FIFTH COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXTS ON FINANCING MINURSO, UNMOT, UNPREDEP

Press Release
GA/AB/3249

FIFTH COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXTS ON FINANCING MINURSO, UNMOT, UNPREDEP

The General Assembly would decide to appropriate some $78.2 million for three United Nations peacekeeping operations for the period from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999, according to three draft resolutions approved this morning by its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

Acting without a vote, the Committee approved draft resolutions on financing the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) and the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP).

By the draft on MINURSO, introduced by Canada's representative, an additional amount of some $37.2 million gross would be appropriated for that operation, taking into account the approximately $22.7 million already appropriated.

By the text on UNMOT, the Assembly would appropriate about $12 million gross (about $11.1 million net), bringing the total for the period to some $20 million gross. By the third text, it would appropriate $29 million gross (approximately $28.2 million net) for UNPREDEP, in addition to the approximately $21 million already appropriated.

Also this morning, the Committee concluded its discussion on the United Nations pattern of conferences. In the course of that discussion, delegates welcomed the Secretariat's efforts to improve conference services and the quality of translation and interpretation. Many expressed the view that further information on a cost-accounting system for conference services was needed before they could take a decision on it. Concerns were expressed about a number of issues, including late issuance of documents and the increased use of free-lance staff for interpretation and translation.

Statements were made by the representative of Indonesia (for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), Panama (for the Rio Group), Russian Federation, Cuba, Syria, China, Bangladesh, Libya, Republic of Korea, Mozambique, Kenya, Canada, Egypt, United States and Uganda.

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The Committee also heard a report on the status of informal consultations on United Nations programme planning from Uganda's representative, coordinator for that item. Statements were made by the representatives of Egypt and Cuba on a request that the Assembly's Main Committees be asked to comment on proposed revisions to parts of the medium-term-plan for 1998 to 2001 that had not been referred to sectoral and regional bodies.

Also, the Fifth Committee considered a request from Iraq for exemption from sanctions under Article 19 of the United Nations Charter, by which voting rights are removed when a country's arrears exceed a certain level. Iraq's representative said that while the continued embargo made payment impossible, previous requests for exemption had been denied for political reasons. As a founding Member of the United Nations, Iraq should be able to vote, he said.

The representative of Kuwait said such exemptions were granted only when the country concerned was unable to make payments due to circumstances beyond its control. Since Iraq's compliance with Security Council resolutions would restore its financial condition, its failure to pay did not fall in that category.

Several speakers supported considering the request in the same manner that the Committee was considering other requests. The representatives of Saudi Arabia, Libya, Cuba, United States, Syria, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sudan, Republic of the Congo, United Republic of Tanzania, China and Indonesia spoke. Ireland's representative, coordinator of informal consultations on two other requests, said that after extensive discussion, consensus had not been reached.

In a discussion on other matters, Committee members decided to keep its appointment for an informal briefing with the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, Rafiah Salim. Also, members expressed concerns about entrance to the building.

The representatives of Indonesia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Egypt and Syria spoke.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Monday, 26 October, to begin consideration of the United Nations scale of assessments, used to apportion the Organization's expenses.

Fifth Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to take action on draft resolutions on the financing of three peacekeeping operations: the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO); the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT); and the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP).

It was also scheduled to continue discussing the United Nations pattern of conferences, programme planning and the scale of assessments.

(For background on reports on financing UNMOT, UNPREDEP and MINURSO, see Press Release GA/AB/3245 of 15 October 1998. For background on pattern of conferences, see Press Release GA/AB/3247 of 19 October 1998; on programme planning, see Press Release GA/AB/3243 of 12 October.)

Text on Financing Peacekeeping Operations

By the draft resolution on financing of the UNMOT (document A/C.5/53/L.10), the General Assembly would appropriate approximately $12 million gross (about $11.1 million net) for UNMOT operations from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999, in addition to the approximately $8 million already appropriated for the period from 1 July to 31 October 1998, and subject to a Security Council decision to extend the UNMOT mandate beyond 15 November 1998.

By the draft resolution on financing of the UNPREDEP (document A/C.5/53/L.11), the General Assembly would appropriate $29 million gross (approximately $28.2 million net) for UNPREDEP operations from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999, in addition to the approximately $21 million already appropriated. Of this amount, it would decide to appropriate and apportion about $12.3 million for the period 1 July 1998 to 28 February 1999, and the remaining approximately $16.7 million for the period 1 March to 30 June 1999, subject to a decision by the Security Council to extend the mandate of the Force beyond 28 February.

