SECRETARIAT'S PERFORMANCE NOT TO BE AFFECTED BY ABOLITION OF 1,000 POSTS BECAUSE MOST ARE VACANT, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD
Press Release
GA/AB/3139
SECRETARIAT'S PERFORMANCE NOT TO BE AFFECTED BY ABOLITION OF 1,000 POSTS BECAUSE MOST ARE VACANT, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD
19970324 United States Submits Draft on Scale of Assessments Seeking 20 Per Cent Ceiling RateSecretary-General Kofi Annan's plan to abolish 1,000 posts would not hamper the Secretariat's performance, since most of the posts were vacant, and no involuntary separations were anticipated, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph E. Connor, told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon as it discussed Mr. Annan's reforms to strengthen the Organization.
In a question-and-answer session that also involved the Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, Maurice Strong, the Under-Secretary- General said that the Secretariat would implement the programmes in the medium-term plan for 1998-2001 and that the 1998-1999 regular budget's preparation was being guided by General Assembly decisions.
For his part, the Executive Coordinator assured the Committee that the questions of poverty alleviation and the situation of the least developed countries would receive adequate attention in the reform process. He said the reform would strengthen support for sustainable development, the advancement of women, Africa's development, South-South cooperation and the sustainable development of small island developing States.
Questions were asked by the representatives of Nepal, Namibia, Algeria, Republic of Korea, China, Egypt, Tunisia, France, United Republic of Tanzania (speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), Cuba, Canada, Syria, Germany and Pakistan. The representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea also spoke.
The Deputy Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, Miles Stoby, also answered questions from the Committee.
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Also this afternoon, the United States submitted a draft resolution on the scale of assessments for 1998-2000 which would have the Assembly, among other things, set the scale's ceiling rate at 20 per cent. The current ceiling rate is 25 per cent and is assessed on the United States -- the largest contributor to the United Nations regular budget. Other drafts introduced earlier by the Group of 77 and China and by Mexico recommend that the current rate be maintained.
Responding to the United States' proposals, the representative of Canada said he objected strongly to the lowering of the ceiling rate below 25 per cent. He noted that the draft resolution was silent on the floor rate and asked if the United States had considered a minimum rate of assessment and at what level. China's representative opposed lowering the ceiling rate to 20 per cent.
The representative of the Netherlands, speaking on behalf of the European Union, stressed the importance of reaching consensus agreements on the scale of assessments, as on other issues, based on draft proposals submitted by the Committee Chairman or the coordinator of the negotiations. The Union believed that the ongoing informal consultations on the scale methodology could be concluded on that basis.
Statements on the draft resolution were also made by the representatives of Japan and United Republic of Tanzania.
Further this afternoon, the Committee considered the financing of the Military Observer Group of the Human Rights Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), with statements by the representatives of the United States, Guatemala and Bangladesh.
The Secretary-General's request for $4.6 million gross for the Observer Group was submitted in a report presented by the Director of the Peace-keeping Financing Division of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations, Leon Hosang.
The Fifth Committee is scheduled to meet again at 7 p.m. on Thursday, to take action on outstanding draft proposals and close the first part of its resumed session.
Committee Work Programme
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to consider: the Secretary-General's proposals to strengthen the United Nations system; the financing of the Military Observer Group of the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala (Military Observer Group of MINUGUA); the scale of assessments for sharing United Nations expenses; and a programme performance report on the 1996-1997 regular budget. The Committee will also consider its organization of work.
In considering the strengthening of the United Nations system, the Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, Maurice F. Strong, and the Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph Connor, are scheduled to respond to questions. A performance report is expected to be presented orally.
Strengthening of United Nations System
The Committee had before it a letter dated 17 March from the Secretary- General to the President of the General Assembly (document A/51/829) which describes some of the immediate management and organizational measures the Secretary-General had taken to reconfigure the Organization in a two-track process. A subsequent letter of the same date (document A/INF/51/6 and Corr.1) provides an executive summary of the Secretary-General's actions.
The first of the two-track process, the Secretary-General explains, involves managerial decisions that fall within his authority and can be taken immediately. The second involves the preparation of long-term reforms, which include measures subject to consultations with Member States.
