FIFTH COMMITTEE TAKES ACTION ON FINANCING OF PEACE-KEEPING OPERATIONS, INCLUDING LIMITING THEIR LIABILITIES

Press Release
GA/AB/3103

FIFTH COMMITTEE TAKES ACTION ON FINANCING OF PEACE-KEEPING OPERATIONS, INCLUDING LIMITING THEIR LIABILITIES

The General Assembly would authorize the Secretary-General to commit $12.5 million gross ($11.6 million net) to provide support to and for the liquidation of the combined United Nations Peace Forces in the former Yugoslavia for the period 1 November to 31 December, by the provisions of one of four texts approved without a vote this afternoon by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on those missions.

Also approved without a vote were drafts on the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH), the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) and peace-keeping liabilities.

In addition this afternoon, the Committee discussed the proposed $154 million savings from the 1996-1997 budget and pattern of conferences.

By the text approved on the forces in the former Yugoslavia, the Assembly would also urge the Secretary-General to ask some governments to reimburse the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNPROFOR) for its payment of at least $37 million as excise duty on petroleum, oil and lubricants since 1 October 1993, contrary to the status-of- forces agreement and United Nations general conditions on contracts.

The draft resolution on UNMIH would have the Assembly cut the appropriation and apportionment it had provided for the mission's liquidation, for the period beginning 1 July, from $15.9 million gross ($15.4 million net) to $1.2 million gross and net.

By the text on UNSMIH, the Assembly would appropriate $28.7 million gross ($27.5 million net) for the mission for the period 1 July to 31 December. As an ad hoc arrangement, the Assembly would apportion among Member States $24 million gross ($23 million net) for the period 1 July to 30 November, and another $4.7 million gross ($4.5 million net) for the period 1 to 31 December, should the Security Council extend the mandate of UNSMIH beyond 30 November.

Under the provisions of the draft resolution on the scope of liability for the activities of United Nations forces, the Assembly would endorse the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) that, among other things, the Secretary-General propose financial and time limits on United Nations liabilities and establish a standard format for preparing claims the Organization would consider.

Speaking on the proposed savings from the budget, the representative of Thailand expressed concern about their impact on some programmes that were important to developing countries, such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

The United Nations Controller, Yukio Takasu, said the Organization now had a disorderly, somewhat chaotic, budgetary process. After the approval of the initial budget 10 months ago, there had been a series of budgetary adjustments which made programme managers reorganize their work and staff. "While the Secretariat understands political reality, it is important for Member States to realize the significance and impact of their decisions on the orderly operation and functioning of the Organization", he added.

On the pattern of conferences, the representative of Yemen, supported by Syria and Saudi Arabia, said that the Secretariat should not hold meetings on the two religious days of Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha.

The representatives of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria emphasized the need to improve the quality of translations and interpretations into Arabic. They also asked the Secretariat to ensure that all documents and services such as the optical disk system and the Internet were made available in all official United Nations languages.

The representatives of Canada, speaking also for New Zealand and Australia, and of Zimbabwe also spoke on the budget savings. The representatives of Canada, Costa Rica (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), Mexico and Cuba made comments on statements made by the Under-Secretary-General of Administration and Management, Joseph Connor, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, Denis Halliday.

In addition, the representatives of the Republic of Korea and Cuba spoke on the pattern of conferences. The representatives of Cuba, Syria and the United States made comments on a statement by the Assistant Secretary-General for Conference and Support Services, Benon Sevan.

The Chairman of the Committee on Conferences, El Hassane Zahid (Morocco) made a statement.

The Committee is scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 1 November, to consider the proposed 1998-2001 medium-term plan, which falls under the agenda item on programme planning.

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Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to take action on the funding of the United Nations forces in the former Yugoslavia, on the financing of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) and of the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) and on United Nations peace-keeping liabilities. (For details on the draft texts, see Press Release GA/AB 3102 of 31 October.)

