BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF FORMER UNITED NATIONS CIVIL SERVANTS
INTRODUCTION | AIMS | ORGANIZATION | CENTRAL ACTIVITIES | REGIONAL ACTIVITIES | OVERSEAS MEMBERS | EXTERNAL RELATIONS | MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSOCIATION | ENROLMENT AND SUBSCRIPTIONS | BAFUNCS BENEVOLENT FUND
Newsletter No. 53 | Newsletter No. 54 | Newsletter No. 55
BAFUNCS was founded on 21 July 1977 as an association for all United Nations Civil Servants, past and present, who live in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who intend to live there, or who live overseas and wish to maintain links with the UK.
How to contact BAFUNCS
Please direct enquiries as follows:
Membership:
Membership Secretary, 6 The Lawn, Ealing Green, LONDON W5 5ER
E-mail: bengoabc@talktalk.net
Pensions, health insurance and related matters (members only):
Michael Davies, Meadow Croft, Field Lane, Kingham, Oxon OX7 6YR
E-mail: mikedvd@hotmail.com
Newsletter and publications:
Tony Loftas
36 Manor Park Avenue, Princes Risborough, Bucks. HP27 9AS, UK
E-mail: tony.loftas@btinternet.com
Administration and related matters:
The Secretary, Hayward House, 18 Pelhams Walk, Esher, Surrey KT10 8QD
E-mail: stuartkean@aol.com
The aims of the Association are to:
• encourage and help members to keep in touch with former colleagues through social and cultural activities
• help members and their families to settle in the United Kingdom
• extend welfare support where needed to its members and their spouses
• represent members’ interests in their relations with the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies and with British Government Authorities
• support the Federation of Associations of Former United Nations Civil Servants (FAFICS) and liaise with bodies concerned with the protection and improvement of conditions of retirement
• cooperate with organizations engaged in mobilizing public support for the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies
The Association consists of a General Assembly of its members, an Executive Committee and regions. The General Assembly meets once a year and is presided over by the President of the Association. At the Annual General Assembly (AGA) the President and the other national officers of the Association are elected for the coming year. These officers are the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee and the Secretary and Treasurer to BAFUNCS. At the same time, six ordinary members are elected to the Committee. In addition, the Committee may co-opt up to four members with full voting powers.
The Executive Committee is responsible for the day-to-day running of the affairs of the Association. It usually holds five or six meetings a year. Vice-Presidents and Regional Representatives may also attend these sessions. In general, each member the Committee is responsible for one of the aims or central activities of the Association under the general policy guidance of the Committee and the Chairman.
The Association is divided into nine regions. The regions may organize themselves as they wish, provided only that they elect a Regional Representative to report on their activities and to liaise with the Executive Committee. They are responsible for local social and welfare support activities and assist the Executive Committee with the organization of the Annual General Assembly and Reunion. Overseas members have their own representative who is a member of the Executive Committee.
The Association does not maintain a central office; its officers work on a voluntary basis from their own homes. Contact with the Association is best made to individual members of the Committee as outlined above. They will undertake to ensure that the most appropriate person on the Committee will follow up such contacts.
The Annual General Assembly takes place during the Annual Reunion. The Reunion lasts two days and is
held in a different region each year. Past locations include Brighton, Cardiff, Eastbourne, Edinburgh, Kendal, Oxford, Peterborough, Poole, Chilworth (Southampton), Stratford-upon-Avon and Torquay. The business sessions are held in the mornings, leaving time for informal meetings, excursions and social activities. In recent years, two eminent guest speakers have given presentations on subjects of topical interest to members. Recent speakers include Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Dr Erik Jensen, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, General Sir Michael Rose and Lord (Ivor) Richard.
The Executive Committee convenes, prepares for and reports on the General Assembly. It issues information and reports on matters of interest to members and coordinates welfare support activities at the national level. It advises members on pension and staff health insurance problems and maintains direct contact with the European Office of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. It also maintains relations with other organizations, especially United Nations Organizations, the Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants (FAFICS) and the United Nations Association in the United Kingdom.
