PRIORITIES IN SECRETARY-GENERAL'S BUDGET OUTLINE SHOULD CONFORM WITH THOSE IN MEDIUM-TERM PLAN, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD

14 October 1998

Press Release
GA/AB/3244

PRIORITIES IN SECRETARY-GENERAL'S BUDGET OUTLINE SHOULD CONFORM WITH THOSE IN MEDIUM-TERM PLAN, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD

19981014 Committee Continues Discussing Programme Planning, Considers Bosnia and Herzegovina Request for Exemption From Article 19

The priorities in the Secretary-General's budget outline should be in conformity with those in the medium-term plan, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told this afternoon as it continued its discussion of United Nations programme planning.

The medium-term plan was the principle policy directive of the United Nations, the representative of Indonesia continued, speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. Priorities determined by the General Assembly should guide the allocation of resources in programme budgets through the mechanisms established by the Assembly in its resolution 41/213, by which the United Nations budgetary process was established.

The role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) in programme planning and coordination should be enhanced, the representative of China said. During its thirty-eighth session, CPC members and observers had reached consensus on many issues, and she hoped the Fifth Committee could do the same.

Also this afternoon, the Committee considered a request for exemption from Article 19 of the United Nations Charter from the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the terms of Article 19, a Member State is stripped of its voting rights in the General Assembly when its arrears equal or exceed the amount of the contributions due from it for the proceeding two years.

In the course of considering that request, discussion centred on whether the Fifth Committee should consider applications without the input of the Committee on Contributions, which made recommendations on the matter.

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Some delegations were of the view that granting exceptions to Article 19 without prior consideration by the Committee on Contributions would contravene established procedure and result in a situation where applications were not adequately analyzed. Austria's representative, speaking for the European Union and associated States, said the Union was concerned to strengthen, not weaken, the application of Article 19, and could not join a consensus on any decision for further exemptions from the application of Article 19 without first thoroughly considering the report of the Committee on Contributions.

Others stressed the need to treat all countries equally. The representative of the United Republic of Tanzania said that when the Fifth Committee had recommended exemptions for Guinea-Bissau and Georgia from Article 19 sanctions, it had created a precedent. Pakistan's representative suggested that the Committee support granting a temporary exemption to Bosnia and Herzegovina to the end of Assembly's main session, as it had for two other States last week. That would give equal treatment to all Member States.

In the end, the Committee agreed to consider the request for exemption together with another, forthcoming request at a formal meeting to be held in the next few days.

Statements on the scale of assessments were also made by the representatives of China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco, Uganda, Yemen, Croatia, Japan, Turkey, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Egypt, Bahrain, Iran, India and Australia.

The Committee is scheduled to meet again at 3 p.m. tomorrow, 15 October, to continue discussing programme planning.

Fifth Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to continue discussing United Nations programme planning and to take up a request for exemption from application of Article 19 of the Organization's Charter, by which a Member State is stripped of its right to vote in the General Assembly when its arrears equal or exceed the amount of the contributions due from it for the proceeding two years.

In its discussion on programme planning, the Committee had before it a number of reports, including proposed revisions to the medium-term plan and the related recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC), contained in the report on the work of its thirty-eighth session.

(For background on reports on programme planning, see Press Release GA/AB/3243 of 12 October.)

Scale of Assessments

The Committee had before it a letter to its Chairman from the Acting President of the General Assembly, dated 9 October 1998 (document A/C.5/53/23). It transmits a letter of 8 October from the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, containing a request for an exception to the application of Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations.

According to the letter, Bosnia and Herzegovina lacked the funds to pay its dues because of its emphasis on rebuilding, caring for war invalids, the large number of refugees and displaced persons, and other devastating results of the recent war. However, it was of great importance that the country participate in the Assembly's decisions, to restore the population's confidence regarding the country's political health, particularly in view of the attempts by some to subdue its sovereignty and territorial integrity during the war.

Statements on Scale of Assessments

THOMAS SCHLESINGER (Austria), speaking on behalf of the European Union, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Cyprus, said that last week the European Union and associated States had joined the consensus of support for the temporary exemption from the application of Article 19 of the Charter for Guinea-Bissau and Georgia. At the time, the European Union had regretted that the decision had been taken without thorough consideration, and had made it clear that it did not want to set precedent. It had only been able to agree because the decisions had been taken without prejudice to Article 19 of the Charter and rule 160 of the General Assembly rules of procedure.

