BUDGET COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS SPENDING OF $1.1 MILLION TO MAINTAIN UNITED NATIONS PRESENCE IN EL SALVADOR UNTIL END OF YEAR
Press Release
GA/AB/3073
BUDGET COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS SPENDING OF $1.1 MILLION TO MAINTAIN UNITED NATIONS PRESENCE IN EL SALVADOR UNTIL END OF YEAR
19960507 International Tribunals Also Discussed; Rwanda Asks If World Community Has Forgotten Magnitude of Crimes against HumanitySecretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali would be authorized to commit up to $1.1 million to maintain the United Nations presence in El Salvador from 1 May to 31 December, should the General Assembly adopt draft resolution A/50/L.72 on the United Nations Office of Verification in El Salvador, according to an oral decision adopted this afternoon by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary). That action was taken as the Committee considered the Office's implications for the 1996-1997 budget.
By the terms of the Committee's decision, the Secretary-General would be asked to propose to the Assembly by 15 May how he would absorb those costs in the 1996-1997 budget. He is to do so through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).
The 5-power draft resolution A/50/L.72 would have the Assembly establish the Office to follow up the implementation of the peace accords in El Salvador through the end of 1996. To be financed from within existing resources, the Office is to be headed by a D-2-level official with 7 international staff and 3 civilian police, supported by 11 local staff.
Speaking earlier on the financing of the International Tribunal for Rwanda, the representative of Rwanda questioned why only 12 trials would be held in 1996. He asked whether the international community had forgotten the magnitude of the crimes against humanity committed in his country. Political will was lacking to establish an efficient international system of justice and to make it work. Insurance should be provided for victims/witnesses as the success of the trials depended on them. However, he cautioned against the use of funds for defendants since most of the "the key architects of genocide in Rwanda possessed tremendous financial resources".
The reports of the ACABQ on the International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda were presented by its Chairman C.S.M. Mselle. Both he
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and Yukio Takasu, the United Nations Controller, responded to Member States during today's meeting.
Statements were made on the conference servicing for the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by the representatives of the United States, India, Trinidad and Tobago, Indonesia, Cuba, Italy and Costa Rica. Representatives of Mexico, Netherlands, United States and El Salvador spoke on the costs of the United Nations Office in El Salvador.
The Committee will met again at 3 p.m., on Thursday, 9 May, to take up the financing of peace-keeping and other operations in the former Yugoslavia and in Haiti, Liberia and Rwanda.
Committee Work Programme
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to continue its deliberations on aspects of the 1996-1997 budget related to the costs of the United Nations Office of Verification in El Salvador and to the conference servicing costs of the Conference on Climate Change. It was also to take up the funding of the International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Yugoslavia Tribunal
In his report on financing the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (document A/C.5/50/41) the Secretary-General states that the body would need $40.8 million, including 342 posts, in 1996. That would reflect an increase of 84 posts.
According to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Trials and Appeals Chambers require $2.1 million. Of that amount, $1.6 million would be for the judges' salaries and allowances -- annual salary of $145,000 for each of the 11 judges; an additional special allowance of $15,000 yearly for the Tribunal President; and an additional special allowance of $94 for the Vice-President for every day she acts as President, up to a cap of $9,400 per year. Also sought by the Secretary-General is $137,400 for installation allowance, removal of household effects and education grant.
The Prosecutor's office requires $14.4 million for the following: $12.5 million for 126 temporary posts and to establish 36 more, raising the total to 162; and $1.9 million for travel for investigations.
The Registry needs $16.5 million, of which $11.9 million is for a staff of 174. About $7.8 million is needed for programme support, which includes contractual services, general operating costs, supplies, and furniture and equipment.
The Hague-based Tribunal consists of the following: two Trial Chambers and an Appeals Chamber; the Prosecutor; and a Registry, servicing both the Chambers and the Prosecutor. The Chambers of 11 judges appointed are headed by the President of the Tribunal, assisted by the Vice-President.
