ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY COMMITTEE CONCLUDES DISCUSSION OF SUPPORT ACCOUNT FOR PEACE-KEEPING FINANCING

2 June 1997

Press Release
GA/AB/3153

ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY COMMITTEE CONCLUDES DISCUSSION OF SUPPORT ACCOUNT FOR PEACE-KEEPING FINANCING

19970602 As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning concluded discussion on the support account for peace-keeping operations, the representative of the Netherlands expressed reservations over the Secretary- General's proposal to increase the number of temporary posts under that account to 364 -- 19 more than last year -- due to the weakness of the justification given. Matters related to the support account are taken up under the Committee's consideration of administrative and budgetary aspects of peace-keeping financing. Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, she suggested that future requests for the support account should be lower than the 1997-1998 request of about $35.1 million and related to the number of peace-keeping operations, rather than dollar or personnel levels. Since nearly half of the missions serviced today were in liquidation, a process that should be finalized next year, the level of backstopping requirements should be reduced from the Secretary-General's current estimate of some $50 million, including $14.9 million for gratis personnel loaned by Governments. In a report before the Committee, the Secretary-General defines backstopping as the overall assistance and guidance given by offices at Headquarters to ensure effective planning, implementation and liquidation of peace-keeping missions. The support account provides for such work. Also this morning the United Nations Controller, Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, introduced the Secretary-General's reports on financing of the International Tribunals on the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) were introduced by its Chairman, Conrad S.M. Mselle. The representative of the United States spoke on the matter. The Committee is scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 4 June, to continue discussing the financing of the International Tribunals. It is also expected to consider a conference room paper on the implementation of the Secretary-General's strategy for the management of the Organization's human resources and related matters.

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Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to continue consideration of the support account on peace-keeping operations and of the financing of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Also scheduled for consideration are reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the financing of the two Tribunals. (For background on the support account, see Press Release GA/AB/3150, of 27 May; for the Oversight Office reports, see Press Release GA/AB/3152, of 30 May.)

Financing of Yugoslavia Tribunal

The Secretary-General's report on the financing of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (document A/C.5/51/30) asks for $53.5 million net ($58.9 million) for 1997, reflecting an increase of some $18.1 million and 36 posts over 1996's $35.4 million net and 337 posts, respectively. The Tribunal also has 55 loaned personnel.

The Hague-based Tribunal consists of the Chambers, with two Trial Chambers and an Appeals Chamber; the Office of the Prosecutor; and the Registry, servicing both the Chambers and the Office of the Prosecutor. Most of the $53.5 million net ($34.5 million) would go to the Registry. The Prosecutor's Office would take $16.7, with the Chamber receiving some $2.3 million. Of the 36 extra temporary posts proposed for 1997, 15 (3 Professionals and 12 General Service) would be for the Prosecutor's Office, where they would continue preparing prosecution cases in 1997. Twenty-one posts (1 Professional, 11 General Service and 9 Security Service) would maintain the premises, process data and provide security.

By budget item, about $27.4 million would be spent on temporary posts, according to the report, with $6.5 million allocated for general operating expenses. Included in the general expenses is $2.4 million for renting the Aegon building which houses the Tribunal. Then, about $6.2 million is provided for contractual services, $3.1 million for travel and $1.8 million for judges' salaries and allowances.

In addition to those activities, the Secretary-General says, plans are being developed for 1997 for the building of a second courtroom and court facilities to accommodate the two Trial Chambers and the Appeals Chamber. The sum needed for construction would be $2.4 million.

In conclusion, the Secretary-General states that the Assembly may wish to finance half of the $53.5 million net ($58.9 million gross) by charging about $26.7 million to the budget of the United Nations Peace Forces in the former Yugoslavia (UNPF). The other $26.7 million would be assessed according to the 1997 scale of assessments.

In a related consolidated report on the Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda (document A/51/7/Add.5), the Advisory Committee on

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Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) recommends $47.4 million gross ($42.3 million net) for the Yugoslavia Tribunal for 1997. The amount's assessment could take into account the Tribunal's $12-million unencumbered balance.