The first-track reform decisions include:
-- merging the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis and the Department for Development Support and Management Services;
-- transforming the Department of Public Information into an Office for Communications and Media Services;
-- integrating Conference Services into a Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services;
-- a 1998-1999 regular budget that will be approximately $123 million less than in the previous biennium;
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-- a reduction of about 1,000 posts in the 1998-1999 budget;
-- a reduction of at least one third in the proportion of resources used for administration and other non-programme costs by the year 2001;
-- a further strengthening of the position of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Coordinator as the Secretary-General's designated representative for development cooperation and leader of the United Nations country team;
-- integrating United Nations information centres into the Resident Coordinator's Office; and
-- preparation of a Code of Conduct requiring the highest standards of competence, independence and integrity of United Nations staff.
Financing of Military Observer Group of MINUGUA
In the first report on the financing of the Military Observer Group of MINUGUA (document A/51/815), the Secretary-General asks the General Assembly to establish a special account for the Group and appropriate and assess for it some $4.6 million gross ($4.5 million net) for the period from 15 February to 31 May. The sum includes the $3 million he had been authorized, on 11 February, to commit by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).
On the basis of the Secretary-General's recommendations, the Security Council authorized the Observer Group's attachment to MINUGUA by resolution 1094 (1997) of 20 January. The Council authorized the deployment of 155 military observers and 13 medical personnel for three months to verify Guatemala's agreement on the definitive cease-fire, signed at Oslo on 4 December 1996. According to the report, the observers and medical personnel, supported by 36 civilian staff, will operate from main and sector headquarters at Guatemala City and Santa Cruz de Quiché and eight verification team sites across the country.
The Secretary-General states that the $4.6 million gross for the Military Observer Group will be in addition to the $7.1 million gross provided in the 1996-1997 regular budget for MINUGUA for the period from 1 January to 31 March, when MINUGUA's mandate expires. While the observers' core administrative support will be provided by MINUGUA's staff, their $4.6 million proposed budget will provide for their own civilian support staff at their team sites, a communication system for the Mission, transport of equipment from other peace-keeping missions and procurement of items not available from stock. The Secretary-General proposes 12 international posts -- including the
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Chief Military Observer (D-1), 3 Field Service communication technicians, 8 General Service administrative assistants and 24 local staff.
In its related report on the Military Observer Group of MINUGUA (document A/51/826), the ACABQ states that during its consideration of the Secretary-General's report, it was given revised estimates of some $4.4 million gross ($4.4 million net) by his representatives. The new amount, with a cut of $155,900 gross ($148,900 net), will pay for 142 military observers, 13 military medical personnel and 30 support staff at six verification sites. The ACABQ was told that fewer military observers (152 instead of 155) and civilian support staff (30 instead of 36) were being deployed because of a reduction in verification team sites from eight to six, due to difficulties in reaching two of the sites.
Expecting savings from the personnel reductions and from more careful monitoring of the use of helicopters, the ACABQ recommends that the Assembly appropriate and assess $4 million gross (nearly $4 million net) for the Observer Group. The amount would include the $3 million the ACABQ had already authorized for the Group.
Scale of Assessments
By a draft resolution on the scale of assessments (document A/C.5/51/L.46), submitted by the United States, the Assembly would request the Committee on Contributions to recommend to the Assembly at its fifty-second session, a scale of assessments for the period 1998-2000 on the basis of the following elements and criteria: a ceiling rate of 20 per cent; a statistical base period of three years with automatic annual updating; the use of gross national product (GNP) instead of net national income; carrying the scale to six decimal places; and the use of market exchange rates, except where that caused excessive fluctuations or distortions in the income of some Member States, when price-adjusted rates of exchange or other appropriate conversion rates should be employed.
Other elements and criteria in the text are: setting the low per-capita income relief gradient at 75 per cent; and non-eligibility of permanent members of the Security Council for relief based on low per-capita income. The Assembly would also decide that the scheme of limits should be phased out in 1998 and that the allocation of additional points resulting therefrom to developing countries benefiting from its application be limited to 15 per cent of the effect of the phase-out.
With the submission of the draft, the Committee now has before it three draft proposals on the scale of assessments -- from Mexico, the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, and the United States.
