GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES APPOINTMENT OF MARY ROBINSON, PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, AS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Press Release
GA/9254
GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES APPOINTMENT OF MARY ROBINSON, PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, AS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
19970617 Also Approves Agenda Item on United Nations Reform, Acts on Financing of Peace-keeping, Conference on DesertificationThe General Assembly this morning approved the appointment of the President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, for a four-year term of office at the rank of Under- Secretary-General. The Assembly also agreed, at the request of the Secretary-General, to add an item to its agenda on "United Nations reform: measures and proposals", and to consider it directly in plenary. It also adopted two resolutions on administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of peace-keeping operations. In one, it adopted a self- insurance system for the United Nations and established standardized rates for death or disability compensations for United Nations peace-keepers. Those rates would pay one-time lump sums of $50,000 for service-incurred deaths occurring after 30 June. Awards for permanent disabilities would be fractions of the $50,000 principal, depending on the degree of injury. The second resolution, on the support account for peace-keeping operations, maintains, for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998, the funding mechanism for the support account provisionally approved by the Assembly at its fifty-first session. The Assembly also approved some $33 million net for the account for the same period, subject to other provisions of the text. Also this morning, the Assembly adopted a resolution that allows the interim secretariat on desertification, under the authority of the Secretary- General, to use the relevant Special Voluntary Fund to help developing and least developed countries affected by desertification and drought to participate in the first Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Decertification. The interim secretariat may also use the Trust Fund to support the participation of non-governmental organizations. The representative of Costa Rica spoke regarding appointment of the Human Rights Commissioner. The representative of Ireland expressed appreciation to the Assembly for its appointment of Mrs. Robinson to that post.
The Assembly will meet again at a date to be announced in the Journal.
General Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly plenary met this morning to consider a recommendation of its General Committee, as well as issues involving environment and sustainable development, human rights, and administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of peace-keeping operations.
A report of its General Committee (document A/51/250/Add.5), recommends that an item on "United Nations reform": measures and proposals" be included on the Assembly's agenda, to be considered directly in plenary.
On the issue of desertification and drought, the Assembly had before it a draft resolution sponsored by Sweden on the use of the Special Voluntary Fund and the Trust Fund (document A/51/L.74). By its terms, the Assembly would allow the head of the interim secretariat on desertification, under the authority of the Secretary-General, to use the relevant Special Voluntary Fund to help developing and least developed countries affected by desertification and drought participate fully in the first Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
In a similar manner, the draft would have the Assembly allow the same official to use the Trust Fund to support the participation of non-governmental organizations in the Conference's work. The two Funds were established by the Assembly in December 1992 to help ensure such participation by representatives of developing and least developed countries and of non- governmental organizations.
A note by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on appointment of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (document A/51/924), announces his proposal to name Mary Robinson (Ireland) to that position for a four-year term of office. He trusts the Assembly will approve the appointment. Under Assembly resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993, the High Commissioner is appointed at the rank of an Under-Secretary-General to serve a four-year term which may be renewed once.
Also before the Assembly is a report of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on administrative and budgetary aspects of peace-keeping operations (document A/51/753/Add.1). It transmits a consolidated, eight-part draft resolution on contingent-owned equipment, death and disability benefits, management review and roving finance officers, mission subsistence allowance, the Peace-keeping Reserve Fund, voluntary contributions, and the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy.
General Assembly Plenary - 3 - Press Release GA/9254 102nd Meeting (AM) 17 June 1997
Under the provisions of part II, on death and disability compensations, the draft would have the Assembly adopt a system of self-insurance for the United Nations and establish uniform and standardized rates for paying death or disability compensation for United Nations peace-keepers. It would pay one-time lump sums of $50,000 for service-incurred deaths occurring after 30 June.
Awards for permanent disabilities would be fractions of the $50,000 principal, depending on the degree of injury. For example, the loss of an arm from the shoulder would be paid 60 per cent of $50,000 ($30,000); a hand, 54 per cent ($27,000); a leg from above the knee, 40 per cent ($20,000); loss of hearing, 35 per cent ($17,500); a foot, at or below ankle, 28 per cent ($14,000); sight of one eye, 24 per cent ($12,000); and a great toe, 5 per cent ($2,500).
The purpose of uniform and standardized rates of compensation is to ensure equal treatment of all contingent troops, according to the text. The Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to seek assurances from Member States that amounts payable to beneficiaries for incidents shall be not less than what was paid or reimbursed to Member States, so as to avoid unequal treatment of contingent troops by Member States. The Assembly would also ask the Secretary-General to continue processing all claims for death and disability compensations as expeditiously as possible.
