WORK OF AD HOC GROUP ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY MATTERS CHALLENGED IN COMMISSION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS
Press Release
SOC/NAR/738
WORK OF AD HOC GROUP ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY MATTERS CHALLENGED IN COMMISSION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS
19960426 Commission Begins Action on 18 Drafts on Drug-Related Topics(Issued as received from UN information Service in Vienna.)
VIENNA, 24 April -- Proposals were being made to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs by an unauthorized body, late in the session and not in the form of a draft resolution, the representative of the United States said this morning as the Commission considered administrative and budgetary matters. Her comments followed the introduction of proposals by the representative of Japan as Chairman of the ad hoc working group on administrative and budgetary matters.
Those proposals recommended rationalizing the work of the Commission, establishing an intersessional arrangement and enhancing the medium-term planning of the activities of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP). The ad hoc group Chairman then asked the Commission Chairman, Helmut Butke (Germany), for guidance, pointing out that the group had been authorized to make recommendations, its meeting had been announced and interested delegations had been invited to participate. If there had been no working group, the issues it addressed would have had to be debated in the plenary today. Statements on those proposals were also made by the representatives of Austria and Poland.
Under the same agenda item, Bertrand Juppin de Fondaumière, Deputy UNDCP Executive Director and Director of the Division for Treaty Implementation and Support Services, gave a progress report on action taken in response to various questions that arose during the reconvened thirty-eighth session of the Commission last December. The representatives of Japan, Mexico, Austria, United States and Colombia made statements.
As the Commission began considering the 18 draft resolutions before it, there ensued a discussion on informal revisions to a draft text on strengthening the role of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) by the development of a unified information system for the collection and analysis of data. The representative of the United States expressed
reservations, saying that there had not been sufficient time for discussion of the changes. The representative of Japan stated his concern about the ability of the Board to fulfil the obligations outlined in the draft with "existing resources".
Explaining that the reference in the draft to a unified information was only a first step in examining how the system could be developed, the representative of Colombia, a sponsor, said information systems existed, but they provided only partial information on some aspects of the drug problem and they were not interconnected. An analysis carried out by the Executive Director on the subject should be evaluated. She had been told there would be no budgetary implications in implementing the proposed information system. The representatives of Turkey, Cuba and China joined as co-sponsors of the draft; and further statements were made by the representatives of Spain and Japan.
In other action this morning, the Commission deferred consideration of two draft texts to tomorrow, pending the receipt of statements of their financial implications from Headquarters in New York. The texts deal with action to strengthen international cooperation to prevent the diversion of precursors and their substitutes used in the illicit manufacture of controlled substances and amphetamine-type stimulants, and with measures to combat the diversion of psychotropic substances.
Administrative and Budgetary Matters
BERTRAND JUPPIN DE FONDAUMIERE, Deputy Executive Director and Director of the Division for Treaty Implementation and Support Services of the UNDCP, drew attention to two administrative and budgetary matters. The first was a progress report on action taken in response to various questions that arose during the reconvened thirty-eighth session of the Commission last December. Those questions related to a review of the financial functioning of the UNDCP; a request to the Executive Director to assess the ability of the programme support cost arrangement to cover the administrative and substantive backstopping of technical cooperation projects; and clarification from the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) concerning its observation on the budget methodology. The second matter concerned the internal oversight mechanisms for operational funds in the United Nations system.
TADANORI INOMATA (Japan) emphasized the need for the Secretary-General to promulgate separate financial rules for the UNDCP. This matter was being reviewed by financial authorities at Headquarters, he said, yet when the Fund was established the Commission had been charged with the task of approving the budget. Financial authority rested with the Commission and the UNDCP Executive Director. The Commission was the true governing body of the Fund. It should establish policy and determine on how the financial resources would be sourced
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and used. Accordingly, Headquarters should not be the one to make decisions pertaining to the Fund.
As to the programme support cost arrangement, he requested that support costs be based on true costs rather than a percentage of income. Support costs usually accounted for 39 per cent of income and not 13 per cent as outlined in the report.
VICTOR ARRIAGA (Mexico) said that, bearing in mind the importance of the Fund, its activities and the amount of resources available, the UNDCP should have separate financial rules, all the more so because the Fund should be autonomous.
FERDINAND MAYRHOFER-GRUNBUHEL (Austria) and SANDRA ALZATE CIFUENTES (Colombia) associated their delegations with the statement made by Japan.
