FIFTH COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXT ON SUPPORT ACCOUNT

19 October 1998

Press Release
GA/AB/3247

FIFTH COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXT ON SUPPORT ACCOUNT

19981019 Acting without a vote, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon approved an orally-amended draft resolution on the support account for peacekeeping operations, which funds certain activities at Headquarters that provide direction, assistance and guidance to assist peacekeeping operations in the field.

Submitted by the Committee's Vice-Chairman Miles Armitage (Australia), the draft would have the General Assembly reaffirm its decision to approve 400 support account-funded temporary posts for the period from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999.

Within the level of those 400 posts, the Assembly would decide to establish two civilian posts at the P-4 level for a rapidly deployable mission headquarters, and one P-4 post for the Office of Internal Oversight Services.

Noting with concern that the extension of the deadline for submitting applications for replacements for gratis personnel -- staff loaned free of charge to the United Nations by governments and other entities -- had resulted in cases of differential treatment of Member States, the Assembly would take note of the Secretary-General's assurances that the recruitment of replacements for gratis personnel would be completed by 28 February 1999.

Statements were made after action by the representatives of Austria (for the European Union), Japan, Canada, Russian Federation, United States, New Zealand, India and Cuba.

Also this afternoon, the Committee began its consideration of the United Nations pattern of conferences with an introduction of the report of the Committee on Conferences, by that body's Chairman, Koji Yamagiwa (Japan).

The Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, Jin Yongjian, described the work of the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services in the year since its creation.

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The Department was improving productivity through the use of available technology and managerial innovations, he said. It was redesigning its working methods to make use of the potential offered by state-of-the-art technology. New technologies were being introduced in a number of areas, including translation services.

For example, next January, it proposed that a full session of an intergovernmental body meeting in Geneva would be serviced with interpreters in Vienna, he continued. That would be the first use of remote interpretation in "real-life conditions". The Department was looking to set up similar arrangements between United Nations offices in Vienna and Nairobi, so that more meetings could be convened at the Organization's African headquarters.

The Department's overriding concern -- even in an era of limited resources -- was to maintain the highest standards, he said. The Department appreciated it when Member States -- the users of its services -- brought errors to its attention, as that helped in the effort to attain the highest standards of quality.

On the same agenda item, the representative of Cyprus said the Turkish practice of circulating letters of the secessionist entity in the occupied part of Cyprus undermined United Nations decisions, and created inefficiencies and additional costs. Cyprus had protested against this practice, but nothing had been done. It would reserve the right to act in a similar manner if the practice continued.

Speaking in right of reply, the representative of Turkey said a response would be forthcoming from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The representative of Austria also spoke for the European Union and associated States on pattern of conferences. The representative of Chile also made a statement.

The Fifth Committee is scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 21 October, to continue discussing the pattern of conferences.

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Fifth Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to begin its discussion of the United Nations pattern of conferences. It had before it: the report of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on United Nations publications (document A/51/946); the Secretary-General's comments on the JIU's recommendations (document A//52/685); parts of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) on United Nations publications (document A/52/7); the Secretary-General's report on access to the optical disk system (ODS)(document A/52/803); two reports from the Secretary-General on a cost-accounting system for conference services (documents A/52/1000 and A/53/257); and sections of the report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) on publications (document A/52/16).

Also, it had before it the report of the Committee on Information (document A/53/21); the annual report of the Committee on Conferences (document A/53/32); the Secretary-General's report on the abolition of translator and interpreter posts and on self-revision by translators (document A/53/221); and a report of the ACABQ on several aspects of the United Nations pattern of conferences (document A/53/507).

In addition, the Fifth Committee was scheduled to take action on a draft resolution on the support account for peacekeeping operations, which is used to fund non-core functions at Headquarters that provide direction, assistance and guidance to peacekeeping operations in the field.

Reports on Pattern of Conferences

The annual report of the Committee on Conferences (document A/53/32) summarizes that body's work and contains recommendations on pattern of conferences matters. (Some of these are presented below.) Annexed to the report is a draft revised calendar of United Nations conferences and meetings for 1999.

