FIFTH COMMITTEE CONTINUES DISCUSSING PROPOSED 1998-1999 BUDGET
Press Release
GA/AB/3176
FIFTH COMMITTEE CONTINUES DISCUSSING PROPOSED 1998-1999 BUDGET
19971023 Member States should agree on the modality for establishing a separate budget section that would indicate the level of administrative and non- programme savings to be redirected to economic and social programmes, Japan's representative told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning as it continued discussing the proposed 1998-1999 budget.Expressing support for the plan, he said agreement should also be reached on specific programmes to be implemented through that account. Careful consideration should be given to the Secretary-General's proposal to transfer unused funds to the development account, since some of them would come from favourable exchange rates.
Budget cuts had hurt the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Kenya's representative said. The 17 per cent reduction in the budget of the United Nations Centre in Nairobi countered the spirit of Agenda 21, the programme of action of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The same concern applied to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), which was affected by the postponement and cancellation of its activities. Habitat and UNEP should be given priority in the budget process.
Following the debate on the proposed budget, the Committee took up the financing of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL), as well as administrative and budgetary aspects of peacekeeping financing.
The reports on the missions were introduced by the Director of the Peacekeeping Financing Division of the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, Leon Hosang. The Director of the General Legal Division of the Office of Legal Affairs, Bruce Rashkow, responded to a question asked on 6 October by the Netherlands' representative. He transmitted the Legal Office's views on the implications for Member States of signing the memorandum of understanding that might be used to provide troops and contingent-owned equipment to United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Statements were made by the representatives of Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, Cuba, Germany, Greece and Syria.
The Fifth Committee is scheduled to meet again at 3 p.m., on Monday, 27 October, to continue discussing the scale of assessments used to share out United Nations expenses.
Committee Work Programme
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to continue discussing the proposed 1998-1999 budget and to take up the financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) and the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III).
(For background on the proposed 1998-1999 budget, see Press Release GA/AB/3173 of 22 October.)
Financing of UNOMIL
The Liberia Observer Mission was established by the Security Council for an initial seven months to support peace agreements on Liberia. Its mandate was subsequently extended, most recently through Council resolution 1116 (1997) of June 1997, by which it was extended from 1 July to 30 September, with the expectation that it would end on that date. With the holding of Liberia's presidential and legislative elections and the installation of a new government last August, the Secretary-General informed the Council that the Liberian peace process had successfully concluded.
The Secretary-General's report on financing the UNOMIL (document A/52/401), asks the Assembly to revise the budget it approved last June for the 12-month period ending 30 June 1998. The revised budget would be almost $9 million gross ($8.4 million net), reduced by almost $11.5 million from the earlier amount. Since $5 million of the earlier budget had already been assessed for the period from 1 July through 30 September, the Secretary- General asks the Assembly to assess the remaining $3.8 million gross ($3.7 million net) to pay for the rest of the revised budget.
The revised estimate comprises $2.7 million for maintaining the Mission during July; almost $4 million for withdrawing it, from 1 August to 30 September; $2 million for its administrative closure, from 1 October to 31 December; and $171,900 for completing residual administrative tasks beyond 31 December.
Overall, the report states, total staffing would drop from 257 posts at the end of June to eight after December. The revised budget would also pay for the repatriation travel of the mission's 92 military observers during their phased withdrawal, for mission subsistence allowance and for the salaries of international personnel during the maintenance, withdrawal and administrative closing periods. Provision is also made to reimburse governments for payment of their troops' death and disability benefits.
Since the Mission's inception in September 1993, resources of almost $153.9 million have been made available to it through 30 June 1998, while expenditures are estimated at $120 million.
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The report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) on UNOMIL (document A/52/451) states that an unencumbered balance of some $2.5 million gross ($2.1 million net) remains in the Mission's budget. In light of that balance, no additional assessment is necessary.
Of the total appropriated for 1 July 1996 through 30 June 1997 -- $31.9 million gross ($30.7 million net) -- preliminary expenses amounted to about $26.2 million gross ($25.4 million net), according to the report. Of the remaining balance of $5.7 million gross, $3.3 million was committed to Liberia's electoral process. The remainder of nearly $2.5 million, would make further assessments unnecessary.
Noting that travel provision was made for two officers from the Lesson Learned Unit of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to study the Mission, the ACABQ recommends articulating a policy on the Unit's preparation of reports. It also suggests that resources from all sources for lessons- learned activities should be indicated when the support account for peacekeeping operations is considered.
