UN INSTITUTE FOR DISARMAMENT RESEARCH TO RECEIVE $213,000 FROM REGULAR BUDGET, UNDER FIFTH COMMITTEE TEXT

13 December 1996

Press Release
GA/AB/3129

UN INSTITUTE FOR DISARMAMENT RESEARCH TO RECEIVE $213,000 FROM REGULAR BUDGET, UNDER FIFTH COMMITTEE TEXT

19961213 United States Withdraws Objection to Subsidy; 1998 Budget Outline, 1996-1997 Performance Report Also Discussed

The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research would receive a $213,000 subvention for 1997 from the United Nations regular budget, should the General Assembly adopt a draft decision approved this morning without a vote by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), as it discussed the Institute's funding, the proposed budget outline for 1998-1999 and the first performance report on the 1996-1997 budget. By the terms of the oral draft approved by the Committee, the Assembly would take note of the document by which the Secretary-General relayed the request by the Institute's Board of Trustees for a reduced subvention. The Institute usually receives $220,000 annually, but the Board sought a lower sum in the light of the $154 million in savings being sought from the regular budget. Speaking before the adoption of the draft, the representative of the United States withdrew a proposal that would have sought to "wean" the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research from the United Nations regular budget. He said he had been dissuaded from pursuing the idea at the present time. During the discussions on the proposed budget outline for 1998-1999, the representative of Cuba said there was no legislative mandate for the concept of a zero-growth budget, although the idea had been defended by some delegations. The use of the 1996-1997 budget as a basis for next biennium's appropriations had led to a real reduction of approximately 10 per cent, which would substantially affect mandated programmes. She also opposed the inclusion of an additional $70 million for special missions, as it would mean 27553 the arbitrary creation of many contingency funds. Such a development should result from political negotiations, rather than from a technical proposal by the Secretariat. The representative of Ireland, speaking for the European Union and associated States, said, however, that the allocation of the sum for special

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missions would facilitate a timely and adequate provision of money when such missions were required after a budget had been adopted. The amount would hedge against the missions being endangered by a lack of assured funding. Also, adequate funds should be allocated for peace-keeping, human rights and humanitarian affairs, priority areas for the Union that were given inadequate attention in the budget outline. The cuts proposed for common support services, including conference services, should not harm the quality of linguistic and translation services.

The representative of Japan said the question of the United Nations having enough resources to fully implement its mandates would become even more acute, since the proposed outline represented, in real terms, negative growth. The Secretariat should candidly say whether it could implement all mandates within the outline and the Assembly should make up its mind on the basis of additional information it received and a more realistic projection of resources.

The representative of India asked the Secretariat to ensure that resources for international and regional cooperation for development would be sufficient for all the mandates established by the global conferences held in Copenhagen, Beijing, Cairo and Istanbul. And since such organizations as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had already saved considerable sums of money, they should be provided with adequate resources.

Statements on the proposed outline and the first performance report on the 1996-1997 budget were also made by the representatives of Indonesia, Egypt, China, Mali and Venezuela.

The United Nations Controller, Yukio Takasu, responded to questions that were raised by Member States. He said that the United Nations budgets had experienced real reductions of some 20 per cent in the last three years.

Also today, statements were made on the status of a draft resolution on the pattern of conferences by the representatives of Italy, United States, Egypt, France, Trinidad and Tobago, Ireland, Finland, Mexico and Japan. Mexico's representative said that the proposed text had been approved in an informal meetings on Monday. The United States was asked to express its reservations on the draft text in an informal meeting of the Committee.

Also, the Fifth Committee Secretary briefed Member States on several matters.

The Committee is scheduled to meet again at 3 p.m. Sunday, 15 December, to consider the programme budget implications of some draft resolutions and other matters.

Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to continue discussing the first performance report for the 1996-1997 regular budget and the outline of the proposed programme budget for 1998-1999. It was also scheduled to continue consideration of a request for a subvention to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research from the 1996-1997 regular budget. (For background on the first performance report and the 1998-1999 budget outline, see Press Release GA/AB/3128 of 13 December. For background on the UNIDIR subvention, see Press Release GA/AB/3125 of 11 December.)