Regarding use of conference-related services, the Committee on Conferences notes that the overall utilization factor for 1997 was more than 80 per cent, and even higher in Geneva and Vienna, the report says. It expresses concern at the low rate of compliance with the six-week rule for issuing documents, and requests the Secretary-General to study the possible relationship between this and the low utilization of conference services.

Translation and Interpretation

The Fifth Committee also had before it a report by the Secretary-General on the abolition of 30 translator and interpreter posts and on self-revision by translators (document A/53/221), which follows a request by the General

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Assembly that the Secretary-General review these two issues and report on their impact on the quality of conference services.

The report explains that, after careful selection to preserve core functions, 17 interpreter posts and 13 translator posts at the P-2 and P-3 levels were abolished in New York, Geneva and Vienna. As interpreters were not recruited at the P-2 level, the loss of P-2 interpreter posts would not affect permanent staff levels. The abolition of 13 posts in Geneva aims to increase the productivity of the permanent establishment, by ensuring proportionality and equal workloads across languages. In Vienna, reductions were based on needs analysis. The efficiency and level of conference services would be preserved with full implementation of mandates.

Interpretation and translating capacity is being strengthened in 1998-1999 as posts held vacant were now being filled, including six new translator posts in New York approved in 1996-1997, according to the report.

On self-revision of documents by translators, in 1980 it was agreed that self-revision would be used for not more than 45 per cent of material, the report states. At Headquarters, from April 1997 to March 1998, an average of 47.8 per cent of translations were self-revised but at peak periods, and in Vienna and Geneva, rates were higher. Measures taken to ensure quality include reclassifying P-4 job descriptions, and training and specialization for P-3 translators, supported by systematic feedback from supervisors.

On the elimination of posts, the ACABQ notes in a related report (document A/53/507) that filling previously vacant posts would strengthen interpretation and translation capacity in 1998-1999. Regarding self- revision, it welcomes the measures implemented to ensure high-quality translation. Also, the ACABQ says the Secretary-General should report on any problems related to career development in language services, taking into account that the staff numbers and grade levels should be commensurate with the needs of the Organization, and that requirements differ between languages and between duty stations.

In its report (document A/53/32), the Committee on Conferences appreciates the Secretariat's efforts to address concern expressed by delegations on translation-related matters, and encourages further efforts to improve quality and proficiency (document A/53/32). It notes with appreciation that the backlog of publications awaiting translation has been eliminated now that the moratorium on contractual translation had been lifted. It requests that the budget proposals for conference services for the next biennium be prepared based on anticipated requirements, taking into account both anticipated productivity gains and the need for improvements in the delivery of services as identified in General Assembly resolution 52/214. Also, it encourages the Secretariat to continue efforts to ensure effective linguistic quality control through the final stage of document production, and report on the steps taken in that regard.

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Regarding provision of interpretation services to meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States, the Committee on Conferences welcomed the fact that 81 per cent of the requests for such meetings had been met during the period from end-June 1997 to end-June 1998, which represented an increase of 13 per cent from the past 12-month period, the report states.

Cost-Accounting System for Conference Services

The Secretary-General's report on the cost-accounting system for conference services (document A/52/1000) reports on a study by outside experts to determine which cost-accounting techniques best fit United Nations requirements. The study aims at developing a system capable, among other things, of breaking down the resources devoted to conference services in order to calculate costs of specific outputs (documents and meetings).

A subsequent report by the Secretary-General (document A/53/257) contains conclusions regarding the development of a cost-accounting system. It should be able to accurately estimate the costs of specific conference services outputs and determine the financial implications of changes after a budget has been adopted. It could be used to cross-check procedures and evaluate budget plans. It could also be used to measure efficiency and generate standardized cost and activity reports, making it easier to look at the provision of conference services holistically. Such a system would make it possible to determine the optimum mix of resources in specific circumstances, or for a specific output or time period.

The Secretary-General recommends developing an "activity-based" cost-accounting system because activities, rather than outputs, consume resources, the report states. The cost for developing a provisional system is estimated at $305,000, but requirements for turning that into a permanent system would significantly exceed that amount. The $305,000 excludes the time and cost of improvements in the existing information systems, which would be needed to generate new data on costs, activities and outputs.

