SUPPRESSED REGULAR BUDGET POSTS SHOULD NOT REAPPEAR UNDER PEACE-KEEPING ACCOUNTS, UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE TELLS FIFTH COMMITTEE

29 May 1997

Press Release
GA/AB/3151

SUPPRESSED REGULAR BUDGET POSTS SHOULD NOT REAPPEAR UNDER PEACE-KEEPING ACCOUNTS, UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE TELLS FIFTH COMMITTEE

19970529 Representatives Praise Leadership of Outgoing Chairman, Ngoni Francis Sengwe (Zimbabwe); Committee also Discusses Gratis Personnel

The inadequately justified increase in support account posts proposed by the Secretary-General would create the impression that jobs being suppressed under the United Nations regular budget might reappear under peace-keeping budgets, the representative of the United States told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon.

The Committee was discussing the support account for peace-keeping operations, a question which falls under the agenda item on administrative and budgetary aspects of peace-keeping financing.

In a report to the General Assembly, the Secretary-General had sought $35.1 million net for the period 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998 for the support account to pay for 364 temporary posts for Headquarters' backstopping and related non-post requirements. The posts include 19 more than those approved for the previous 12-month budget period.

Also speaking today on the support account, India's representative said the resources for the support account should be more realistic than what the Secretary-General had asked for.

Under the Committee's consideration of review of the United Nations administrative and financial efficiency, particularly, gratis personnel on loan from governments, the representative of the Netherlands, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, called for a comprehensive analysis of the existing practice of charging a uniform programme support costs of 13 per cent for the various forms of voluntary contributions. The examination was necessary because indirect costs related to voluntary contributions of cash or supplies could be lower that those related to personnel. After the review, the Secretary-General should report on possible adjustments.

The representative of Bangladesh said that if the acceptance of gratis personnel continued unchecked, the Organization could end up being managed by those of them recruited from a few countries. The existing imbalance should

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be addressed through proper recruitment procedures to maintain the United Nations sovereignty.

Also this afternoon, the Chairman of the Committee, Ngoni Francis Sengwe (Zimbabwe), read a letter from the Secretariat explaining the lateness of the submission of additional information on the effect of budget savings on the implementation of mandated programmes.

Statements on the support account were also made by the representatives of Pakistan and Japan. Those from China, Poland and Norway also spoke on gratis personnel. The representatives of Mexico, Cuba and Algeria spoke on the reports on the effects of mandated savings.

Since the meeting was the last one to be led by Mr. Sengwe (Zimbabwe), several delegations expressed their appreciation for his leadership and bade him farewell. The outgoing Chairman, who has led the Committee since September 1996, was reassigned by his Government.

The following delegations spoke: Côte d'Ivoire, on behalf of the African States; Pakistan, for the Asian States; Slovenia, for the Eastern European States; Jamaica, on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean States; Greece, for the Western European and Other States; and the United Republic of Tanzania, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. The representative of Germany, spoke as a Committee Vice-Chairman and handed Mr. Sengwe the gift of a gavel.

The Committee is scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m., tomorrow, Friday, 30 May, to take up the reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the financing of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. It is also scheduled to continue discussing the financing of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) and the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to discuss administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of peace-keeping operations, particularly the support account for peace-keeping operations. It was also scheduled to conclude its debate on the question of gratis personnel, under the agenda item on the review of United Nations administrative and financial efficiency. (For background on the support account, see Press Release GA/AB/3150 of 27 May, and on the gratis personnel, see Press Release GA/AB/3149 of 23 May.)

Statements on Support Account

AMJAD SIAL (Pakistan) said he had observed that the proposals on the support account for peace-keeping operations did not conform with parts of General Assembly resolution 50/221 B of 7 June 1996, which decided that the budget submission for the support account should include the estimated cost of salaries, common staff costs, travel, support services of all gratis personnel, the estimated cost of all those funded from voluntary contributions and the estimated cost of support services related to both categories of personnel. He noted that the value of some $14.9 million had been included as the value of gratis personnel working under the support account.

Budgets should have been proposed with the full costs of all staff requirements, he said. The Secretariat should explain how much would be spent to support the gratis personnel working under the support account before informal consultations began on the agenda item. He endorsed the view of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) that some of the functions performed by gratis personnel should be assigned to regular staff. The Secretary-General should assign sensitive and confidential tasks to regular staff and address the intention to increase the number of gratis personnel in the Procurement and Transportation Division of the Secretariat.

RAJAT SAHA (India) said that, since the mode of financing the support account that had been in operation until last year would not suffice for the requirements of supporting peace-keeping operations, he backed the Secretary- General's proposal that the Assembly confirm the new funding mechanism it approved last year for the support account.