In its report on the Tribunal (document A/50/925), the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) recommends that the Assembly appropriate $32.9 million (net) for the Tribunal for 1996. That would be in addition to $8.6 million gross ($7.6 million net) previously appropriated for 1 January to 31 March.
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The mode of financing the Tribunal should be reviewed earlier than the scheduled fifty-second General Assembly session, the ACABQ states, given the need to prepare for the long-term implications of the Tribunal's work and requirements that may arise in 1996.
Rwanda Tribunal
For the financing of the International Tribunal for Rwanda (document A/C.5/50/54), the Secretary-General estimates $38.8 million (net) for the Tribunal's operation in 1996. The amount includes proposals for 404 posts, an increase of 241 posts over those authorized for 1995. The estimate includes $7.1 million (net), previously authorized for the period from 1 January to 31 March 1996 by the ACABQ. The Secretary-General assumes that the current mode of financing of the Tribunal -- a 50/50 cost-sharing arrangement based on the scale of assessment for 1996 and the credits arising from the budget of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) -- will remain operative until reviewed by the General Assembly.
In 1996, the Tribunal is expected to hold 12 trials. The financial requirements therefore cover the establishment of the Tribunal and court proceedings. The proposed costs are for the judges' chambers, the Office of the Prosecutor, the Registry and programme support.
For the judges' chambers, a total of $1.3 million is estimated. That includes $797,300 for the salaries and allowances of six judges and the special allowance for the Tribunal's President and for the Vice-President when he acts as President. Other costs relate to the judges' common costs, temporary posts, consultants and travel.
A total of $12.2 million is estimated for the Office of the Prosecutor. Of that amount, $10 million is estimated for the salary and common staff costs for the immediate Office of the Prosecutor, and the sections responsible for investigations, prosecution, legal services, information management and records.
An amount of $9.7 million is estimated for the Registry which is responsible for the administration and servicing of the judicial infrastructure, the report states. Salary and common staff costs are estimated at $5.6 million. An amount of $3 million is included in the total costs to provide counsel to any accused unable to provide their own. That estimate is based on the number of hours required by a lawyer to prepare for the case and actual court presentation before the Trial and Appeal Chambers. Resources estimated at $600,000 are requested for travel for the Registrar to deliver warrants of arrests and for liaison and other duties undertaken by him and the Chief of Administration.
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Programme support requirements for the Tribunal including premises, equipment and vehicles will account for $15.5 million. That amount includes $8.4 million for premises in Arusha (the seat of the Tribunal), in Kigali (the location of the Prosecutor's office) and in The Hague.
In its report on the Rwanda Tribunal (document A/50/923), the ACABQ recommends that the Assembly approve $32.6 million gross ($29.4 million net) for the International Tribunal for Rwanda for 1996. This is in addition to $7.6 million gross ($7.1 million net) already appropriated for the period from 1 January to 31 March. On the larger issue of the Tribunal's financing, the Committee called for an advance of the review of the mode of financing, which was planned for the Assembly's fifty-second session, because of the need to prepare for the long-term implications of the Tribunal's work and requirements that may develop in 1996.
Highlighting a number of discrepancies in the presentation of the budget and in the arrangements for the Rwanda and Yugoslav Tribunals, the ACABQ emphasizes the need for uniformity and comparability between the two budgets. It also raises a number of issues of comparability of staffing and conditions of service for staff employed by the two Tribunals. In that connection, it reiterates its earlier recommendation that the Rwanda Tribunal should be granted delegation of authority in personnel matters to enable it to appoint international staff. It says lack of such authority has delayed the recruitment of appropriate staff and slowed the pace of the investigative functions of the Prosecutor's office.