He recommends using a "prototype approach" to develop such a system, because it is less expensive and less risky than other methods, though it is time-consuming for users, according to the report. In such an approach, a simplified system is developed and implemented rapidly, then refined.

As an activity-based cost-accounting system is developed, information sources would have to be refined in order to generate new data on costs, activities and outputs, the report says. The cost of the software and hardware needed to put the prototype into operation is estimated at $65,000. Other costs, including system analysts' fees and training ($240,000), bring the total to $305,000. The cost of turning the prototype into a permanent system would significantly exceed the above figures. The $305,000 estimate does not include the time and cost of any necessary improvements in the

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existing information systems.

In order to proceed, staff with knowledge of United Nations budgeting and accounting practices and conference-servicing activities must be identified, the Secretary-General writes, as no qualified permanent staff in the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts or in the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services can be redeployed at present.

In a related section of its report, the Committee on Conferences stresses the need to take into consideration the experience of all duty stations when improvements were made in existing information systems. It requests the Secretariat to provide preliminary estimates of the expenditures necessary to establish a permanent system, as well as a time frame for each phase of the project, once approved by the General Assembly.

The ACABQ states in its report that it supports the principle of cost- accounting as a management tool, but says the Secretary-General's report does not provide sufficient information to allow it to endorse the full-fledged development of a cost-accounting system. The purpose and scope of such a system needs to be more clearly defined, costs should be more clearly presented, and a cost-benefit analysis carried out. It recommends that the Secretary-General refine and resubmit his proposals.

United Nations Publications

The Committee also had before it a note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on enhancing cost-effectiveness of United Nations publications (document A/51/946). The Inspectors formulated 18 recommendations in six broad areas to enhance the efficiency and relevance of United Nations publications.

While documents respond to legislative mandates, the report states, those mandates are seldom reviewed to determine their continued relevance. Also, while publications are one of several options for implementing mandates, they are not necessarily the most efficient. The Unit recommends that the Organization's substantive legislative bodies include in their programme of work a review of publications for continued relevance to the objectives for which they were mandated. It also recommends that the General Assembly undertake a detailed assessment of publications policies, to be based on an updated report from the Secretary-General.

The Unit found insufficient coordination between the Department of Public Information (DPI) and the Office of Conference Support and Services, the report states. It recommends the review of the administrative, managerial and organizational structure of publishing activities and introduction of reforms as needed. It also recommends strengthening the Publications Board to ensure effective control and oversight, coordination and policy guidance. In addition, the Unit suggests the establishment, with no additional financial

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implications, of a small central unit by consolidating a number of existing

publishing-related functions which could be linked to the Secretary-General's reform proposals.

The Inspectors also found that use of revenue from the publications sales requires closer monitoring. The Unit's recommendations include sales income reports on at least a quarterly basis, more vigorous sales promotion and a review of sales income with a view to the creation of a self-supporting publications fund or account. Revenue for the 1996-1997 biennium was expected to be around $16.2 million. Most of that amount goes to financing staff posts of the DPI sales section, resulting in a "net income" of only $1 million. While the Unit concedes that this is common practice, there is no real reason why only sales-related expenses should be covered by sales income.

The Unit says the Secretariat should intensify its general move towards electronic publishing and that joint publishing and other cooperative efforts should be encouraged. It recommends developing a cost-accounting system by the end of 1998 to provide information on the costs of publications -- including indirect costs, such as research and writing. Current outsourcing practices should be reviewed, including policies for selecting contractors. At the completion of the cost-accounting system, the available printing methods should be reviewed and a proposal submitted to the Assembly at its fifty-fourth session on which methods are appropriate.

A note by the Secretary-General transmits his comments on the JIU's report (document A/52/685). There is need for greater balance between free and sales publications; targeting publications; and feedback mechanisms and readership surveys, the Secretary-General writes. Also, copyright enforcement must be addressed.

