U.S. Mission to International
Organizations in Vienna

IAEA Board of Governors Meeting, Agenda Item 7(b): Staffing of the Agency’s Secretariat

U.S. statement as delivered by Chargé d’Affaires Louis L. Bono
Vienna, Austria

Thank you, Madam.

We thank the Secretariat for submitting this report and for the information it provides on actions to implement resolution GC(63)/RES/14.A. We appreciate the inclusion of the Secretariat’s analysis on those geographical regions that are underrepresented. We also note the report’s findings of increased applications from nationals of unrepresented Member States, as well as the increases in both the number of applicants found to be well-qualified from those Member States and the number of new appointments made among them.

We also appreciate the document’s description of outreach measures to attract new talent and the Agency’s efforts to pursue such measures despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, we are concerned about declines in key indicators related to recruitment. In particular, we note that participation in the organization’s internship program has fallen for a second reporting period. We also note the Secretariat’s forecast of 317 regular professional staff departures in the next seven years, which represents a 13 percent increase from the last reporting cycle.

We therefore encourage the Agency to redouble its talent outreach activities to the fullest extent possible amidst the ongoing pandemic, giving due consideration to underrepresented and unrepresented Member States, as well as the recruitment of well-qualified women.

Thank you, Madam.