FIFTH COMMITTEE IS TOLD OF MEDIA REPORTS OF 'IMPROPER ACTIVITIES' IDENTIFIED WITHIN UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
Press Release
GA/AB/3189
FIFTH COMMITTEE IS TOLD OF MEDIA REPORTS OF 'IMPROPER ACTIVITIES' IDENTIFIED WITHIN UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
19971110 Norway Says Talk of 'Petty Criminality' Hard to Recognize by Those Who Know World Body; Oversight Office Is Asked To Offer 'Balanced Picture'The third annual report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services has sparked media attention on improper activities identified within the United Nations, Norway's representative told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon as it concluded debate on the Office under two interrelated items.
One of them was on the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Office, while the other was on the internal oversight services section of the proposed United Nations budget for 1998-1999. Apart from that section, the Committee also concluded debate on the part of the proposed budget relating to common support services.
The debates ended on the understanding that the Committee could resume them later, to allow some delegations to exercise their reserved right to speak.
Speaking on the Secretary-General's report on the Internal Oversight Office, Norway's representative explained that one major newspaper had assumed that corruption was endemic within the United Nations, depicting a world of petty criminality that would be difficult for anyone familiar with the Organization to recognize.
On that point, the representative of the Republic of Korea said the Office should be more careful by helping to convey a more "balanced picture" of the United Nations. It should also present prescriptions for curing the ills it had identified in the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda.
All specific cases of violations of financial regulations should be analysed and those found guilty punished, said the representative of the Russian Federation.
As the resources of some $18.6 million allocated for the Office in the proposed 1998-1999 budget were discussed, Belgium's representative said the
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European Union and associated States endorsed what was proposed by the Secretary-General.
Speaking on the proposed funding for common support services, several delegations stressed the need to ensure that the examinations and tests section would be given enough resources to help the Organization recruit young professionals, on the basis of equitable geographical representation.
Similarly, some delegations emphasized the need to ensure provision of adequate conference, translation and language resources to ensure that all of the United Nations six official languages were placed on an equal footing.
The financial problems of the United Nations Office in Nairobi, too, should be addressed, it was stated.
Also this afternoon, the Fifth Committee concluded debates on the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and the financing of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH).
Statements were made by the representatives of Argentina, for the Rio Group, United States, India, Mozambique, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, Mali, Syria, Egypt, China, Thailand, Algeria, Portugal, Cuba, Iran and Indonesia.
The Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), Conrad Mselle, and the Vice-Chairman of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC), Anuson Chinvanno (Thailand), introduced their reports on the budget sections considered.
United Nations Controller Jean-Pierre Halbwachs responded to States' questions.
As the Committee concluded debating the Pension Fund earlier this afternoon, the Secretary of the Fund, Raymond Gieri, made a concluding statement.
The Director of the Peacekeeping Financing Division, Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, Leon Hosang, introduced the Secretary-General's report on the financing of UNMIBH, formal consideration of which was concluded without any statements.
The Fifth Committee is scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m., tomorrow, 11 November, to resume discussing human resources management. It is then expected to take up audited financial statements and the reports of the Board of Auditors, and continue its section-by-section consideration of the proposed 1998-1999 budget.
Committee Work Programme
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to take up the financing of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH). It was due to continue discussing aspects of the United Nations regular budgets related to administrative expenses of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, the Secretary-General's reports on the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), review of the United Nations administrative and financial efficiency and sections of the proposed 1998-1999 budget.
(For background information on reports on the OIOS and review of efficiency, see Press Release GA/AB/3185 of 5 November. On the Joint Staff Pension Fund, see Press Release GA/AB/3186 of 6 November, and on the latest budget sections, see Press Release GA/AB/3188 of 10 November.)
Financing of UNMIBH
In a report on the financing of UNMIBH (document A/51/519/Add.5), the Secretary-General asks the General Assembly to appropriate some $10.6 million gross ($9.9 million net) for the Mission for the current 12-month period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998, and assess it a monthly rate of $884,000 gross ($832,300 net), should the Security Council extend the mission beyond 21 December.
The sum would be an addition to the $178.9 million gross ($170.3 million net) appropriated last June for the current 12-month period. The additional amount would be for the requirements for investigating human rights abuses by police of the local authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with Security Council resolution 1107 (1997) of 16 May, and providing central support to the peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia.
