possibly including those in Panama City, Bangkok, Nairobi, Senegal’s Dakar, and Jordan’s Amman.
The move, which began last year and will continue in the coming months, is “in line with the SG’s vision of a more field-focused U.N.,” an OCHA spokesperson told Devex, referring to the organization’s secretary-general.