A Register of Membership is maintained and a Membership List is published annually in September with an update in the March issue of the BAFUNCS Newsletter. The BAFUNCS Membership List is for the exclusive use of the officers and members of the Association.
The BAFUNCS Newsletter is published twice a year in March and September. Although the Association has pages on two websites (in London and Geneva) the publication, which is in a magazine format, remains the main channel of communication between the Association and its members. In addition to articles and other items of interest to members, the March issue contains the Annual Report of the Executive Committee and other papers for the next General Assembly. The September issue reports on the Annual General Assembly and Reunion.
Briefs are sent by the Regional Convenor, a member of the Executive Committee, to the regions from time to time so that Regional Representatives can keep members in their region informed of any significant developments and, in particular, of forthcoming meetings and social events. Members can also access BAFUNCS pages on the website of the International Maritime Organization (bafuncs.imo.org/home.htm) for up to date information on social programmes. Seven information leaflets are available on application to the Membership Secretary: Guide to BAFUNCS; What to do when a pensioner dies; Accommodation for older people; Planning for retirement in the UK; Taxation in the UK (revised annually); Personal information checklists; and Guide to welfare support.
BAFUNCS cooperates closely with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which hosts the meetings of the Executive Committee and provides space for the Association on its website.
Members of the Association are scattered all over the British Isles as well as overseas. On joining the Association, members are assigned to a region according to their address. Should they wish to be assigned to a different one, they may ask the Membership Secretary to transfer them. All members can participate in the activities of other regions if they wish. In fact, the Association encourages members to join in the activities of other regions as well as their own.
Members of each region elect their own committee, which includes a Regional Representative and such officers as they may consider necessary. The regional officers provide a vital link between the regions and the Executive Committee. Regional Representatives are responsible for informing the Regional Convenor about local activities and views on current issues. During the Annual Reunion there is a meeting of Regional Representatives, which is reported to the General Assembly. A combined report of the activities of each region is published in issues of the BAFUNCS Newsletter.
Personal contact with their members is the main function of the regional officers. This includes recruiting and welcoming newcomers to the region, helping them to settle in, organizing a suitable programme of meetings and activities, and keeping members informed of them through regional circulars. Where feasible, the Regional Representative informs the officers responsible for the BAFUNCS pages on the IMO website and in the BAFUNCS Newsletter of forthcoming regional activities. Regions receive an allocation from central funds to cover administrative expenses.
The nature and number of regional meetings depends on members' interests and other factors such as the area of the region and the distribution of members within it. Where regions are very large or there is concentration of members, local meetings of like-minded people may be organized. Most meetings are intended for social purposes, but all regions have their own annual general meeting for the election of officers. Regional meetings may be held in restaurants, pubs or members' homes; they often include visits to places of interest, country houses, exhibitions or the theatre.
The regions are in the front line of the Association's welfare support activities, such as visits to sick, elderly or housebound members, and they are the channel through which deserving cases are brought to the attention of the BAFUNCS Benevolent Fund. The regions also provide a means of coordination with other local associations concerned with welfare, retirees and international cooperation. Many BAFUNCS members also belong to the UNA and speak at its local meetings.
Overseas members have their own Representative who is a member of the Executive Committee of the Association.
BAFUNCS became a member of the Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants (FAFICS) in June 1981. It is one of forty-two similar associations throughout the world. FAFICS (with its head office in Geneva) has consultative status, as a non-governmental organization, with the United Nations. The FAFICS Council meets at least once a year, usually in the place and at the time when the UN Joint Staff Pension Board, on which it has two non-voting seats, is meeting. Whenever possible, BAFUNCS is represented at Council meetings.
The largest member associations of FAFICS are in Geneva and New York and many BAFUNCS members who served at these duty stations are members of these as well. Being situated near the headquarters of the United Nations, these associations are well placed to follow closely all matters of relevance to former staff members, particularly the Pension Fund. BAFUNCS relies to a great extent on FAFICS where policy action concerning pensions is needed and through its membership of FAFICS it is part of the network that the United Nations organizations use to brief their retirees. The Chairman of the Executive Committee is the focal point for liaison with FAFICS.
