SECRETARIAT SHOULD ASSESS REASONS FOR HIGH VACANCY RATES AT INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS, ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY COMMITTEE TOLD
Press Release
GA/AB/3272
SECRETARIAT SHOULD ASSESS REASONS FOR HIGH VACANCY RATES AT INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS, ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY COMMITTEE TOLD
19981124 Committee Continues Discussing Tribunals' Financing, Also Discusses United Nations Joint Staff Pension FundThe Secretariat should assess the reasons for high vacancy rates at the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told this morning as it continued discussing the financing of the two Tribunals.
The past year had been characterized by an unprecedented expansion of the Tribunals' work and an increased the number of detainees, Austria's representative said, speaking for the European Union and associated States. The Secretariat should examine the recruitment problem and measures to address it.
The Committee had before it reports of the Secretary-General and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) on financing the two Tribunals. According to the ACABQ, vacancy rates for Professional posts last year at the Rwanda Tribunal ranged from 42 percent to 33 percent, and between 26 and 22 percent of General Service posts were vacant. For the former Yugoslavia Tribunal, the ACABQ noted Professional vacancy rates ranging from 35 to 11 per cent and General Service vacancy rates between 44 and about 7 per cent.
The representative of India also spoke.
Also this morning, the Committee discussed the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. Introducing the report of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board, the Fund's Secretary, Raymond Gieri, said that, for the first time, a participating organization was applying to withdraw from the Fund. He described the process involved and drew attention to a draft resolution proposed by the Board.
By its terms, the General Assembly would terminate the membership of the Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization as of 31 December 1998. According to a referendum held on 3 November, 62 per cent of the
Fifth Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/AB/3272 35th Meeting (AM) 24 November 1998
Interim Commission's staff favoured moving to another pension arrangement, he explained.
The Chairman of the ACABQ, C.S.M. Mselle, introduced its related report. The ACABQ agreed with the Board's recommendation on the application for withdrawal. It also recommended that the scope of the "hold harmless" provision be included in the resolution. This provision covers claims against the Fund by the Interim Commission's participants, retirees or beneficiaries.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 25 November, to begin discussing administrative and budgetary coordination between United Nations specialised agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Fifth Committee Work Programme
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to discussion on the financing of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia, and to commence discussing the application of the Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization/General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to withdraw from the United Nations pension system.
(For background on the reports on the International Tribunals, see Press Release GA/AB/3268 of 20 November 1998.)
The Committee had before it an addendum to the report of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, on the application for withdrawal from that fund by the Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization/ General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (document A/53/9/Add.1). The report follows a decision by the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Executive Council of the Interim Organization on 16 October 1998 to advise the Pension Fund that the Interim Organization wished to terminate its membership of the Fund on 31 December 1998. This application required an actuarial revaluation of the Fund, and the development by the Board of modalities for the transfer of funds related to present and former staff of the GATT and the Interim Organization.
The Board recommends to the General Assembly that the following steps be taken to determine the proportionate share to be paid to the proposed WTO pension plan: a "net" interest rate should be determined for calculating the pensioners liability as of the date of termination; the "gross" real rate would be the yield to maturity on 30-year United States inflation indexed Government Bonds, reduced by an amount of 0.88 per cent per annum to allow for administrative expenses and longevity and currency risks; on deferred pensions for individuals under age fifty-five, the nominal yield to maturity on 30-year United States non-indexed Government Bonds, minus 0.88 per cent per annum, would be used for projections to age fifty-five; the apportioning of the liability shall be calculated against the market value of the Fund's assets at 31 December 1998, minus the pensioner's liability specified above. The actual amount is subject to a limiting article.
The report also outlines further technical aspects of the process of the transfer, and includes a draft resolution whereby the General Assembly would decide to terminate the membership of the Interim Commission in the Fund as of 31 December upon receipt by the Board of an unconditional written notification from the Director-General of the WTO to that effect received no later than 15 January 1999. It would also decide that the termination was conditional upon the receipt of a written undertaking from the WTO that it would hold the Fund harmless from any claims arising from the termination, and that the proportionate share of the Fund's assets payable to the WTO upon termination be determined according to the methodology described in this report.