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The draft text introduced last week by the representative of the United Republic of Tanzania, on behalf the Group of 77 and China (document A/C.5/51/L.43) contains the following elements and criteria: a ceiling rate of 25 per cent; a floor rate of 0.001 per cent; the use of GNP instead of net national income; a statistical base period of six years; and the debt adjustment approach and low per-capita income allowance formula used in the preparation of the scale of assessments for the period 1995-1997;
Other elements and criteria in the text include: carrying the scale of assessments to three decimal places; and using market exchange rates for the purpose of the scale, except where that caused excessive fluctuations or distortions in the income of some Member States.
Also by the draft, the Assembly would decide that individual rates of assessment for the least developed countries shall not exceed their current level, namely, 0.01 per cent. It would also decide that the scheme of limits should be phased out in accordance with resolution 48/223 B, paragraph 1 (f), and that the allocation of additional points resulting from the scheme to developing countries benefiting from its application shall be limited to 15 per cent of the effect of the phase-out.
The Mexico draft (document A/C.5/51/L.21) was introduced during the Assembly's fifty-first regular session and recommends a scale of assessments on the basis of the following elements: a ceiling rate of 25 per cent; a floor rate of 0.001 per cent; a statistical base period of six years; uniform exchange rates; the debt adjustment approach used in preparing the 1995-1997 scale; a low per-capita income allowance formula, with a per-capita income limit of the average world per capita income for the statistical base period and a gradient of 85 per cent; the phase out of the scheme of limits; and the expression of the scale in three decimal places.
Also by the text the Assembly would decide that in phasing out the scheme of limits, the allocation of the additional points to developing countries benefitting from its application shall be limited to 15 per cent of the effect of the phase-out. It would also decide that individual rates for the least developed countries shall not exceed the level of 0.01 per cent.
The scale of assessments is a table of dues that Member States are expected to pay towards the United Nations regular budget. The existing method of determining those contributions has the following features: a base period of 7.5 years for calculating national income; a debt burden adjustment -- a reduction of national income for countries with a per-capita income below $6000 to reflect a theoretical repayment of external debt; and a further relief for countries with low per-capita income. The relief consists of a further reduction of national income equal to 85 per cent of the
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proportion by which a country's per-capita income falls below $3,200, a limit set as the world's average per-capita income.
The calculations also include a ceiling rate of 25 per cent and a floor rate of 0.01 per cent. Also included are: a rate of not more than 0.01 per cent for least developed countries; a scheme of limits to control the rate by which a Member State's dues can vary between two successive scales; and another adjustment -- mitigation -- whereby the assessment of countries facing exceptional difficulties is further cut at the discretion of the Committee on Contributions.
The Committee on Contributions advises the Assembly on all questions relating to the apportionment of the Organization's expenses, assessments of new Member States, appeals by Member States for changes in their assessments and the application of Article 19 -- on arrears and limits of voting rights. The Committee is awaiting guidelines from the Fifth Committee and the General Assembly to set the next scale of assessment, beginning in 1998, which should then be agreed on by the Assembly by the end of 1997.
Question and Answer Session on United Nations Reform
BINOD PRASAD BISTA (Nepal) asked for an elaboration on how the merging of departments would affect mandates and what was meant by the Secretary- General that the issue of mandates would be taken up at a later date. He added that the new arrangements proposed by the Secretary-General did not touch on assistance to least-developed countries. Those countries needed assistance in such areas as poverty alleviation, which could not be neglected.
EMILIA KAUKUNGWA (Namibia) asked what impact the integration of funds and programmes at the country level under the Resident Coordinator would have on those funds and programmes, both at Headquarters and at the country level. Stressing her support for achieving gender balance in the Secretariat, she said she was concerned about the representation of women from developing countries. Those women were far more underrepresented and that situation must be corrected. She asked for a chart showing the geographical representation of women, including their regional representation.
DJAMEL MOKTEFI (Algeria) asked about the impact and the implications of the merging of the three economic and social development departments. What would be the impact on staff in those departments? Would there be an elimination of posts in the process of merging the departments? What would be the implication for overall development policy in the regrouping of the departments. In addition, when would the Efficiency Board be replaced and would there be budgetary implications from the new regrouping of departments?
