UK LARGELY WITH US ON UN SYSTEM OF INTERNAL JUSTICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 001411 SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/MPR AND EUR USUN FOR WILCOX AND RASHKOW E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/19/2018 TAGS: PREL AORC APER UNGA UNGA UNGA UK SUBJECT: UK LARGELY WITH US ON UN SYSTEM OF INTERNAL JUSTICE REF: A. STATE 51372 ¶B. USUN 413 Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills, Jr. for reasons 1.4 ( b) and (d) ¶1. (C) ON May 19, PolOff delivered Ref A on reforming the UN system of Internal Justice. HMG is in full agreement that the implementation of the new Internal Justice system is a top priority and agreed that any contentious issues should be left to further review after implementation, according to Jacqui Hutchison, in the Management and Finance section of the International Organizations Bureau at the FCO. In response to ref A demarche, Hutchison also told PolOff that HMG was in full agreement with the USG on: 1) keeping the new Internal Justice system limited to regular employees; 2) keeping the purview of the program limited to the terms of the employment contract, and; 3) limiting the purview of the UNAT appeal process to the facts of the case as presented at the original UNDT hearing. ¶2. (C) Hutchison said that on the other four points in the demarche, she believes HMG is also in full accord with the USG, but will need to consult and confirm HMG's position. These were: 1) the number of judges on the UNDT (Hutchison was under the impression that this had been resolved with a one-judge limit); 2) staff associations having only the rights they currently have under the existing agreement; 3) the damages section does contain a limit, and HMG will not support an open-ended damages protocol. Hutchison said she was less sure about HMG's position on the transition. She believes that HMG will also support a fresh start approach only for cases arising after implementation; however she understands that cases that have only been submitted, and not been reviewed, might be allowed to be included in the new process, provided little or no resources have been expended on these cases under the existing agreement. ¶3. (C) Hutchison reiterated that HMG shares the USG's concern that the deadline for implementation of the new UN Internal Justice protocol not be missed. Whether adjustments that Member States felt were justifiable, and that the Secretariat supported, were later added as amendments to the new protocol was something HMG was willing to revisit. HMG does not want any controversy about these proposals to delay implementation, said Hutchison. ¶4. (C) Hutchison underscored HMG's desire to work with the USG on this and other UN management reform issues. She mentioned the recently suspended discussions on reform in streamlining of contracts and condition of service agreements, particularly as they relate to peacekeeping. She indicated that HMG was frustrated that discussions on these aspects of peacekeeping reform remain unresolved. She said that HMG would like to revisit these as quickly as possible. Visit London's Classified Website: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_Kingdom TUTTLE