For a  more detailed presentation of selected member states’ efforts to promote  U.N. employment for their nationals, see appendix V.

	Conclusions

The United Nations and its affiliated entities face the dual challenge of  attracting and retaining staff who meet the highest standards of efficiency,  competence, and integrity while maintaining the international character of  the organizations by ensuring equitable geographic balance in the  workforce. Nevertheless, U.N. organizations have made slow progress in  addressing U.S. concerns about underrepresentation, and except for the  U.N. Secretariat in New York, the organizations with representation targets  that we studied have not achieved equitable employment of Americans  since 1992. Although the U.N. organizations are ultimately responsible for  achieving fair geographic balance among its member countries, the State  Department, in coordination with other U.S. agencies, plays a role in  ensuring that the United States is equitably represented. U.N. organizations  have not fully developed long-range workforce planning strategies, and  neither State nor the U.N. agencies have formal recruiting and hiring action  plans to improve U.S. representation in the U.N. system. Without these  measures, the United States’ ability to even maintain the number of  Americans employed in the United Nations could be hampered.
What GAO Found

The United Nations (U.N.) and its affiliated entities face the dual challenge of attracting and retaining staff who meet the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity while maintaining the international character of the organizations by ensuring equitable geographic balance in the workforce. Nevertheless, U.N. organizations have made slow progress in addressing U.S. concerns about underrepresentation, and, except for the U.N. secretariat in New York, the organizations with representation targets that GAO studied have not achieved equitable employment of Americans since 1992. Although the U.N. organizations are ultimately responsible for achieving fair geographic balance among its member countries, the State Department, in coordination with other U.S. agencies, plays a role in ensuring that the United States is fairly represented. U.N. organizations have not fully developed long-range workforce planning strategies, and neither State nor the U.N. agencies have formal recruiting and hiring action plans to improve U.S. representation in the U.N. system. Without these measures, the United States' ability to even maintain the number of Americans employed in the United Nations could be hampered.