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SOONG CHULL SHIN (Republic of Korea) said he supported the overall thrust of the Secretary-General's proposed reforms and the fact they would be presented for the General Assembly's consideration. He asked how one could differentiate between, and therefore avoid, overlaps in the functions of the various reform entities, such as the Executive Committees on Peace and Security, Economic and Social Affairs, Development Operations and Humanitarian Affairs; the Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform; the Policy Coordination Group; and the Management Reform Group.
MAURICE STRONG, Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, said that the proposed reforms were not meant to change the mandates passed by various legislative bodies. On the issue of poverty alleviation and the situation of the least-developed countries, he cited the Secretary-General's letter to the President of the Assembly as having stated, among other things, that the new structure would consolidate capacities for policy and coordination and strengthen support in sustainable development, social development and the advancement of women.
The new arrangements should bolster support for Africa's development, South-South cooperation and the sustainable development of small island developing States, he added. The reforms were meant to help in the primary goals and priority of poverty alleviation. The reform process would ensure that poverty alleviation received adequate resources.
Concerning United Nations operational programmes and funds and the plan to make them work together at the country levels, he said that more authority would be vested in those who carried out action in the field. Balance between autonomy and attempts to ensure coherence in the work being done would be pursued.
The question of gender balance must be acted upon, he continued. His own staff had a gender balance that tilted in favour of women. The question raised by Algeria would best be answered by Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph Connor. On the roles of the various reform bodies, he said that the Policy Coordination Group was virtually the Secretary-General's cabinet. It was not a decision-making, executive body, per se. Rather, it consulted with the Secretary-General and advised him on decisions. The executive committees set up for the four sectoral areas were also part of the results of the reform process.
NGONI FRANCIS SENGWE (Zimbabwe), the Chairman of the Fifth Committee, said that the thrust of the question from the representative of Namibia was, from where would the women be recruited? Mr. Strong should, therefore, consider responding to that point in due course.
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JOSEPH CONNOR, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, said, in responses to Algeria's question, that the Secretary- General had, a few days ago, named the new head of the consolidated three departments dealing with economic and social issues. The merger would not affect their programmatic outputs. The Efficiency Board had been disbanded and the work product of its task forces turned over to the Management Reform Group, which had only himself as member. Any budgetary implications of the formation of the Management Reform Group would be modest, he expected.
Referring to an issue raised by Egypt at a previous meeting, he said that the omission of the country's name from a list of Member States that had paid up their dues in full and on time was an error for which he apologized.
ZHANG WANHAI (China) asked for clarification on the two track process of reform. The first track was under the purview of the Secretary-General and the second would be decided on by Member States. When would the first track be put into practice. The reform measures would affect the 1996-1997 programme budget, as well as 1998-1999. Since the General Assembly had already adopted the medium-term plan for 1998-2001, how would the reform proposals affect the medium-term plan? he asked.
ADEL ABDELLATIF (Egypt) said the Organization had been living through a reform atmosphere since 1992. It had been the longest round of reform, particularly with regard to the economic and social sectors. Those sectors had been discussed at length and resolutions on the matter had been adopted recently by the Assembly. He asked for clarification on the timing and duration of the Secretary-General's reform measures. The proposals reflected four layers of reform machinery, which suggested a long timetable for implementation.
The two track process reflected a large programme incorporating three levels, including the intergovernmental process, he said. Since there were many issues being dealt with simultaneously in intergovernmental bodies, how would the Secretary-General's proposals be synchronized with the Assembly's working groups? Many of the Secretary-General's proposals were already being discussed in those working groups and might be completed before July, when the Secretary-General intended to present the details of his reform measures. Therefore, how would he synchronize his efforts with that work?
The Secretary-General's document did not present the principles on which his reform measures were based, he continued. Would the merging of the three departments be followed by other measures or would the merging be the end of that process? Regarding operational activities, there was some concern about the impact in the receiving countries and the role of the Resident Coordinator. Since there had been previous proposals to merge the funds and programmes, developing countries were concerned about the new proposals.
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He also asked about reform of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in the context of recent developments concerning the withholding of dues by some countries to that body. Would the Secretary-General's proposals on UNEP be provided before the Commission on Sustainable Development and/or before the special session of the General Assembly to review Agenda 21? On the issue of channelling savings from reform to development activities, how would that be achieved, since the Secretariat had only a limited role in development activities?