The ACABQ also recommends that the conditions of service and allowances to be approved for the Yugoslav Tribunal judges be extended to the judges of the Rwanda Tribunal. The Committee was informed that the estimate for judges' salaries and allowances could be reduced from $797,300 to $539,100 in view of the fact that the judges were expected to take up residence on 1 June, later than originally expected, and since trials had not started. The judges were being paid a prorated salary on an "as when actually employed" basis. On a related issue, the ACABQ recommends that the amount of $30,000 not be approved for consultants and experts for the judges' chambers, since the Committee was not satisfied with the explanation given for the need for such expertise.
In its review of requirements for the Prosecutor's office, the ACABQ notes there was no need to establish a separate unit at The Hague to service the Rwanda Tribunal, due to the fact that there was one Prosecutor for both Tribunals. The Prosecutor should receive service wherever he was. Regarding security arrangements for the Tribunal, the Committee was informed that negotiations between the United Nations and the Tanzanian and Rwandan Governments should lead to an arrangement by which the Organization would pay for the guards provided by those Governments. The Committee questioned the need for a separate P-2 post of Public Relations Officer. It believes that
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those functions should be assigned to the Press and Information Unit which has provision for three posts.
Regarding the $3 million allocated for counsel for the accused unable to provide their own representations, the ACABQ recommends that procedures should be established to identify bona fide indigents. It recommends that procedures should be established for recovery of resources from accused persons who have been provided with defence counsels and are found not to qualify for such support. Noting that the Yugoslav Tribunal has provision for victim/witness insurance, the Committee observes that there was no comparable provision for the Rwanda Tribunal and stresses that there is no basis for the different treatment of witnesses.
In a related matter, the Committee notes that costs for the protection of victims and witnesses will be covered from voluntary contributions. Information on the status of such funds was not available to the Committee. It, therefore, recommends that the Secretary-General disclose fully, in the next budget presentation, both the receipt and the application of voluntary funds while taking account of confidentiality of information for the protection of victims and witnesses.
Conference of Climate Change Costs
The Secretary-General's report on the Conference servicing of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (document A/C.5/50/58) states that the full costs are estimated at $3.6 million for 1996 and $4.2 million for 1997, totalling $7.8 million for the biennium of which $2.2 million can be absorbed in the regular budget. Therefore, an additional $5.5 million -- $2.4 million for 1996 and $3.1 million for 1997 -- would be required in the context of the revised appropriation to be approved by the General Assembly's fifty-first session in December. The appropriation would be subject to the provisions of the contingency fund set up to accommodate additional spending derived from legislative mandates not covered in the budget. With the balance in that fund currently at $19.4 million, the net sum in it after providing $5.5 million for the Conference and its subsidiary bodies would be $13.9 million.
The $5.5 million would pay, among other things, for temporary assistance for meetings ($4.6 million), staff travel to meetings ($607,300) and reproduction paper ($223,000), according to the Secretary-General. The annual programme of meetings of the Conference and its subsidiary bodies would be 120 meetings over three two-week periods a year. Interpretation would be required in all six languages. During each two-week period, 40 meetings would be programmed for the sessions, with several bodies meeting at the same time. The total programme is equivalent to 12 weeks of meetings a year. The
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documentation requirements are estimated at 2,004 pages a year in the original language, comprising 147 documents.
In its report on the Conference of States Parties (document A/50/7/Add.15), the ACABQ observes that any additional appropriation approved by the Assembly would be subject to the contingency fund's provisions. After providing for the Conference and its subsidiary bodies, the net sum left in the fund would be $13.9 million.
(For background on the costs of the United Nations Office in El Salvador, see Press Release GA/AB 3072 of 6 May.)
