Statutes and Regulations

The Statutes and Regulations of the United Nations Staff Union are available in PDF form here.

Part I – Statute

  1. Name
  • The name of the union shall be United Nations Staff Union which hereinafter will be referred to as “the Union”.
  1. Aims and Objectives
  • The aims and objectives of the Union shall be: To contribute to the promotion of the objectives of the Charter of the United Nations, in particular, by theefficient discharge of functions assigned to the Secretariat;
  • To promote and safeguard the rights, interests and welfare of all members of staff of the United Nations assigned to the Secretariat;
  • To maintain relations and cooperation with staff organizations and similar bodies of international and/or intergovernmental organizations, in particular, the specialized agencies;
  • To provide the Secretary-General and the Member States the views of the staff on issues affecting staff welfare and conditions of service, and seek resolution of issues arising therefrom.
  1. Membership
  • All staff members assigned to United Nations Secretariat in New York are members of the Union, including those assigned to offices away from Headquarters who report to Secretariat entities in New York and are not otherwise represented by a staff union or association at their duty station.
  • Local staff of secretariat field missions shall be associate members.
  1. Affiliation
  • The Union has the right to affiliate to any organization which furthers its aims, subject to the approval of a two thirds majority of the Council.
  • The Union or any part of the Union may not affiliate knowingly to an organization proscribed by the United Nations.
  • 3 Notice of the decision to affiliate to an external organization shall be communicated to the General Meeting, stating the name and a brief profile of such organization and details of any funds allocated to it.
  • 4 The Union shall review and publish annually a report listing the external organizations to which it is affiliated.
  1. Leadership
  • The President, 1st Vice-President and 2nd Vice President shall run for election in a single ticket and shall be elected by the staff-at-large.
  1. Executive Board
  • The Executive Board is the executive body of the Union and shall comprise the Leadership, a Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Rapporteur, and Assistant Rapporteur, who shall be granted time release on conditions prescribed by the General Assembly.
  • Members other than the Leadership shall be elected by the Council.
  • The duties of the Officers of the Union and the means by which they are elected or recalled shall be set forth in the Regulations made under this Statute.
  • The Executive Board shall report to the Council.
  1. Council
  • The Council shall be the legislative body of the Union and shall determine its operational policy, except where such policy is determined by General Meeting or referendum.
  • The Council shall establish working groups, panels and committees and receive such reports as it may require.
  • The membership of the Council, its standing orders and procedures shall be set forth in the Regulations made under this Statute.
  • The Council shall report to the General Meeting.
  1. Representatives
  • There shall be no less than thirty electoral units, each composed of between 150 to 200 members, with due regard to departmental structure.
  • Every electoral unit shall elect one representative and one alternate representative.
  • Associate members shall be represented by the Leadership.
  • The role of representatives shall be as defined under the Regulations made under this Statute.
  • Representatives shall not serve more than three consecutive terms.
  1. General Meeting
  • The General Meeting is held to ensure the accountability of the Union officers and Council members.
  • Participation in the General Meeting is open to all members of the Union, who may vote on all aspects of business.
  • Adoption of General Meeting decisions requires the presence of three hundred members as a minimum, and a two thirds majority of the votes cast by members present and voting.
  • The standing orders and procedures for calling the General Meeting and conducting its business shall be set forth in the Regulations made under this Statute.
  • There shall be two regular General Meetings per Council term.
  • The first Regular General Meeting shall be held during the first sixty days of the first calendar year of the Council’s term and shall: (a) Receive the Council’s report and present it to the staff-at-large; (b) Receive issues from the staff-at-large for the attention of the Council.
  • An Emergency General Meeting may be called by: (a) The President; (b) The Council; (c) Unit representatives; (d) A minimum of three hundred members of the Union.
  • An Emergency General Meeting shall discuss a single item of business only, and may: (a) Review, endorse, revoke and/or refer back policies of the Council; (b) Hold the Executive Board to account; (c) Act on behalf of the Regular General Meeting, as required.