RADHIA ACHOURI (Tunisia) asked about the post of Deputy Secretary- General. Had the Secretary-General given up on that idea? she asked. If not, how would that person relate to the Under-Secretaries-General and Assistant Secretaries-General and Member States? She then asked a series of questions, including: What were the steps in the reform process that were within the Secretary-General's purview and what would be Member States' prerogatives? How much would be saved by the merging of the three departments? How would those savings be channelled to South-South cooperation and to development activities for small island developing States? Would the reform of the Department of Public Information (DPI) cause some overlapping with the non- governmental organizations' liaison services? Could those services be integrated and helped to strengthen the work of the Non-Governmental Organization Committee?
She further asked, what would be the legal nature of the proposed code of conduct for staff? Would it be mandatory for all staff? Would there be disciplinary sanctions if they were not adhered to and would it cover all personnel, including gratis personnel? How would the Secretary-General proceed in concrete terms in order to ensure that the mandates of Member States were not adversely affected?
JANIE LETROT (France) asked if there was a connection between the head of the proposed Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Economic and Social Council. She also asked for a clarification on the role of proposed Department of General Assembly Affairs. Regarding the special session to review Agenda 21, how would the Secretariat services be organized, particularly with regard to environment and sustainable development? How would technical expertise be provided for energy and water issues? How would the Resident Coordinator be recruited?
MUHAMMAD YUSSUF (United Republic of Tanzania), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, stressed that the Secretary-General's proposed reforms should conform with General Assembly mandates, such as resolution 50/214 on questions relating to the 1996-1997 budget. The Group could infer that the level of resources in the proposals might not be commensurate with mandates. The Secretariat should clarify the issue of the resources that would be provided.
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He recalled that the Assembly had decided that any effort to achieve savings should not lead to involuntary separation of staff. The Secretary- General should clarify how he would transfer resources from one budgetary section to another after reducing the costs of administration. The merger of the three economic and social departments would imply a reduction in resources for social and economic development. Thus, he asked for clarifications on how the merger plans would affect the structure of the budget and development. In addition, the Secretariat should explain how much was saved with the reduction of documentation in the last three years. Such reductions should not be selective and affect only the Assembly. The Security Council, too, should be affected by the reductions.
NORMA GOICOCHEA ESTENOZ (Cuba) said the Secretariat should provide details on the status of the Efficiency Board. Would the provisions for its successor body be requested through the normal budgetary process? Since some of the Secretary-General's reform proposals would entail changes in the structure of the proposed budget for 1998-1999, she asked whether the proposals to transform departments would be reflected in the upcoming budget or in revised estimates that would be submitted much later.
She further asked whether the proposed transfer of resources from administration to programmes would mean that some functions would be transferred from the Department of Administration and Management to other departments. She wanted to know how the budget of the departments that would be taking over some functions from the Department of Administration and Management would then be affected.
Recalling that the Assembly had resolved that no changes could be made in the budgeting methodology without the consideration of the Assembly, she said that the changes being proposed should be submitted for the Assembly's examination. On the transfer of resources from administration to development programmes, she said that the United Nations was not an executing agency for development activities. How would the transfer of resources for administration affect relevant programmes? What would happen, for example, to the secretariats of the committees on decolonization and the rights of the Palestinians?
As for the changes in the Department of Public Information (DPI), she asked how the change in emphasis would be incorporated into the conception of perception on the Organization, which was directed primarily towards Member States. Would the Committee of Information be consulted before further actions were taken? She asked how the various bodies, such as the Publication Board, would be involved in the process of the proposed reforms. Regarding proposals to cut some 1,000 posts, she asked whether the budget proposals would follow what had been adopted in resolution 51/220, which approved a
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budget outline for 1998-1999. She also asked about the role of the intergovernmental machinery in the proposals to shape the budget.
Mr. CONNOR said studies would be carried out before further proposals were submitted for the Assembly's consideration and before they were reflected in the proposed budget for 1998-1999. Since the Secretary-General was committed to the medium-term plan, the question before the Secretariat was how to implement its programmes, not whether they would be carried out. The new head of the three departments to be merged had been named. One of the reasons why administrative costs consumed 38 per cent of the budget was due to overhead and redundance, which would continue to be pruned. The preparation of the budget was proceeding based on the Assembly decisions. There had been no involuntary separations and none were anticipated. So far, about 14 people were waiting to be placed in positions.