Financing of International Tribunals
C.S.M. MSELLE, Chairman of the ACABQ, introduced his committee's reports on the International Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The two bodies had the same prosecutor and they also had unencumbered balances which would be used to reduce the assessments that would be levied on Member States for 1996. While the Yugoslavia Tribunal had taken some time but was now under way, that was not the case with the Tribunal for Rwanda, which had forecast 12 trials compared with the six expected at the Yugoslavia Tribunal. Some 342 posts were proposed for the Yugoslavia Tribunal and 404 for the one for Rwanda, excluding the judges. The ACABQ was surprised at some of the processes used at New York Headquarters for recruitment. Lack of delegation of authority to appoint international staff for Rwanda had caused delays in the appointment of staff. A similar situation existed in relation to the Yugoslavia Tribunal. Recruitment should proceed without delay. The ACABQ had not been satisfied with the information provided on the receipt and use of extrabudgetary resources.
He said that donors of voluntary contributions were charged 13 per cent support cost when the contributions resulted in additional financial liability for the United Nations. That was a policy issue that should be addressed by the Assembly, especially regarding personnel provided free of charge to the United Nations to occupy posts which would otherwise have been funded from assessments. Costs relating to the protection of victims and witnesses would be covered from voluntary contributions. The Committee was unable to ascertain the status of the expenditure of voluntary funds received by the Tribunal. The ACABQ had recommended that the Secretary-General disclose fully, in the context of the next budget presentation, both the receipt and the application of voluntary funds. Administrative and organizational structures should be streamlined. Efforts should be made to avoid having the United Nations pay for space that the Yugoslavia Tribunal did not need. He reviewed several other comments of the ACABQ on the two bodies.
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PIERRE-EMMANUEL UBALIJORO (Rwanda) welcomed the constructive approach taken by the ACABQ in analysing the budget presentations of the two International Tribunals. He said such a constructive methodology would help to compensate for any differential in approach to the two Tribunals. On the issue of staff appointments of the Rwanda Tribunal, he said it was painful to see that there had been delays in recruitment of appropriate personnel, which could generate a negative impact on the current reconciliation process in Rwanda. He appealed to the Committee to ensure that the Rwanda Tribunal was granted authority in personnel matters.
The completion of the investigative function of the Prosecutor's office would lead to the elimination of existing tension and distrust between the survivors of genocide, he continued. The international community must be reminded that there could be no genuine reconciliation in Rwanda without justice. It was difficult to understand why only 12 trials would be held in 1996. Had the international community forgotten the magnitude of the crimes against humanity committed in Rwanda? The political will was lacking to establish an efficient international system of justice and to make it work.
He requested that the same conditions of service be extended for the judges of the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals, to ensure at least a minimum of efficiency. He endorsed the observation of the ACABQ that the Prosecutor should receive services wherever he might be -- Kigali or in The Hague. There were difficulties in assigning the tremendous task of dealing with two Tribunals to one Prosecutor. The cases of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda were characterized by different realities, and therefore two different approaches were needed.
He stressed the importance of the provision of permanent interpretation services for the Tribunal in order to avoid delays in the trials. Regarding costs for defence council, he said that most of the key architects of genocide were in possession of financial resources and had looted Rwanda's economy "up to the last coin". Those funds were now in foreign bank accounts in known countries. There was some double standard in the lack of victim insurance for the Rwanda trials. It was unjust and insensitive not to establish a comparable provision for Rwanda, especially since the success of the trials relied on the cooperation of victims and witnesses. He thanked the countries which had contributed staff to the Tribunal.
Conference Services for Climate Change Conference
Mr. MSELLE introduced the report of the ACABQ on the revised estimates on the Conference of States Parties and its subsidiary bodies. In response to an inquiry as to why some staff were not recruited at Bonn, he said the ACABQ had been informed that in order to ensure appropriate service it would be necessary to send staff from Geneva to Bonn, at least for the 1997 meetings.
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However, for meetings held after 1997, it would be possible to recruit some staff at Bonn. The ACABQ trusted that the possibility of hiring some staff at Bonn for the 1997 meetings would still be explored and requested the Secretary-General to review the resource requirements for 1997 with a view to reducing costs.