The Committee was also scheduled to continue discussing the proposed cuts from the 1996-1997 budget, pattern of conferences and programme planning. Under programme planning the Committee would discuss the Organization's proposed medium-term plan for the period 1998-2001, in particular the two introductory documents to the plan -- "Perspective" and "Note". (For details of the medium-term plan, see Press Release GA/AB/3096 of 21 October.)

Action on Financing of Peace-keeping Operations

MOVSES ABELIAN (Armenia), who had conducted consultations on the draft texts on the missions, introduced and reviewed them. He stressed the fact that paragraph 7 of the draft resolution on the financing of the missions would ask the Secretary-General to issue no later than 8 December, a performance report for the period from 1 January to 30 June. He also introduced the draft on the liabilities of United Nations peace-keeping operations. He asked for their approval without a vote.

The Committee approved them without a vote.

MARTA PENA (Mexico), who had conducted the informal consultations on the texts, introduced and reviewed the draft resolutions on the UNMIH and the UNSMIH. The draft resolution on UNMIH expressed in paragraph 6 the Assembly's request for the Secretary-General to explain the overspending of the mission's original estimates by $6.7 million. The draft should be approved without a vote. She also introduced the draft resolution on UNSMIH, asking for its approval without a vote.

Both drafts were approved without a vote.

Statements on Proposed Savings from Regular Budget

SAM HANSON (Canada), also speaking for Australia and New Zealand, commended the Secretary-General and his managers for their speedy development of a strategy for implementing the budget cuts required by the General Assembly. That was not the first time that the Secretariat was having to cut staff, as it had been able to reduce the overall number of regular budget posts by 15 per cent as requested by a 1986 Assembly resolution. One of the reasons why the Secretary-General had been able to respond to resolution 50/214 of December 1995 on the budget was because it called for a partial achievement of the savings through a management of the vacancy rate and not by the abolition of posts. The future of the posts vacated would be addressed in

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the context of the proposed budget for 1998-1999. Had the Secretary-General not acted quickly to identify savings which fell within his purview as the Chief Administrative Officer, the Fifth Committee would have been faced with deciding on far more drastic cuts or considering a substantial increase in the biennial appropriations or a retrospective increase in the regular budget assessments for 1996. "There appear to be some who take a totalitarian view of the Secretary-General and his functions. They seem to believe that the Secretary-General must not do anything which he is not mandated to do, and must do everything he is mandated to do, and there is no room in between for any discretion or exercise of initiative. We do not agree", he said.

The Secretary-General, he continued, had a free hand within the framework of the United Nations Charter and staff rules to manage the Secretariat as he judged best and to implement savings he considered appropriate. The Organization should move towards more delegation of management. The proposed savings had been achieved without the involuntary separation of a single staff and with the redeployment of only 58, or 6.2 per cent, of the 933 staff affected by the increased vacancy rate. That showed a great degree of flexibility in the Secretariat. He applauded the creation of the Efficiency Board, adding that its reviews should become a regular feature of the Organization's management. The delegations he represented did not agree with the various criticisms of the Secretary- General's savings proposals. For example, there seemed to be a concern that posts and other staff costs might have provided a disproportionate share of the savings. But having analysed the Secretary-General's proposals, they had found that, contrary to that impression, several non-post objects of expenditure had borne deeper cuts in proportion of their share of the budget. Consultants and contractual services had provided a greater proportion of the savings than their relative share of the budget. However, posts and other staff costs, which constituted over 75 per cent of the budget, accounted for less than 75 per cent of the savings.

He said that, while the Secretary-General had proposed cuts of only 4.7 per cent for the Department of Administration and Management, other departments were facing overall average cuts of 5.5 per cent. Therefore, further cuts could be made from the provisions for administrative activities. On the additional mandates, such as those for the United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), the International Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH) and other missions, he said that their estimates had dropped by 23 per cent, from $120 million to $92 million. The Secretary- General seemed to assume that those expenditures could be absorbed in 1996 and had offered no strategy for covering it in 1997. Delegations could make suggestions on how to meet those expenditures but only the Secretary-General could absorb those costs in a neutral and objective way.