He said that the Secretary-General's report had not adequately justified the maintenance of the 345 posts authorized last year. Moreover, it had given at best a meagre reasoning for seeking 20 more posts. Furthermore, the report had also proposed the continuity of 140 gratis personnel without assessing whether they were required and, if so, in which numbers. There was a need for rigorous annual reviews and justification of the total requirements from all sources of funding. He expressed support for the recommendation of the ACABQ to agree only to increases in posts in the Claims Unit and not in other areas.

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Such an increase would reflect the need to focus resources on the termination phases of peace-keeping operations. Resources for the support account should be kept at a more realistic level than the $35.1 million proposed by the Secretary-General.

JAMES BOND (United States) said the Secretary-General's report on the peace-keeping support account had recommended an increase in resources and staffing without sufficient justification. It would lead to the impression that jobs that were being suppressed under the regular budget might reappear in the peace-keeping account. Also of concern was the Secretary-General's request for a number of positions to deal with follow-up on auditors issues or to deal with backlogs which were the result of mismanagement rather than an increase in workload. Many of the non-posts requirements outlined in the Secretary-General's report lacked any context which might explain the rationale for the request.

The ACABQ report was also unsatisfactory since it did not review the entire scope of the support account, he said. It had adopted the base staffing level of approximately 360 staff proposed in the Secretary-General's report, rather than conduct a zero-based analysis. The Advisory Committee had overstepped its authority in recommending that the Lessons Learned Unit be abolished while suggesting that its responsibilities be spread throughout the Department of Peace-keeping Operations. The Unit was a mandated activity of that Department and was crucial in promoting and maintaining efficiency in peace-keeping operations.

In addition, he continued, it was disappointing that the ACABQ had used the opportunity to discuss regular budget issues relating to the provision of its own resources. It was his understanding that resource requests for the regular budget were made by the Secretary-General only and not by the Chairman of the ACABQ. In that connection, he made reference to the increase of two posts in the ACABQ secretariat which were not directly related to peace- keeping operations. The support account did not need to fund the same number of posts in the ACABQ secretariat.

KAZUO WATANABE (Japan) said, like other budgets of the Organization, accountability and transparency were important for the support account. It was essential to provide justification for posts requested under that account. At a time when the Organization was facing financial difficulties, it was important to economize on costs, when possible. However, it was also important to recognize the reality of the role of the United Nations Headquarters. It had to support all peace-keeping operations by providing human and financial resources. The complexity of peace-keeping operations deserved such support from Headquarters.

Regarding the ACABQ report on the support account, he agreed with paragraph 37 which contained that body's recommendations. [Note: The Advisory

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Committee did not recommend the approval of 17 of the net additional 19 posts requested by the Secretary-General for 1997-1998 under the support account.]

Statements on Gratis Personnel

PAUL MENKVELD (Netherlands) spoke on behalf of the European Union and the following associated States: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. He said the European Union appreciated the updated information on the number of gratis personnel as at 31 March and concurred with the exclusion from the list of personnel related to the United Nations Special Commission set up under Security Council resolution 687 (1991) in connection with the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. He added that consultations on gratis personnel could, therefore, be focused on the categories outlined in the annex to the second addenda of the Secretary-General's report.

Supplementary activities performed by gratis personnel, conditions and procedures for acceptance of gratis personnel did exist to a large extent, he said. However, it would be appropriate to cover all gratis personnel in that category along the lines of the conditions and procedures for United Nations associate experts and technical cooperation experts. For that type of voluntary contribution, donor governments and other entities should be charged appropriate programme support costs.

He said it was important to make a distinction between mandated programmes, for which there were budgeted resources and staffing tables, and activities for which that was not the case. It should be a priority to have all the budgets prepared on a full cost basis. Programme support costs should not be charged for voluntary contributions for mandated tasks, whether budgeted or not yet budgeted.

In the interim period and once mandates were implemented on the basis of full cost budgets, he said, it was not necessary or desirable to limit the extent to which a particular unit could be staffed by gratis personnel, nor to have the ACABQ scrutinize individual cases. The Assembly should urge the Secretary-General to comply without further delay with the request for full cost budgets of mandated programmes and activities. For programmes and activities still awaiting full cost budgets, pending the consideration of those budgets, a transitional arrangement seemed appropriate.

He went on to review the guidelines for the acceptance of gratis personnel as proposed by the Secretary-General. On the functions of gratis personnel, he said the proposals were unnecessarily restrictive. With the proper arrangements in place, there was no need to prevent gratis personnel, accepted under specific conditions, from discharging functions that contained elements of a supervisory, sensitive and confidential nature. On insurance,

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he said more information was required on the existing arrangements. The Union did not accept the basic thrust of the proposals on performance of service and applicable standards of conduct. Some of the Secretary-General's proposals on that matter could be clearer. He added that proper arrangements for premature termination of contracts, settlement of disputes and liability for damages were required regarding accountability.