Under part IV of the draft, on mission subsistence allowance, the Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to phase out over six months the supplement to the mission subsistence allowance paid to senior officials. It would ask the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) to submit to it at its next session a proposal to provide a post allowance and separate maintenance allowance for personnel who leave their families at their home duty station while they are on mission assignment. Pending a review of mission allowance criteria, the Secretary-General would be asked to administer mission subsistence allowance on the basis of a seven-day, rather than a five-day week.
In part, VI on the Peace-keeping Reserve Fund, the draft would have the Assembly decide that, between 1 January and 30 June 1998, the shares in the Fund of the following Member States shall be determined as indicated. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Korea and San Marino shall contribute their shares to the Fund according to the peace-keeping scale of apportionment in effect on the date of their first assessment for missions; while Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania shall contribute according to the scale in effect on the date of their first assessment after 1 January 1998 for peace-keeping operations.
General Assembly Plenary - 4 - Press Release GA/9254 102nd Meeting (AM) 17 June 1997
Part VII of the draft resolution, dealing with voluntary contributions, would have the Assembly ask the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) to prepare a report, by 31 December, on the administration of such contributions to peace-keeping operations.
By the terms of part VIII, on the Logistics Base, the Assembly would authorize the Secretary-General, in the interim period from 1 July to 15 October, to commit funds for the Base not exceeding the level of expenditures set for the last three months. It would also ask him to finalize, in that context, proposals on the management of peace-keeping assets and on the role of the Base.
Another Fifth Committee report, on the support account for peace-keeping operations (document A/51/753/Add.2), would have the Assembly maintain, for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998, the funding mechanism for the support account it had provisionally approved during its current session. The Assembly would approve about $33 million net for the support account for the same period, subject to the provisions of the draft resolution. It would then appropriate $158,500 for general temporary assistance, to help process the backlog of claims for death and disability compensations, which stood at 564.
Other provisions of the text would have the Assembly endorse the ACABQ's recommendation to create one P-4 and one General Service post in the Claims and Management Information Section, and ask the Secretary-General to use the P-2 post proposed for redeployment to the Personnel Management and Support Service to help process claims in the Claims and Information Management Section.
According to the text, the Assembly would approve $1 million for the renting of premises and would authorize the Secretary-General to commit an additional sum of up to $808,500 for such purposes. It would decide that posts funded from the support account shall be filled according to the United Nations Charter and relevant Assembly resolutions. The Secretary-General would be called upon to stop immediately the practice of giving short-term appointees consultant contracts for short periods and then rehiring them on short-term contracts.
United Nations Reform
Acting on the report of its General Committee, the Assembly decided without a vote to include the item on United Nations reform on its agenda of its current session to be considered directly in plenary.
General Assembly Plenary - 5 - Press Release GA/9254 102nd Meeting (AM) 17 June 1997
Environment and Sustainable Development
MICHAEL ODEVALL (Sweden) introduced the draft resolution on use of the Special Voluntary Fund and the Trust Fund.
The draft resolution was adopted without a vote.
High Commissioner for Human Rights
MELVYN SAENZ BIOLLEY (Costa Rica) said the Assembly resolution, by which the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights was created described the qualities of the person who would assume the post. Those qualities included an impeccable moral reputation, personal integrity, general knowledge and understanding of different cultures. It indicated that the High Commissioner would be appointed by the Secretary-General and approved by the Assembly, taking into account the principle of geographic rotation. His Government was very surprised that geographic rotation had not been taken duly into account in the appointment process, particularly in the case of the candidate proposed by Costa Rica, Sonia Picado. Latin America and the Caribbean was the region which had proposed establishment of the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights as early as 1952.
He said Costa Rica was a country committed to human rights and was an original proponent and supporter of creation of the post. That conferred special significance to its candidate. While Costa Rica recognized that the Secretary-General had the authority to appoint the person he wished, and taking account the high merit of the proposed candidate, opportunity had been denied to a candidate who also had high merit. It was unfortunate that geographic representation had not been taken into account in completing the term of office of the first High Commissioner for Human Rights. Costa Rica would not participate in the decision proposed by the Secretary-General.
The Assembly approved the appointment of Mary Robinson (Ireland) as High Commissioner for Human Rights, without a vote. She will succeed Ayala Lasso (Ecuador), who resigned effective 15 March.
Financing of Peace-keeping Operations
IHOR V. HUMENNY (Ukraine), Rapporteur of the Fifth Committee, introduced the two draft resolutions on the administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of peace-keeping operations.
They were adopted without a vote.
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