Financing of UNAVEM
The financial performance report of the Secretary-General on the financing of UNAVEM III (document A/51/494/Add.3) asks the Assembly to credit Member States their respective shares in an unencumbered balance of about $18.9 million gross ($18.7 million net) for the period 1 January to 30 June 1996. The balance arose after UNAVEM III spent some $160.2 million gross ($157.5 million net) of the $179.1 million gross ($176.1 million net) made available to it.
According to the Secretary-General, the mission fund savings resulted mainly from lower costs for military and civilian personnel, transportation, disarmament and demobilization.
In its report on both UNAVEM III and the successor mission, the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) (document A/52/478), the ACABQ does not oppose crediting the unencumbered balance to Member States. Noting the provision of $9.2 million for reimbursing governments for troops and equipment costs and $1.5 million for potential casualty claims, the ACABQ asks the Secretary-General to explain the assumptions used in estimating those amounts. As of 10 October, 19 UNAVEM-related claims had been received, with six deaths, 11 injuries and two illnesses.
In his budget report on MONUA (document A/52/385 and Corr.1), the Secretary-General asks the Assembly to appropriate and assess some $162.1 million gross ($157 million net) for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998. The amount includes almost $50 million gross ($48.2 million net) previously authorized by the ACABQ for the period 1 July to 31 October 1997. Subject to extensions of the mission's mandate, the appropriated sums would be
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assessed at monthly rates annexed to the report, ranging from some $20.4 million gross for August 1997 to $8.1 million gross for June 1998.
The sums would, among other things, help pay for the phased drawdown of UNAVEM III. The process would include the repatriation of 167 military observers, 3,486 contingent personnel, 86 international and 69 local staff and six United Nations Volunteers during the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 April 1998. The deployment to MONUA of 86 military observers, 170 contingent personnel, 345 civilian police observers, 242 international and 163 local staff as well as 65 United Nations Volunteers, would also be financed.
MONUA was established by Security Council resolution 1118 (1997) of 30 June for an initial four months until 31 October, during which it would take over and deploy UNAVEM's assets and military units in Angola until they are withdrawn.
A total of some $929.7 million gross ($911.2 million net) was made available to UNAVEM from its 3 January 1989 inception to 30 June 1997. With full reimbursements made to troop-contributing States up to 31 December 1996, about $33.7 million is due them for the period from 1 January to 30 June 1997.
In its report, the ACABQ recommends that MONUA's $162.1 million gross estimates be reduced to $155 million gross and appropriated for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998.
The ACABQ explains its decision in several parts of its report. For example, it says that $40.3 million proposed for the Mission's civilian component be reduced by at least 10 per cent, in the absence of any rationale for it. Even the proposed 25 per cent reduction in the number of civilians from 631 to 470 does not come close to matching the more than 90 per cent cut in the military component from 3,909 to 256.
Noting the more than 40 per cent rise in the costs of leasing seven helicopters for the Mission, the ACABQ requests their renegotiation. The estimates reflect an increase in hourly costs from $890 to $1,200 for the period 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997.
Statements on proposed 1998-1999 budget
MASAKI KONISHI (Japan) said the United Nations was the only universal body which played a pivotal role in areas ranging from peace and security to economic cooperation. The proposed budget of $2.583 billion represented negative nominal growth compared with the $2.603 billion of the revised 1996-1997 appropriation. Reducing the level of the budget should not be an end in itself, but rather the result of increased efficiency in meeting the needs of the international community. Japan was undertaking financial restructuring to bring its financial deficit from its current level of 5.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to below 3 per cent by the year 2003.
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The proposed budget for the Organization included $12.7 million allocated for the development account, he said. He supported the establishment of a separate budget item indicating the level of resources derived from savings in administrative and non-programme costs that were to be redirected to economic and social programmes. Member States should agree on the modality of the new scheme, as well as which programmes were to be implemented.
Careful consideration to be given to the Secretary-General's proposal for the transfer of unused funds to the development account at the end of the current biennium. Part of the funds would be the result of developments in the exchange rate, and so should be returned to Member States.
Turning to the reduction of posts in the proposed budget, he said care should be taken to minimize the negative impacts of such cuts on programme implementation and staff morale. The lack of equitable geographical distribution of Secretariat staff needed to be addressed. The national competitive examination programme provided a useful tool in that regard. Another matter of concern was the reduction of entry-level posts at the Professional levels of P-1 to P-3, as that might further narrow the opportunity for qualified young candidates.
