5 Nordem-like Structures in Other Countries

The existence of NORDEM-like national rosters for international assignments is not a precondition for seconding national citizens for such tasks. Multilateral organisations like the UN, the OSCE and the EU, have developed their own, global rosters, which are open for admissions to qualified staff from any member state. An independent institution like International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) also possesses an international recruitment system.

Global rosters do not, however, replace the need for national ones. They are obviously not able to pursue the specific foreign policy objectives of the individual member states in terms of filling certain types of positions in international organisations by their citizens, or in terms of giving priority to specific interventions from several possibilities. From a recruitment-professional point of view, national rosters are recognised as better able to identify and develop adequate human resources within a national context, which would be known in detail. The maintenance of national control over the screening, selection and submission processes, in the context of national transparency, independence and clarity of purpose and criteria appears to be the best, most efficient and sustainable means to provide personnel for international work.

Preference for national level operations has been adopted by the OSCE in its REACT roster and recommended in the Brahimi Report on the UN. While all applicants to the REACT Stand-by Force must meet general minimum requirements and, depending on the area of operations or level of position, established criteria set out by the OSCE. They must also fill out a common application form which is processed nationally.

5.1 Profiles of Comparable Organisations

Since the upsurge of "political assistance" since the early 1990s, several countries have created national rosters similar to NORDEM’s. More or less simultaneously, though, NORDEM was among the first, lending inspiration to others.

The EU has embarked on a long-term project to professionalise its election observation teams through the creation of a single EU-managed database for all member states, and the creation of a code of practice, which forms the core in the common training of observers. The EU has drawn up a professional code of conduct and a set of guidelines for the selection of electoral observers. Recruitment in the US for positions in international organisations is outsourced to a private company. This does not impede, however, that the Government itself identifies candidates for high-level positions or prescribes the company what type of personnel it should look for.

The Canadian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights

CANADEM was established as a result of difficulties that the Canadian Foreign Ministry had in deploying personnel in Rwanda 1994–95. It became operational in 1998. CANADEM is formally an independent institution with its own board. Its raison d’être is the creation of a database of Canadian personnel for international positions within both political and humanitarian assistance. CANADEM screens applicants less thoroughly than it is the case in the Nordic countries and does not provide training for the applicants. There is a large number of personnel on the list, including people with qualifications in the humanitarian subjects, ca. 2,000, and CANADEM has supplied candidates to more than 80 separate agencies.

Interested individuals are subject to a primary screening through a telephone or face-to-face interview that broadly focuses on personal and cultural skills. A questionnaire is filled out by the interested individual and, checked (for inconsistencies etc.) if necessary. A second screening occurs when a request for personnel comes in to CANADEM, where the request is matched against the register. CANADEM’s function here is essentially to provide a ‘short-list’ of possible candidates from the register and it is understood that the requesting agency will follow up with a final selection/screening process. In practice, however, international organisations tend not to have the resources to do so and rely generally on the short-list provided.

The situation described above is the most common mode of operation at CANADEM. However, there are three other ways in which the organisation helps match personnel to requests:

• Targeted short list with applicant-organised submissions. If a short list has been made, the individuals on it apply directly to the interested organisation.
• General call up. This is when the whole or part of the list is made aware of the job to be filled. Applicants ask CANADEM to submit their application to the requesting organisation. CANADEM ensures that only people with the right qualifications for the job (as set out by the requesting organisation) are submitted.
• General call up with applicant-organised submissions: This is when the whole or part of the list is made aware of the job to be filled. Applicants apply directly to the requesting organisation. In this case, there is no CANADEM guarantee that the applicants fill the requirements.

APSO Ireland

The Agency for Personnel Service Overseas (APSO) operates an Election Register, a Rapid Response Register and a service known as Special Services Overseas. Each function is based on the development of a register of qualified individuals. Suitable applicants are offered according to the needs of the international organisations (such as the UN) and NGOs. Selection is undertaken by APSO, which also carries out briefings and training across a range of areas such as project management, emergency health care and mediation and conflict transformation. APSO also provides language training. The Electoral Register is used to provide election monitors and other electoral staff for whom placement can be arranged by an implementing agency. APSO has no formal process for performance evaluation although it does provide debriefing opportunities for all personnel.

The Danish International Humanitarian Service

The Danish International Humanitarian Service (IHB) is a line-unit in the MFA. The different tasks political and humanitarian, are divided between MFA, NIHR and NRC in Norway, though the MFA has the final word. In this way, no space is left for disagreement between various bodies. The price is an experienced overburdening of this unit with the practical tasks, which NORDEM was constructed to take away from the MFA, and a consequent wish for outsourcing them, either in a NORDEM-type arrangement or to a private company. IHB attempts to encourage the spread of assignments by mainly avoiding more than six-month assignments. It encourages social and professional interaction among members. It has built a network with which members and stakeholders are very pleased.

SWEDEHUM
The Swedish Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights (SWEDEHUM) was established as a unit at Sida. It operates a roster very similar to that of IHB, supplying candidates for assignments mediated by the Swedish MFA. As such, it works in a way quite similar also to NORDEM, though SWEDEHUM is also part of a network with several other decentralised Swedish rosters, one of which is a common roster for Swedish development NGOs.

Both SWEDEHUM and IHB mainly recruit staff for secondments, as does NORDEM. The principle underlying pay is based on compensation for loss of former salary. Recruitment, training and briefing methods are inspired by NORDEM, but the training courses are shorter.

5.2 Comparison of Costs

If it were at all possible, a systematic comparison between the costs combined with the running of NORDEM and those of a similar structure in other countries would anyway require considerable effort as profound and comparable figures do not appear to be readily available anywhere. If comparisons should be exact, also fluctuating exchange rates and different taxation systems should have to be taken into account. However, some relevant indicators can be found which relate to deployment and administration costs (see Table 10 below).

Assignment Costs

Standard gross NORDEM costs related to the fielding of a secondee are estimated at roughly NOK 70,000 per month today as against approximately NOK 50,000 over the last five years. (It has proven difficult to reach a precise consensus about these composite figures.) The core element in the cost is salary, which varies on a scale from NOK 19,000 to 26,000 per month, to which is added a variable package of allowances for the secondee, such as the following (in NOK): (inconvenience: 2.500-4.500; risk 2,000–5,500, foreign service supplement 6,800–12,000; as well as travel and insurance outlays. Altogether, they amount to the figure given above.

Short-term assignments are comparatively more expensive than the longer ones. OSCE assignments are less expensive than others, because the OSCE covers part of the costs.

Table 10: Financial Costs of NORDEM Assistance, 1995 – 2000