Statements on Proposed Budget Outline for 1998-1999

SHOJI OGAWA (Japan) said that the proposed budget outline must be examined carefully within a context of both the effort to save and to strengthen the Organization. The final determination of the overall budget for 1998-1999 should take place after the relevant intergovernmental bodies had thoroughly considered the impact the budget would have on programmes. The crucial question was whether the proposed outline would provide the finances to fully implement all mandates. The same question could be asked about the current budget, particularly in relation to the savings that would be necessary to maintain the $2.608 billion ceiling.

The representative said the problems would only become more acute, since the proposed budget outline represented in real terms negative growth. The Secretariat should candidly say whether it could implement all mandates within the proposed outline. The General Assembly should note the proposed outline and then make up its mind on the basis of any additional information it received and a more realistic projection of resources. Further, the level of the contingency fund should be set somewhere between the current level of 0.75 per cent and the 0.25 proposed in the budget outline.

VIJAY GOKHALE (India) said that the Secretary-General's outline proposed a budget of $2.43 billion for 1998-1999. That included some $85 million for possible special missions for which no provision had rightly been made in the 1996-1997 budget. The proposed estimate for 1998-1999 also involved cuts of more than $250 million in real terms in comparison to the current budget. If approved, that would be the second consecutive reduction, following closely on the more than $200 million reduction. Since not even the medium-term plan for 1998-2001 had been approved, the proposed outline should be remain only a preliminary estimate of the actual requirements.

He said the process of reform within the Organization need not impact only "unidirectionally" on the budget estimates for 1998-1999. For instance, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who had restructured UNCTAD in the "spirit of Midrand" and saved considerable sums of money, felt it would be to the detriment of

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UNCTAD for further cuts to be made in the 1998-1999 budget. The Centre for Human Rights in Geneva and the Office of Legal Affairs in New York had undergone similar experiences. "To preserve the fruits of reform, organizations like UNCTAD should be given their required resources," he said. "Further cost-reduction in these cases will be detrimental." Therefore, adequate resources should be provided for those activities in the next budget.

Noting that the provisional estimates for international and regional cooperation for development showed further cuts, he said he would seek assurances from the Secretariat that the reduced resources would be sufficient for all mandates established by the World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995), the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) and the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Istanbul, 1996).

The Secretary-General had proposed to cut the expenditure of all parts of the budget for 1998-1999 with one exception -- the section dealing with political affairs, where a provision had been made for so-called "special missions", he continued. The purpose of a budget was to make available financial resources based on actual legislative mandates provided by the Assembly and other organs. It would be premature to make provisions for expenditures that did not have mandates so far. He would not agree with any provision for "special missions" at the present time. Any provisions on that account should be made only after the Assembly found a comprehensive solution to the problem of additional expenditures, as called for in annex I of resolution 41/213 of December 1986.

NORMA GOICOCHEA ESTONEZ (Cuba), speaking on both the first performance report of the 1996-1997 budget and the outline for the proposed programme budget for 1998-1999, said her delegation associated itself fully with the statement of the Group of 77 and China on both issues. Even though it was not a budget year, the budget had an impact because of the political position of one Member State that had tried to reverse the letter and the spirit of resolution 41/213 [which governs the budgetary process]. In that connection, she reiterated her delegation's view that the resolution -- 41/213 -- must be revised as a whole, if any of the decisions taken on the budget represented a change in the procedures adopted therein.

It was regrettable that Member States had not been provided with the detailed information for their discussions on the 1996-1997 performance report and the 1998-1999 budget outline, she said. The ACABQ's report also fell far short of her expectations. She had expected the ACABQ to make recommendations that would facilitate the Committee's decisions. Therefore, she could not endorse the Advisory Committee's recommendations.

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She questioned the validity of the level of resources of $2.603 million for the 1996-1997 biennium as stated in the first performance report. That figure did not take into account the budgetary implications of revised estimates and a number of resolutions that were being adopted by the plenary, she said. The Secretariat must inform Member States why the related cost of conference services that would arise from the resolutions to be adopted by the Assembly's Main Committees during the session had not been included in the revised budget. She was not opposed to the absorption of the amounts for unfunded mandates. She questioned however, why the Secretariat had not proposed that part of the absorbed balance of funds be used to reinstate some mandated activities that had been deferred, postponed or cancelled within the context of budget resolution 50/214.