THAKUR PHANIT (Thailand) said Member States had been forced to adopt the unprecedented practice of having to consider first the amount to be appropriated in the 1996-1997 budget. As a result of the capping of the budget as approved in resolution 50/214, the Organization had found itself in a difficult situation. There was cause for concern that the Secretariat had

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concluded that the savings could not be made without a significant reduction in staff costs. The real challenge was for the Assembly to accept that the magnitude of reductions could not be achieved without adverse effects on programme delivery. It should not continue to call on the Secretary-General to fulfil the provisions of the budget resolution since it was now clear that it was not possible. A review of the work programme was inevitable.

However, any such review must be undertaken by the intergovernmental bodies concerned, he said. "It is not an executive decision by the Secretary- General." He supported the call for further information on whether the proposed programme changes outlined in the Secretary-General report on the savings were a consequence of executive decision by the Secretary-General or the result of the legislative decisions by the Assembly. Thailand was particularly concerned about the impact of the savings on some of the programmes and projects that were of importance to developing countries in such bodies as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which provided a useful forum for the discussions on trade-related issues that were not covered elsewhere. In recognition of UNCTAD's important role, his country had offered to host the tenth session of the Conference (UNCTAD X) in the year 2000 at the level of heads of State and government.

Another cause for concern was the budgetary reduction in the work programme of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) which would adversely impact on that body's major priority areas, he continued. The issues and programmes handled by ESCAP were of crucial importance to the developing countries in that region to promote regional development and to ensure progress towards acceptable levels of economic development, of which there was wide disparity in that region. Efforts should be made to minimize the effect on the delivery of such programmes.

There was concern about the high vacancy rates that had resulted from the financial cuts, particularly the vacancy rates for Professional staff, he said. That would substantially impact the mandated programmes. Referring to the establishment of the Efficiency Board, he echoed the caution issued by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) against the establishment of another layer of bureaucracy to deal with the issue of efficiency. Care must be taken to ensure that there were sufficient resources to cover all mandates entrusted to the United Nations as set out in the medium-term plan.

MACHIVENYIKA MAPURANGA (Zimbabwe) said he recalled that the Assembly had asked the Secretary-General to submit proposals for savings in the 1996-1997 budget, to ensure that those savings would not affect the full implementation of mandated programmes and activities and that those proposals would ensure fair and equitable treatment of all budgetary sections. It was generally true, as Canada had stated earlier, that the Secretary-General had discretionary powers and the scope for taking initiatives. However, the inclusion of provisos in the budget resolution had persuaded his delegation and others to join the consensus on that resolution. As a result, delegations

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had expected that before ideas were implemented they should have been approved by the Assembly.

It was important that the Secretariat's interpretation of rules and regulations were not in conflict with the Assembly's interpretation, he continued. The paramount concern was to safeguard the Assembly's supreme authority by ensuring that its priorities were honoured and respected and that its mandated programmes were carried out efficiently. Citing data on programmed implementation in the Secretary-General's report on programme performance of the United Nations for the 1994-1995 biennium, he said the conclusions in that report underlined the gravity of his concerns. That report had stated that the implementation of the highest priority outputs was substantially lower in 1994-1995 (66.4 per cent) compared with the previous biennium (87.1 per cent). Part II of the report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) had expressed concern at that overall low level of implementation and the relatively large number of instances in which programme managers did not provide adequate reasons for the outputs that had been terminated in the 1994-1995 biennium.

He then raised the question: Was it prudent to reduce both financial and human resources in a rather haphazard but drastic way and purport that current levels of output could be attained with less resources? The Organization's track records showed that it had been dismally unable to attain output targets with higher levels of input even in the case of priority programmes. Should Member States accept as a matter of course staff reduction and opt for temporary assistance, consultancies and the outsourcing of services without studying the financial and programmatic impact of such moves? he asked. Would equitable geographical representation still be maintained in those categories of services? Would there not be a loss of institutional memory in certain functions unique to the Organization's programmes and activities?