On documentation, he said that the Secretary-General was not being selective, but talking about how to get documents across more efficiently. There were thousands of "hits" on United Nations Internet pages. The Secretariat would connect permanent missions to electronic documents, in order to reduce the amount of printed documentation. The Efficiency Board had been disbanded and the trust fund set up to finance it had ended with a surplus. Changes in the Secretariat structure and posts would require the approval of the Assembly. The Secretary-General was only proposing such measures, which only the Assembly could decide upon.
On the question of staff levels, the Secretariat would report fully on the posts in the budget, he said. There was no assumption by the Secretariat that inflation would be absorbed. Rather, the Secretariat felt that the budget would show a negative nominal growth, if inflation and currency rate fluctuations were included in it.
Mr. STRONG, Executive Coordinator for Reform, said the Secretary-General had stressed that he would consult with Member States, particularly through the working groups already in existence, to ensure complete synergy between his proposals and those of Member States. Regarding the machinery set in place to pursue reforms, such as the policy coordination group, the sectoral Executive Committees and his office, he said they had been designed to create links within existing parts of the Organization to ensure better coordination in its work and in the reform process. His office was staffed by persons seconded from other parts of the Organization.
Responding to questions asked, he said the objectives and principles that would guide the reform programme had already been made clear by the Secretary-General and would be articulated in the report to be submitted to Member States by July. The current report was not designed to be a comprehensive one. If there were to be further consolidation of departments,
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such measures would be included in the July report. The proposals to merge the funds and programmes aimed at ensuring a higher degree of coordination between the Secretariat and the field level. The Secretary-General had not made any specific proposals on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In the context of the importance of the Assembly's special session to review implementation of Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the Secretary- General had asked him to consult with Member States to determine what could be done to support and facilitate the intergovernmental process on that matter.
Regarding the channelling of savings, he said such proposals would respect the Assembly's prerogatives and would be referred to the appropriate Assembly bodies. He expected that the consolidation of the departments would ensure more focus and an improvement in the related activities that were now duplicated. He recognized the validity of the observation on the restructuring of the Department of Public Information (DPI) and its relationship to non-governmental organizations' liaison services and civil society. The purpose of the reforms was to improve the Secretariat's ability to improve its capacity to service and support Assembly mandates. "However, the proof of the pudding would be in the eating", he added.
He expressed the hope that the reforms would improve the technical expertise and capabilities of the Organization to deal with issues in the fields of water and energy. The concerns of the delegate of the United Republic of Tanzania, on behalf of the Group of 77, had already been responded to, he said.
MILES STOBY, Deputy Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform, then responded to a number of questions on documentation and technical Secretariat services. The Secretary-General had stressed the question of quality in the preparation of reports. He was committed to presenting documentation that was more readable, concise and action-oriented. However, quantity could affect quality. His concern about the Secretariat's productive capacity related to all organs. He would work with Member States to address the issue, including diminishing the size of documents. Proposals for changes in documentation to intergovernmental bodies would be made to those bodies for their approval.
Regarding technical support services for intergovernmental bodies, he said that would be the responsibility of the new Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conferences Services. The senior official to head that department had been already announced. The servicing of sustainable development bodies would be undertaken by the new department. A closer examination would be made of the servicing needs in the political areas, such as the Special Committee on decolonization and the on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. There would be some more
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examination of how the substantive and technical resources were intertwined between the new department and the present departments.
FRANCIS NGONI SENGWE (Zimbabwe), Committee Chairman, said an organizational chart was needed to help clarify the new proposals for the Committee.
SAM HANSON (Canada) welcomed the merger of the three departments and the intention to transfer savings to development activities. However, he was of the view that development would be achieved by activities on the ground in Member States and not by employing bureaucrats in the Secretariat. The maximum impact of the transfer of savings would be on programme activity in the field.
TAMMAM SULAIMAN (Syria) drew attention to the lack of reference to gratis personnel in the Secretary-General's proposals. What was the status and future of that practice in the global reform process? he asked. On documentation, he asked how all the related activities regarding the production of documents would be accomplished in the context of reform. On other issues, he asked what effect would the merging of the departments have on development activities in developing countries; how would the ongoing assistance to the developing countries be guaranteed when many posts were going to be eliminated; what would be the impact of the reductions on the official languages; and would that impact be equal on all of them.