Progress is being made in rationalizing publications, eliminating duplication and ensuring cost-effective production, the report states. A number of publications originally proposed in the programme budget for 1996-1997 were terminated, curtailed and deferred, due to budgetary reductions in the biennium, indicating that departments are reviewing and prioritizing their publications.

In his conclusions, the Secretary-General cites the Department of Economic and Social Affairs as being of the view that quality review and assurance should play a major role in assessing the Organization's publications programme and policies. The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) suggests that part of the budget could be used for paying honorariums for a board of specialized readers to evaluate selected publications in each organization.

In response to the JIU's recommendation to increase use of advanced technologies, the Secretary-General explains electronic versions of

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publications represent additional work and resources. Funds for this have been largely left out of the budgetary process. Funds are also lacking for responding to the JIU's recommendation for more vigorous and systematic sales promotions. The Secretary-General points out that, in addition to the financial benefits, promoting sales can ensure that the Organization's intellectual output is being transmitted. For that reason, cost-recovery objectives should not dominate the dissemination objective.

While he welcomes the JIU's recommendation that publications, once approved by the General Assembly, should be planned in a coordinated manner, the Secretary-General says the proceedings of intergovernmental bodies make it imperative to create, prepare and distribute parliamentary documentation for meetings on specific dates, and usually within short deadlines. These documents often receive higher priority than publications -- except those required for meetings -- which, in turn, often delays the issuance of publications.

In response to the JIU's recommendation that he institute a system where departments receive a separate but consolidated budgetary line covering publications, the Secretary-General writes that activities have been centralized for cost effectiveness. Unless they were decentralized to each department, it would be difficult to show a separate but consolidated budgetary line covering publishing activities for each budget section.

The ACABQ, in paragraphs 113 and 114 of its report (document A/52/7), calls for greater intergovernmental involvement in the publications programme, streamlining of the programme and a methodology that would permit a breakdown of the cost of publications.

On the same subject, the CPC (document A/53/16) endorses JIU recommendations calling for a Secretary-General's report on publications policy followed by General Assembly discussion; on strengthening the Publications Board; and on the screening of publications by the Board (on the understanding that the Publications Board should facilitate, not control, publications). The CPC also endorsed the recommendations that the entire publishing process should be better coordinated and integrated following General Assembly's approval of publication programmes; that there should be increased use of electronic publishing (but the CPC emphasized the ongoing relevance of printed publications); and that sales income reports be produced and reviewed regularly.

Also supported are recommendations proposing: a Secretary-General's review of the organizational structure of publishing activities; the allocation of specific publications budget lines to each department; that no regular-budget publication should proceed unless included in the framework of the programme budget; that a cost-accounting system be developed to explain the full direct and indirect costs of publications; that, once established, a recommendation on the mix of internal and external printing should be made to

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the General Assembly; that, pending the new cost accounting system, an annual planning of printing workload and a review of outsourcing be undertaken; a review of the treatment of income from sales of publications be undertaken; and that more vigorous and systematic sales promotion should be undertaken.

The CPC reports a lack of consensus on recommendations proposing: a review of publications by all substantive legislative bodies; that specific legislative mandates in resolutions and decisions should be the primary criteria for new publications; that legislative bodies requesting new publications post-programme budget approvals should review financial implications and possible duplication and should include a time-line; and that joint publications with other bodies should be promoted.

In reviewing control and limitation of documentation, as well as the late issuance of documents, the Committee on Conferences welcomes the establishment of focal points in substantive departments to monitor documentation and encourages them to try to reduce delays in the submission of documents to the processing services (see document A/53/32). It recommends that the system be extended to the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, to account for delays in documents processing. It requests the Secretariat to submit to its 1999 substantive session a report on the reasons for the delays in issuing documentation, and an analysis of the additional costs incurred because of late submission and issuance of documents. Also, it recommends study of the possibility of footnoting delayed documents with the reasons for the delay.

Optical Disk System

Also before the Committee was a report of the Secretary-General on access to the optical disk system (ODS) (document A/52/803). The report states that the capacity of the system is adequate to provide access free of charge to Member States, observers and Secretariat staff, among others.

