United Nations

Short-term interpreters working for UN System Organisations under an evergreen agreement

The AIIC UN Negotiating Delegation is there to defend your rights as interpreters and to uphold the Agreement between the United Nations Common System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (UNCEB) and AIIC, known as the UNCEB-AIIC Agreement. It regularly meets remotely throughout the year to discuss long-term as well as urgent issues, and in person during Sectoral meetings and Consultation Mechanism meetings. The Delegation liaises with the UNCEB and its member organisations on matters relating to the negotiation and interpretation of the Agreement, as well as with AIIC’s Executive Committee.

At the local level, Professional Delegations are interpreters’ first point of contact for a given organisation and liaise with the Chief Interpreter regarding various matters, which they may subsequently refer to the Negotiating Delegation if unresolved. In the absence of a Professional Delegation, interpreters may address the Negotiating Delegation directly.

The Agreement

In 2019, the outgoing Negotiating Delegation presented a new Agreement to members for adoption, an evergreen document that no longer expires every five years as was previously the case. This new Agreement is subject to renegotiation under special circumstances. A new Consultation Mechanism was introduced in Annex C to resolve disputes. This is a landmark development, a first in 50 years. The UNCEB-AIIC Agreement came into force on 1 January 2019.

Organisations covered

The AIIC-UNCEB Agreement applies to all short-term conference interpreters working at the United Nations and most of its specialised agencies:

── Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

── International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

── International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

── International Maritime Organization (IMO)

── International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

── Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)

── Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO Preparatory Commission)

── United Nations (including its departments, offices and regional commissions, as well as funds and programmes in the footnote and other entities administered by the United Nations Secretariat)

── United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

── United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

── Universal Postal Union (UPU)

── World Food Programme (WFP)

── World Health Organization (WHO) (including its regional offices and programmes: AFRO, AMRO, EMRO, EURO, SEARO, WPRO, IARC)

── World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

── World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

The following organisations have opted out of the Agreement:

── Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

── United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

── United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)

The AIIC-UN Negotiating Delegation

The Negotiating Delegation is composed of AIIC members, elected by members, candidates and pre-candidates at a Sectoral meeting. It represents all short-term interpreters working for the United Nations (members of AIIC or not) who are covered by the AIIC-UNCEB Agreement.

The current delegation was elected at the 4 May 2019 Sectoral meeting with a renewed mandate to advance the ratification of the Agreement by previously signatory Organisations, address non-compliance issues and organise the new Consultation Mechanism, inter alia.