In its related report on UNMIBH (document A/52/546), the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) rejects the request for additional sums above the $178.9 million gross already appropriated for the mission.
The Secretariat should take account of previous proposals that would reduce the Mission's costs, the ACABQ suggests. Recalling that it had authorized the Controller to commit some $3 million gross for 171 additional civilian staff, vehicles and other equipment, the ACABQ reiterates its views that such staff be reduced and that more vehicles be acquired from surplus stock.
Additional needs that cannot be met from the $178.9 million gross appropriation should be fully justified in the Mission's performance report for the current 12-month period. Meanwhile, the ACABQ recommends, the Secretary- General should be authorized, for now, to retain in the UNMIBH account the $33 million gross unencumbered balance for the period 1 July 1996 to 30 July 1997.
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Statements on Pension Fund
CARLOS DANTE RIVA (Argentina), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group -- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Honduras (for Central America) and Guyana (for the Caribbean) -- said that those delegations had no serious objection to the amounts proposed for internal and external auditing. Meanwhile, the Board of Auditors should continue working to improve the Fund's management. The number of irregularities discovered at the Fund had not been significant even though it served some 68,000 participants and made large numbers of payments.
The Rio Group felt that the United Nations should continue providing free office space to the Fund until an impending conceptual document on the Fund was considered in 1998, he said. The Fund's cost for the use of computer services should be shared with the United Nations. Unilateral measures adopted by the United Nations Secretariat -- to the extent of excluding any credit from the proposed 1998-1999 budget to cover part of the costs of computer services used by the Fund -- would not be understood, given the fact that a significant number of the Fund's participants were from the Organization itself. He expressed concern that other member organizations would, in future, charge the Fund for services they currently provided free of charge, a process that would increase its administrative costs. With pensions being an important component of conditions of service, there was a need to cooperate with the Fund's secretariat to prevent a situation in which member organizations made gains at the Fund's expense.
RAYMOND GIERI, Secretary of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, responded to questions on the budget proposals made by the Standing Committee of the Pension Board, posed by the representative of the United States at an earlier meeting. The additional resources were to meet the costs of constructing offices or workstations should the Organization provide additional office space. In the absence of additional space, those resources were to be used for the reconstruction of current offices to accommodate the needs of the Fund's secretariat.
In light of the fact that the United Nations would not be able to provide the Fund with additional office space, the requested resources would be used for reconstruction, he said. The work would be carried out by the United Nations Buildings Management Service and would involve constructing additional workstations or offices within existing space by eliminating storage areas. The resources requested had not been intended to improve the furniture and ambiance, but, rather, to enable increased use of current space. The additional workstations would accommodate staff against established posts whose recruitment had been delayed, as well as for consultants, auditors and temporary assistance staff.
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Prior to 1990-1991, no resources had been used for office construction or furniture, which had all been provided by the United Nations, as the host Organization, he continued. In 1989, a study conducted by outside consultants had determined that the layout of the Fund's secretariat office was inadequate. Some $1.1 million had been approved by the Assembly for that reconstruction in the administrative section. It had become evident by 1993 that senior investment officers should work in enclosed offices, due to the nature of their responsibilities. The Assembly had then approved additional resources, amounting to some $259,000, for construction. The actual costs had been less than anticipated, and the balance had remained in the Fund.
Recalling that the United States' representative had called for a review of the Fund and reform of its operations, he said the Fund had engaged in systematic review of its operations since 1990. Reforms had resulted in improved efficiency of the management of the Fund's investments.
ROYAL WHARTON (United States) asked for a written copy of the Secretary's response.
Statements on Internal Oversight
B.S. RAWAT (India) expressed concern regarding the serious breaches of financial rules and regulations, as well as improprieties in the procurement process of peacekeeping operations. Serious operational deficiencies and mismanagement had led to considerable losses to the Organization. While the United Nations waited for procurement reforms and a comprehensive review of the new methods of paying reimbursements for contingent-owned equipment, suitable administrative measures should be taken to prevent losses to the Organization from non-compliance to existing rules. If necessary, the Office of Internal Oversight Services could, in consultation with the Office of Legal Affairs, suggest some measures, as it had done in other areas. The waste and inadequate assets control highlighted by the Oversight Office should be acted upon. The performance of the Office would be judged on the actual reforms it brought about.