The report also states that interest in the ODS from potential users is considerable. Additional users, however, will require additional investment. Given the interest, and its potential for contributing to the financing of a future expansion of the system, new categories of users should be given access on a fee-paying basis. Such income would be classified as miscellaneous income. Net resources would accrue accordingly under income section 3 -- services to the public -- of the regular budget. As it is too early to estimate income for the 1998-1999 biennium, it is proposed that such income would be reported in the budget performance report.

The ACABQ reports that providing access on a fee-paying basis should help provide funds needed to minimize problems caused by additional users. It was informed that a full-price subscription to the ODS was $2,500 per annum. It has no objection to this proposal but recommends that income generated through such subscriptions be used to help meet the cost of ODS maintenance

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and/or expansion. Also, it recommends that a system to monitor satisfaction with ODS should be put in place.

Report of Committee on Information

The report of the Committee on Information on its twentieth session (document A/53/21) contains a draft resolution on information in the service of humanity, a draft resolution on United Nations public information policies and activities, and a draft decision by which the Assembly would appoint Angola, the Republic of Moldova and the Solomon Islands to the Committee on Information, thus expanding its membership from 90 to 93. Annexed to the report are the texts of statements made at the opening of the session by the Chairman of the Committee on Information, Jose Alberto de Sousa (Portugal), and the Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information, Kensaku Hogen.

Administrative and Budgetary Aspects of Peacekeeping Operations

By the terms of a draft resolution on the support account for peacekeeping operations (document A/C.5/53/L.9) the General Assembly would reaffirm its decision to approve 400 support account-funded temporary posts for the period from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999. The Secretary-General would be requested, when determining the allocation of the support-account funded posts to take into account the observations and recommendations of the ACABQ. Further, he would be requested to include in his support-account submission for the period from 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000 a comprehensive review of a rapidly deployable mission headquarters and further develop the concept for its employment during the initial phase of a new peacekeeping operation.

Within the level of the above-mentioned 400 posts, the Assembly would decide to establish two civilian posts at the P-4 level for a rapidly deployable mission headquarters, and to revert to the issue of the proposed positions in the context of its consideration of the Secretary-General's review of the rapidly deployable mission headquarters, by other terms of the draft. The Assembly would also decide to establish one P-4 post for the Office of Internal Oversight Services.

Further, by the draft, the Assembly would note with concern that the extension of the submissions deadline for type II gratis personnel replacements had resulted in cases of differential treatment of Member States. It would take note of the Secretary-General's assurances that the recruitment of replacements for gratis personnel would be completed by 28 February 1999.

By other terms, the Assembly would note with deep concern the ACABQ's observations that little had been done to meet its concerns about the quality of information provided by the Secretary-General, and that lack of replies to requests for information or clarification had affected a specific recommendation of the ACABQ.

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Regretting that a comprehensive review of the issues raised in resolutions 50/221, 51/239 and 52/248 had not been carried out, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to give a detailed account of the implementation of those and current resolutions, including the revised structures of departments involved in backstopping peacekeeping, in his 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000 support account submission.

Peacekeeping Support Account

MILES ARMITAGE (Australia) drew attention to the concerns of a number of delegations which had not received the note verbale from the Secretariat on the extension of the deadline for applications for posts to replace gratis personnel. The Secretariat had made a statement on this subject during discussions of gratis personnel.

He proposed two editorial amendments to the text. Regarding the content of the resolution, he said that it expressly reaffirmed the 400 temporary support-account posts. The Secretary-General was requested to take account of the observations of the ACABQ in its report. It also gave specific guidance on two issues, recommending the approval of two civilian posts for the rapidly deployable mission headquarters, and the approval of one P-4 post for the Office of Internal Oversight Services. In the final paragraph, it expressed regret that reviews of backstopping arrangements of peacekeeping functions had not been carried out satisfactorily, and requested the Secretary-General to carry out that review.