Turning to the first addenda, which contained the methodology and the level of the programme support costs, he said the document covered only part of what the Assembly had requested. The Union favoured a comprehensive analysis of the existing practice to charge a uniform programme support cost of 13 per cent for the various forms of voluntary contributions. The practice needed to be examined as it was likely that the indirect costs related to voluntary contributions in the form of cash or supplies were lower that those related to personnel. He, therefore, called on the Secretary-General to review the various aspects of the practices related to the programme support costs and to report on possible adjustments.

SYED RAFIQUL ALOM (Bangladesh) expressed concern at the increasing acceptability of gratis personnel in the Organization. Advanced States seemed to be able to provide the personnel, while less lucky ones could not. As a result, the number of gratis personnel from advanced countries had proliferated. Such personnel had also been allowed to occupy important positions and to play major roles in the decision-making processes regarding peace-keeping operations. The argument that gratis personnel should be used because of the United Nations financial crisis was not acceptable. If such a development was allowed to go on, the Organization could end up being managed by gratis personnel recruited from a few countries. The existing imbalance should be addressed through proper recruitment procedures in order to maintain the United Nations sovereignty. The Fifth Committee should act towards such ends.

ZHANG WANHAI (China) said that Type II gratis personnel affected the Organization's integrity and budgetary decision-making. Since the use of gratis personnel could not be accepted as normal, a comprehensive solution to the issue should be sought. The use of such personnel should be restricted to contingencies and emergencies and the bases of their acceptance determined in the Fifth Committee. All questions related to the acceptance, use and financing should be examined thoroughly.

JAN JAREMCZUK (Poland) associated his delegation with the statement by the Netherlands on behalf of the European Union and other States.

TRYGVE GJESDAL (Norway) expressed hope that there would be support for clear guidelines on the use of gratis personnel. He supported the views of the European Union. He agreed with the Secretary-General's proposed guideline

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that gratis personnel should perform their functions under the authority and in full compliance with the instructions of the Secretary-General, respect the impartiality and independence of the Organization and neither seek nor accept instructions from any government or authority outside the Organization. Donor countries should not have the ability to monitor the performance of such personnel.

Statements on Performance Report on Impact of Budget Savings

NGONI FRANCIS SENGWE (Zimbabwe), the Committee Chairman, read out the contents of a letter from the Secretariat regarding a performance report on the effect of budget savings on the implementation of mandated programmes and activities. According to the United Nations Controller, the Secretary-General had submitted a report in the form of document A/C.5/50/57/Add.1, which had presented a detailed elaboration of the programmes that were to be reduced, curtailed or amended in conformity with the savings required by the Assembly 1996-1997 regular budget resolution.

The Secretary-General had asked all programme managers to submit information on the impact of savings on mandated programmes, which would augment the contents of document A/C.5/50/57/Add.1. But, due to the workload of the Office of the Controller, there was no guarantee that the additional information would be submitted before the end of the current resumed session.

MARTA PEÑA (Mexico) said that the document referred to by the Office of the Controller had contained a list of activities that were to be amended and lacked the analytical depth mandated by Assembly resolution 50/214 on the budget and its savings. The report requested by the Assembly must be prepared by the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management. One of the two reports requested by the Assembly should be produced in June to enable the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) to consider it while evaluating the proposed 1998-1999 regular budget. She expressed regret that so much time had been allowed to transpire before the Committee began to see compliance with the resolutions requesting the reports.

On the assignment of rooms for meetings, she said that the organs of the Assembly should have precedence over expert groups and bodies. She was drawing attention to that because the facilities the Fifth Committee had been provided for informal consultations had been inadequate.

ANA SILVIA RODRIGUEZ ABASCAL (Cuba) said she appreciated the response of the Secretariat on the programme performance report. However, following Mexico's statement, she would only add that the Secretariat should comply with what it had stated today, given the importance of the report for the Committee's consideration of the programmatic content of the budget.

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DJAMEL MOKTEFI (Algeria) said, while he appreciated the Controller's response, he was astonished at the content of the response. Assembly resolution 50/214 was clear, and a report was expected on the impact of the budget on the Organization's programmes. It was a much anticipated report on the effect of the budgetary savings. The Secretariat could not pretend to be surprised or to ignore Member States' request. In addition, it must be noted that the Fifth Committee's work programme, which was published before the session began, had a reference to the report -- and also its title. That could not have been ignored. "The stakes are clear, the interests are clear", he said. However, he wondered what were the real reasons why the report had not been prepared. He hoped that it would be submitted as promised.

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