He recalled that a report on the use of international contractual personnel revealed the serious lack of management control prevailing in many areas of the United Nations system. Its conclusions were disturbing. Established procedures for inviting tenders from international bidders had been ignored; checks to determine the financial standing of contractors had been inadequate; and, in some cases, excessive sums had been paid out, leading to immense losses to the Organization. Such practices should not be allowed to continue. Regarding the report on the audits conducted in the United Nations centres in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna, he expressed concern that the deficiencies noted by the Board of Auditors in 1994, on the recruitment of experts and consultants, persisted. Urgent action should be taken to ensure greater accountability.
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SOONG CHULL SHIN (Republic of Korea) said the Office of Internal Oversight Services should give priority in its work to examining high-risk and cost- significant areas, such as peacekeeping operations, humanitarian and related activities, procurement and newly established bodies. It was disappointing that internal controls were not working effectively in many peacekeeping operations, and irregularities, mismanagement and wasteful expenditures related to such missions continued. The Office should continue focusing on tackling those weaknesses.
On the question of procurement, he expressed concern regarding the many deficiencies found in such areas as outsourcing and catering. The Office should continue monitoring progress on the issue of procurement; the General Assembly should address procurement reform by adopting a comprehensive resolution. On newly established bodies such as the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, he said that the Oversight Office should present prescriptions for curing the ills it identified, be they managerial, organizational or financial. As pointed out by the Under- Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, the media tended to focus only on the more controversial results of oversight work, which ultimately cast the Organization in an unfavourable light. "Therefore, we believe the OIOS should be more careful in helping to convey a more `balanced picture' of the United Nations."
SALVADOR NAMBURETE (Mozambique) said the independent character of the Oversight Office must be maintained, given its deterrent effect against mismanagement, irregularities and wrongdoing. Its work had contributed to raising fiscal awareness among staff and streamlining activities and administration. The Office was, in short, an integral part of the reform process.
He concurred with the view that the Office should cooperate with other oversight bodies to bring about comprehensive oversight services to the Organization. It was encouraging to note that the educational exercises that the Office was engaged in with management had contributed to substantially increased rates of implementation of its recommendations. There was need for a more rational approach to the decentralization process. Decentralization and delegation of authority must be accompanied by training and awareness- building, including the establishment of effective monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the delegated authority was correctly exercised. The rules and regulations governing the Organization, as well as its outdated legal instruments, were in urgent need of simplifications.
TRYGGVE GJESDAL (Norway) said the publishing of the annual report of the OIOS provided an occasion for media attention on various improper activities uncovered. One major newspaper had proceeded from the assumption that corruption was endemic in the United Nations, and was difficult to root out. It purported to express the conclusions of the OIOS and listed some individual
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findings. About two thirds of the material seemed to have been selected for a particular purpose, and depicted a world of petty criminality that would be difficult for anyone familiar with the Organization to recognize. A focus on critical verdicts was not harmful, in most cases; but it was important to point out that internal oversight within the Organization functioned adequately.
He said his delegation had often called for increased emphasis on follow-up of the OIOS recommendations. Guidelines, to be issued at the end of the year, would set out minimal elements of programme monitoring that should be in place in each department and office. The findings in the report indicated the importance of training and monitoring for delegation and decentralization of authority. The United Nations rules and regulations, which had piled up over the decades, should be streamlined. While the report had found that horizontal communications had improved, it had found only limited communication between duty stations.
The OIOS should emphasize both its negative and positive findings regarding management, he said. He was distressed to learn of alleged fraud by a former staff member of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East the (UNRWA). It was important that UNRWA's management take corrective action on internal controls. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was generally well- managed. The unprecedented scale of that body's operations had resulted in increased dependency on non-governmental organizations as implementing partners. Accordingly, efforts to improve procedures for transparency and auditing must be strengthened.
EVGUENI DEINEKO (Russian Federation) endorsed the priority areas identified by the Oversight Office's annual report, particularly the one on procurement, mostly because the magnitude of operations in that area left acres of room for various forms of fraud. Examination by the Office would not bring about meaningful results without the scrupulous implementation of its recommendations. In that regard, the development of a computerized monitoring system to track the recommendations would enhance the efficiency of management. He supported the recommendation that the Secretariat take measures to solve the problem of fragmentation and lack of communications between Headquarters in New York and other duty stations.