Those concerns must be adequately addressed before the Assembly could consider the Secretary-General's proposals, he said. The Secretary-General should not carry out any involuntary separations since the Assembly had not taken a decision to abolish posts. In the meantime, the Secretary-General was encouraged to search for possible savings in non-staff sectors without prejudice to programme delivery. He expressed concern about programme delivery in the economic and social sectors, many of which had been starved of funds, deferred, staggered or postponed. "The final whistle had always caught them unfulfilled." He reiterated his call for information on the nature and net programmatic impact on the numerous delays, deferments and cancellations that would result from the Secretary-General's proposed cost-saving measures.

YUKIO TAKASU, Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts and United Nations Controller, responded to some of the comments made during the discussions of the Secretary-General's savings proposals. He recalled how Member States had decided to mandate savings from the budget, while at the same time asking him to ensure full implementation of programmes. It was impossible for the Secretary-General to implement everything in the

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budget because they cost $2.7 billion while the Assembly had approved $2.61 billion.

The Controller went on to explain how the Secretariat had decided on what kinds of savings to propose to the Assembly. The Secretariat had to delay, curtail, cancel or postpone some activities, he said, and explained how each programme in those categories would be handled. Regarding the budget cuts per se, he said that the Secretariat had sought to make savings from non- staff costs, also. About $99.3 million cuts would come from staff costs while another $54.8 million in savings would be achieved from non-staff costs. He stressed that the United Nations staff costs exceeded 70 per cent. The proposal to produce 64 per cent of overall savings from staff costs and another 34 per cent from non-staff costs was a fair balance. There was a limit to what else could be cut in -- for instance, maintenance.

Regarding vacancies, he said that vacancy rates had to exceed 6.4 per cent if the $154 million was to be saved from the budget. Individual proposals submitted by programme managers had led to the identification of the overall vacancies for the biennium that would be needed to achieve the savings of $154 million, namely above 9 per cent for Professionals and over 7 per cent for General Service. Given uncertainties, it would be difficult to predict the overall level of vacancies that would be realized for the biennium as a whole. Vacancy meant that a post was kept vacant and not abolished, something that was not within the Secretary-General's purview.

Mr. Takasu said, on involuntary separations, that the Secretariat was making maximum efforts to place those who had not yet been redeployed. It had achieved a vacancy rate of 11.1 per cent against a target of 9 per cent but the vacancy for General Service was still below what had been required, being 5.8 per cent. Some departments and offices had vacancies that were well below

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the required 6.4 per cent and were still too low to achieve their respective share of the overall budget reductions.

Turning to additional mandates, he said that the possibility of absorbing them would depend on factors such as the actual expenditures for the new mandates and variations in currency rates and inflation. At the moment, there was no sign that the Secretariat was overspending its budget because of the new mandates. That was due to the slightly higher than anticipated vacancies and to the strength of the United States dollar against the Swiss Franc and other currencies. Those factors would be reflected in preparing the first performance report on the 1996-1997 budget.

On the orderly budgetary procedures of the United Nations, he said that the adoption of Assembly resolution 50/214 had been followed by contradictory expectations which could not be fully met at the same time. There was now a disorderly, somewhat chaotic, budgetary process. After the initial budget was approved in the last 10 months, there had been a series of budgetary adjustments which made programme managers reorganize their work and staff. In the past, the budget was prepared every two years and unforeseen activities were dealt with according to established procedures. "While the Secretariat understands political reality, it is important for Member States to realize the significance and impact of their decisions on the orderly operation and functioning of the Organization." The current disruptions had diverted attention from pressing substantive issues.

