Travel Advisory
1. Official Travel
Due to the threat posed by the Corona virus (COVID-19), and to protect Mechanism personnel from infection, with immediate effect and until further notice, all official travel, whether within or outside of the country of the staff member’s duty station (including HR and entitlement travel such as initial deployment, home leave1 and education grant2 travel), shall be subject to (i) review by the Medical Unit for a risk assessment in relation to the Corona virus (COVID-19) and (ii) final approval by the Principal3 of the relevant organ. The Medical Unit’s assessment will indicate a low, medium or high risk of travel at the time of its assessment, and provide corresponding advisory information about any travel restrictions. This expanded review process applies to all travel funded by the Mechanism, including for example travel by staff, judges, defence counsel, consultants, contractors, witnesses, and monitors, as well as for official business travel by staff not funded by the Mechanism.
The determination as to whether a location constitutes an area with high risk of infection shall be made as part of the Internal Travel Approval process by the Medical Unit. The Medical Unit shall base its assessment on the available advice from the WHO, the UN Medical Division, and/or relevant national authorities. The Principals will take into account the assessment of the Medical Unit in determining if a prospective travel should be approved.
In order to implement the above, submission of an ITA is required for all official travel (including HR and Entitlement travel) as well as for all official travel for which a Travel Request in Umoja is not required (i.e. travel of no longer than two nights for which no transportation ticket needs to be purchased).
The assessment of whether a location constitutes an area with high risk of infection is subject to change, and approval may be withdrawn up until the time the travel occurs. Travellers should therefore remain in contact with the relevant medical unit of their respective branch. The traveller (or travel administrator on her or his behalf) must monitor WHO guidance before commencing the travel to double check whether their destination or transfer location(s) may have become an area with high risk of infection (see https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019). If so, and in case of any medical questions or concerns that may warrant a change in travel plans, travellers must contact the Medical Unit and the Principal (or designate) of their respective organ. Any changes to or cancelation of an itinerary must be immediately communicated via the normal travel amendment email addresses to be effected by the Travel Unit (Arusha branch: amendments-travel-ab@un.org; The Hague branch: amendments-travel-hb@un.org).
Staff members are reminded of their obligation to acquire both medical and security clearance for each official travel.
Staff members who do not wish to travel either at all or to certain destinations during the COVID 19 outbreak may opt out of official business travel requirements. Staff may indicate this before travel arrangements commence or after receipt of the medical advisory on their specific itinerary.
2. Personal travel
Staff members and others working with or for the Mechanism, and their dependents, are strongly discouraged from conducting personal travel to or via areas with a high risk of infection. In case of doubt about the risk assessment for your itinerary, please consult the above-mentioned WHO link and contact the Medical Unit of your Branch prior to travel. Staff must also be aware that re-entry into the duty station or departure from the countries to which they travel may not be possible, depending on the then-prevailing COVID-19 situation. Furthermore, pursuant to Rule 4.19 of the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules (“UN Staff Rules”), staff members who have travelled to, or via, an affected area, may be required by the Medical Unit to undergo medical tests and examinations, as necessary.
3. All travel
Upon return from travel of any type (official or personal), out of an abundance of caution and to minimize the risk of a spread of the virus, and effective immediately, before coming to a Mechanism premises all travellers must contact the Medical Unit by telephone for an assessment about return to the Mechanism premises (Arusha Medical Unit: 027 256 5339/5302; The Hague Medical Unit: 070 512 5244/5071).
If it is assessed that the traveller may not immediately return to work on the premises, the possibility of remote work shall be explored. In the event that remote work is not possible, three scenarios shall apply:
- The travel was official (official business, HR or entitlement travel): The staff member will be placed on special leave with pay until such time it is assessed by the Medical Unit that they may work on the premises;
- The travel was personal and at the time of commencing the travel, the itinerary did not include an area with high risk of infection: The staff member will be placed on special leave with pay until such time it is assessed by the Medical Unit that they may work on the premises;
- The travel was personal and at the time of commencing the travel, the staff member elected to travel despite the itinerary including an area with high risk of infection: The staff member must use (advance) annual leave or special leave without pay to cover any absence from work.
If the staff member is required to remain away from the premises, they are to remain in contact by phone with the Medical Unit during this period. Should they develop symptoms, they are obliged to also contact their medical practitioner (General Practitioner).
The above instructions apply, in principle, also to non-staff colleagues (e.g. interns, independent contractors): when arriving/returning from an area with high risk of infection, travellers will be subject to medical assessment as to their ability to work on the premises, and may be required to work remotely, where possible. Where remote work is not possible, the continuation of pay or use of leave (where applicable) is dependent on the non-staff colleague’s contractual situation and on whether the travel was official or personal.
1. Please refer to paragraphs 39-44 of the Corona Virus Administrative Guidelines (“Guidelines”), available on iSeek’s main page [insert link], regarding specific provisions for home leave and family visit. In brief, flexibility will be exercised to allow advance or deferred home leave, or an alternate destination.
2. Please refer to paragraphs 45-46 of the Guidelines. Flexibility will be exercised to allow advance or deferred education grant travel.
3. Or staff they designate to perform this function on their behalf.