Secretary-General updates the Fifth Committee on status of UN business continuity arrangements

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appeared before the organization’s Administrative and Budgetary committee (the Fifth Committee) to provide an update on various activities and projects. Among the items on the agenda for the 7th December meeting in New York was the current status of the UN’s business continuity management arrangements.

Within the UN the concept of business continuity management originated as a response to the need to ensure pandemic influenza preparedness, but it has since expanded to a multi-hazards approach, ‘reflecting the multiplicity of risks currently facing the organization and its increasing dependency on information technology systems’. The annual budget for 2009 was set at approximately $3.72 million.

The Secretary-General told the Fifth Committee that:

“We must be able to ensure the continuity of critical operations when faced with pandemic, disaster, technological failures, terrorism or other such incidents.

“Departments and offices are in the process of developing strategies aimed at mitigating the impact of different risks. Despite the major efforts that have been undertaken to date, much more needs to be done.”

•Date: 8th Dec 2009• Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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