By the draft resolution on financing of the MINURSO (document A/C.5/53/L.12), the General Assembly would appropriate an additional amount of some $37.2 million gross (approximately $34.4 million net) for MINURSO operations from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999, taking into account the approximately $22.7 million already appropriated for 1 July to 31 October 1998. It would decide to apportion and appropriate this $37.2 million for the period 1 November 1998 to 30 June 1999, subject to a Security Council decision to extend the mandate of the Mission beyond 31 October 1998.

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Scale of Assessments

The Committee had before it a letter from the Permanent Representative of Iraq dated 19 October, (document A/C.5/53/28) requesting that the General Assembly exempt Iraq from sanctions under Article 19 of the United Nations Charter. Under Article 19, Member States are deprived of their voting rights in the General Assembly if they fall sufficiently behind in the payment of their regular assessment -- the portion of the United Nations regular budget for which they are responsible. The letter states that Iraq lacks the financial resources to make its payment owing to the comprehensive embargo being maintained against it.

Statements on Pattern of Conferences

PRAYONO ATIYANTO (Indonesia), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, noted with satisfaction that the use of conference services in New York exceeded the 1997 benchmark of 80 per cent, along with similar improvements in Geneva and Vienna. The Group appreciated the inclusion of statistics on conference service use in Nairobi for the first time. However, he said it was necessary for the Chairman of the Committee on Conferences to continue his consultation with the Chairmen of bodies that had used less than the benchmark in 1997 to encourage measures to improve the use of conference services.

The Group also recognized that 81 per cent of requests for interpretation for meetings of regional and other major groups of States had been met, but was disappointed that 19 per cent could not be met, he said. The United Nations being a "multicultural milieu", the Group requested the Secretariat to make every effort to ensure conference services to regional and other major groups. The Group noted the Secretariat's efforts to develop a cost accounting system for conference services and endorsed the Committee on Conference's request that it provide preliminary estimates of the expense of establishing a permanent system, and a time-frame, once approved by the General Assembly. It also shared the concern of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) that cost accounting was expensive. The Group believed that the Secretary-General should address the weaknesses the ACABQ had identified in his report, refine the material and resubmit. It supported the Committee on Conference's call for a consultative mechanism between the Secretariat and Member States on the issue of cost accounting.

The Group welcomed the improved utilization rates for Nairobi conference services and encouraged the Secretariat to improve the utilization rate, he said. It called for Member States and groups to consider increasing their use of Nairobi.

The Group trusted that the new organizational structure of conference services would allow more effective coordination among the four United Nations

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conference centres, he said. The Group took note of efforts to use new technology, particularly remote translation, but emphasized that remote translation should be confined to international conferences. It was concerned with the excessive vacancy rate in language services and took note of the information provided by Secretariat officials that no further budget cuts could be borne by Conference Services. The Group placed great importance on career development in language services and supported ACABQ recommendations that the Secretary-General should prepare a special report analysing problems that might exist in that area. Numbers, levels and grades should be commensurate with the needs of the Organization.

The Group noted with concern that paragraphs 24 and 25 of General Assembly resolution 52/214 B were not being fully implemented, he said. The Group re-emphasized the need for full implementation of General Assembly resolutions and sought clarification on non-compliance. It expressed its deep concern on the chronic delay in the issuance of documents. It also supported the strengthening of the Documents Distribution Section so it could better perform its functions. It was also concerned at the poor quality of some Secretariat documents, and the suspension of publishing in all official languages for some publications. The Group supported the use of the optical disk system, but new developments should not compromise hard copy. Additionally, the Secretariat should issue public information material in all official languages.

JUDITH CARDOZE, (Panama), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said provision of interpretation and conference services for regional groups was essential to their work. That 81 per cent of requests were met was satisfying, and the Rio Group hoped that efforts would be stepped up in order to meet the largest possible number of such requests. It recognized the responsibility of States and regional groups to make more effective use of these resources.

The Rio Group was concerned at the belated issuance of documentation, particularly as the number of meetings had decreased since 1994, and the Secretariat had said that resources were sufficient, she said. It reiterated the strict need to comply with the six-week rule for production of documents. It was concerned about the excessive practice of self-revision of translations, which at times was responsible for mistakes which made the work of delegations more difficult, and was also a source of waste. It supported the recommendation that budget proposals for conference services be prepared on the basis of actual anticipated requirements. A cost-accounting system based on activity was appropriate for conference services and would make it possible to take better informed decisions on overall and notional costs for services. It was regrettable that no progress had been made. The Secretary-General's report did not contain sufficient information for a decision to be taken on cost accounting.