The ACABQ, he added, had noted that the additional requirement to be considered for the biennium was $5.5 million ($2.5 million for 1996 and $3 million for 1997).
LINDA SHENWICK (United States) said she did not believe that the contingency fund should not be made available for the purpose of the Conference. The Secretary-General should try to accommodate the Conference's additional requirements within the existing resources of the 1996-1997 regular budget. The United States would not be able to proceed as requested by the Secretary-General.
VIJAY GOKHALE (India) said the Assembly had recognized the importance of those meetings, and the number of weeks sought for the meetings was essential. He welcomed the comments of the ACABQ Chairman and the contents of the ACABQ report, calling for some savings in documentation. The Conference on Climate Change was one of the most important activities of the United Nations in the social and economic sectors. The needs of the meetings should be fully funded. In allocating resources for the Conference from the contingency fund, the Secretariat should ensure that full servicing and other costs were provided for the meetings in Geneva and Bonn.
RAJIV RAMLAL (Trinidad and Tobago) said his delegation attached great importance to the Conference. Small islands had been in the forefront of negotiations on climate change and they were vulnerable to changes in climate and of sea levels. The Secretariat should assure him that the financing to be made available from the contingency fund would be enough for all the meetings of the Conference as mandated by the Assembly and included in the calendar of conferences.
PRAYONO ATIYANTO (Indonesia) associated himself with the views expressed by the representatives of India and Trinidad and Tobago.
ANA SILVA RODRIGUEZ ABASCAL (Cuba) expressed support for the full financing of the Conference's meetings. She would wait for the response of the Controller to the issues that had been raised by delegates.
BERNARDINO MANCINI (Italy) said regular budgetary procedures should be observed, and the Conference's needs met from the contingency fund.
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NAZARETH INCERA (Costa Rica) said her delegation attached great importance to the convening of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
YUKIO TAKASU said, in response to the questions raised, that the Assembly had adopted a resolution on the Conference without a vote. It had decided that 12 weeks of conference services would be provided for 1996 and 1997 and authorized the Secretary-General to make provisions for the Conference. Under the procedure established by Assembly resolution 41/213, a contingency fund was established for each biennium to accommodate additional expenditures derived from legislative mandates not provided for in the budget. The Assembly had noted that a balance of $19.4 million remained in the contingency fund for 1996-1997. The net amount available in that fund could provide for the additional $5.5 million needed to service the Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies.
Mr. GOKHALE (India) asked whether that meant that the Secretariat would proceed to make arrangements to fund the meetings.
Mr. TAKASU said that as long as the Assembly had retained its procedure on the contingency fund, the Secretariat would go ahead and provide services for the Conference.
Mr. GOKHALE (India) said he understood from the Controller's answer that the budgetary procedure had not been changed. He said he accepted the Secretariat's explanation that it would provide full funding for the meetings in keeping with the procedures established in Assembly resolution 41/213.
Ms. SHENWICK (United States) asked the Controller if it was not the Member States that had to decide on the use of the contingency fund. Although she recognized the importance of the activity, she believed it should not be financed by the fund at this time. Was it not the case that a decision not to invoke the use of the Fund was not contradictory to the budgetary process as stated in Assembly resolution 41/213? she asked.
Mr. TAKASU, United Nations Controller, recalled that the Assembly had created the contingency fund to regulate funding of activities after the budget had been approved. All mandates which fell outside the budget were to be dealt with under the contingency fund. There were exceptions stated in resolution 41/213, such as activities related to peace and security. It was for the Assembly to decide what activities could not be funded by the contingency fund. Currently, more than $19 million was available in the contingency fund. The amount needed to finance the conference services under discussion was $5.5 million.
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Mr. GOKALE (India) again stressed the importance of meetings of the States Parties to the Climate Change Convention. He insisted that the additional expenditures for those meetings should be met from the contingency fund in which funds were available. He asked the United States delegate if she would agree that the matter should be deferred to the next biennium if a decision could not be made on the use of the contingency fund. Such a decision would reflect that the matter was of low priority. Was that the position of the United States? he asked.