Turning to the 1998-1999 budget outline, she questioned the amount proposed. It seemed to be more consistent with political decisions, rather than the need to carry out mandated programmes and activities, she said. The outline departed from Assembly resolutions, in particular resolution 41/213. There was no resolution that endorsed the concept of zero growth, which had been defended by some delegations. Taking the figure in the 1996-1997 budget as a base, there was a real reduction in the proposed budget of about 10 per cent. That reduction would be achieved only with a substantial adverse impact on mandated programmes and activities.

She said the amount of $204.7 million saved through efficiency measures should be added to the overall amount of the outline. Such action would reduce the number of posts to be abolished. It was inappropriate to propose an outline that incorporated policy changes. She also opposed the inclusion of an additional $70 million for activities related to international peace and security. Such a proposal would mean the arbitrary creation of many contingency funds and appeared to be the result of political negotiation, rather than being a technical proposal. The contingency fund should be maintained at the current level of 0.75 per cent. PATRICK KELLY (Ireland), speaking on behalf of the European Union, as well as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, said the budget outline represented an indispensable cornerstone for the efficient and orderly operation of the United Nations budgetary and planning procedures. He stressed the importance of the budgetary procedures provided for in General Assembly resolutions 41/213 and 42/211. He said the estimates for the 1998-1999 biennium could only be regarded as planning figures. However, if current programmatic and financial assumptions persisted, the figures should be respected by the Secretary- General in formulating the programme budget. The preliminary figures would also ensure that Member States were not caught unawares next year. Under the agreed procedures in resolution 41/213, once the budget figure was adopted, it should not be considered an absolute and rigid ceiling.

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According to the budgetary procedures, he continued, additional expenditures arising from the impact of extraordinary expenses, such as activities related to international peace and security, inflation and exchange rate movement, should not be covered by the contingency fund. The Secretary- General was expected to absorb those expenditures through budgetary savings, without causing a negative effect on programme delivery or without prejudice to the use of the contingency fund. Regarding the $205 million savings proposed in the budget outline from increased productivity, he noted it was a planning figure and he expected that any further productivity gains or efficiency savings provided in the outline would be fully justified and explained. In that connection, he also called for the provision of current and detailed staffing tables. The maintenance of any vacancy rate should not be economy-driven, but efficiency-driven. "Due consideration should be given to the result of the Performance Appraisal System in achieving vacancies," he said. Regarding priority areas in the budget, he recalled the European Union's belief that a greater proportion of the regular budget be allocated to such areas as peace-keeping, human rights and humanitarian affairs, which were inadequately provided for in the budget outline. On other reductions in the outline, he said the decrease for common support services including conference services, was more than twice the level of reduction proposed for public information. However, there was greater scope for efficiency and economy in public information. The Union needed to be assured that the decreases would not impact negatively on the quality of linguistic and translation services, nor result in conference services experiencing a greater level of reduction than the average for the budget as a whole. Regarding the amount proposed for special missions, he said the European Union welcomed that feature, since it would take into account the need for timely and adequate provision for such missions when the budget was adopted. It would also ensure that the operation of such a mission was not endangered through a lack of assured funding. The Union was flexible as to the technicalities of how such a contingency provision might be appropriated and assessed in the framework of the programme budget. However, there was need to ensure that the mechanism would be used exclusively for special missions. Regarding the provisions for reflecting the net figures for jointly- financed activities and services, such as the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), he said the proposed change should help to reflect accurately the true level of expenditure under the United Nations regular budget. As a "once-off" measure, it was questionable whether it should be included when comparing the overall level of requirements for 1998-1999 with that of the current biennium. He welcomed the priorities set out in the outline, including the development of Africa, humanitarian emergencies and the promotion of sustainable development. Noting established budgetary procedures, he said the proposal to reduce the level of the contingency fund needed fuller explanation.