JOSEPH CONNOR, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, said the Secretariat had looked for responsible ways to achieve savings in the budget. They had been presented for the Assembly to either accept or reject, or to act on in whole or in part. Certain activities had been curtailed or eliminated and no attempt had been made to hide that. In previous instances, Member States had accepted such action. For the Assembly to have believed that some changes would not be made in a long list of activities had been simply unrealistic. The Secretariat had made some hard choices but it had tried not to touch the mandates that had been adopted by Member States. "We had done our best. We can do no more."

It had not been possible to achieve a downsizing by $154 million without a reduction of personnel which represented the largest percentage of the Organization's costs, he continued. Other areas, such as building maintenance and travel and consultancies, had been cut. In making savings, the Secretariat had been guided by the Organization's rules and regulations. Noting that personnel cuts had been experienced in many national contexts, he said "the United Nations could not be an island alone". He was satisfied that every termination in the context of achieving savings had been voluntary.

Stressing that efficiency was a good thing, he said the Secretariat had tried to cushion the effect of the saving measures. Would Member States have preferred that the Secretariat had not tried? he asked. Efficiencies, such as condensed reports and improved technology, had been meant to help, not to hurt. The Secretariat had tried to absorb additional costs. Member States

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had not given any suggestions for reductions. The increased workload had been spread within the same resources. New mandates, such as those of MINUGUA and UNSMIH, had to be incorporated within existing resources. The whole picture would be presented in the performance report. The Secretariat had tried to respond to what was important to Member States. Admittedly, it would not have done so in ways that each Member State would have liked.

Mr. HANSON (Canada) asked for Mr. Connor's and Mr. Takasu's comments to be circulated to the Committee so that he could comment on them.

NAZARETH INCERA (Costa Rica), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said she had requested a considerable amount of information on the saving measures. The issues she had raised had not been responded to. She reiterated that the information should be provided.

Mr. TAKASU, United Nations Controller, said the information requested by the Group of 77 would be provided on Monday.

MARTA PENA (Mexico) also asked for Mr. Connor's statement to be circulated.

DULCE BUERGO (Cuba) supported the requests that the comments of Mr. Takasu and Mr. Connor's specific points should be considered in greater depth. To consider those officials' replies, the formal meetings on the savings should continued.

Statements on Pattern of Conferences

KIM BONG HYUN (Republic of Korea) expressed concern about the possible deterioration of services due to the improbability of narrowing the disparity between the demand for more conference services and the capacity of the Secretariat to meet them. He noted "the refreshing Copernican challenge to our operating assumptions" made by the suggestion of the delegate from China that the establishment of an arbitrary ceiling could not be conducive to the full implementation of United Nations programmes and activities. But Member States must seek a way to resolve the shortfall between the increasing demand for conference services and the Secretariat's shrinking capacity. The Secretariat should try to improve efficiency in conference-servicing management by making greater use of technological innovations such as the Internet and the optical disk system. The Member States, too, should cooperate to strike a balance between their demands and the Secretariat's capacity to meet those demands. They should limit the quantity of documents they requested and find a way to cut the costs of meetings through, for instance, continuing to start meetings early.

The representative supported the view of the Committee on Conferences that its chairman should consult with the chairmen of the bodies that were using less than the benchmark figure of their allocated resources in the past three Assembly sessions, with a view to recommending ways to achieve the optimum use of conference-servicing resources. The Secretariat should explain

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the tape recordings of the informal meetings of intergovernmental bodies and stop the practice.

Ms. BUERGO (Cuba), referring to the statement this morning by the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, Denis Halliday, in which he had said "the Group of 77 and China and Cuba" said that the Secretariat should not refer to Cuba as if it were outside the Group of 77. Reducing conferences services in the search for savings would have an extremely harmful effect on intergovernmental negotiations. It was essential to analyse in detail the proposed savings in conference servicing. The principle of universality, regarding languages, must be borne in mind in the workings of the Organization. She supported some of the recommendations made regarding the calendar of conferences, asking why there were no provisions for conference-servicing for a seminar on Non-Self-Governing Territories.