The ACABQ says that the Secretary-General's 1997 budget proposals for both Tribunals were limited to the resources approved for 1996 and the minimum needs for 1997. The Secretary-General will submit revised 1997 budget proposals for the Tribunals, upon the conclusion of the reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services which were requested by the General Assembly last June. The Assembly had asked the Office to inspect the Tribunals to identify problems, recommend measures to enhance the efficient use of resources and report to the Assembly's fifty-first session.

After taking into account the Oversight Office report, the Secretary- General submits another report on the International Tribunal (document A/C.5/51/30/Add.1) which revises the 1997 budget to almost $50 million net. Since the Assembly has provided some $21.2 million net ($23.7 million gross) for the first half of 1997, it may finance the remaining $28.8 million net ($31.3 million gross) for 1 July to 31 December.

Further, the report proposes an addition of 50 assessed and 10 extrabudgetary posts to take the total number of posts to 397 by the end of 1997. As of 31 March, there are 51 seconded staff assigned to the Tribunal, comprising 27 experts-on-mission assigned to the Office of the Prosecutor, 11 legal assistants, one attorney and one detention guard assigned to the Registry and 11 legal assistants assigned to the Chambers. Also, 10 interns work at the Tribunal.

In another related report on financing the Tribunal (document A/51/7/Add.7), the ACABQ recommends that the Assembly appropriate an additional $48.6 million net for the rest of 1997. Some $23.7 million gross ($21.2 million net) had been appropriated for the period from 1 January to 30 June.

Financing of Rwanda Tribunal

In his report on the financing of the Rwanda International Tribunal (document A/C.5/51/29 and Corr.1 and Add.1), the Secretary-General requests the Assembly to finance the amount for 1997 of $46.7 million net ($51.4 million gross) after first applying the unencumbered balance of 1996, subject to information on the availability of funds to be provided prior to a decision being taken by the Assembly.

Regarding the Tribunal's 1997 resource requirements, the report states that the amount of resources solely for the period from 1 January to 31 December 1997, amounts to $51.4 million gross ($46.7 million net). It

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reflects a net increase of $10.2 million and an additional 21 posts over the 1996 appropriation and authorized staffing level.

Pending issuance of the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, pursuant to Assembly resolution 50/213 C and to ensure the continued operation of the Tribunal without disruption in 1997, the Secretary-General proposes that real resources for 1997 be kept at the 1996 level, to be augmented solely by those additional resources required to meet the immediate and non-deferrable exigencies of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal, with its headquarters in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, and its Office of the Prosecutor in Kigali, Rwanda, consists of the following organs: the Chambers, comprising two Trial Chambers; the Office of the Prosecutor; and the Registry, servicing both the Chambers and the Office of the Prosecutor.

Estimated requirements for the 1997 assessed budget of $46.7 million consists of $2.3 million for the Chambers; $19.1 million for the Office of the Prosecutor; and $25.4 million for the Registry. An estimated $2 million would be derived from extrabudgetary resources. Decreases in the costs of the Prosecutor's Office and the Registry from the amounts appropriated in 1996 reflect the discontinuation of requirements of a one-time non-recurrent nature such as those expenses related to construction or the initial provision of furniture and equipment.

The increases reflect the requirements arising from the Tribunal coming into full operational status with a schedule of trials extending for the first time throughout the year, the report states. Most of those exigencies arise within the Registry and take the form of requirements for 21 temporary posts as well as general temporary assistance to provide for critical security functions and court stenographers. The 21 temporary posts relate directly to court management functions, including witness protection, interpreters and audiovisual technicians for the courtrooms, which are considered essential for the smooth processing of the cases scheduled to be tried in 1997. It is proposed to regularize the Victims and Witnesses Unit within the 1997 assessed budget. The Unit was established with extrabudgetary funds in mid-1996 to assist prosecution and defence witnesses.