  1. Referendum
  • A referendum shall be the highest decision making mechanism for establishing policy of the Union.
  • A referendum may be called for by: (a) A minimum of five hundred members of the Union; (b) The General Meeting; (c) The Council.
  • No issue shall be put to referendum if it had already been put to referendum within the previous twenty-four months.
  • A motion for a referendum shall be on a single issue and have a “yes” or “no” resolution.
  • A petition for a referendum shall include names, departments and original signatures of the petitioners and shall be received and verified by the Polling Officers.
  • The approval of an issue by a referendum requires as a minimum 1,000 votes, and a simple majority of the valid ballots cast.
  • Policy decided by a referendum shall immediately take effect and be binding upon the Union and shall supersede any previous policy.
  • All decisions resulting from a referendum shall only be reversed by referendum.
  1. Standing Committees
  • There shall be the following standing committees of the Union: (a) Arbitration Committee; (b) Audit Committee.
  1. Finance
  • The President is accountable to the membership for the finances of the Union.
  • The day-to-day administration of the Union finances shall be delegated by the President to a Treasurer with responsibility for finance.
  • The Union accounts shall be endorsed by the President prior to approval by the General Meeting, and made available to the public,
  • The Treasurer shall draw up the Union budget and monitor expenditure and income on behalf of the Council, and exercise other duties as set forth in the Financial Regulations made under this Statute.
  1. Elections
  • The Polling Officers shall be independently responsible for organizing and conducting elections, and publishing its results, as required by the Statute, Regulations and rules of procedure.
  • Only members of the Union may vote in Union elections.
  • All candidates for election to office must be dues paying members in good standing of the Union.
  • Elections shall be by Secretariat-wide secret ballot and may be conducted electronically or manually as determined by the Council.
  • Manual elections shall be conducted by polling stations in locations approved as such by the Polling officers.
  1. Operational Policy
  • Overall union policy shall be determined, amended, endorsed or revoked by General Meeting or referendum.
  • Operational policy shall be determined by the Council, subject to the provisions of Article 7, paragraph 1, above.
  • The overall and operational policies shall be binding on the whole Union.
  • The President shall ensure a record of all Union policies in force is available to any member of the Union.
  1. Compliance
  • The Arbitration Committee shall consider and rule on compliance matters as specified in the Regulations made under this Statute.
  1. Relationship with Administration
  • The relationship between the Union and Administration shall be as determined by the General Assembly.
  1. Interpretation
  • Words used in this Statute and in any Regulation made thereunder have the same meaning as in the UN Charter.
  • In the event of an unresolved dispute arising over the interpretation of the Statute, its Regulations or any policy the matter shall be referred to the Arbitration Committee.
  • In circumstances where an interpretation is sought from the Arbitration Committee, it shall be reported to the Council and duly recorded.
  1. Regulations
  • The Regulations of the Union shall deal with: (a) Membership; (b) Leadership; (c) Executive Board; (d) Council; (e) Representatives; (f) General Meeting; (g) Referendum; (h) Standing Committees; (i) Finance; (j) Elections; (k) Responsibilities.
  • The Regulations may be established, altered, amended or added to by resolution of the General Meeting pursuant to Article 9, paragraph 3.
  1. Amendment
  • This Statute shall be amended by referendum.
  1. Revocation
  • On completion of transitional arrangements, pursuant to Article 21, this Statute shall be binding on all parts of the Union and all previous Statutes and Regulations shall be duly revoked.
  1. Transition
  • This Statute shall provide the legal basis upon which the Polling Officers shall conduct the election of the next Staff Council and Leadership.
  • The incumbent Staff Council shall continue operating under the current Statute and Regulations until the new staff Council and Leadership assume office.
  • Staff representatives having served one term at the time this Statute is applicable shall be eligible to serve two additional consecutive terms.
  • Staff representatives having served two consecutive terms at the time this Statute is applicable shall be eligible to serve one additional consecutive term.
  • Staff representatives having served three consecutive terms at the time this Statute is applicable shall not be eligible to serve until one full term break has been completed.