Fifth Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/AB/3272 35th Meeting (AM) 24 November 1998
The Committee also had before it a related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) (document A/53/696). The ACABQ agrees with the recommendation of the Board, but recommends that the "hold harmless" clause of the draft resolution be expanded to include the full scope of the condition.
United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund
RAYMOND GIERI, Secretary of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, introduced the report. The Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization/General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was applying for withdrawal from the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund which was the first application of that sort.
There were five steps to the withdrawal process, he said. First, the organization wishing to terminate the arrangement submitted an application to do so. Then an affirmative recommendation by the Pension Board was required. The next step was a decision by the General Assembly, acting on the Board's recommendation. Then the Pension Board determined the departing organization's proportionate share of the Fund's total assets. The final step was to determine payment arrangements between the Board and Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization.
A methodology was needed to determine the proportionate share, he said. The Committee of Actuaries recommended deducting from the market value of the Fund's assets on the date of termination, the capital value of all benefit obligations to current pensioners, their beneficiaries and the deferred retirees. The remainder was to be apportioned by the ratio of the liability of active participants in the terminating organization to that of the entire Fund. Initially the World Trade Organization (WTO) had recommended a different methodology, but in the end it had accepted the methodology recommended by the Committee of Actuaries.
The Interim Commission had specified that its withdrawal was contingent on support from its staff, he said. According to a referendum held on 3 November, 62 per cent of staff favoured moving to another pension arrangement and 38 per cent were opposed. A second condition was the transfer amount which could only be assessed after the termination date.
C.S.M. MSELLE, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), introduced that body's report. The Advisory Committee agreed with the Board's recommendation on the Interim Commission's application for withdrawal. It recommended that paragraph 5 of the draft resolution proposed by the Board be expanded to include the scope of the "hold harmless" provision covering any and all claims against the Fund by the Interim Commission's participants, retirees or beneficiaries.
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Financing of International Criminal Tribunals
ULRIKE BUTSCHEK (Austria), for the European Union, said the past year had been characterized by an unprecedented expansion of the work of the Tribunals and an increase in the number of detainees. The Union welcomed the establishment of a third Chamber in both Tribunals and supported the level of the budget proposed by the ACABQ, whose recommendations were a good basis for deliberations.
Given the considerable amount of work facing the Tribunals, the persistently high vacancy rates were a matter of concern, she said. How was the Secretariat assessing the situation and what were the reasons behind the recruitment problem? she asked. What measures were being taken to address the problem? The Union would welcome receiving the latest statistics.
She noted that the ACABQ recommended an expert review of the Tribunals' management and organizational structure. If the goal was a management review, the Office of Internal Oversight Services could follow up on the issue. In the review, priority should be given to recruitment procedures, while purely legal issues would not fall within the scope of such a review. However, matters pertaining to the Tribunals' statutes could not be reviewed in such an exercise. The Union would welcome the Tribunals critically examining their working methods themselves.
The administrative infrastructure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was in place and up-to-date, she said. Although there might be need for future expansion of the detention facility, the Tribunal could manage with the present installation. Regarding the Rwanda Tribunal, she recognized corrective actions taken by the administration to address matters identified by the Oversight Office. However, some issues remained unsolved. The Office's recommendations for improving the administration must be fully implemented.
JAN JAREMCZUK (Poland) aligned himself with the above statement.
RAJAT SAHA (India) noted the projections made for determining resources required for the Tribunals and asked why such projections were not made by the Secretariat in economic and social sectors. His delegation was not clear about the financing of the amounts being requested. Because of the magnitude of the amount asked for, the Secretariat should provide clarification.
TOMAS BLIZNIKAS (Lithuania) associated himself with the statement made for the Union.
MUGUREL STANESCU (Romania) aligned himself with the Union's statement.
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