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14 October 2014

Dear colleagues,

Like your staff representatives, you must have been stunned to read the Administrative Circular AC/HR/42 announcing the cancellation of the “breastfeeding month” – a de facto reduction of maternity leave by 20%.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment is one of UNESCO’s ongoing global priorities. It is also an all-UN development goal. Let us not forget that women at UNESCO still have a harder time than men attaining managerial positions (look out for staff associations’ comments to document 195 EX/5 Part V in this regard). In spite of the DG’s statements, they struggle to enjoy equal treatment. In this context, how do we explain suppressing acquired rights that will negatively affect female staff at UNESCO HQ and Field Offices?

Indeed, as stated in the documents for the Executive Board’s 195^th session, only 34% of Directors and 36% at P5 level are women. In the redeployment process, 84% of GS affected staff were women and 65% of staff who opted for the Voluntary Mutual Separation Programme (VMSP) were women.

A decade ago, UNESCO announced publicly that it had the best family policy within the United Nations system. And it did, until now.

Deteriorating it today, under the pretext of UN-wide “harmonization” and negligible cost savings, is negating the Organization’s achievement. It is a regressive “harmonization” that would only add to the disillusionment of the Organization’s female staff.

Finally, scientific research has demonstrated the numerous health benefits of breastfeeding for children, stretching into teenage years and adulthood. Each additional month of breastfeeding offers children enhanced protection from various diseases. In case the Administration is unaware of this, staff associations suggest a quick search in PubMed -- the largest of citations and abstracts for biomedical literature.

Taking into account the arguments outlined above, staff associations call on the Director General and the Administration to withdraw the AC/HR/42 and cancel the reduction of the maternity leave with immediate effect.