He welcomed audits by the Oversight Office into peacekeeping operations and expressed concern at the breaches of financial rules and regulations in procurement, and on mission remuneration and subsistence allowances. More disturbing was the fact that some of the Organization' officials had been involved in the financial abuses, leading to the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Nations. All specific cases of violations found by the Office should be appropriately analysed, and those found guilty punished.
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Statements on Financing of UNMIBH
LEON HOSANG, Director, Peacekeeping Financing Division, Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, introduced the Secretary-General's proposal on the financing of the Mission. He said the Secretariat was seeking an additional $10.6 million gross for the Mission, in addition to the $178.9 gross million already appropriated by the Assembly last June. The requests were made for two reasons, he said, adding that further details would be provided during informal consultations on the financing of the Mission.
ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh), Committee Chairman, noting that no Member States had asked to speak on the agenda item, declared the debate closed and referred item to informal consultations.
Statements on Budget Sections
PETER MADDENS (Belgium) spoke for the European Union and the associated States of Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus and Norway. He welcomed the Secretary-General's intention to create a development fund with resources from savings in administrative resources. The Union would support any effort to refine the concept.
Noting the proposed change from the Department of Administration and Management into the Department of Management, he said that rather than just a cosmetic measure, it was a precursor to change in management style. Regarding staff training and development, he noted with satisfaction that the Secretary- General was continuing those efforts. The number of staff to be trained for the next biennium should be increased. Further, training expenditures represented only the smallest percentage of the overall resources for personnel -- only 0.8 per cent. He expressed concern over reductions in the Examinations and Tests Section.
The Union attached particular importance to the use of new technologies and, therefore, encouraged further development of such practices, he said. Standardization and uniformity -- or at least compatibility -- of computers used by the Organization could contribute to cost control. The United Nations rarely resorted to open advertising for services, but rather generally depended on a pre-established list of vendors. All means of advertising must be utilized, including the Internet, to update the list of available vendors.
Multilingualism was of particular importance to the Union, he said. The quality of interpretation and translation within the Organization must be maintained. Delays in the translation of documentation must be remedied. Computer-assisted translation might speed the process and broaden the possibilities of remote translation, which might, in turn, result in greater flexibility.
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KOJI YAMAGIWA (Japan) asked whether the Secretariat could justify the situation in which all posts relating to peacekeeping operations in the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts would be funded solely from extra- budgetary resources. Those posts, exercising core functions, should be funded from the regular budget.
He expressed concern at the abolition of posts from the unit that oversaw examinations and tests. Such a proposal was not in line with the Organization's priorities. National competitive examinations were a useful tool in recruiting staff from Member States that were not adequately represented in the United Nations. The medium-term plan and relevant General Assembly resolutions had stressed the need to continue recruiting staff at the entry level through national competitive examinations in efforts to ensure gender and equitable geographical balance. He would not accept budget cuts that might hamper the work of a section that helped ensure geographical balance in the United Nations.
MICHAEL ADIPO OKOTH OYUGI (Kenya) said the United Nations Centre in Nairobi faced lots of financial problems. For example, the Nairobi Office was being run sometimes from funds from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), which themselves faced their own shortages of funds. The Secretariat should try to swiftly resolve the problems of the Nairobi Centre.
SUSAN SHEAROUSE (United States) welcomed programme narratives which stressed that administrative services would lead in the efforts to streamline the Organization. She asked for clarification of the responsibility of the additional Professional post at the P-4 level that would be redeployed to the Fifth Committee secretariat from the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management. Certain increases in travel funds and the difference between full-time and part-time language teachers should be explained. She asked for an explanation of the objectives of some money allocated for general temporary assistance in Vienna. Administrative action should be taken to address the problems concerning the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Nairobi Office, highlighted by the Oversight Office.
AMJAD HUSSAIN SIAL (Pakistan) said his delegation endorsed the ACABQ's comments regarding the proposed reduction of posts in the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts. The Secretariat had stated that the general reduction of the budget had resulted in reductions in staff. That was not an acceptable answer to the question raised on justification for staff cuts, however. The Secretary-General should submit the full cost estimates of resources needed to ensure full implementation of mandated activities. In some cases, staff had been maintained or even increased.
