Human Rights Council
Tenth Session
Resolution 10/5. Composition of staff of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Human Rights Council,
Recalling paragraph 5 (g) of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, in
which the Assembly decided that the Council should assume the role and responsibilities of
the Commission on Human Rights relating to the work of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights, as decided by the Assembly in its resolution 48/141 of
20 December 1993,
Taking note of all relevant resolutions on this issue adopted by the General Assembly, the
Commission on Human Rights and the Council,
Taking note also of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
on the composition of the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner (A/HRC/10/45),
Taking note further of the reports of the Joint Inspection Unit on the follow-up to the
management review of the Office of the High Commissioner (A/59/65-E/2004/48 and Add.1)
and on the funding and staffing of the Office (JIU/REP/2007/8),
Bearing in mind that an imbalance in the composition of the staff could diminish the
effectiveness of the work of the Office of the High Commissioner if it is perceived to be
culturally biased and unrepresentative of the United Nations as a whole,
Expressing its concern that, despite the repeated requests to correct the unbalanced
geographical distribution of the staff, the situation remains that one region accounts for more
than half of the posts of the Office of the High Commissioner and for more posts than the four
remaining regional groups combined,
Reaffirming the importance of continuing the ongoing efforts to address the imbalance
regarding the regional representation of the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner,
Underlining that the paramount consideration for employing staff at every level is the need
for the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, and taking into account
Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, expressing its conviction that this
objective is compatible with the principle of equitable geographical distribution,
Reaffirming that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the
General Assembly entrusted with responsibilities for administrative and budgetary matters,
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