Member States should consider more seriously the current mechanism of "recosting", taking into account the movement of exchange rates which might negatively affect the budget's real resources, he said. Japan was ready to participate actively in the current discussion on the proposed budget. Even the best possible budget would not be implemented if Member States did not fulfil their obligations to the Organization.
MARY D. ODINGA (Kenya) said the fact that the Secretary-General had personally presented his budget proposal indicated the importance he attached to the work of the Fifth Committee. She associated herself with the statement made yesterday by the representative of the United Republic of Tanzania on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China.
Cost-cutting was becoming a world-wide trend, she said. While the practice contained several useful aspects, it should be carried out with due consideration to its potential negative impact. In the case of the United Nations, reductions had already drastically affected the operations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The zeal for reform should not prevent the United Nations from achieving its objectives.
Regarding the United Nations Centre in Nairobi, she noted that the proposed budget reflected a 17 per cent reduction from the amount approved for the biennium 1996-1997. That reduction countered the spirit of Agenda 21, the programme of action agreed to at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The same concern applied to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), where programme delivery had
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been affected due to the postponement and cancellation of activities. The 1998-1999 programme of work reflected a considerable negative change from the previous biennium, yet Habitat and UNEP should be given priority in the budget process.
Another targeted area in budget reduction was in staff posts, she continued. Programme managers had had to maintain vacancy rates higher than had previously been the case. There was real need for a detailed examination of the proposed reduction in staff, particularly at the lower level, to avoid any further negative impact on mandated programmes. As the Organization moved in the direction of reform, its overall objectives must remain the guiding light.
JIMMY OVIA (Papua New Guinea) said the United Nations had helped bring decolonization to the forefront of the international agenda. It should continue doing so to usher in justice, peace and security through the right to self-determination of the remaining colonies in the Organization's list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Special Committee on decolonization would continue to be vital in that process and it was through its efforts that hope remained for those Territories to make their choice. He was pleased that the cost-savings on travel the Special Committee made last year had been reinstated.
He expressed concern that the staff of the Secretariat decolonization unit had been reduced by two owing to the Organizastion's grave financial situation, which should be addressed by the payment of dues by all Member States. The reduction in the staffing of the decolonization unit called for reassurances that the Committee of 24 would be serviced adequately.
He said the medium-term plan should serve as the framework for United Nations budgets. In approving the medium-term plan, Member States had approved the subprogramme on decolonization, which had been included in the proposed budget under political affairs. The inclusion of that sub-programme under political affairs in the proposed budget confirmed Member States' view that decolonization was political by nature. The Department of Political Affairs was, therefore, required to enhance the technical and substantive support for Member States through the Committee of 24. It was doubtful that the unit would be able to carry out its mandates, if it was moved to the Department for General Assembly Affairs and Conferences Services. Adequate resources should be provided for development activities. It was the moral obligation of Member States to maintain the Organization's integrity despite its grave financial situation caused by failure to pay legally obliged dues.
HUMAYUN KABIR (Bangladesh) said that savings and reductions of staff through abolition of posts had been the main thrust in the Organization for the last couple of years and that trend had been clearly reflected in the proposed budget. But savings should not be an end in themselves and should not be excuses for deviating from the obligation to carry out the programmes
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mandated by Member States through the medium-term plan and relevant General Assembly resolutions.
Despite the assurances from the Secretariat that the savings would not affect the implementation of mandates, the Secretary-General's report on the impact of the $154 million cuts from the 1996 to 1997 regular budget showed that the measures had reduced the capacity of various departments to carry out their functions. The timely delivery of activities in trade, women in development, environment and infrastructure development, which were of vital concern to the developing and least developed countries, had been affected. Even the United Nations Information Centres had drastically reduced their work at a time when more vigorous efforts were required to inform more people about the work of the United Nations. With such an experience, he asked whether any productive gains could be achieved by aggressively pursuing more savings in the 1998-1999 biennium.
He was not yet sure about the feasibility of achieving the proposed vacancy rate of 5 per cent for Professional staff and 2.5 per cent for the General Service category, given the level of post reductions. It seemed contradictory that the Secretariat would propose staff cuts, while at the same time asking for more money for contractual and expert services. He supported the relevant views of the ACABQ in that regard. Major cuts had been proposed in the area of international and regional cooperation for development. He agreed with the ACABQ that the organizational necessity for each post abolition should have been clearly stated, along with its impact on the delivery of programmes and services.
DULCE BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) noted that the Secretary-General's report regarding the implications of his reform proposals, document A/52/303, had been included in the list of documents to be considered under the item of the proposed budget. However, the Committee would await the report of the ACABQ on the matter before it took up the report.