There were potential conflicts of interest regarding gratis personnel in the Secretariat procurement division, he said. The proposed reductions of staff in procurement and the continuance of gratis personnel in the Department
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of Peacekeeping Operations should be considered carefully. The practice of depending on gratis personnel must be revised, in light of the Assembly's directive that such staff be phased out. He asked whether the Organization provided space to specialized agencies and other bodies in the system, and if so, whether it was provided on an extended or a variable rate, or was it free of charge.
ALIOU ZACKARIA TOURE (Mali) said he was concerned about the difficult financial and administrative situation at the United Nations Centre at Nairobi. He supported the statement made by the representative of Kenya.
Mr. SHIN (Republic of Korea) expressed support for the statement made by the representative of Japan, regarding the abolition of posts in the Examinations and Tests Section. Those posts should be maintained in view of the important mandate that Member States had given the national competitive examinations.
AMANY FAHMY (Egypt) said she could not endorse the proposal to convert temporary posts into permanent posts in the budget's section on support services, since those posts had not been filled according to the principle of equitable geographical representation. According to the Secretariat's representative, the continuing relevance of certain functions had been used as the justification for conversion of posts. However, the principles governing the Organization's recruitment process must be adhered to, including the important principle of geographical balance.
Turning to the section on conference services, she noted that the reduction in resources for the Vienna Office had been due in part to the introduction of the practice of net budgeting. What was the allocation in the proposed budget for the meetings of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)? she asked.
She asked for details on the plans to abolish posts within interpretation and translation services. Which languages would be affected by those cuts, and by how much? she asked. The preparation of summary records in Arabic and Chinese had been discontinued, and a decision had been taken that they would be prepared only as needed. All languages should be treated equally; the General Assembly had affirmed that the United Nations had six official languages.
CHEN YUE (China) said she was seriously concerned about the Secretary- General's proposal that summary records of meetings and conferences should be prepared in English, French, Russian and Spanish. Why were those summary records not to be prepared in Chinese or Arabic? On what basis had that decision been taken? Had Chinese and Arabic been omitted inadvertently?
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ANUSON CHINVANNO (Thailand), reiterating the importance his delegation attached to the question of staff training, expressed support for the statements by Japan and the Republic of Korea on the proposed abolition of posts in the Tests Section of the Secretariat. Efforts should be made to develop a long-term policy on archive and records management in the Organization. With the importance of archives to delegations and outside researchers, an adequate level of resources should be provided to enhance the work of the archive and records management programme.
TAMMAM SULAIMAN (Syria) supported the views expressed by the representative of Egypt, especially on the question of language training programme under budget Section 27C, on the Office of Human Resources Management. The Secretariat's training programmes should help ensure equal footing for all United Nations official languages. On Section 27D, support services, he wanted to know why the principle of equitable geographical representation was not applied in the proposed conversion of some general temporary assistance positions into established posts. The Secretariat should explain how it would maintain the quality of languages, interpretations and translations, in view of the number of posts proposed for abolition.
DJAMEL MOKTEFI (Algeria) said he would like to revert to the question of the Part VIII budget, on common support services, at a later meeting.
JEAN-PIERRE HALBWACHS, United Nations Controller, said a P-4 was redeployed to the Fifth Committee secretariat after being abolished from the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, where it used to handle general support services. With the reduction of the level of resources in the budget, some examinations would be held through tele-conferencing and at the regional commissions, which would serve as regional centres for the holding of national competitive examinations.
The proposal to use more general temporary assistance in some sections was due to the fact that staff would be required to handle separate databases at some duty stations, given the fact that the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) had not yet been fully extended to all stations, he said. As for the staffing required for the IMIS, a status report on the system, to be submitted soon, to be submitted soon, would provide details. General temporary assistance positions were usually not subjected to the principle of equitable geographical representation, a principle that would be considered when those positions were converted into established posts.
The projection on UNIDO meetings had been received from that agency by the Secretariat, he said. Recommendations on the number of UNIDO meetings would have to come from relevant intergovernmental bodies, with the Secretariat making adjustments on conference servicing accordingly. The United Nations Office in Nairobi was partly funded from other United Nations programmes and funds in that city.
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Ms. FAHMY (Egypt) said she agreed with the Controller that the wording in the budget had not taken into account certain facts about the Organization's official languages. She would request a rewording.