He also asked about the code of conduct in relation to senior staff. What would be the impact of the elimination of 1,000 posts on the staff morale? How could such action be the Secretary-General's prerogative when it had been the subject of a vote in the Assembly plenary last year? he further asked.
KLAUS-DIETER STEIN (Germany), referring to the grouping of the departments, funds and programmes in the four sectoral committees, asked if there was any intention to change any of the institutions related to human rights and what those changes would be. What functions of the Department of Development Support and Management Services would be merged and redistributed. He wanted more information in writing on the proposals to channel savings to development activities so that the Committee could relate them to the budget. What had been said so far was vague and not related to the budgetary categories and breakdown.
Ms. GOICOCHEA ESTENOZ (Cuba) asked a number of questions she wanted answered by the Secretariat in writing. Those included: what were the budget implications of decentralizing functions of the Department of Administration and Management to various other departments; what areas of administration would be redeployed to other United Nations programmes; and what was the
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absolute level of resources that would be reduced as a result of the Secretary-General's reform proposals.
She said it was not clear whether the Secretariat would submit the reform proposals in a preliminary budget or whether they would be included in subsequently revised budget estimates. She asked whether the regular budget to be submitted in May to the ACABQ and the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) would include the changes proposed by the Secretary- General. If that was not the case, when would they be submitted and how would the CPC and the ACABQ review them? she asked. She also asked for information on the status of resources to be provided for the Security Council, the Assembly's Sixth Committee (Legal) and the Fifth Committee. She also sought information on the fate of the temporary staff recruited for conference services.
AMJAD SIAL (Pakistan) asked for an explanation of the differences between the 38 per cent of the regular budget resources devoted to administrative and non-programmatic costs and the fact that 75 per cent of the budget went on staff costs. The drafting of the United Nations staff code of conduct should take into account relevant ACABQ recommendations, he said.
RI GWANG NAM (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said it was wrong of the Committee Chairman to have referred to the Republic of Korea as "Korea", which would seem to imply that one country represented the Korean Peninsula as a whole. The Chairman should bear in mind the sensitive nature of the matter, especially in a Committee in which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea participated.
Mr. SENGWE (Zimbabwe), the Chairman, apologized for not calling the Republic of Korea by its proper name, instead of just "Korea".
Mr. STRONG said the cut in documentation was not meant to affect any of the Secretariat's working languages. On the question of human rights, he said that specific reforms already introduced in that field were being reviewed by the Secretary-General. But, there was no specific reform exercise that would go beyond what had been considered by the competent legislative body. Further suggestions on human rights and other matters would have to come in the second stage of the Secretary-General's two-track reform process.
Mr. CONNOR said he had been assigned to cut administrative costs down from the current level of 38 per cent of the regular budget, with the resources saved to be allocated by Member States. Similarly, the Secretariat was waiting for the Committee's guidance on the issue of gratis personnel. On decentralization, it was experimenting with decentralized translations already. As for the proposed abolition of posts, the Secretary-General would ensure that the Secretariat's performance was not effected, since the posts to be abolished were currently vacant. The proposed code of conduct was
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developed by the Office of Legal Affairs and some programme managers. If approved by the competent body -- the Assembly -- the code could include requirements for financial disclosure by staff.
The restructuring of human rights had been going on for about one year, with a paper submitted on the matter, he continued. Since the categories of items falling under the 38 per cent of regular budget consumed by administrative costs and information could not be separated easily, attempts would be made to give sub-percentages. The resources allocated to the Fifth Committee and Sixth Committee would not be changed. Staff costs could be found under the budget sections for all departments and programmes, whether they were for programmatic outputs or administration. Administrative costs, on the other hand, were meant solely for administration.
Mr. SENGWE (Zimbabwe), the Chairman, said the attempt to distinguish between the 75 per cent of the budget spent on staff costs and the 38 per cent devoted to administration was dicey, with the Under-Secretary-General "going into murky waters".