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She said the Rio Group appreciated an informal video conference with staff in other posts that had been held, and such a conference should be repeated in 1999. Technological innovations should be encouraged, particularly regarding remote translation and interpretation. The Group recognized the importance of testing technology to ensure its feasibility and that it did not affect the quality of services.

NIKOLAI LOZINSKI (Russian Federation) said his delegation attached great importance to ensuring the proper qualitative and quantitative level of conference servicing, without which the United Nations multilingual work was impossible. It appreciated the efforts made to improve conference servicing and utilization of conference resources and generally supported the recommendations of the Committee on Conferences. In particular, his delegation supported the comments made by that body aimed at ensuring more rational utilization of conference resources. At the same time, it was important to remember that benchmarks for utilization should not supersede quality. The early unscheduled adjournment of meetings did not always indicate inefficiency. The Fifth Committee, for example, often found informal consultations to be of more use than open meetings for resolving differences.

Having carefully studied the documents on developing a cost-accounting system, he said he agreed with the comments of the ACABQ and the Committee on Conferences. In particular, he supported the ACABQ's comments that the Secretary-General's report contained insufficiently compelling information to recommend endorsement of a full-fledged development of such a system and that more information was needed. The proposal of the Secretary-General should be reworked.

On the late issuance of documents, his delegation agreed with the conclusions of the Committee on Conferences. The Fifth Committee had at times had to change its programme of work due to such lateness. It was time to address that problem. His delegation took a very cautious approach to cancelling the six-week rule. While adherence to it was not always feasible, violations of the rule were not always due to acceptable reasons. The Committee should study the proposal that late reports contain comments explaining their lateness.

His delegation took the matter of translation very seriously, he said. Work in the area should continue. The Secretariat should make use of the arsenal of means available to it and rationalize its practices. While he supported efforts to introduce new technology, that should not become a goal by itself. The Secretariat should continue efforts to improve the optical disk system and access to it.

DULCE BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said that, on the question of improved utilization of conference services, her delegation supported the conclusions of the Committee on Conferences. It was happy to see that in 1997, the

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overall utilization rate had gone beyond the benchmark. She supported the Committee's comments on improved utilization of the installations in Nairobi.

The Cuban delegation attached great importance to questions of documentation and was greatly concerned about the belated issuance of documents, she said. There was need to provide detailed information on the reasons for delay. The Secretariat constantly failed to comply with the established six-week rule, which was intended to enable delegations and Governments sufficient time to consider documents. Given the persistence of the problem, it was evident that conference services must have sufficient resources to address it.

The Assembly had frequently expressed concern about a number of matters on translation, in particular the elimination of posts which directly impacted the quality of services that Member States were given, she said. Information on those posts should be submitted to the Assembly. She supported the conclusions of the Committee on Conferences, and emphasized the comments of the ACABQ that during the 1998-1999 biennium interpretation and translation was to be strengthened. She welcomed the fact that posts that had remained vacant during the previous biennium were being filled.

She then expressed concern about problems with career prospects for language services. A report should be prepared to analyse the problems that existed in respect to that question, as had been recommended by the ACABQ. She welcomed the increased provision of services to meetings of regional and other groupings of States, which was of great importance to her delegation.

TAMMAM SULAIMAN (Syria) said the responsibility of securing conference services was shared by the Secretariat, the Committee on Conferences and Member States. All should do their best to improve standards appropriate with the Organization's universal nature. It seemed that reductions might lead to a lessening of the standards of conference services.

His delegation had taken note of the Secretary-General's report on translation and interpretation, he said. It had expressed concern that the abolition of 30 interpreter and translator posts might impact negatively on the six official languages of the United Nations. The Syrian delegation had noted from the report of the Committee on Conferences that this had in fact impacted on conference services. All vacancies must be filled, announced in all countries with sufficient time for response and the process conducted with transparency.

The abolition of the 30 posts had led to more dependence on temporary assistance, which could affect quality, he continued. That should be examined in more depth by the Secretariat. The reduction in conference services reflected the use of savings from introduction of new technology, but several times he had asked the Secretariat to show Member States the impact of new technology on translation.

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The burden borne by translators in the Chinese, Russian and Arab sections was heavier than that of other languages, he said. Those sections should be provided with more translators. As for self-revision in translation, he said he appreciated the burden on translators, but self-revision must not be a substitute to revision made by senior translators. Some 20 P-4 staff members had joined training programmes in Jordan, Spain, Russia and France. The Secretariat should provide in writing the number of translators who had joined those programmes from each language section, as well as what criteria had been used to select them.

He appreciated efforts of Arabic translators and interpreters to improve their standards, he said. As for providing interpretation for regional and major groupings, it was regrettable that 19 per cent of requests were not met.