The approval of the draft closed a difficult and protracted period in Fifth Committee negotiations, he said. He thanked delegations for their cooperation, their level of interest and the vigour of their presentations. He also thanked the Secretariat for its support in informal consultations, notwithstanding the criticism of the Secretariat contained in the draft resolution. Since the draft had been approved in informal consultations by consensus, he proposed its approval by the Fifth Committee as orally amended without a vote.

DULCE BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said Cuba would speak on this draft resolution in the plenary of the General Assembly, but she wanted to congratulate the representative of Australia for his efforts and his patience in the negotiation process on this draft. She proposed a grammatical amendment to the draft resolution.

Mr. ARMITAGE (Australia) said he had no problem with the change, which would be grammatical not substantive, and proposed an alternate wording.

The draft resolution was approved, as orally amended, without a vote.

ULRIKE BUTSCHEK (Austria), speaking after the vote on behalf of the

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European Union, said the Union would like to thank the various actors, both from the Secretariat and delegations, for their assistance in putting the

resolution together. The European Union reserved the right to speak in the General Assembly plenary.

KOJI YAMAGIWA (Japan) thanked the Chairman for his leadership, and his determination to respect the deadline, which had provided a motive for consensus despite difficult circumstances. Committee members had faced substantial problems in negotiations due to the lack of relevant information and had consequently not been in a position to adequately discuss a number of posts proposed by the Secretary-General. Japan regretted that consensus agreement on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee had not been possible. The draft resolution process had been painful to all involved. He urged the Secretariat to avoid such frustration in the future by taking seriously paragraph 10 of the draft resolution and submitting information of the quality and quantity needed. He expressed appreciation for the work of the Australian representative, and the Chairman of the Committee.

GABRIELLE DUSCHNER (Canada) thanked the representative of Australia and the Chairman for leadership even when agreement had seemed far away. Canada joined the consensus and welcomed that it would help to establish the rapidly deployable mission headquarters. Such a headquarters would develop organizational structures, staff procedures, and the myriad details which would make mission headquarters function effectively. Among other benefits, she noted, it would develop and coordinate a training programme.

She expressed disappointment that the Fifth Committee had been unable to approve the eight posts for the rapidly deployable mission headquarters that the Secretary-General had recommended and the ACABQ endorsed. She looked forward to the next report by the Secretary-General, so that the Fifth Committee could approve the remaining posts, allowing the rapidly deployable mission headquarters to be fully implemented and so improve the United Nations rapid reaction capabilities.

NIKOLAI LOZINSKI (Russian Federation) thanked the coordinator for his efforts to find agreement on the complex agenda item. While his delegation had joined the consensus, it felt that attention should be drawn to the fact that the Fifth Committee had chosen the path of micro-management, which was not efficient. His delegation was aware of and respected different positions, but the approach selected had not been balanced, and should be avoided in the future.

The resolution gave the Secretary-General some flexibility regarding implementing the resolution, he said. He hoped the Secretary-General would use that flexibility to maximize quality of functions for peacekeeping. The very health and lives of peacekeepers were being affected. The Secretary- General should make every effort to preserve special and military expertise

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after the withdrawal of gratis personnel, and ensure the proper qualifications of the staff replacing those personnel. He should take into account the

comments of Member States regarding future requests for financing from the support account.

JAMES BOND (United States) said his delegation would comment when the item was presented in the plenary.

WEN CHIN POWLES (New Zealand) thanked the coordinator and expressed support for the statement made by the delegation of Canada.

RAJAT SAHA (India) congratulated the coordinator for his extremely careful handling of the issues. His delegation reserved the right to explain its position in the plenary.

Ms. BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said her delegation would take the floor in the plenary when the resolution was to be adopted.

Statements on Pattern of Conferences

MOVSES ABELIAN (Armenia), Committee Chairman, drew attention to the report of the JIU on United Nations publications, which had been introduced during the fifty-second General Assembly session. The comments of the ACABQ were not yet available, but the Committee might wish to begin its discussion.

Mr. YAMAGIWA (Japan), Chairman of the Committee on Conferences, introduced the report of that body on its work during 1998. The revised draft calendar of conferences and meetings for 1999 was annexed to the report.