Ms. SHENWICK (United States) first addressed another question to the Controller. She asked again if resolution 41/213 did not require that Member States should decide on the use of the fund? In response to India, she said that the States Parties Conference was of tremendous substantive importance which must be funded within the $2.6 billion budget for the 1996-1997 biennium.
ERICH VILCHEZ ASHER (Nicaragua), Committee Chairman, said there was no consensus on the issue and that informal consultations would be held to resolve it.
Mr. TAKASU, United Nations Controller, outlined what items were considered to be outside the contingency fund. There was no other window to deal with additional financial requirements besides the contingency fund. He then recalled a decision made by the Fifth Committee in December 1995 by which it decided that conference servicing costs should be met from the regular budget and additional amounts would be considered at the resumed session. It had also decided that such an appropriation should be subjected to the use of the contingency fund.
Statements on UN Office in El Salvador
MARTA PENA (Mexico) said she would prefer to have the Secretary-General authorized to commit funds for the United Nations Office in El Salvador until the end of December, with the understanding that that would be the last extension for the El Salvador mission.
PAUL MENKVELD (Netherlands) said the procedure used to grant temporary financing for the International Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH) should be followed in the case of the Office in El Salvador. The MICIVIH had been granted commitment authority, pending a report from the Secretary-General by mid-May on how he would find the resources required. The Secretary-General should be authorized to commit resources for the Office up to the end of May.
Ms. PENA (Mexico) said she had not asked for any change in procedure established for other civilian missions. All she wanted was a commitment
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authority for the Office. She was ready to discuss the financing of such a commitment of resources.
Ms. SHENWICK (United States) asked the Controller to clarify whether the representative of Mexico was asking for the same kind of commitment authority as that granted to the United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA).
Mr. TAKASU said a commitment authority had been granted for MINUGUA while, at the same time, the Secretary-General had been asked to report back to the Assembly in May on how to actually fund the mission. The MINUGUA had been granted authority up to the end of the year while the MICIVIH had been granted one up to the end of May.
ERICH VILCHEZ ASHER (Nicaragua) proposed an oral draft decision by which the Fifth Committee would inform the Assembly that, should it adopt draft resolution A/50/L.72, the Secretary-General would be authorized to commit up to $1.1 million for the Office. By the terms of the oral draft, any additional appropriations eventually required would be considered by the Assembly in the context of the first performance report for the 1996-1997 biennium.
Mr. MENKVELD (Netherlands) said a commitment authority should be granted for the Office for the month of May pending a report by the middle of the month, explaining how the money for the Office would be found. That had been the procedure used to maintain MICIVIH, and operations of a similar nature should be placed on the same procedural footing.
ERICH VILCHEZ ASHER (Nicaragua) read out another oral draft decision by which the Fifth Committee would decide to inform the Assembly that, should it adopt draft resolution A/50/L.72, the Secretary-General would be authorized to commit up to $1.1 million to continue the United Nations presence in El Salvador from 1 May to 31 December. By the terms of the draft, the Secretary- General would be asked to present to the Assembly, through the ACABQ, no later than 15 May, proposals on how to absorb those costs in the 1996-1997 budget.
Ms. SHENWICK (United States) said she would seek the ACABQ's clarification on how much more could be saved from the $1.1 million. Apart from that, she was ready to proceed with the text.
Mr. MSELLE said that the $1.1 million represented the maximum amount that would be granted.
Ms. PENA (Mexico) said that the draft decision could be adopted after being read out again for her.
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Ms. SHENWICK (United States) asked for clarification to ensure that the text was the same as that used to finance MINUGUA.
She was assured. The draft decision was approved.
Explanation of Position
The representative of El Salvador expressed appreciation for the decision to approve resources for the first stage of the Office in his country.
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