Report Contents
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
Embassy Abu Dhabi should establish a schedule of regular meetings for the law enforcement and illicit finance working groups and the Ambassador or the deputy chief of mission should attend them.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should review mission goals and objectives to make them easier for staff members to understand and achieve and periodically update them.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should cease requesting special handling of traffic fines and process them in accordance with mission policy.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Abu Dhabi, should clarify the embassy’s role as a regional platform.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should develop a comprehensive multiyear plan that provides the mission with sufficient administrative support.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should calculate International Cooperative Administrative Support Services costs at the beginning of any discussion about new positions.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should bring its temporary duty processes into conformity with National Security Decision Directive 38.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should bring its timeline for authorizing the arrival dates of new employees into conformity with National Security Decision Directive 38 and International Cooperative Administrative Support Services guidelines.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should implement a policy on new locally employed staff positions, including charging for initial costs of the positions.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, should develop a timeline for the Department of Defense to provide a full-time contracting officer’s representative to Embassy Abu Dhabi to oversee the Defense Support Division contract.
The Bureau of Administration, in coordination with Embassy Abu Dhabi, should designate a contracting officer’s technical monitor in accordance with the terms of the Defense Support Division contract.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Abu Dhabi and the Office of the Under Secretary for Management, should conduct a review of the Defense Support Division contract that addresses quality of service and whether the contract should be continued or its obligations assumed by the embassy.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs should hire an independent auditor to determine whether actions taken and monies expended under the Defense Support Division contract conform to U.S. Government contracting regulations and to identify the actual costs to the U.S. Government of the contract to date, including embassy staff time.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should implement a comprehensive reporting plan.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should require political and economic staff in the mission to use a standardized filing system in shared section files.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should implement the worldwide visa referral policy to mandate that all visa case advocacies be handled through the referral system.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs should designate a senior level coordinator for Iranian consular issues and provide an appropriate budget to support travel and training.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should implement standard operating procedures for all aspects of its consular operations.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should review and update position descriptions in the mission’s two consular sections and establish a system for regular review.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should assign media responsibilities in the Dubai consular district to the consulate general’s public affairs section.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, should design an English language learning program targeted at low-income populations.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should implement a program to use embassy officers as speakers for outreach programs at American Corners.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs should close the Middle East Partnership Initiative regional office in Abu Dhabi.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, in coordination with Embassy Abu Dhabi and the Bureau of Human Resources, should review the work requirements and change the grade level of the principal officer position as appropriate.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs should include Consulate General Dubai on relevant policy-related cables.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with Embassy Abu Dhabi, should install a water fountain in the Dubai consular section waiting room.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should require Consulate General Dubai’s consular section to review all category one visa refusal files for completeness and scan them into the consular automated systems.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of Administration, should conduct a feasibility study on establishing a diplomatic post office for Consulate General Dubai.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should bring the mail screening facility at Consulate General Dubai up to standards or install a stand-alone mail-screening unit.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should schedule the designated alternate information systems security officer at Consulate General Dubai for information assurance training.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should stop assigning new employees to the Al Reef condominiums.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should sell the Al Reef condominiums at the earliest opportunity.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should identify separate warehouse spaces close to the embassy and to the consulate general and either lease or purchase it.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should implement a process to ensure timely notification to the housing office of new arrivals.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should conduct a feasibility study on implementing a daily shuttle to and from Consulate General Dubai.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should implement a plan to dispatch motor pool vehicles by radio.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should implement a policy for outsourcing some passenger expediting services.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, should conduct a comprehensive space and infrastructure review.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should institute regular meetings of the safety and health standing committee.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should perform a study of human resources staffing and recommend position increases to the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services Council, as appropriate.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of Human Resources, should formulate and implement title standards in conformance with local law and practice.
The Bureau of Administration should eliminate the rest and recuperation travel benefit for Embassy Abu Dhabi and Consulate General Dubai.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should review and reissue its human resource policies.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of Human Resources, should bring the local staff education benefit to a vote by the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services council and follow up with the Bureau of Human Resources to obtain the waiver to implement the education allowance.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Frankfurt Regional Support Center, should complete all position classification and reclassifications for Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should clarify the standards used in implementing special immigrant visa policy and disseminate it to employees and the locally employed staff committee.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should obtain clarification from the Bureau of Consular Affairs on whether the use of the political situation in a locally employed staff member’s home country may be an exceptional circumstance for the purpose of acquiring special immigrant visa status.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should eliminate or upgrade its Arabic language designated positions at the 2/1 level or below during the Department’s 2014 triennial review of language-designated positions.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should hire an additional locally employed budget analyst.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, should perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine the most efficient location to process financial vouchers.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should cease electronic funds transfer salary payments to official residence expenses staff.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should reissue its personal calls policy and set a minimum amount for which reimbursement is required.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should hire a second locally employed financial management assistant to serve as an alternate cashier at Consulate General Dubai.
Embassy Abu Dhabi, in coordination with the Frankfurt Regional Information Management Center, should conduct a site survey to improve radio communication to all embassy housing areas.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should respond formally to the Bureau of Administration, Office of Commissary and Recreational Affairs, recommendations regarding the employee association.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should draft a new license agreement between the association and the embassy and present it to the Bureau of Administration for review and approval.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should evaluate local health service providers.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should bring its receiving function into compliance with Department of State regulations.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should bring its maintenance property accountability functions into compliance with Department regulations.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should review and prioritize training needs across the mission and provide training accordingly.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should ratify the unauthorized commitment involving the Ambassador’s camera kit.
Embassy Abu Dhabi should cease using a government credit card for the Ambassador’s personal expenses.