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The European Union had repeatedly stated its attachment to a tightening of the rules on Article 19 to ensure that the disincentive envisaged by the founders was properly implemented, he said. That was one of the four key elements of the European Union proposal to improve the financial situation of the Organization. Article 19 was the only means to sanction those who did not pay their dues on time and must not be weakened.

Therefore, the European Union would not join in a consensus on any decision on further exemptions without thorough consideration of the report of the Committee on Contributions, he said. The proper time for consideration of the issue would be when the Fifth Committee looked at the report of the Committee on Contributions in two weeks time.

ZHANG WANHAI (China) said that China sympathized with the difficulties faced by Bosnia and Herzegovina and would like it to be given positive consideration. The Fifth Committee had already granted exemptions to Guinea- Bissau and to others. All countries facing economic difficulty should receive equal treatment. In future there should be a better way to deal with such matters.

LIDIJA TOPIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) reminded delegates that Bosnia and Herzegovina was still suffering the consequences of war. In such a devastating situation, the Government's priorities had to be rebuilding the country and assisting its people. Bosnia & Herzegovina had an additional burden of debt of over $10 million to international organizations. Payment of that debt was important to Bosnia & Herzegovina. It would like to be able to vote in the General Assembly while it dealt with urgent problems at home.

AMJAD SIAL (Pakistan) said that Pakistan, after listening to the speech by the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina and carefully examining the letter from Bosnia and Herzegovina, was of the view that the Fifth Committee should consider and support granting a temporary exemption to that country up to the end of this session of the General Assembly, as it had done for two others last week. This would assure equal treatment for all Member States.

MUHAMMAD YUSUF MSHAMBA (United Republic of Tanzania) expressed support for the position outlined by Pakistan, and stressed that when the Fifth Committee had recommended the requested exemption for Guinea-Bissau and Georgia from Article 19 sanctions it had created a precedent. On that day, he had been silent because he had known the Committee was opening a "Pandora's Box". There was no way the Fifth Committee could say no to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Republic of Tanzania sought time for an informal discussion to convince others of that.

ABDESALAM MEDINA (Morocco) said Morocco supported the request of Bosnia and Herzegovina for exemption from Article 19 sanctions in the light of explanations and the letter the Fifth Committee had received.

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NESTER ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) said the General Assembly had the means to both open and close this "Pandora's Box". As the Committee had been advised that another request was to be presented to it seeking exemption for Congo, he asked what the likelihood was that more requests would be received. He also asked if it would be possible for the Committee to consider the request from Bosnia and Herzegovina together with the impending request at a later date. Uganda would prefer to allow more time, at a later date, to consider both the requests, to find out if more requests were coming and to find a mechanism to deal with such requests.

MOUSES ABELIAN (Armenia), Committee Chairman, said that a letter had been received today from Congo seeking an exemption, and it would probably be formally presented to the Fifth Committee at its next meeting. As to whether there might be more requests, only those Member States currently under Article 19 sanctions could know if they were intending to file such a request. Currently, there were eight States that fell into this category.

RAFAT ABDULLAH (Yemen) said Yemen supported consideration of the human and financial reasons submitted by Bosnia and Herzegovina in its request. There must be equal treatment for all Member States in the United Nations. Last week the Committee had recommended two exemptions from Article 19 and General Assembly rule 160 sanctions. Therefore, the urgent reasons given by Bosnia and Herzegovina meant that it too should be exempted. Yemen supported Bosnia and Herzegovina's application, hoping that it would not create a precedent. It also supported the suggestion that, where possible, such requests should be heard together.

JASMINKA DINIC (Croatia) said that, having a full understanding of the problems faced by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia supported the request.

KAZUO WATANABE (Japan) said that Japan sympathized with the difficult situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He supported the suggestion that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Congo be heard concurrently. At present, there were eight countries under Article 19 sanctions, and next week perhaps more would submit letters. The Committee might be able to wait several days so it could make a decision on all requests at once. Japan believed that the Committee should defer its decision.

FIKRET DEMIR (Turkey) expressed Turkey's support for Bosnia and Herzegovina's request.

Mr. SIAL (Pakistan) said that the question was neither about opening a "Pandora's Box", nor about establishing a precedent, but was one of principle. There had to be equal treatment for all Member States. Therefore, Pakistan supported the request for an exemption until the end of the current General Assembly session. The Committee could not wait for similar requests from other countries. When requests were made they should be considered.

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Mr. SCHLESINGER (Austria) expressed the European Union's support for the Ugandan proposal to defer a decision until the impending application from Congo could be concurrently discussed.