To date, cash contributions to the Voluntary Fund for the Tribunal amount to $6.4 million from 18 Member States and observers. In addition, a number of Member States have made contributions-in-kind to the Tribunal. However, in view of the delays experienced by the Tribunal in attaining a fully operational phase until early 1996, expenditures from the Fund have been slower than expected.

Another report of the Secretary-General (document A/C.5/51/51) contains the second budget performance report of the Rwanda International Criminal Tribunal. It states that an amount of $36.5 million net ($40.2 million gross) was appropriated for 1996 by the Assembly in resolution 50/213. In a

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subsequent resolution, 51/215 of December 1996, the Assembly approved the use of the unencumbered balance for 1996, amounting to $12 million, in financing the Tribunal's budget for 1997. During 1996, the actual expenditure amounted to $24.5 million of the amount of $36.5 million that had been provided.

The report states that a notable development in the activities of the Tribunal during 1996 was the installation of the judges in Arusha to take up their duties on a full-time basis. However, recruitment of much-needed staff was slow and uneven, with many functions left unstaffed for months at a time owing to the unavailability of candidates to take up assignments at the Arusha and Kigali offices of the Tribunal.

The Secretary-General states that in spite of the difficulties, major accomplishments during the period included conclusion of a contract for the rental of premises and installation of the offices of the Tribunal in the Arusha International Conference Centre, the construction of the first full courtroom and renovation of Conference Centre premises assigned to the Chambers and the conclusion of an agreement with the host Government on the modalities governing the construction and operation of the United Nations Detention Facility.

Activities of the Tribunal yielded 14 indictments involving 21 persons, the report states. Negotiations were undertaken for transferring accused persons in the custody of several Member States to the custody of the Tribunal. By the end of the year, 11 accused persons had been either imprisoned at the Detention Facility or identified to be transferred to the custody of the Tribunal under cooperative arrangements with Member States. Preparations also began for the prosecution of the persons detained by the Tribunal, as the first trial was scheduled to begin in January 1997.

Some of the Tribunal's difficulties related to staffing, the report states. For example, the Office of the Prosecutor commenced its field investigations with the service of gratis personnel and with equipment provided by donor Governments. By comparison, the Registry was hampered in reaching full operation owing to the difficulty in obtaining staff for positions that required skills and experience in the United Nations common system, particularly in-depth knowledge of the Staff and Financial Rules and Regulations. While a number of outside applicants were appointed to responsible positions in the Registry, it became clear that their skills were not easily transferable to the work of a United Nations operation.

In addition, skills were required for the smooth functioning of the Office of the Prosecutor that are atypical of United Nations operations, such as the skills of crime investigators and lawyers with courtroom experience, for which recruitment of appropriate personnel at the international level was even more difficult, the report states. Delays were also experienced in

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procuring material and equipment, the construction and renovation of premises and the periodic maintenance of basic housekeeping functions, such as preparing accounting records, financial statements and bank reconciliations.

In its related consolidated report on the Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda (document A/51/7/Add.5), the ACABQ recommends that at the present stage, the Assembly appropriates the amount requested by the Secretary-General -- $46.2 million gross ($41.7 million net) for the Rwanda Tribunal for 1997. The assessment for the amount would take into account the unencumbered balance of $12 million in respect of 1996. The recommendation is made while the ACABQ awaits the report of the Office of Internal Oversight on both Tribunals, as well as the Secretary-General's revised 1997 budgets which will be submitted subsequently, taking full account of the Office's reports.

Throughout the report, the ACABQ stresses the importance of the Tribunals' mandates. The Advisory Committee reiterates that the allocation of approved resources should take into account the need to accord high priority to investigation and prosecution. In that connection, with regard to concerns about the staffing of the Rwanda Tribunal, it requests the Secretary-General to provide an up-to-date staffing table for each organizational unit and to report on total deployment of resources among units of the Tribunal.

In addition, the ACABQ emphasizes that cost-cutting measures introduced at Headquarters to achieve savings in the regular budget should not apply to the special accounts of both Tribunals without specific authorization by the General Assembly. The Advisory Committee also believes that the resources appropriated and authorized for the Tribunals should be administered with flexibility consistent with the United Nations Financial Regulations and Rules.