REGINA EMERSON (Portugal) said she was concerned about reduced posts for the Examinations and Tests Section. The Assembly had decided that examinations were the most appropriate tool for recruiting younger persons to serve at the United Nations. Yet, selected candidates faced extremely long delays in their recruitment -- in some cases, more than one year. By the time such persons received their letter of recruitment, they were no longer available. While the number of examinations was to be continued, the numbers of personnel would be reduced. Such an equation promised to result in greater delays.
Mr. SHIN (Republic of Korea) said that he supported the statement made by the representative of Portugal.
Ms. FAHMY (Egypt) said she would repeat her requests in light of problems with the translation. She had requested a breakdown on the 197 posts proposed to be abolished in the conference services subsection. Information on the level of the posts, the languages to be affected, and whether the posts related to oral or written translation should be provided.
SILOT BRAVO (Cuba) said she reserved her delegation's right to speak on the item at the Committee's next formal meeting.
CONRAD MSELLE, ACABQ Chairman, introduced his Committee's report on the budget section on internal oversight.
Mr. CHINVANNO (Thailand), Vice-Chairman of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC), introduced that body's report.
Mr. MADDENS (Belgium) said that the European Union and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Norway expressed support for the Secretary-General's proposals to increase resources of the Office, which was a new institution within the Organization. The European Union endorsed the Office's practice of setting up units in several areas in the field such as in peacekeeping operations. The Investigations Section of the Office should continue in order to garner additional savings for the Organization. That Section was still new and should be provided adequate resources to carry out its functions completely. The Union endorsed the Secretary-General's proposed resources for the Office.
ERLING SKJONSBERG (Norway) said there should be further coordination between the Oversight Office, the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and the Board of Auditors. He supported the provision of adequate resources for the Oversight Office.
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SYED MORTEZA MIR MOHAMMAD (Iran) stressed that the OIOS was not mandated to revise programmes. He suggested the deletion of wording from paragraph 28.17 of Section 28, Internal oversight, which erroneously indicated that responsibility. He noted the progressive increase in resources requested under the section, and pointed out that while the Office recommended efficiency measures for other bodies, it made no such recommendations concerning its own work. The OIOS should serve as a model for efficiency, and minimize its requirements. He agreed with the ACABQ's statement that the use of gratis personnel should be avoided.
PRAYONO ATIYANTO (Indonesia) said he supported the view that the OIOS should identify efficiency gains in its own work. In addition, the OIOS should not use gratis personnel.
Mr. MOKTEFI (Algeria, said the OIOS was not empowered to change programmes or objectives. He, therefore, requested deletion of paragraph 28.17, which made an inappropriate reference. Regarding the OIOS's administrative and personnel independence, he asked whether the idea was to ensure operational independence of the Office. If so, could the practice be applied to other oversight bodies? he asked.
THOMAS REPASCH (United States) said the OIOS was of great strategic importance. Recommendations must be made to discontinue activities when they were deemed to serve no purpose. In an effort to maintain its operational independence, he was pleased to note that the OIOS had established an internal personnel unit for administrative and financial matters. He looked forward to the follow-up of OIOS inspections of UNEP and Habitat. Regarding paragraph 28.17, he said the matter had been discussed during the CPC's consideration. The paragraph, which said that States could review programmes, not the OIOS, should not be deleted.
Mr. SIAL (Pakistan) said the Oversight Office should be provided with adequate resources to carry out its mandate. But the amounts of regular budget resources proposed for travel had increased by more than 43 per cent and at a different rate under extrabudgetary resources. The Secretariat should explain the need for such a hike. He endorsed the ACABQ's views that the practice of using gratis personnel for internal oversight was inappropriate and should be avoided. The observation of the ACABQ on the use of consultants also deserved support.
Mr. HALBWACHS, United Nations Controller, said every Secretariat department or office had its own administrative unit -- an executive office -- that helped ensure the day-to-day running of the Office. Amounts proposed for travel in the Oversight Office, which had more than 300 cases to pursue, had been increased to enable its staff go to the field for effective investigations.
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Mr. MSELLE, ACABQ Chairman, introduced the ACABQ's reports on the sections on jointly financed administrative activities and special expenses. He called attention to the rising costs of after-service health insurance under special expenses, an increase that exceeded the rise in the rates of inflation.
Mr. CHINVANNO (Thailand), Vice-Chairman of the CPC, introduced that body's report.
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