Today, the ICTY celebrates United Nations Day as one of the four finalists for the prestigious Secretary-General Award in the category Achieving Gender Parity, standing out from many examples of excellence across the United Nations.
The ICTY achieved the goal of gender parity for professional and director level staff in 2009. Since then, the Tribunal has consistently maintained or exceeded it year after year, with around 60% women from 2014 onwards.
“The greatest tool to the ICTY achieving gender parity has been the simplest measure of all: recruiting the best person for the job. And empowering our staff, equally, has been the greatest tool to achieving our mandate. At the ICTY, both women and men thrived and, together, they brought about justice for heinous crimes” said ICTY Registrar John Hocking expressing gratitude to all who have contributed to this achievement over the years.
Describing the Tribunal’s gender equality successes, the Secretary-General Award nominating committee highlighted that the ICTY has “ensured that at all moments of a staff's time at the ICTY - from recruitment, to the day-to-day work culture, to, finally, the downsizing process - a positive, gender equal atmosphere prevails, with benefits and opportunities for both female and male staff members to succeed and thrive”.
The ICTY ranked in the top five across the United Nations for staff empowerment, ethics, integrity, and for offering an environment free from harassment or abuse of authority, where staff are treated equally regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability, according to the recent United Nations Global Staff Satisfaction Survey.
United Nations Day marks the entry into force in 1945 of the United Nations Charter and the establishment of the Organization. In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly declared that 24 October "shall be devoted to making known to the people of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support" for its work. On this day, the Secretary-General Award recognizes outstanding United Nations projects with great impact and staff who have contributed above and beyond the call of duty.