Members of the BAFUNCS Executive Committee are appointed to liaise with the United Nations Association UK, the National Pensioners Convention, Age Concern and Help the Aged.
BAFUNCS has a Special Adviser reporting to the Executive Committee on the United Nations Careers Record Project II (UNCRP II), a follow up to an earlier project supported by BAFUNCS, in association with the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.
Members of the Association do not need to have British citizenship or even to reside in the United Kingdom. All nationalities are eligible and welcome; however, the Association is based in the United Kingdom and is subject to its laws, including those on taxation.
Full membership is open to any past or present staff members of the organizations or agencies of the United Nations system and their spouses. Widows and widowers of staff members can belong in their own right.
Associate membership is open to all persons who support the objects of the Association. They may participate fully in its activities, but they do not have the right to vote or hold office.
Serving staff members of United Nations organizations are encouraged to join the Association. Membership can be of particular value to them and to the Association in their last few years of service, especially if they intend to retire in the United Kingdom.
To join, prospective members should complete a Membership Application Form which can be obtained from the Membership Secretary (6 The Lawn, Ealing Green, LONDON W5 5ER, E-mail: bengoabc@talktalk.net). Since BAFUNCS welcomes active participation by its Members, attention is drawn to the second page of the Membership Application Form which invites prospective members to indicate experience or skills that they feel might be useful to the Association. Signing the Application Form is taken to confirm support for the aims of the Association and agreement to abide by its Constitution.
New members receive the latest Membership List, the Constitution, the most recent issue of the BAFUNCS Newsletter (which includes a list of national officers), the Guide to the BAFUNCS Benevolent Fund, and a copy of the document “When a pensioner dies”. The other information documents, including “Planning for retirement in the United Kingdom” are available from the Membership Secretary on request. New members are also provided with a list of regional officers, which includes the name of their Regional Representative.
While a cheque is acceptable in payment of the annual subscription, completion of a Banker's Standing Order (at the foot of the Application Form) is preferred. Payment by standing orders greatly reduces the work of the Honorary Treasurer and assists the Association in the preparation of its annual budget. Once the completed form is received, the bank will do the rest and there is no need for reminders for subscriptions every year. Payment by standing order can be cancelled (or changed) at any time by writing a note to the bank.
The Association is financed entirely by subscriptions. The annual standard subscription is £14 per person and £21 for a couple. These are the minimum subscription rates. New members are encouraged to be as generous as possible, bearing in mind that if they can pay more it helps to keep the basic subscription as low as possible. This, in turn, helps the Association's less well-placed members. Past generosity has meant that the subscriptions were kept unchanged from 1979 until 2004.
There are provisions for paying for life membership by a lump sum. This is open to members over the
age of 60. Life membership costs £140 for an individual member or £210 for a couple.
The Association has established a Benevolent Fund. Administratively, it is entirely separate from BAFUNCS, but it is under the control of Trustees drawn from and appointed by the Association. The BAFUNCS Benevolent Fund is registered with the UK Charity Commissioners (Registered Number 297524) which enables tax relief to be claimed on donations.
The Fund has its origin in a bequest of £5000 from a former member, Miss Esther Simmons. Its purpose is to give financial assistance to any former employees of the United Nations or its specialized Agencies and their dependants ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom. Beneficiaries do not have to be members of the Association. More information about it can be obtained from the Clerk to the Trustees, the BAFUNCS Regional Representatives or Regional Welfare Officers; BAFUNCS members are encouraged to bring to the attention of the Benevolent Fund cases where it may be able to help. Contributions by Gift Aid donations, legacies and gifts are most welcome. Further information is contained in the Guide to the BAFUNCS Benevolent Fund issued by the Trustees.
Please direct enquiries to:
Clerk/Treasurer, BAFUNCS Benevolent Fund, 41 Riverine, Grosvenor Drive, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 8PF
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Web page created 2009-06-05 / Last modified 2009-06-05