JIN YONGJIAN, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, said that since its establishment one year ago, the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services had provided technical secretariat services to the plenary meetings of the General Assembly, its General Committee, as well as its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), in addition to a number of other intergovernmental meetings and consultations. The consolidation of the secretariats of most of the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council bodies in the same Department had allowed better coordination and avoidance of the time-consuming interdepartmental consultations of previous years. Contact between Committee secretariats and conference services was now closer, being in the same Department.

An additional gain from the consolidation of the technical secretariat services was the presence in the new Department of the Documentation Programming and Monitoring Unit, he said. With the technical secretariat

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servicing teams for different Committees and intergovernmental bodies in a single department, the role of the Unit as the clearing house for General

Assembly and Economic and Social Council documents had been strengthened, affording better overall coordination and rationalization of documentation.

Turning then to the revised draft calendar for 1999, contained in the report of the Committee on Conferences, he said it included two special sessions of the General Assembly. To bridge gaps between the demand for conference services and the capacity available at specific times in specific places, the Department was constantly seeking to improve its planning and control functions, and was tightening coordination arrangements with substantive secretariats, searching for productivity improvements through the use of available technology and managerial innovations.

Given the resources constraints, it was gratifying to point out that the overall rate of utilization by intergovernmental bodies of the conference resources available to them had improved, he said. Regarding the provision of interpretation services for meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States, he was pleased to report that 81 per cent of requests for such meetings had been met during the period from the end of June 1997 to the end of June 1998 -- a 13 per cent increase from the previous year.

But more important than the volume of the Department's operation was the quality of its services, he said. The Department's overriding concern -- even in an era of limited resources -- was to maintain the highest standards in services and outputs. Internal evaluation and quality mechanisms existed, but the best judges were the Member States, who were the users of services. Due to human error, misjudgement and fatigue, lapses did occur on occasion, but when the Department discovered or was advised of those, it immediately investigated and took remedial action. The Department appreciated Member States bringing errors to its attention, as that helped in its effort to attain the highest standards of quality.

At the same time, it was conscious of the need to achieve maximum efficiency, and was redesigning its working methods in several areas to make use of the potential offered by state-of-the-art technology, he said. This year, it was beginning to use remote verbatim reporting. Digitalized and compressed sound recordings of statements made in meeting rooms were being sent electronically to reporters in Europe, South America and the South Pacific, who drafted the verbatim records and sent it back electronically.

New technologies were being introduced in translation services, he continued. Since April, all translators and revisers had state-of-the-art computers, with access to the optical disk system. Access to terminology databases had been expanded and facilitated, so that all language staff could fully utilize terminology resources. Other efforts included the introduction of computer-assisted translation, resulting from research carried out by the

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Working Group on Technological Innovations of the Translation and Editorial Division, made up of language service revisers, translators, editors and terminologists. Those innovations were making it possible to improve the methods and quality of the work of language staff and to ensure speedier, more efficient and more consistent production, he said.

Remote translation had become a standard working method, for major conferences and meetings away from established headquarters, but also for workload exchanges among duty stations, he continued. Advances were being made towards remote interpretation. Next January, it was proposed that a full session of an intergovernmental body meeting in Geneva would be serviced with interpreters in Vienna. This first-time use of remote interpretation in "real-life conditions" was intended as a step towards establishing an arrangement between the two duty stations. The Department was looking to set up similar facilities between Vienna and Nairobi, thus making it possible to convene more meetings at the Organization's African headquarters.

In a recent trip to the United Nations Office at Nairobi, he had been impressed by the motivation of the Conference Services' staff and the quality of the facility there, he said. While every effort was being made to ensure that the potential for conference servicing in Nairobi was fully utilized, increasing utilization of any United Nations conference centre depended on the will of Member States. The Committee on Conferences had encouraged Member States, intergovernmental bodies and regional and other major groupings to consider increasing their use of facilities in Nairobi.

Regarding delegations' concerns about the timely issuance of documents, he said the Secretariat had designated focal points for documentation in every author department. With their assistance, it was planned to seek to identify, as precisely as possible, the causes of delays and possible ways to resolve them. Expressing appreciation for the guidance and support of the Fifth Committee and the Committee on Conferences, he said the Department would continue to spare no effort to provide the services required to meet the needs of Member States and to make the most efficient use of conference-servicing resources.