Turning to the loaned personnel working for the Tribunals -- on the former Yugoslavia and on Rwanda -- the ACABQ notes that donors are charged 13 per cent support costs in respect of those personnel. It recalls having said that the 13 per cent charge was a policy issue that should be addressed by the General Assembly. Due to the late issuance of the Secretary-General's report on gratis personnel, the ACABQ was not able to complete its consideration of the matter before the end of 1996. It would resume considering gratis personnel early this year and then make recommendations on the issue as it affects the Tribunals.

A subsequent ACABQ report (document A/51/7/Add.8) comments on the Secretary-General's proposals for the financing of the Tribunal and on the report of the investigation of the Tribunal by the Office of Internal Oversight Services. It recommends that the General Assembly approve an additional appropriation of $23.3 million gross ($19.8 million net) bringing the total appropriation for 1997 to $46.4 million gross ($40.7 million net)

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for the maintenance of the International Tribunal for Rwanda for 1997.

Regarding the Secretary-General's proposals, the Advisory Committee regrets that a performance report in respect of the period from 1 January to 31 December 1996 was not available (The report A/C.5/51/51 was completed on 29 May, the same day as the ACABQ's report). That hampered the Advisory Committee's evaluation of the proposals.

The ACABQ takes note of the Secretary-General's proposal for an additional 56 posts over the 1996 appropriation and authorized staffing level. It raises a number of issues related to the staffing of the Tribunal as well as concerns about conditions of service being considered by UNDP, such as allowing the international staff to decide how they should be compensated, either by the mission treatment or the family duty station.

Such a choice, the ACABQ observes, is likely to complicate control and proper management of requirements for pay and allowances. The UNDP decision to change the status of Kigali raises the question of the appropriate procedure to be followed by United Nations agencies in determining the conditions of service of their staff in the same location. It therefore sees the need for a review of the matter and the involvement of the ICSC.

The ACABQ also states that the Secretary-General's requests for new posts and other resources were not fully justified and explained. The Advisory Committee had difficulty in evaluating the requests for resources owing to the lack of justification and analysis of the estimates. The budget submission should include under expenditures the estimated costs of all personnel, including those funded from voluntary contributions in cash or in kind, as well as their related support costs. The submission should also contain an income section reflecting all revenue received.

Statement on Support Account on Peace-keeping Operations

HELENE REKKERS (Netherlands), speaking for the European Union and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, said the Union wondered why the Secretary-General had not repeated the request made last year to transfer 26 posts from the support account to the regular budget. Such a development strengthened the impression that the Secretary-General was cutting requirements in the regular budget by increasing those under the support account. Such an approach could only be accepted if the requirements for core backstopping functions were decreasing.

She said the Secretary-General's report had not presented the full costs of the support account. However, some information had been supplied on the posts funded from the regular budget and other sources of finance, such as the provision of gratis personnel. The Secretary-General had estimated that the overall costs of backstopping at Headquarters would be about $50 million, of which $14.9 million was related to the dollar value of 140 gratis personnel. The overall costs of the backstopping was higher than the Secretary-General's

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estimate; in the region of about $70 million, including the sum of about $10 million directly attributable to the regular budget resources. A proposal based on the principle of the full costs was urgently required.

To justify his request for 364 temporary posts -- 19 more than last year, she said, the Secretary-General had stated that the volume and complexity of the work of the Department of Peace-keeping Operations and the Department of Administration and Management would increase following the completion of some missions. The European Union was disappointed that the anticipated workload was not fully justified and shared the ACABQ view that a meaningful workload analysis was required.

Since, as stated by the Chairman of the ACABQ, the total peace-keeping budgets would fall below $1 billion in the next 12 months, a decrease in the level of backstopping requirements was expected, she continued. The Union's comments not only expressed its reservations regarding the Secretary-General's proposal to increase the number of posts but also questioned the maintenance of the current level. The justification given by the Secretary-General for an increased workload was weak and the Union would have preferred proper justification for all requested posts and a review of the ACABQ on that basis. Future proposals for the support account should be determined in advance, just as the regular budget was determined through an outline that was approved in advance by the Assembly.