MANLAN AHOUNOU (Cote d'Ivoire) said that at a formal meeting last week, the Fifth Committee had unanimously accepted Guinea-Bissau and Georgia's requests, despite normal procedure. The Chairman had followed the will of members of the Committee. To err was human; however, to continue the same error was diabolical, so, while expressing sympathy for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cote d'Ivoire believed normal procedure should be followed in order to find a proper solution for the matter and for the impending request from Congo.

DULCE BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said she was concerned about the selective way in which the Committee was dealing with the issue before it. The Committee had created difficulties when it had taken its decisions on Guinea- Bissau and Georgia last week. Cuba had been fully aware of the problems that action might create. Mechanisms to deal with such requests needed to be established, but nothing justified the fact that this time the Committee was not tackling the request in the same way it had tackled the previous two. The Committee was responsible for the decisions it had taken, and should accept Bosnia and Herzegovina's request. When it came to considering the question of the scale of assessments, the Committee must also deal with the problems raised this afternoon.

AHMED DARWISH (Egypt) said that it was important that all Member States were treated equally. Three suggestions were before the Committee. Austria had proposed that the Committee consider the request two weeks from now when it discussed the report of the Committee on Contributions. Uganda had proposed looking at all requests collectively, but that was not easily done because the Committee could not ask Member States to request a waiver, nor wait indefinitely before considering Bosnia & Herzegovina's request. The United Republic of Tanzania had suggested a brief informal consultation -- that suggestion was reasonable.

ABDULLAH ABDULLATIF (Bahrain) said Bahrain supported favourable consideration of exemption requests, as the Committee had previously approved other exemptions. Taking into consideration the difficulties experienced by Bosnia and Herzegovina, its request should be approved.

ZHANG WANHAI (China) said China aligned itself with Egypt's statement.

SEYED MIRMOHAMMAD (Iran) said that Bosnia and Herzegovina should not be deprived of a waiver, as the Committee had recommended waivers for other States. The Committee could discuss the procedure when it considered the report of the Committee on Contributions.

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Mr. ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) clarified his proposal. He had not proposed that all such requests be considered at the same time, but rather that, as a request from Congo had already been received -- although not yet presented to the Fifth Committee -- the Committee should discuss the two requests at the same time. Each request should be handled on its merit, and a decision made based on the reasons provided by each country. A waiver granted to one country should not mean a waiver would be automatically granted to others. The Committee must be convinced by the reasons.

Mr. MEDINA (Morocco) said the document containing the request from Bosnia and Herzegovina was dated 9 October. It was time the Committee took a decision. When others were received the Committee would consider them, but there was no reason to defer a decision on this request from Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The Chairman identified three proposals he had received. The first was that the Committee should defer deciding until its discussion on the report of the Committee on Contributions in two weeks time. The second was to defer so that it could be discussed concurrently with the request from Congo. The third was to decide today. Those were contradictory views and proposals, and he could not see the middle ground between them.

He said that a similar problem had arisen in 1968, when the General Assembly, not the Fifth Committee, had decided to grant an exemption to a Member State and refer the matter to the next sitting of the Committee on Contributions. The Member State had paid before the Committee on Contributions had met to discuss the request. There was, therefore, a precedent for the recent decisions and for consideration of this request.

Mr. SIAL (Pakistan) said the decisions taken last week were fresh in the memory. He had heard different views, but not on the substance of the matter. There had been no substantial objection raised to explain why the request should not be considered at the current meeting. Pakistan supported the proposal made by the United Republic of Tanzania to break for brief informal consultations on the matter.

Mr. AHOUNOU (Cote d'Ivoire) supported the proposal put forward by the representative of Uganda. The cases should be clustered and looked at together. More than one hour had already been spent on the discussion, and tomorrow the Committee would face the same problem.

AHMED DARWISH (Egypt) said that the Chairman should ask the delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina if it could agree to the issue being discussed tomorrow, when the Committee was to receive the second request for exemption from Article 19. Discussion on the matter was sensitive, and should be conducted in an informal setting to allow for an honest exchange of views.

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The Chairman asked whether the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina was able to agree to the matter being considered within the next few days.

Ms. TOPIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) said her country considered the matter a high priority, but she would not want the Fifth Committee to spend hours in its formal meeting on it. If the issue could be taken up in the next day or so, her delegation would not have a problem waiting until then.

The Chairman said the Committee would take up the matter again at the same time it considered the forthcoming request, probably on Friday, 16 October.