THOMAS SCHLESINGER (Austria) spoke for the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Iceland and Norway. He commended the Department for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services for the effective manner in which arrangements had been made for ministerial meetings in the margins of the general debate. The work of intergovernmental organs and expert bodies of the United Nations required high-quality meeting and documentation services. The Organization's international character, and the need to ensure the equal treatment of all official languages, added to the challenge of conference services. The Union supported the new institutional arrangements for the Department, which allowed for closer coordination of conference services to achieve maximum cost-effectiveness, while ensuring the required standard of

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services.

The Union endorsed the recommendation of the Committee on Conferences to adopt the revised draft biennial calendar for 1998-1999, he said. Regarding the utilization of conference services, it endorsed the endeavour of the Secretariat to pursue technologically advanced and cost-effective solutions and to provide remote interpretation from the United Nations Office at Vienna for the United Nations Office at Nairobi.

A more accurate and comprehensive cost-accounting system should eventually be implemented Secretariat-wide, he said. However, a final decision on the development of a cost-accounting system for conference services required more information. The Secretariat should provide preliminary estimates of the expenditures necessary to establish a permanent system as well as a time-frame for each phase of the project. When further developing the cost-accounting system, the Secretariat should consider the experience of all duty stations.

While the Union welcomed the new organizational structure of conference services, which allowed for more effective coordination among duty stations, such coordination could be further strengthened with the introduction of a system of managed assignments, based on non-monetary incentives, he said. Such a system could alleviate the excessive vacancy rates in language services at some duty stations and ensure the required quality of conference services Secretariat-wide.

In 1996, through resolution 51/211 B, the Assembly had reiterated its recommendations on the control and limitation of documentation made to intergovernmental bodies, he said. The Union welcomed the Secretary-General's decision of March 1997 that documents originating in the Secretariat should not be longer than 16 pages. Intergovernmental bodies should reduce, over time, the length of their reports to 20 pages.

He reiterated the Union's support for the introduction of new technologies and welcomed the efforts of the Secretariat to improve access to the optical disk system. Moreover, the introduction of computer-assisted translation would allow the identification and retrieval of previously translated material and relevant terminology through the use of databases. He endorsed the recommendations of the Committee on Conferences that computer- assisted translation systems should be compatible with the existing computer platforms used in the United Nations, and that the experience of all duty stations should be taken into account in their development.

SOTIRIOS ZACKHEOS (Cyprus) commended the efficiency achieved by use of new technologies. Cyprus had embraced the optical disk system and had endorsed the General Assembly's and the Secretary-General's recommendations for its expansion. In the context of cost-accounting systems, he noted the

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improvements in existing information systems like the Integrated Management Information System and others.

He raised the issue of the abuse of the process of circulation of United Nations documents. The Turkish practice of circulating letters of the secessionist entity in the occupied part of Cyprus created a dangerous precedent. The practice undermined United Nations decisions and created inefficiencies and additional costs.

A secessionist entity condemned by the General Assembly and the Security Council thus promoted its propaganda in the United Nations through the back door, he said. Cyprus had protested that practice orally and in writing but nothing had been done. Cyprus would reserve the right to act in a similar manner if the practice continued. He noted that Security Council resolutions had called the secessionist entity "legally invalid", and had called on States not to assist it.

He expressed appreciation for the Committee on Conferences' recommendation that United Nations bodies avoid holding meetings on Orthodox Easter.

SERHAT GURAY (Turkey), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said a response to the comments of the previous speaker would be forthcoming from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Mr. ZACKHEOS (Cyprus) said that no such entity existed.

Mrs. GURAY (Turkey) said that related parties should go back to their documents.

ALVARO JARA (Chile) said the candidature of Chaparro Ruiz of Chile for membership of the Committee on Contributions had been endorsed by the Group of Latin American Countries, and that a list of candidates for vacancies circulated should be altered accordingly.

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