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FUMIAKI TOYA (Japan) said that the level of the revised appropriations proposed in the first performance report on the 1996-1997 budget had been lowered for, among other reasons, the gains made from the changes in exchange rates -- the strong United States dollar against other currencies. He noted that the revised appropriations would be $2.603 billion, representing a revision from $2.608 billion. Moreover, the Secretary-General anticipated some $17 million, a need for some special missions by the end of 1997. The Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) had stated yesterday that the ACABQ had received requests for some $10.7 million, out of the $17 million anticipated, as additional requirements for the International Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH), United Nations Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), United Nations Office of Verifification (ONUV) in El Salvador and the special mission to Afghanistan.

His country would determine its final position after taking into account some of the adjustments that would have to be made in the Assembly deliberations on, for instance, what would be required to finance the recommendations of the ICSC on salaries and allowances. Member States should make efforts to meet the General Assembly President's expectations of concluding by 17 December and to ensure the most efficient use of resources.

PRAYONO ATIYANTO (Indonesia) expressed support for the statement made by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. He expressed concern about the further reductions proposed in the budget outline, a document that should contain nothing more than preliminary estimates. It should be studied before further action was taken. Further, should the United Nations adopt a zero or negative-growth budget, despite the growing demands placed on the Organization? All mandated programmes for international and regional cooperation should be provided with adequate resources in order to prevent disruption of their work.

AMR NOUR (Egypt) said he supported the statement by the Group of 77 and China. Priority should be accorded to the mandates of the Assembly before the budget was approved. Programmes relating to international peace and security should be provided for only after a budget had been adopted. Thus, new mandates in that sphere should be approved after priorities in the budget had been met. He regretted the fact that the first performance report on the 1997-1997 budget had not been submitted in accordance with the Assembly's requests.

As to the proposed budget outline for 1998-1999, he expressed concern that the proposed outline contained some savings of more than $204 million without justification, even though he welcomed the continued efforts to increase productivity in the United Nations. He supported the ACABQ recommendations on the contingency fund.

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Ms. GOICOCHEA ESTENOZ (Cuba) said that since the Assembly was currently considering its priorities in the context of the proposed medium-term plan for 1998-2001, decisions taken by the Secretary-General with respect to priorities would not be valid for the budget outline. The Secretary-General could not assume any priorities before the Assembly had reached a decision on the proposed medium-term plan.

CHEN YUE (China) expressed support for the statement made by Costa Rica, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. Reductions proposed in the outline should not be carried out and gains made from changes in the exchange rates should be recovered. Making savings at the expense of the full implementation of mandates "would be tantamount to putting the cart before the horse," he said. The Secretariat should explain the proposal to cut more than $200 million in the 1998-1999 budget. The proposed budget outline's parameters should be seen as indicative and preliminary. Any proposal to ensure zero or negative increases in the next biennium would be arbitrary. The level of the contingency fund for 1998-1999 should be determined on the basis of the ACABQ's recommendations.

MAHAMANE MAIGA (Mali) said the statement of the Group of 77 and China on the performance report and the budget outline contained most of his concerns. Regarding the performance report, he stressed that priorities should be given to the implementation of mandates of the various intergovernmental bodies. The Secretariat should respond to the concerns raised by the ACABQ on the performance report.

He was also concerned about the budget outline, he said. It should be consistent with the provisions of resolution 41/213. Although its format might follow the procedures in the resolution, substantively it departed fundamentally from it. Also of concern were the proposals for funding new mandates in view of their unpredictability. What was the basis for the additional amount of $70 million? he asked. Also of concern was the reduction of the contingency fund, which only took into account the expenditures for 11 months of 1996. He supported the ACABQ's recommendation that the fund be kept at 0.75 per cent of the budget. He called for more information on the efficiency measures that led to the proposed savings of $205 million.

ROSSANNA FIGUERA (Venezuela) also supported the statement of the Group of 77 and China. She said she had taken note of the $85 million proposed for special missions. In that connection, she reiterated the ACABQ's request for the Secretariat to prepare a policy paper on the matter which should give an estimate of the costs of such missions for the new budget.