On the cost-accounting system, he regretted that conferences services had been the scape goat in that regard. The system would limit the use of conference services which caused his delegation great concern. It was premature to approve a decision on the matter, and the Committee should wait for more information.

He then expressed concern about the increasing use of modern technology at the expense of quality of translation and interpretation. His delegation had reaffirmed the importance of maintaining the standards, and that achieving savings for the development account should not be pursued as an end in itself, since a fair part of those savings would be from conference services, which was unacceptable. Remote translation and interpretation would lead to the abolition of certain posts and would inevitably negatively affect the quality of services, he added.

Reductions in conference services should not negatively affect documents, he continued. Reductions in the number of pages had impacted the quality of reports given to Member States. Regarding the two holidays of Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha, those two official holidays were to be observed in Headquarters and other duty stations. The Secretariat must implement that resolution.

PAN QINGJIANG (China) said his delegation was satisfied with the increased utilization rate of conference-servicing resources for 1997. He appreciated the Chairman's efforts to begin meetings on time and hoped that this would become part of the Organization's culture throughout the United Nations system. The Secretariat had made efforts to improve document quality over the past year, but it should be pointed out that the quality of documents was still not satisfactory. Mistakes were legion; his delegation had found Chinese characters upside down in some texts. The Secretariat should put in place a strict management system, emphasizing accountability and meritocracy. Regarding the late issuance of documents, he supported the request of the Committee on Conferences that the Secretariat should submit a report

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containing detailed data on the reasons for delays. That report should be circulated to the entire membership.

It was necessary to improve the quality of interpretation and translation in all official languages, he continued. The Secretariat had made tremendous efforts to improve the quality of translation but instances of inadequate translation or interpretation hampered the work of delegations and even disrupted meetings at times. The number of translators and interpreters had been reduced to a minimum, and China was concerned about the impact of the reduction of language staff on conference services at the United Nations.

He said the existing number of Chinese interpreters could only just meet basic meeting requirements. When the Assembly was in session, or during peak periods, the Secretariat had to resort to temporary assistance. In recruiting freelance translators, it was necessary to exercise strict quality control to ensure the quality of language services in the United Nations. Further, it was necessary to expand the freelance roster to give the Organization a wider selection. The question of a cost-accounting system for conference services should be approached with caution, he added.

HUMAYUN KABIR (Bangladesh) said he noted with interest, the performance of Conference Services following the amalgamation with General Assembly Affairs. Bangladesh was satisfied with the increased use of conference services, and noted the improvement in provision of services for regional and other groups. It believed there was scope for further improvement and concurred with the Committee on Conferences that estimated requirements of regional and major groups should be taken into account when preparing budget estimates for conference services.

Bangladesh shared concerns expressed about the poor quality of some documents, he said. It would be useful for the Secretariat to provide a list of requests and documents produced. If resources were inadequate to meet requests, this should be spelled out before the General Assembly. Good quality documents aided the work of the United Nations and thereby saved money.

He noted the concern of some delegations about a fall in quality of interpretation and translation. New management styles should not reduce quality. Bangladesh shared concerns that savings from abolition of posts might be outweighed by reliance on temporary staff in peak periods, which could be detrimental to quality. The object of reform was to improve the efficiency and quality of conference services, among other areas. Bangladesh endorsed the idea that the budget of conference services should be prepared on a full cost basis with identification of possible efficiency gains. The General Assembly could then decide where gains could be made.

IBRAHIM ELMONTASER (Libya) said he appreciated the spirit of discipline that had characterized the meetings of the Fifth Committee, which would

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increase the efficiency of the Organization and maximize the use of conference service resources. He was satisfied that conference services had provided for more than 81 per cent of regional and other major group meetings, and hoped that, in the future, all meetings would be covered.

Libya regretted the continued delay in the issuance of documents, which affected the participation of delegations, particularly those with fewer numbers. The six-week rule must be applied. Late issuance still occurred, despite General Assembly resolutions to the contrary. The arrival of summary records after much delay undermined the benefit from these documents. Too much summary undermined the substance of what was said. The summary should convey the exact words of speaker, and all States should be given equal opportunity.

Interpretation into Arabic was very bad indeed, he said. Sometimes interpreting stopped, then continued having skipped some lines and paragraphs. This practice made delegations lose the meaning of statements of States not speaking Arabic. The sound quality was also bad. Printed errors were repeated. Journal lists of items were not always accurate and that caused problems of preparation for delegations. He gave some examples of the errors, but said he did not want to give the whole list of mistakes, which were legion. Sometimes delegations could not understand expressions when translated into other languages. Translation meant translation of meaning, not literal translation of words. He called on the Secretariat to restore the post of revisor. Equal opportunity had to be given to all six official languages of the United Nations regarding documents, publications and other pamphlets, he added.