"Are you saying we will drown? Mr. Chairman", Mr. CONNOR asked, adding that the estimation that 38 per cent of the budget was spent on administration was fair, taking into consideration the fact that the Department of Administration and Management at some time consumed some 42 per cent of the regular budget.
Statements on Financing of MINUGUA's Observer Group
LEON HOSANG, Director, Peace-keeping Financing Division, Department of Peace-keeping Operations, introduced the Secretary-General's request for the Group's funding. He noted that the ACABQ had recommended the appropriation of $4 million for the operation.
MICHAEL R. BOYNTON (United States) asked why the provisions of mission subsistence allowance for some of the personnel to be sent to Guatemala could not be reduced. He also asked why some of them would get $107 per day instead of $36 and why the number of local staff was not cut further, with the reduction in the number of verification team sites in Guatemala from eight to six.
BRENDA CASTELLANOS (Guatemala) expressed appreciation for the support that had been shown for the peace process in Guatemala and for the deployment of the observers to verify the agreement on the definitive cease-fire, signed at Oslo last December. The personnel had been deployed as of 3 March, a development that showed the positive will and commitment of the Government of
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Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) to peace and stability in their country and in Central America. She thanked the ACABQ and the Fifth Committee for approving money for the missions in her country.
Mr. HOSANG, Director of Peace-keeping Financing Division, Department of Peace-keeping Operations, said he would answer the questions at a later date or in the informal consultations. The vehicles referred to were for use by civilian staff and observers. His office had indicated what resources it felt could have been decreased at this time. The ACABQ had indicated that there could be some delay in filling some positions and had therefore reduced the estimates. Generators had to operate on a 24-hour basis. The mission subsistence allowance would be reduced where United Nations provided accommodation.
The Chairman, Mr. SENGWE (Zimbabwe) said that the representative of Bangladesh, a Committee Vice-Chairman, would conduct informal consultations on the financing of the Military Observer Group of MINUGUA.
SYED RAFIQUL ALOM (Bangladesh) said he hoped that the issues related to the financing of the mission could be settled bilaterally.
Statements on Scale of Assessments
MICHAEL BOYTON (United States), introducing a draft resolution on the scale of assessments, said it reflected his delegation's proposals on the scale. It did not relate to the scale of assessments for peace-keeping operations. Although he welcomed the methodology presented by the European Union and others, he said it did not go far enough towards reducing the Organization's dependence on the largest contributor. His proposals did not rule out others that were close to those of the United States. The scale of assessments was an agreement among Member States and he hoped that all would agree on it by consensus.
Mr. HANSON (Canada) welcomed the fact that the United States draft resolution was not intended to impact on the search for consensus. The draft text of the coordinator of the negotiations on the scale of assessments should be the basis for consensus. He asked the United States delegate about the reference in his draft text's second preambular paragraph to a document that had not yet been issued. How could a resolution be adopted on that basis? he asked. He objected strongly to the lowering of the ceiling rate below 25 per cent. He also objected to a minimum rate but noted that the draft was silent on the floor rate. Did the proposal consider a minimum rate of assessment and at what level? he asked.
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PAUL MENKVELD (Netherlands), speaking on behalf of the European Union, recalled that the Committee operated on the basis of consensus and draft texts were, therefore, submitted by the chair or by coordinators of the informal consultations. The proposals in the United States' draft text formed part of a summary paper of the coordinator of the informal consultations, which also contained other proposals by Member States. He stressed the importance of the consensus practice and said the Union did not believe that the ongoing informal consultations on the scale methodology could not be concluded on that basis.
FUMIAKI TOYA (Japan) said the Fifth Committee's decisions on the scale of assessments should be based on consensus. Japan would cooperate with other Member States towards that end.
Mr. YUSSUF (United Republic of Tanzania) said, on behalf of the Group of 77, the delegations he represented would examine the United States' proposal and speak in due course.
ZHANG WANHAI (China) said he opposed the provisions of operative paragraphs 1 (c) and 1 (d) of the United States' draft. A majority of Member States, not just China, also opposed them. [Note: paragraphs 1 (c) and 1 (d) would set a ceiling rate of 20 per cent for the scale and carry the scale to six decimal points.]
MARTA PENA (Mexico) said, since Member States could submit drafts to the Committee, she would consider the United States' proposal in a process which she hoped would lead to a consensus adoption of a resolution.
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