Mission Financing
LEON HOSANG, Director of the Peacekeeping Financing Division, Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, said the proposed budget for MONUA for 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998 provided mainly for recurrent costs. Those costs were not at an even monthly rate, since they covered the transformation of UNAVEM III into MONUA. One of the new requirements was an upgrading for the chief of the division of human rights in MONUA to the level of Director (D-1) because of the added responsibilities of some 18 offices for human rights; under UNAVEM III only one such office existed. In the Secretary- General's latest report to the Security Council, he had indicated that the drawdown of the troops could result in increased budget requirements. If that was the case, additional requirements might be needed.
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Mr. HOSANG then said the Assembly had previously appropriated some $20.4 million for the maintenance and operation of UNOMIL for the 12 month period ending 30 July 1998. With the conclusion of the electoral process and the formation of the government, the Mission had come to an end. As a result, the Secretary-General had revised the budget. That revised budget provided for liquidation of the Mission. He noted the Advisory Committee's recommendation that no assessment be made at the present time.
Administrative Aspects of Peacekeeping Operations
BRUCE RASHKOW, Director of the General Legal Division, Office of Legal Affairs, read the text of a letter addressed to the Committee Chairman from the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Hans Corell. The letter was in response to questions posed at the Committee meeting of 6 October by the representative of the Netherlands regarding the model memorandum of understanding for procedures to determine reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment.
The letter stated that the representative of the Netherlands had expressed concern that the model memorandum set forth legally binding rights and obligations, and that the United Nations considered the document to be legally binding. Usually, according to the Netherlands' representative, a memorandum of understanding represented a non-binding commitment, and could, therefore, be signed without the procedures required for entering into legally binding commitments. The model memorundum, if legally binding, would require parliamentary action, and that in turn would lead to delays. Textual changes proposed by the Netherlands included changing the word "parties" to the word "participants" and the word "shall" to "will".
Consistent with the Assembly's request on the matter, the Secretary- General had indicated that the text was to be legally binding between the contributing country and the United Nations, the letter continued. The nature of the agreement was not intended to affect the legality of obligations between the contributing country and the Organization. The model memorundum, unlike a treaty, would not be registered with the Secretariat as a treaty to which the Organization was a party. However, the fundamental nature of the model memorundum remained a document creating legal rights and obligations.
Regarding textual changes proposed by the representative of the Netherlands, the letter noted that the memorandum was a model. As such, it would be followed, although the actual specific agreements conducted with individual contributing States might vary in some respects. Such variances, if any, would be negotiated between the Secretariat and contributing States. The letter stated that Mr. Corell would have no legal difficulties with the proposed two wording changes, as long as it was clearly understood that those changes did not alter the legally binding character of the memorandum. Regarding the proposal to delete from the model memorandum reference to arbitration, it said that such deletion would eliminate a readily available
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mechanism for resolution of differences between the parties in the event that amicable negotiations failed to achieve such resolution.
KAZUO WATANABE (Japan) said his Government had a problem with the model memorandum annexed to a note from the Secretary-General on the reform of the procedures for determining reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment. In Japan, the memorandum could be seen as a treaty that would take a number of months to ratify, leading to unnecessary delays in, for instance, providing logistical support that Japan provided to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). He thanked the representative of the Netherlands for raising the issue.
MICHAEL BOSCHERT (Germany) said he had noted the view expressed by the representative of the Netherlands in a formal Fifth Committee meeting on 6 October, regarding the Secretary-General's view that the memorandum was legally binding on Member States who signed it. He expressed concern regarding the document's legally binding character. The Committee should discuss the isse further in an informal meeting.
ERICA IRENE-DAES (Greece) said her delegation welcomed the concluding remark in the legal opinion, that an arbitration mechanism be respected and retained in the memorandum document. The Office of Legal Affairs deserved congratulations for including the mechanism.
TAMMAM SULAIMAN (Syria) said the Secretary-General's reports on the financing of UNDOF always said that there was no status of forces agreement for the operation. But, the Government of Syria had written a letter to the United Nations in 1976 on that matter, with a Presidential decree annexed to it. He asked whether the Syrian letter could be regarded as a memorandum of understanding and about its status.
Mr. RESHKOW, Director of the General Legal Division, said he was not in a position to answer the question posed by the representative of Syria at the current meeting of the Fifth Committee. The Office of Legal Affairs had received that question formally and was in the process of contacting other relevant departments in order to provide a formal response. Efforts would be made to respond as soon as possible.
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