PARK HAE-YUN (Republic of Korea) said the establishment of the Department for General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services had contributed to enhancing conference services. The Republic of Korea endorsed the draft calender of Conferences and Meetings as revised by the Committee, and agreed with observations that every effort should be made to avoid simultaneous peak periods at duty stations. It noted that the use of conference services exceeded benchmarks in New York, Vienna and Geneva. Where benchmarks had not been met, the Chairmen should continue to consult with Chairman of the Committee on Conferences.

The Secretary-General's report provided useful information on the benefits and difficulties of cost accounting for conference services, he said. The Republic of Korea shared the view that experiences of all duty stations should be taken into consideration in improvement of systems. More information was required on the cost-accounting proposal, and he hoped the Secretary-General would provide this, including preliminary estimates and a time-frame, once approved by the General Assembly. The Republic of Korea welcomed the Secretary-General's decision that documents from the Secretariat should not exceed 16 pages and hoped intergovernmental bodies would follow

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this example and reduce their documents to 20 pages. It also hoped that additional rigor would prevent waivers to the six-week rule.

SALVADOR NAMBURETE (Mozambique) said the introduction of new technologies and innovative methods was encouraging. The Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services was to be commended for its efforts in that area. He welcomed efforts to provide remote interpretation for Geneva from Vienna, and was convinced that this method would allow more meetings to convene in Nairobi. He noted that conference services had exceeded the benchmark in some locations. The same level had not been achieved in Nairobi, despite significant improvements. The Secretariat should spare no efforts to improve use of Nairobi.

Mozambique was also concerned with non-compliance with the six-week rule and the poor quality of some documents and reports, he said. Equal treatment should be given regarding timeliness and quality of all languages. Self-revision of translations was a matter of serious concern, as was the abolition of some language publications. Mozambique wished to preserve the productivity and service provision of conference services and was unsure how the abolition of posts could contribute to this. Conference services needed a cost-accounting system. While he understood the difficulties and welcomed the Secretary-General's approach of activity based cost accounting, for full implementation more information needed to be provided, particularly on preliminary expenditures and time-frames.

NJUGUNA MAHUGU (Kenya) said he was concerned that Nairobi facilities were underutilized, and he was grateful to the Secretary-General for measures taken to improve their use. He fully supported efforts for full realization of Nairobi's potential, particularly since it had been upgraded to a full-fledged conference centre, and supported groups making more use of it.

Meetings of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) subsidiary bodies should be held in Nairobi, he said. He noted efforts for global coordination of conference services through information technology, but concurred with the view that use of remote interpretation must be confined to international conferences on an experimental basis before fuller introduction. Additionally they should not lead to budget reductions. Efforts to fill vacancies should be sustained. Measures should be taken to ensure that Nairobi reached benchmarks, he expressed concern about levels of funding for Nairobi compared with Vienna and Geneva.

JAMES ORR (Canada) said the document on the cost-accounting system drew a distinction between systems, based on whether the organizations concerned were profit or not-for-profit. It was said that cost-accounting systems for non-profit organizations had to measure difficult-to-measure outputs. However, Canada questioned the difficulty of measuring outputs for such organizations, when the essential outputs were documents and conference

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services. A cost-accounting system allowed for management to focus on outcomes and results, rather than on inputs.

In governmental organizations, the first areas that adopted cost-accounting systems were those with activities such as document production, he said. How did the Secretariat make decisions on matters related to document production, such as quality of paper, without such a system? he asked. Canada supported the recommendation of the ACABQ that an expensive cost-accounting system was not necessary to meet management needs.

AHMED DARWISH (Egypt) said his delegation endorsed what had been said by the representative of Kenya and by the representative of Indonesia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. He paid tribute to the Committee on Conferences for having cooperated with the Secretariat to reach a calendar that was in accordance with the real requirements for 1999. That pattern of conferences should be adopted by the Committee. As for translation and interpretation, his delegation believed those were an essential part of conference services. Conference services were an integrated whole with each aspect complementing the other. Reductions in posts should in no case have an impact on the quality of services.

His delegation had noted that documents in some languages were published on time, while others were late, revealing inequality in the treatment of languages, he said. Arabic documents were sometimes delayed by more than a month. The six official languages should be issued at the same time, but at least close to each other. Regarding the elimination of 30 posts for translation and interpreters, Egypt refused and rejected any reduction in Arabic translation. That section must be improved in practice and in training. The present level of staff in Arabic interpretation booths must be maintained and not reduced.