KATHLEEN WILKINSON PALA (United States) said her delegation would look with interest at the next report on this subject, with attention to the implications of having new rules specifically for the UNDCP. The United States would not want the Commission to spend long hours discussing the matter if there was no need for it.
Mr. DE FONDAUMIERE recalled that in 1991 the Secretary-General had made proposals for the management of the Fund, and had attached a set of draft financial rules which were reviewed by the ACABQ and the General Assembly. He informed the Commission that the Secretary-General had already been authorized to promulgate the rules.
Mr. INOMATA (Japan), in his capacity as Chairman of the ad hoc open-ended working group on administrative and budgetary matters, then summarized the proposals made by the group. He said there had been a convergence of views that the mandatory activities of the UNDCP should be fully financed, and that across-the-board downsizing was not appropriate for the Programme, which ran the risk of losing its critical mass.
Concerning efficiency problems, he said the group had discussed with secretariat representatives a number of options to streamline the Commission's agenda. The biannualization of discussions of certain items could result in shortening the sessions. The Commission could also determine whether it would be appropriate to consolidate the meetings of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA) and of the Subcommission on Illicit Drug Traffic and Related Matters in the Near and Middle East, with meetings of the regional demand reduction forums.
Regarding financial and budgetary matters, he said the group had noted that, in the absence of specific financial rules, problems were posed in the
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management of the UNDCP Fund. These included the establishment of reserves that would ensure the proper management of the Programme. In the view of the group, the new format of the medium-term plan emphasized the presentation of objectives only and did not provide adequate information on specific activities and detailed strategy.
He said the working group proposed that an intersessional working group be set up to rationalize the work of the Commission; establish an intersessional arrangement to which matters related to operational activities of the UNDCP as well as items of administrative and budgetary matters could be assigned; and to enhance the medium-term planning of UNDCP activities.
JANE E. BECKER (United States) said that an ad hoc open-ended group with no authority was making proposals that involved the scope and authority of the Commission and governance issues. The proposals, which were not in the form of a draft resolution, were presented without discussion. It was difficult to deal with proposals that were presented late and in an unusual manner, and which did not allow time for delegations to consult with their Governments or among themselves.
Mr. INOMATA (Japan) said he needed the Chairman's help, in as much as one delegation was saying that he had no authority to do what he had been asked to do. The working group had been authorized, its meeting had been announced, interested delegations had been invited to participate and the conclusions of the group had been presented today. How could a draft resolution have been produced when the deadline was last Friday? he asked. Could the group have produced a draft resolution when it was not clear what the views of the other delegations were? There was need for flexibility. The views of others could not be anticipated, and so the working group had convened to exchange views before the issue came up in plenary. If there had been no working group, the issue would have to be debated in plenary today. The Commission would then have had to wait for a summary by the Chairman before a draft resolution could be produced and then put to a vote.
Mr. MAYRHOFER-GRUNBUHEL (Austria) welcomed the group's report and urged the Commission to consider its own working methods. There had been widespread uneasiness regarding the methods employed by the Commission, which were neither the most efficient nor effective, and they should be discussed. For example, there was not enough time for informal discussions. He assured the representative of the United States that no items would be "rammed down anyone's throat", and agreed that further discussion and clarification on those items were needed.
IRENEUSZ MATELA (Poland) also welcomed the working group's report and called for the discussion on the matters that it had addressed to be
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finalized. He requested that the recommendations be written, perhaps as a non-paper.
Consideration of Draft Resolutions
The Commission Chairman, HELMUT BUTKE (Germany), announced that all 18 draft resolutions had been transmitted to the plenary.
Mr. DE FONDAUMIERE informed the Commission two draft resolutions had budgetary implications. They were the draft on "Actions to strengthen international cooperation to prevent diversion of precursors and their substitutes used in the illicit manufacture of controlled substances and amphetamine-type stimulants" (document E/CN.7/1996/L.2/rev.2); and the draft on "Measures to combat diversion of psychotropic substances and to establish effective control over operations carried out by intermediaries in international trade of psychotropic substances" (document E/CN.7/1996/L.13). The secretariat requested that action on those texts be deferred until tomorrow, when the financial statements would be available from New York.
The CHAIRMAN then announced that an informal revision of the draft resolution on strengthening the role of the INCB (document E/CN.7/1996/L.12) had been circulated.