The representative said she shared the concerns about the fact that the overall utilization factor was below the benchmark of 80 per cent for some bodies. There should be dialogue with the intergovernmental bodies whose percentages were below the benchmark in order to find ways to improve their consumption of such services. She supported the recommendations of the Committee on Conferences on how to address that problem. The provision of conference-servicing to the regional and major groups of countries helped the meetings of the intergovernmental bodies, she said, expressing concern that about 35 per cent of the requests for interpretation of such meetings had been denied. She supported the recommendations of the Committee on Conferences in that regard. Cuba would take up the matter again in the context of the negotiations on the regular budget.

She said that there should be no hasty final conclusions on the control and limitation of documentation and for the decision of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to make use of unedited transcripts instead of verbatim records. On publications policy of the United Nations, she said she was waiting for the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) report on the matter. She was surprised to learn that informal consultations were being recorded by the Secretariat. Such actions did not help dialogue. The Secretariat should answer the questions that had been asked on that matter.

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HISHAM ELZIMAITY (Egypt) said that the statement by the representative of Costa Rica on 24 October had mentioned many of the concerns of the Group of 77 and China, which should be resolved this session. He supported her statement of that day. The United Nations should continue to support the six official languages and ensure their equality, including the use of new technologies such as the optical disk system and the Internet. All United Nations bodies should be committed to the measures used to institutionalize the tradition of ensuring the best use of conference-servicing. He welcomed the efforts made to improve translations, in particular in the Arabic service. Efforts should be made to upgrade the level of the Arabic language in the United Nations. The Committee on Conferences should be given annual reports on the progress made to find the best means to translate new terms. On the decision of the Outer Space Committee to replace the use of verbatim reports with unedited transcripts, he said that it was still necessary to provide the regular traditional verbatim reports to allow the delegations to follow the specifics of meetings.

The representative said that he would like to look at the plan to connect all missions to the Internet to allow access to United Nations documents. The Secretariat should continue providing delegations with traditional minted documents until all missions and capitals had access to the Internet in all official languages. The tape recordings of the informal consultations for use against staff members was regrettable and should not be repeated.

ALI AL-SOSWA (Yemen) said it was necessary to abide by the Assembly resolutions on the use of the six official languages. It was necessary to improve the quality of the interpretation and translation in the official languages. All reports should be translated into Arabic as well as into other languages. He supported the introduction of new technology. However, until the developing countries, and particularly the least developed countries, had introduced such technology all official documentation should be issued in the traditional way. Assistance should be provided to developing countries to acquire such technology. He called on the Secretariat not to hold meetings on the two religious days of Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha.

ABDULAZZI GAZZAZ (Saudi Arabia) said he supported the improvement in translation in the six official languages. He also supported the proposal that the Fifth Committee should end its work within the time limits. The six official languages should be supported for the role they played in the Organization's work. The use of the languages had been very positive in serving the interests of everyone. Delegates' use of their languages ensured a better transmission of their ideas. He appealed to the Secretariat not to convene meetings on the two Muslim religious days -- Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al- Adha. The use of new technology should not replace the traditional forms of documentation. The use of the Internet and the optical disk should respect all official languages.

TAMMAM SULAIMAN (Syria) said that although he appreciated the difficulties faced by the Secretariat in providing conference services in the

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context of the current financial crisis, the number of meetings was increasing in all parts of the Organization. Those difficulties should not affect multilingualism in the Organization. The official languages were the means by which delegates conveyed their views. Noting the reduction in granting regional group requests for interpretation in the official languages, he called on the Secretariat to grant such services to regional groups whose meetings constituted a very important part of the Organization's work.

Referring to verbatim and summary records, he said the delegates' original statements should be consulted when those statements were reproduced for the records. He had noted that press releases depended on the interpretation into English. It was important to verify delegates' statements before translation into any other language. The new technology should take account of all the official languages. Modern technology like the Internet and the optical disk should not replace paper documentation.