Regarding self-revision, his delegation supported the importance of ensuring that there was no negative impact on the level of translation, he said. The 45 per cent figure for that practice must be respected to ensure the high quality of translation. On the cost-accounting system, he supported the comments of the ACABQ that more light should be shed on the objectives and scope of the proposed system and the Secretary-General should submit the report again.

Turning then to the optical disk system, the Egyptian delegation paid tribute to those who had contributed to broadening access to it, he said. It was important to allow access to other users of the system at set costs. On documentation, he said the six-week rule should be respected. He noted the Committee on Conferences' observation on the holidays in 1999. He also noted with satisfaction that the Secretary-General was asked to respect the pattern of conferences in that respect, and thanked the Secretariat for having done so in the past. Meetings should not be held on 9 April 1999 to respect the orthodox calendar. He supported the Committee's recommendation and

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underscored the importance of ensuring conference servicing for regional groups, which supplemented official meetings.

ROYAL WHARTON (United States) welcomed efforts to improve the quality of conference services. An effective cost-accounting system would be a useful management tool and he encouraged the Secretariat to continue efforts in that regard. He also appreciated the efforts to limit documentation and introduce new technologies.

The United States welcomed the Secretary-General's decision that all documents originating in the Secretariat should not exceed 16 pages and his encouragement to other bodies to reduce the length of their documents over time, he said. Documents that exceeded the limit accounted for a significant part of the translation workload. Further efforts were needed in that regard.

The level of conference services support given to non-governmental organizations was not covered in the Secretariat's reports, he noted. What type of support was provided -- in terms of translation, production and distribution of non-governmental organization-originated documents, and what was the estimated annual costs of these? he asked. The answers could be given in informal consultations.

NESTER ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) supported the statement made by the representative of Kenya and that made for the Group of 77 and China.

Mr. SULAIMAN (Syria) added that he endorsed paragraph 11 of the report of the Committee on Conferences that invited United Nations bodies to avoid holding meetings on 9 April which was Orthodox Easter celebrated in Syria. That should be taken into account in the preparation of subsequent calendars.

MOVSES ABELIAN (Armenia), Fifth Committee Chairman, drew attention to the fact that during its resumed sessions in 1997, the Fifth Committee had utilized less than the benchmark figure for conference services.

Mr. SULAIMAN (Syria) said the Secretariat's responses should be provided in writing.

The Chairman thanked those who had supported the timely starting of the meetings.

Action on Financing of Peacekeeping Operations

GABRIELLE DUCSHNER (Canada) introduced the draft resolution on the financing of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

The Committee adopted it, acting without a vote.

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The Chairman then drew the Committee's attention to a draft resolution on financing of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT). The Committee approved that draft, again without a vote.

In the same manner, it then approved a draft resolution on the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP).

Programme Planning

Mr. ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) said that informal consultations on programme planning were proceeding well, but the Committee was still waiting for responses from the Secretariat on certain matters. Also, representatives had noted that proposed revisions to certain programmes of the medium-term plan had not been submitted to sectoral and regional bodies. As coordinator, Members had asked him to request that the Chairman write a letter to the Chairmen of the other main Committees asking their views on proposed revisions to programmes 1, 3, 13, 18, 20, 24, 26 and 28. That letter should contain a specific deadline for receiving the opinions.

The Chairman asked the Committee's opinion on presenting a deadline to other Committees, which had their own work schedules.

Mr. DARWISH (Egypt) suggested a two-week deadline.

Ms. BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) supported the proposal to send a letter to the other Main Committees and the representative of Egypt's proposal for a two-week deadline.

The Chairman suggested that the letter not include programme 24, since that programme concerned the Fifth Committee.

The Committee agreed with that suggestion.

Scale of Assessments

The Chairman drew the Committee's attention to a letter from the President of the General Assembly transmitting a letter from Iraq requesting exemption from sanctions under Article 19.

MOWAFAK MAHMOUD AYOUB (Iraq) said Iraq had been one of the founding States of the United Nations. Since its establishment, it had paid regularly and totally its contributions. But, because of exceptional circumstances, it had been compelled to cease payment since 1993. It had lost its right to vote in 1995. Prior to that, it had tried to pay its contributions through its frozen assets, but some Members had refused that request. After entry into force of Article 19, his country had tried to request exemption pending the total or partial lifting of economic sanctions decreed against it. Some States had obstructed that request for political reasons.

