ECO-DCCU Project Document

Letter of Agreement

The Secretariat of Economic Cooperation Organization - hereinafter referred to as ECO Secretariat, and 

The United Nations International Drug Control Programme – hereinafter referred to as UNDCP,

In compliance with the project document AD/RER/C38 Strengthening the Drug Control Coordination Unit (DCCU) at the Secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) – Phases 1 & 2, 

Have agreed as follows: 

ARTICLE 1

SCOPE OF THE PRESENT LETTER OF AGREEMENT

The present LETTER OF AGREEMENT will regulate the legal obligations arising from the staffing of the Drug Control Coordination Unit of the ECO Secretariat – hereinafter referred to as DCCU – established under the ECO Secretariat - UNDCP project AD/RER/C38 - Strengthening the DCCU at the ECO Secretariat Phases 1&2.

ARTICLE 2

RECRUITMENT, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PERSONNEL OF THE DRUG CONTROL COORDINATION UNIT OF THE ECO SECRETARIAT

The ECO Secretariat shall be responsible of launching the recruitment procedures and signing employment contracts related to the DCCU staff members, namely one Programme Officer, one Computer Operator/Web Manager, one Support Assistant/Tri-lingual Translator, and one Local Assistant. The Terms of Reference for the mentioned four DCCU positions have been defined into the attachments of the Project Document ECO Secretariat - UNDCP project AD/RER/C38 - Strengthening the DCCU at the ECO Secretariat Phases 1 & 2 signed by both Parties in … on... 

The ECO Secretariat will carry out the necessary screening and selection of DCCU Staff Member candidates in accordance with ECO Secretariat recruitment rules, and submit its findings and recommendations for recruitment to the UNDCP Office for Iran. 

Subject to the consultation with and recommendation of ECO and the UNDCP Office in Iran, the ECO Secretariat will then proceed to select and recruit the candidates who will be awarded with ECO Secretariat employment contract(s). DCCU staff members shall be considered as ECO’s DCCU Staff Members and shall not be considered in any respect as being staff members of UNDCP.

The rights and obligations of the DCCU staff members are strictly limited to the terms and conditions of employment contract(s) signed with the ECO Secretariat. The DCCU staff members shall not be entitled to any benefits, payment, subsidy, compensation or entitlement of UNDCP staff members.

Duration of DCCU staff members’ employment contract shall not exceed one year and be strictly linked to the duration of the project. The ECO Secretariat will submit to the UNDCP Office for Iran performance evaluation reports for each one of the DCCU employed staff one month before the expiring of each of the individual employment contracts signed by the ECO Secretariat with DCCU recruited staff. DCCU staff’s performance evaluation reports will have to be cleared and duly approved by the UNDCP Office for Iran.

Renewal of each one of the signed employment contracts shall be agreed by both parties and subject to the concurrence of both the ECO Secretariat and the UNDCP Office for Iran on the satisfactory performance of the individual DCCU employed staff. Renewal of DCCU contract shall not in any case exceed both the duration of the life span of the project and the budget available to the project for the employment of DCCU staff. 

The ECO Secretariat will be the sole responsible for the administration of the recruited staff. 

The UNDCP will not be responsible for securing the needed clearances and all other administrative requirements required for employing the selected DCCU staff in the I.R. of Iran, their staying in Iran, and the discharging of their functions both within the ECO Secretariat in Tehran, I.R. of Iran, and ECO Member States when on official missions. 

Any organizational, legislative and administrative changes at the ECO Secretariat that may impact on the employment status of the recruited DCCU staff members and thus functioning of DCCU operations, shall be discussed with UNDCP, and should the need arise, joint revisions on DCCU staff members employment status be consulted with UNDCP and decided following consultation with the UNDCP Office for Iran.

 ARTICLE 3

FUNDING OF EMPLOYMENT OF DCCU STAFF

Following the signature of the Project Document ECO Secretariat - UNDCP project AD/RER/C38 - Strengthening the DCCU at the ECO Secretariat Phases 1 & 2, the UNDCP will transfer to the ECO Secretariat the budget required for the employment of the DCCU staff. The total amount provided by UNDCP to the ECO Secretariat for the recruitment and employment of ECO staff has been set and agreed by both Parties in the Project Document signed by both parties in …on ... 

Upon signature of the present LETTER OF AGREEMENT the ECO Secretariat will submit to the UNDCP Office a request for allocation of funds including a breakdown of costs related to each individual employment contract. The ECO Secretariat’s request shall also detail one time emoluments (appointment travel, initial subsistence allowance, etc.) due to the DCCU recruited staff.  

Transfer of funds by UNDCP to the ECO Secretariat will be operated on semi annual basis and shall be supported by a requests for allocation of funds by the ECO secretariat to the UNDCP Office for Iran. Amounts transferred by UNDCP to ECO Secretariat will be calculated on the basis of the duration of employment contracts signed by the ECO Secretariat with DCCU selected staff in the each fiscal year.

By no way UNDCP will be held responsible for the payment of salaries and other financial emoluments due to DCCU recruited staff by ECO Secretariat exceeding the amount fixed into the signed PD. 

The Parties may however agree to review the total budget allocated by the project to the payment of DCCU staff salaries and emoluments. Amendments to the originally fixed budget shall be duly justified by ECO Secretariat and being in line with the overall salary scale adopted by ECO Secretariat for its own recruited staff posted in ECO Secretariat in Tehran and holding ECO Secretariat posts at the same level. 

Funds transferred by UNDCP to the ECO Secretariat for recruitment and employment of the DCCU staff will be administered by the ECO Secretariat and disbursed solely for the payment of salaries and other related emoluments due to DCCU recruited personnel. The ECO Secretariat will provide UNDCP with annual financial reports detailing all expenditures incurred by the ECO Secretariat for the employment of DCCU recruited staff. The ECO Secretariat through UNDCP will return unspent balances to the project. 

ARTICLE 4

 SPECIAL PROVISIONS TO BE INCLUDED INTO DCCU STAFF MEMBERS EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

ECO Secretariat will instruct DCCU staff not to communicate to any person, government or other entity external to UNDCP any unpublished information made known to them by reason of his or her association with UNDCP except by prior written authorization by UNDCP.

ECO Secretariat shall instruct DCCU staff not to advertise or publicize his /her association with UNDCP under the employment contract nor shall the name, emblem, or official seal of UNDCP be used for business or professional purposes or otherwise without the prior written approval of UNDCP. This provision shall survive the expiration or termination of this Letter of Agreement.

ECO Secretariat shall inform DCCU staff members of their status as provided under the present Letter of Agreement and in particular of the fact that DCCU staff members are not considered in any respect as being staff members of UNDCP.

ARTICLE 5

Settlement of Disputes

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Letter of Agreement should be settled by direct negotiation. If settlement by direct negotiation fails, the dispute shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules as in force at the date of this Agreement. The decision rendered in the arbitration shall constitute final adjudication of the dispute.