Ms. ALZATE CIFUENTES (Colombia) reported that the text of the draft resolution on strengthening the role of the INCB by the development of a unified information system for the collection and analysis of data concerning the nature, patterns and trends of the global problem of drug abuse (document E/CN.7/1996/L.12) needed to be revised to reflect several last-minute changes. The text had benefited from comments made by a representative of the INCB, particularly those elements concerning the establishment of an information system.
OMER FARUK MUHURDAR (Turkey) asked to become a co-sponsor of L.12 and suggested certain modifications. PABLO A. RODRIGUEZ VIDAL (Cuba) and HUANG YONGAN (China) also requested to be co-sponsors.
Ms. BECKER (United States) said that many important issues, particularly pertaining to monitoring competence, were contained in the draft resolution. Because the text was submitted late, there had not been enough time for discussion of last-minute changes in the Committee of the Whole nor time for discussion within countries. The United States had in place a complex series of agencies that were involved in aspects of work relating to the INCB, all of which would have to review any additional changes to the text.
JOSE ANTONIO DE YTURRIAGA BARBERAN (Spain) said that although the original text of L.12 was in Spanish, the revised version had been distributed
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in English. While he agreed with its content, he disagreed with its formulation. There was inconsistency between the English and Spanish titles, although the English was perhaps more appropriate.
He expressed reservations about the concept of strengthening the role of the INCB through the development of a unified information system. The system should be developed, but that was not the objective of the Board, which should be to collect and analyse data concerning the nature, patterns and trends of global drug abuse. The draft gave the impression that the Commission was making a series of recommendations to strengthen the INCB itself. The Board had enough to do without having additional functions of a political nature ascribed to it.
The CHAIRMAN clarified that very often the term "drogas illicitadas" was used incorrectly to mean drug abuse. The proper term was "consumo indebido de drogas".
Mr. INOMATA (Japan) said there was a need to strengthen the INCB to enable it to carry out its mandatory functions in assisting Governments to implement their treaty obligations. The information activities of the Board were enormous. He was puzzled by last-minute changes to the paragraph of the text concerning the need for the INCB to fulfil the functions outlined in the draft resolution within "existing" resources, particularly given the funding situation. To retain that word would nullify the purpose of the resolution.
Ms. ALZATE CIFUENTES (Colombia) said that consultations had been carried out and a draft of the resolution had been submitted. The paragraph requesting the Executive Director "to report to the fortieth session of the Commission on current efforts to collect and analyse information on the nature, patterns of, and trends in, the illicit consumption, cultivation, manufacture, traffic and distribution of drugs, whether of natural origin or synthetic, to improving the formulation of prevention and control policies, both nationally and internationally, in those fields, to enhance public awareness of the international drug control situation, and to ensuring that the activities of the Programme are based on comprehensive and relevant information and knowledge, with a view to unifying the collection system for use by the Governments and the Board", only referred to a first step of what would be the requirements of the system and how the system could be developed.
She had been told that there would be no budgetary implications for the implementation of a unified information system. Other paragraphs referred to missions and visits and efforts to improve the way the Commission evaluated implementation and follow-up of the Global Programme of Action. She suggested that since the draft resolution was designed to strengthen the Board and initiate steps for the development of a unified information system, the
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Commission could perhaps change the title to incorporate the other elements that contributed to strengthening the INCB.
She said that information systems existed but they provided only partial information on some aspects of the drug problem and they were not interconnected. Since there was no way to connect them, an analysis carried out by the Executive Director on the development of a unified system should be evaluated. Concerning Japan's comments about the paragraph requesting the Secretary-General to allocate sufficient resources, within "existing" regular resources, to enable the Board to carry out the functions assigned to it in a proper manner, she pointed out that the change in that paragraph had, in fact, been suggested by the delegation of Japan. Changes regarding budgetary management had been made by experts on budgetary resources. If it presented difficulties, she would have no problem in removing it.
Mr. DE YTURRIAGA BARBERAN (Spain) agreed with Colombia's proposed change to the title of the draft resolution so that it would reflect two separate tasks: to strengthen the role of the INCB, and to develop an information system. Operative paragraph 1 should convey the message that one of the fundamental tasks of the INCB was to implement the national drug control treaties and that within that framework it should evaluate the global drug control programme. He suggested additional changes to the text.
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