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Since the Assembly had overcome procedural problems concerning exemption from Article 19 of the Charter, Iraq sought the same privileges as other States, he said. It was not fair that a founding Member lost its right to vote for political reasons of some States. He called on members of the Fifth Committee to consider his request in a spirit of fairness.

ZIYAD MONAYAIR (Kuwait) said this was not the first time Iraq had submitted such a request. Iraq was trying to use the economic circumstances of other countries. Iraq's case was very different from other States which sought the application of Article 19 because of circumstances beyond their control. Iraq's failure to comply with Security Council resolutions was the cause of its economic situation. When it did comply with those resolutions, its economic circumstances would improve, and it would be able to meet its obligations to the United Nations. Iraq's request should be dealt with separate from others.

MONSOUR SALIM (Saudi Arabia) supported the statement made by the representative of Kuwait.

IBRAHIM ELMONTASER (Libya) said countries exempted from sanctions under Article 19 all faced economic circumstances beyond their control. No State should be prevented from exercising their right to request exemption. The Committee had established a precedent. Political considerations or differences between Iraq and Kuwait should not be the issue. It was a technical question that should be considered in informal consultations.

Ms. BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said she supported Iraq's request. The Fifth Committee should be consistent and avoid exceptional treatment. An ad hoc process had been established in the Committee's session. On the basis of that precedent, the Committee must consider Iraq's request.

THOMAS REPASCH (United States) said that he concurred with the statements by previous speakers that highlighted the differences between this request and previous requests, and therefore the United States supported those statements.

Mr AYOUB (Iraq) said that what the representative of Kuwait had said was incorrect. Iraq had implemented all Security Council resolutions, but certain parties claimed that Iraq was in contravention. This was incorrect. The question of assessments had nothing to with Security Council resolutions.

Mr. SULAIMAN (Syria), said he hoped that the request could be examined from a technical, not a political, point of view. His country supported any country that sought exemption from Article 19. That had always been its position. Developing countries might find difficulties in meeting their assessments, as explained by the Group of 77 and China. The discussion should be technical, not political.

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Mr. DARWISH (Egypt) said this was a delicate and sensitive issue. Like Libya and Syria, Egypt believed the matter should be addressed on purely technical grounds. The best way to deal with it was in informal consultations or during discussion of the report of the Committee on Contributions.

The Chairman said that, since the Committee would be reviewing the two previous requests, perhaps this request could also be considered in informal consultations.

FRANK SMYTH (Ireland), speaking as the coordinator of the informal consultations on the two previous requests, said that following informal consultations last Tuesday, with more than 40 interventions, he was still unable to find a consensus position. The delegations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of the Congo had said they were prepared to wait to hear the views of the Chairman of the Committee of Contributions on how the requests might be taken forward.

LIDIJA TOPIC (Bosnia and Herzegovina) said she wished to confirm the statement from the representative of Ireland. She wished to seek the advice of the Chairman of the Committee on Contributions as to how to best continue. She was in favour of the proposal to treat the requests separately. At informal consultations, with the assistance of the Chairman of the Committee on Contributions, she hoped to find a way to proceed with the matter.

AHMED ABDELWAHID (Sudan) said that the Committee should look at the current request in the same way as other requests.

Mr AYOUB (Iraq) said Iraq supported the proposal made by Egypt. He could be flexible and accept informal consultations.

HENRI BLAISE GOTIENNE (Republic of the Congo) said, despite his wishes, he would not sacrifice the essential thing which was the search, through negotiation, of ways and means to find a solution to the problem the Committee was facing. He would yield to the voice of wisdom which said the matter should be addressed in informal consultations and that each request should be considered separately and in the light of the expected advice from the Chairman on Contributions. He would yield to the wisdom of this procedure until the beginning of next week, when the Committee would take a decision on this matter.

MUHAMMAD YUSUF MSHAMBA (United Republic of Tanzania) said he supported the Egyptian proposal that the request be considered in informal consultations. All three requests should be considered separately, not as a package.

The Chairman summarized the situation, stating that he believed the proposal to go to informal consultations on this morning's request and all others was agreed, as was the proposal that the advice of the Chairman of the

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Committee on Contributions should be sought on those proposals. He raised the option of going into informal consultations for the final 30 minutes of the scheduled meeting time.

Mr DARWISH (Egypt) said he would like to have ample time to discuss the matter, given that delegations who presented requests a week ago had said they would wait and seek the advice of the Chairman of the Committee on Contributions.

Mr. PAN (China) said that, in formal and informal meetings, China had stated its views about the requests from the Republic of the Congo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the representatives had already said they were ready to wait until early next week, informal consultations were not needed now.