YUKIO TAKASU, United Nations Controller, speaking on the first performance report, said there had been some misunderstanding on the report. It was a technical report. It identified mandated savings, since the proposals for achieving the $154 budget reduction remained valid and was based

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on the mandate given in resolution 50/214. The Secretariat had also reported on other savings. The Assembly had not instructed the Secretary-General on how to make use of the savings. If the Assembly wished to take a new position on that, it should do so.

He also responded to the issue of requests for conference services and the related costs, using the resources allocated for Fifth Committee meetings in 1997 as an example. Additional capacity would be available for other meetings depending on the number of meetings of the Fifth Committee, he said. If the Fifth Committee met more frequently next year, a problem would arise. He also explained the costs of a number of good offices, missions and special missions related to international peace and security for 1996. The performance report had been based on the same approach as in the past. It also included the recommendations of the ICSC.

Turning to the 1998-1999 budget outline, he said the Secretariat had followed established procedures. It was a guideline for Member States. In the absence of a decision by the Assembly, the Secretariat would still proceed to prepare the 1998-1999 draft budget in accordance with procedure. The preparation process could not be postponed. The budgetary cycle had to be observed. Therefore, it was important for Member States to act together to give guidance to the Secretary-General. In the absence of the guidelines, the Secretary-General would not change the budget proposal, as stated in the outline.

The outline served as the basis for negotiations among Member States, he continued. It facilitated consensus building on the amount of overall resources. The Secretary-General's proposals reflected maximum restraint in achieving additional reductions, as proposed in the outline. The 1998-1999 budget would be a small one. The figure proposed was a planning figure which gave a 10 per cent reduction from the last budget. It was premature to determine how many posts would actually be abolished. A 6.4 per cent vacancy rate would be maintained. Following policy guidance from Member States, programme managers would elaborate the details and a figure would be arrived at.

He noted that there had been a 20 per cent reduction of the budget over the last three years, which was a significant reduction. Regarding political mandates that governed the budgetary process, he said if the Organization "stuck to every letter in 41/213 then life would be simple". However, the Assembly had taken certain actions which were not in line with 41/213. When the mandates were not in keeping with 41/213, then the Secretariat had to struggle to deal with political mandates. Therefore, the budget outline was proposed to facilitate negotiations.

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He also responded to concerns about the proposed level of the contingency fund. The fund's level had varied from one biennium to another, he said. It was the prerogative of Member States to determine the level. He cited the figures on the amounts drawn from the fund during the last two bienniums and the current one, to date. Member States had exercised restraint in submitting additional requests to the regular budget. The requests had, therefore, been declining.

Regarding priorities in the budget outline, Member States should provide guidance, he continued. Referring to the issues the ACABQ had asked the Secretariat to address, he provided details of the action that could be taken on each issue, including on: rates of exchange; outputs deferred, postponed or curtailed; the breakdown of the $205 million efficiency savings; and the vacancy rate.

Mr. NOUR (Egypt) took exception to the Secretariat's interpretation of how to implement Assembly resolution 41/213, especially on the manner in which special missions would be financed after a budget had been adopted. The Controller's statements had not been convincing. The Secretariat should not concern itself with the political views of Member States, since it was not involved in the political process. It should only concern itself with the implementation of mandates from intergovernmental bodies.

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

KLAUS-DIETER STEIN (Germany) Vice Chairman of the Committee and the coordinator of informal consultations on the matter, said that the Committee had agreed to take note of the proposals of the Secretary-General and the ACABQ recommendations on the subvention. [In a statement before the Fifth Committee, the Chairman of the ACABQ had said that since the $213,000 subvention to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research had been included in the 1996-1997 budget, it should be approved.] He proposed an oral draft decision: "The General Assembly takes note of the note by the Secretary-General and the recommendations thereon of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ)." EDWARD KELLER (United States) said that his delegation had hoped to introduce the idea of weaning the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research off the subvention from the United Nations regular budget. His delegation, however, had been persuaded that the idea should not be pursued at the present time. He, therefore, withdrew the proposals he had made to put his idea into effect. The Committee then approved the draft decision proposed on the subvention to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.

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