The latest report on Germany’s presence among the staff of international organisations presents trends and the activities of the German government in terms of international human resources policy in 2017 and 2018. This year’s report focuses on women in international organisations.

The German government already pays particular attention to highly qualified German women when candidates are selected. This also supports international organisations in their efforts to achieve gender parity. 

During the reporting period some important achievements were realised: German citizens were appointed to important executive posts within the UN system, including the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Secretariat, the World Health Organization and the World Food Programme. 

15 German-headed EU delegations

With respect to the leadership of EU delegations, further progress was made, with 15 of the EU’s 140 delegations now headed by German citizens, including such major locations as Moscow and Tokyo. 

German police officers currently head two EU missions, and within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Germany is the nation that holds the highest number of top-level posts, as well as providing the deputy mission leaders for two OSCE missions. 

Every two years the German government publishes a report on trends in German staff working for international organisations. 

German presence not yet achieved across the board

In spite of these achievements, an appropriate level of German presence has not yet been achieved across the board. The German government has thus set itself the goal of further increasing the percentage of staff accounted for by German citizens.

The framework is not easy. Emerging economies too have ground to make up and are pushing for greater representation. At the same time, financial constraints  are forcing many organisations to cut back on staff rather than recruit.