RAJAT SAHA (India) asked whether the requests were to be considered in conjunction with the report of the Committee on Contributions.

The Chairman said the requests would be considered separately from that report.

MILES ARMITAGE (Australia) asked whether the issue was to be considered in a formal meeting or during informal consultations.

The Chairman said he was obligated to draw the Committee's attention to the forthcoming request in a formal setting. Then the Committee could decide how to proceed.

Statements on Programme Planning

CECEP HERAWAN (Indonesia), speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, noted with pleasure that the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) had been able to make recommendations on all the issues before it. The CPC could be effective and efficient given the political will and the spirit of compromise. He reaffirmed support for the role of the CPC as the main subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly for planning, programming and coordination.

Stressing the importance of priority-setting within the medium-term plan, he welcomed the CPC's recommendation that priorities continue to be established in the plan, which was the principal policy directive of the United Nations. The priorities, as determined by the Assembly, should guide the allocation of resources in subsequent programme budgets through the mechanisms established by General Assembly resolution 41/213 [which established the Organization's budgetary process]. The priorities contained in the budget outline should be in conformity with those in the medium-term plan. Priorities, once established by the General Assembly, could not be changed unless the Assembly so decided.

He supported the CPC's conclusions and recommendations on the Secretary- General's proposed revisions to the regulations and rules of the United

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Nations governing programme planning, implementation and evaluation. The Group regretted that the guidelines on programme monitoring and evaluation did not conform with the regulations and rules governing programme planning. It seemed that the guidelines were issued without regard to the processes of consideration and approval of the issuance of such documents to programme managers. It was important that all processes of programme planning were made effective and functional. For this, the regulations and rules governing programme planning, programme aspects of the budget, monitoring and evaluation must be implemented throughout the Organization.

Turning then to programme performance for the biennium 1996-1997, he said the "Group of 77" and China noted the delay in submission of the Secretary-General's reports, which were to have been issued in March 1998. The two reports before the Committee should have contained better analysis of the implementation of priority activities contained in the medium-term plan, rather than relying heavily on statistics and percentages. He expressed serious concern that, owing to the budgetary constraints, the rate of implementation in the mandated programmes and activities of particular importance was very low. That issue needed to be addressed to ensure that no future repetition occurred.

He also expressed concern that a number of outputs had been terminated under subprogrammes designated as high priority areas, he said. The report did not explain why resources had not been redeployed to ensure high levels of implementation. Since 18 per cent of total outputs had been terminated due to a lack of anticipated extrabudgetary resources, there was need to explore ways of financing the implementation of activities mandated in priority areas in the medium-term plan.

The fact that outputs had been terminated because of the reduction in resources called for in General Assembly resolution 50/214 was another matter of great concern, he said. By the terms of that resolution, the proposed savings were not to affect the full implementation of mandated programmes and activities. However, despite assurances from the Secretariat, mandated programmes and activities had indeed been affected. Also, some extrabudgetary activities had been financed from the regular budget. Some $67 million had been spent in such activities. The Secretariat had saved about $10 million in the 1996-1997 biennium with mandated programmes and activities being adversely affected, in disregard for the Assembly's decision.

Another factor in the termination of programmes and activities was the high vacancy rate, he said. The Assembly had decided, in resolution 50/214, to keep a vacancy rate of 6.4 per cent, which was higher than the normal management practice. The Secretariat had not respected this decision and instead kept a vacancy rate of over 13 per cent, and in some cases around 40 per cent. The Secretariat should comply fully with the resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly to avoid recurrence of such a situation. The vacancy rate should not be used to achieve budgetary savings, he stressed.

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It was difficult to reconcile a high vacancy rate in authorized posts and the programme budget with a high delivery rate of programmed and additional outputs, he said. That contradiction should be clarified in negotiations on the issue. The Secretary-General's observation, in his report on programme performance in 1996-1997, that ongoing efforts aimed at introducing the concept of results-oriented budgeting were a step in the right direction, was an attempt to prejudge the outcome of negotiations, in the General Assembly, on that proposal.

He then asked for clarification on information in the Secretary- General's addendum to the report on programme performance that in spite of operational independence, the Office of Internal Oversight Services could not avoid being affected by the precarious financial situation of the Organization.

CHEN YUE (China) said her delegation attached great importance to the CPC's role in programme planning and coordination, and believed it should be enhanced. During its thirty-eighth session, CPC members and observers had managed to reach consensus on many issues, as reflected in its conclusions and recommendations. She hoped the Committee could work in the same spirit.

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