Message from the Director RSCE

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the latest edition of our quarterly newsletter. In this 15th edition, I will share with you some updates and a few highlights from the second quarter of 2024.

The results of the 6th client satisfaction survey (CSAT-6) are available, and I am glad to announce that 80% of our clients are satisfied with the services we deliver across the continent. This is a 2.5% increase from the 77.5% achieved in 2022 and is the highest rating attained in the last 6 years. This is a testimony of the excellent performance you have displayed in empathetically serving our clients across Africa. Considering that we have now achieved the client satisfaction target, which was set at 80%, I have moved the target to 85% for CSAT-7. I have equally integrated the feedback received from clients into managers 2024/25 workplans to ensure that we address the gaps identified.

In April, we hosted the Security Council Military Staff Committee (MSC) for a 2-day visit aimed at better understanding RSCE’s work in supporting peace in Africa. In addition to meetings with the different sections of the centre, the MSC visited the UN C4ISR Academy for Peace Operations (UNCAP) for a briefing on the role and objectives of UNCAP in enhancing UN peacekeeping efforts through specialized technology training and partnerships. Impressed by the work of the centre, the MSC left Uganda satisfied that the support provided by the centre to Peace Keeping Operations is aligned with the Security Council mandate. I am sure the committee will become a strong ambassador of the centre at the Council.

World Malaria Day was celebrated on 25 April, a day during which we reminded all staff that malaria remains a threat to public health. Though it is both preventable and curable, mortality from the disease is still overwhelming with over 10,000 deaths due to malaria per year in Uganda alone. Our message is clear, “no mosquito bite, no malaria”. Protect yourselves and your family. See the link to the video: WORLD MALARIA DAY

This year during the Women’s Day celebrations, energized by the young women we invited on campus, determined to further their education through data literacy, I promised to donate computers to each of the schools that attended. At a ceremony organized on campus on 30 April, we handed over 90 laptops to 9 schools, and 10 laptops and 1 printer to the Ugandan Police supporting UN airport operations. This donation to schools is aimed at enhancing learners’ potential by equipping them with tools and technology that expands their horizons for the future. The impact of this donation was summarized by a headteacher who told us that he now had enough computers to upskill lower-level students who had been left behind due to a lack of equipment.

In May, I traveled to the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa with the Chief Strategic Planning Unit and colleagues from HRSD in DOS. Invited by the AU, we held several meetings with AU colleagues to better understand the AU operations in the areas of Human Resources, travel, finance, and logistics. The aim of the visit was to strengthen the current AU-UN cooperation framework and identify areas of collaboration. There is room for improved collaboration, and we are working on advancing that agenda.

On 5 June, we celebrated World Environment Day under the theme Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience We were joined on campus by the Entebbe Town Clerk and the Head of Corporate Communication from the National Environmental Management Authority. Both addressed the staff on environmental issues, viewed from a government lens. They praised the efforts of the centre in maintaining a green campus aligned with environmental goals. On the same day, we inaugurated the first phase of a rainwater harvesting project that will reduce water bills while providing ample water for irrigation, engineering, and sanitation needs, and planted 14 more trees on campus. This is in further confirmation of our commitment to safeguarding the environment in which we live and work.

The past few months have been challenging for the peace keeping world and particularly for UN operations in Africa. The closure of peace keeping operations in Mali and Sudan (MINUSMA & UNITAMS), and the gradual reduction of the footprint in the DRC (MONUSCO) have a direct consequence on our operations. Effective 1 July 2024, the staffing of the center will reduce accordingly. We are making efforts using resources available to keep the skills and staff despite the reduction in footprint.

The ASG for Support Operations DOS, Ms. Lisa Buttenheim, was in Entebbe on a 3-day visit and met with various managers at the RSCE who spoke with her at length about the work we do and updated her on several issues including the status of mission downsizing and liquidations of MINUSMA, UNITAMS and MONUSCO’s drawdown. She made a tour of the Service Lines and campus and was very appreciative of the work you all do, expressing her gratitude during the staff townhall.

Finally, I thank all who have contributed to previous editions of the RSCE Newsletter and the communications team for their efforts to make it happen. If you have an interesting story, contact the RSCE Communications Team at rsce-communications@un.org.

Paulin Djomo, Director RSCE