Mr ATIYANTO (Indonesia) said the Committee had heard the preference of the three Member States concerned. He agreed with the comments and proposals by Egypt, and those of China.

The Chairman proposed that on Monday afternoon, when the Committee on Contributions report would be introduced, he would make a statement on the requests received so far and state that advice of the Chairman of the Committee on Contributions was sought on how to best handle this issue. Then there would be informal consultations after the general debate. The outcome of informal consultations would be taken up at the Wednesday meeting on the scale of assessments. After seeking responses, he announced this was the decision of the Committee.

Other Matters

The Chairman announced that he had received requests from representatives of the Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA) and the Federation of International Civil Servants' Association (FICSA) to make oral statements to the Committee on agenda items 119 and 120. After seeking responses, he announced that permission would be granted.

The Chairman also announced that there would be an informal briefing for delegations by the Assistant-Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, Rafiah Salim, this afternoon on human resources management reform.

Mr ATIYANTO (Indonesia) drew the attention of the Committee to the inclusion in the programme of work of a formal introduction of the Secretary-General's report on the Development Dividend and the observations of the ACABQ on the morning of 28 October. At present the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) was still considering the Secretary-General's report. Given that comments from the Second Committee were not yet available to the Fifth Committee, he proposed the report be taken up by the Fifth Committee at a later date.

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The Chairman said he anticipated receiving the summary of the Second Committee discussions early next week.

Ms BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) supported the suggestion from Indonesia to postpone discussion until the Second Committee's comments were available. On the matter of the informal briefing by the Assistant-Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, she welcomed such efforts by the Secretariat, but was concerned that such informal briefings might be becoming a normal practice, and that they might result in discussions that should more appropriately take place in formal meetings and informal consultations.

The Chairman advised that, if there were no objections, item 113 would be deleted from the programme of work, and the programme would be adjusted when he received firm information on when the comments from the Second Committee on the development dividend would be available. There being no objections, he advised it was so decided.

NAZARETH INCERA (Costa Rica) said that, like the representative of Cuba, she believed informal briefings, whether small or for all delegations, could be interpreted as a way of discussing reports informally, when all such exchanges should take place in formal meetings.

The Chairman said he had taken note of those comments, but that informal briefings would not prevent discussion in formal meetings or informal consultations.

Mr. DARWISH (Egypt) said this morning a delivery truck had blocked the entrance to the United Nations garage, and had taken more than five minutes to clear the entrance. He had blown his horn to indicate that he needed to pass and a United Nations security guard had approached him. The guard had behaved in an extremely unprofessional manner. He had explained that he had an extremely important meeting, but the guard had responded that he should wait no matter what, and had taken his security card. The guard said he did not care about his important meetings. The representative of Egypt asked what the criteria for selecting United Nations security officials were, and did they include public relations skills and psychological testing. He had been at Headquarters in the eighties and the nineties and United Nations security staff had been professional and courteous. He also believed that "one swallow does not make a summer", but would like answers to his questions, and for the person to be removed from the garage.

The Chairman took note of that request.

Mr. ATIYANTO (Indonesia) said he had noted the comments and concerns of Cuba and Costa Rica. Such briefings should not be a trend. Sometimes an exchange of views could help if a particular report or issue was complex, but there was need to have general debate in the formal introduction of such reports. Such briefings could be held as required.

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The Chairman said some delegations had requested the briefing, which was scheduled for 3 p.m. However, he did not object to cancelling and apologizing to the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management.

Ms. BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) stressed that the necessary steps should be taken to ensure that at the entrance to the United Nations on 49th Street there were no delays for delegates. At peak times, it was difficult for delegates to enter.

The Chairman said there were two issues: the garage entrance and the briefing. First, the Committee should address the briefing.

Mr. SULAIMAN (Syria) said his delegation was not enthusiastic about such briefings. It did not oppose briefings, but in principle did not support the practice, since it contradicted the principle of transparency.

The Chairman asked whether the Committee wanted to cancel the meeting scheduled for the afternoon.

Ms. BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said her delegation's original statement had been intended to draw attention to the question in principle, not to cancel today's briefing.

The Chairman asked whether the Committee wanted to hold the briefing at 3 p.m.

The Committee decided to do so.

Ms. INCERA (Costa Rica) said her comments too had been intended to draw attention to the question on principle. Turning to the garage issue, she said that delegates had been unable to enter this morning. What mandate or directive was there for the notice on the delegates' entrance that only Permanent Representatives could use that entrance? she asked.

The Chairman said delegations' concerns would be communicated to the Chief of the United Nations Security and Safety Service, Michael McCann, who would respond in due course.

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