He said the translation into the Arabic language should be improved and the Secretariat should review the expressions used in Arabic translations. The Arabic Translation Section should give more attention to Arabic texts. Those texts were sent to capitals and were an important source in decision- making. He proposed the continuation of training courses to improve the Arabic interpretation and translation. There should be one agreed formula to ensure clarity in translations.

The recording of informal meetings was cause for concern, he said. Such action created an atmosphere of mistrust. The information on such recordings should be provided. He also called on the Secretariat not to hold meetings on the two Moslem religious days -- Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha. To avoid a wastage of resources, the Secretariat should not hold evening meetings.

EL HASSANE ZAHID (Morocco), Chairman of the Committee on Conferences, said that the Committee tried to ensure that high-quality conference services were provided and used efficiently. He expressed gratitude for the support that some Fifth Committee members had given to the recommendations of his Committee. Member States could ensure efficient use of conference services by, for instance, starting meetings on time. He expressed the hope that that would continue. The Secretariat should make further efforts to enhance the use of facilities for conference-servicing.

BENON VAHÉ SEVAN, Assistant Secretary-General for Conference and Support Services and United Nations Security Coordinator, said: "Despite overload, overload and overload, like the loyal donkey, the loyal Secretariat is continuing to serve Member States and will continue to do so within resources." He added, however: "I am afraid my donkey serenade of the other day did not affect some delegations whom I will provide answers to later."

The Assistant Secretary-General said that sound recording of various committees of the Assembly was made at the request of those bodies to ensure the accuracy of their Secretariat's notes, which would serve as the basis for

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follow-up actions. Those tapings were considered confidential and were never transcribed or forwarded to anybody else. The recordings were also seen as being useful to the substantive offices assisting some committees. The tapes served to ascertain the positions of delegations, in cases of doubt. But the recordings had been stopped due to the expression of concern by Member States.

Turning to the issue of providing adequate services to the regional and major groups of countries, he said that the best way of addressing it was to plan those meetings within the work programmes of intergovernmental bodies, as urged by the Committee on Conferences. The Secretariat would work with the concerned bodies and their secretariats to that effect. On facilities for bilateral meetings, he said that 751 of those meetings had been held in the recently concluded general debate period. Last year, 703 of those meetings were held. The high-level working groups of the General Assembly met 219 times this year at notional costs of $985,500. The cost of documentation -- 995 pages -- was $911,420.

The use of modern technologies helped in translating documents and in providing translators' workstations with faster and wider access to reference material and terminology databases, he said. New hardware being bought would allow the Secretariat to move into machine-assisted translations, which would further boost productivity. As of today, the optical disk system had been connected to the Internet to make access to documents more widespread, since about 120 missions in New York were connected to the Internet. On the calendar of conferences and meetings for 1997, he said that 220 new meetings had been added to the programme approved last year. Referring to the criticisms of interpreters by the representative of Pakistan a few days ago, he said that interpreters were indeed supposed to tell committees that the time allocated for their meetings was up at either 1 p.m. or at 6 p.m. They had to say so because they had to know whether they would need to bring in fresh teams of interpreters to cope with lengthy extensions of meetings.

Ms. BUERGO (Cuba) said she had noted the Assistant Secretary-General's statement. On the calendar of conferences, she wondered why the seminar of the Special Committee on decolonization she had mentioned earlier had not been included. She had noted his answer and would follow up on the matter in informal consultations.

Mr. SULAIMAN (Syria) said Mr. Sevan should provide his comments to Member States in writing in order to allow detailed consideration of the issues he had been talking about.

MICHAEL BOYNTON (United States) said the comments should be put in writing, in case further discussions become necessary.

AMJAD SIAL (Pakistan) said no one could ignore the importance of meetings. He reserved his delegation's right to discuss the issue of meetings at a later stage.

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