The level of the support account should be related to the number of peace-keeping operations, rather than dollar or personnel levels, she said. Since nearly half of the missions serviced today were in liquidation, the process should be finalized by this time next year and the level of backstopping requirements be reduced. Either the ACABQ or the Office of Internal Oversight Services should be asked to carry out in-depth analysis of the workload data of posts and functions under the support account in preparation for next year's debate.

Statements on International Tribunals

JEAN-PIERRE HALBWACHS, United Nations Controller, introduced the Secretary-General's two reports on the financing of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Secretary-General's three reports on the International Tribunal for Rwanda. He said a focal point had been set up to liaise with the Rwanda Tribunal in light of the problems experienced by that body.

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The Controller apologized to the Committee for the late submission of some of the reports on the Tribunals. The problem was due to the busy schedule of the Budget Division at this time of the year relating to the preparation of the next budget. In addition, the Division had a vacancy rate of 16 per cent. Even though they had tried, it had been difficult to submit the reports earlier.

C.S.M. MSELLE, Chairman of the ACABQ, introduced that Committee's two reports on the Tribunals. He said the review of those reports had been affected by the late submission of the reports by the Secretariat.

He said the status of the recommendations of the Office of the Internal Oversight Services on the former Yugoslavia Tribunal was not very clear. The ACABQ had pointed out that the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services had examined estimates proposed by the International Tribunal before they had been examined by the Secretary-General. In that case, the Secretary- General should have indicated his position on the budget recommendations of the Oversight Office in order to avoid the potential for contradiction and confusion.

On specific requirements for the former Yugoslavia Tribunal, he said the ACABQ had called for cuts in provisions for travel to be kept at the 1996 levels. The request for 18 new posts for investigation teams to the current 76 should be resubmitted in the context of the 1998 budget. The amount sought for rental and maintenance should be reduced from $2.1 million to $1.8 million. Overall, it recommended that 24 of the additional 50 posts requested should be approved.

Mr. MSELLE added that the two Tribunals had not been able to spend the amounts appropriated by the Assembly. The vacancy situation of both Tribunals had improved, more in the former Yugoslavia Tribunal than in the Rwanda Tribunal. In a number of instances, the Committee had recommended less resources than the Secretary-General had requested. Specific proposals in that regard had been made on the conditions of service of the judges of the Rwanda Tribunal.

[Note: The Advisory Committee in its report on the Rwanda Tribunal expressed serious reservations about the propriety of the Secretariat's authorization of the payment of judges' salaries for the period from 26 June 1995 to 19 June 1996, covering the initial period of their appointment but before they took up their posts. The Advisory Committee was also of the opinion that the conditions of service of the judges are such as to make the payment of a hardship allowance to judges unnecessary. The Committee has recommended that regulations on travel and subsistence benefits of judges to be prepared for the Tribunal be submitted to it for scrutiny.]

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Mr. MSELLE added that the ACABQ requested that those recommendations be taken into account by the Secretary-General. Also, for the Rwanda Tribunal, a corrigendum would be issued to correct the revised estimates as recommended by the ACABQ. The revised total appropriation for 1997 in the ACABQ report would now read $39.6 million net as a result of the decreased estimates recommended by the Advisory Committee (the net figure now reads $40.7 million). The error was due to the haste with which the Advisory Committee had to review the Secretary-General's reports because of their late submission. He added that of the 56 posts requested by the Secretary-General for the Rwanda Tribunal, the ACABQ had recommended only 35 for approval.

LINDA SHENWICK (United States) asked when an expected report on the pensionable compensations of the judges of the International Tribunals would be submitted.

JEAN-PIERRE HALBWACHS, United Nations Controller, said the report would be submitted to the fifty-third Assembly session.

Ms. SHENWICK (United States) asked how the Assembly could evaluate proposals on the conditions of work of the judges without all relevant reports. The Assembly might have to delay a decision on the matter.

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