FIFTH COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXTS ON PROGRAMME PLANNING, PATTERN OF CONFERENCES AND COMPENSATION OF NON-SECRETARIAT OFFICIALS

14 December 1998

Press Release
GA/AB/3280

FIFTH COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXTS ON PROGRAMME PLANNING, PATTERN OF CONFERENCES AND COMPENSATION OF NON-SECRETARIAT OFFICIALS

19981214 Also Acts on Human Resources Management, Financing MONUA, Takes Up Budget Implications of Special Mission to Afghanistan

After a weekend of informal consultations, and one day before it is to complete its work for the main part of the Assembly's fifty-third session, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning approved, without a vote, draft texts on five agenda items.

A seven-part draft on programme planning would have the Assembly note with concern that resources were redeployed to fund activities that were not approved in the 1996-1997 programme budget, while a number of mandated programmes and activities in priority areas were postponed, curtailed or cancelled.

The Secretary-General would be requested to report -- with clear evidence -- on the impact of United Nations reform and the restructuring of the Secretariat on programme delivery during 1998-1999, among other terms of the draft. The Assembly would deeply regret the use of vacant posts for consultancies and short-term appointments and reaffirm that vacancies should not be used to achieve savings.

The draft was introduced by the representative of Uganda. The representatives of Austria (for the European Union), Poland, Indonesia (for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China) and Cuba spoke in explanation of position.

A five-part, 88-operative paragraph draft resolution on pattern of conferences would have the Assembly decide to include resources in the budget for the next biennium to provide interpretation services to all regional and other major groupings of Member States that so requested. Also, it would approve the revised calendar of conferences and meetings for 1999.

On publications, the Assembly would decide that when a report was submitted late to Conference Services, the reasons for the delay should be

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included in a footnote to the document. Also, the Secretariat should submit a report with detailed data on reasons for delays, and an analysis of costs incurred as a consequence.

Noting with appreciation that the two holidays of Id al-Fitr and Id al-Adha shall be observed as official holidays, it would request the Secretary-General to ensure strict implementation when preparing all future draft calendars, and decide that United Nations bodies should be invited to avoid holding meetings on 9 April 1999. Also, the Committee on Conferences would be requested to consider a proposal to avoid holding United Nations meetings on lunar New Year's Day.

The representative of Tunisia introduced the draft. Statements in explanation of position were made by the representatives of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia (speaking for the Group of 77 and China), Austria (for the Union), Poland and Syria.

Another draft resolution approved this morning would have the Assembly approve the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) on the emoluments, pensions and other conditions of service of members of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the Former Yugoslavia.

That text was introduced by the Committee's Vice-Chairman, the representative of Bahamas. The representative of the United States disassociated himself from the consensus, saying aspects of the proposed pensions were excessive.

Also this morning, the Committee approved a draft decision deferring consideration of its human resources management agenda item until the first part of its resumed fifty-third session. Until then, the Secretary-General would be asked to postpone his proposed amendments to the Staff Rules and maintain "current procedures" relating to candidates for internal vacancies.

Australia's representative -- also the Committee's Vice-Chairman -- introduced the text. Indonesia's representative made a technical correction. In explanation of position, the representatives of Austria (for the Union), Indonesia (for the Group of 77 and China), Japan, Poland and India spoke.

The Committee also approved a draft resolution on financing the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA), by which the Assembly would appropriate an additional $87.2 million gross ($84.6 million net) for the period from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999, taking into account some $45.9 million gross (about $44.3 million net) already appropriated for the period from 1 July to 31 October 1998.

The draft was introduced by the representative of Zimbabwe.

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When the Committee continued considering the budgetary implications of a draft resolution on the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan, it had before it written responses to questions posed by Pakistan's representative at an earlier meeting. That representative asked a series of additional questions on issues ranging from equipment cost estimates to the 1998 costs of the Special Rapporteur's report.

After the Chairman read out a draft decision on the matter, the Committee agreed to continue discussion in informal consultations.

The Fifth Committee is scheduled to meet again at 3 p.m. tomorrow, 15 December, to take action on all remaining items for the Assembly's main fifty-third session.

Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to take action on a number of draft texts on human resources management, the International Court of Justice, programme planning, and the United Nations pattern of conferences. It was also expected to consider reports on the programme budget implications of a draft resolution extending the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan. (For background on those two reports, see Press Release GA/AB/3279 of 10 December.)

The Committee had before it a draft decision on human resources management (document A/C.5/53/L.26) submitted by its Vice-Chairman following informal consultations. By the terms of this draft, the General Assembly would decide to defer consideration of its agenda item on human resources management until its resumed session, request the Secretary-General to maintain current procedures regarding internal candidates and postpone promulgation of proposed amendments to the staff rules pending that consideration.

Also before the Committee was a draft resolution, submitted by its Vice-Chairman, on conditions of service and compensation for members of the International Court of Justice and the Rwanda and Former Yugoslavia International Criminal Tribunals (document A/C.5/53/L.25). By the terms of that draft, the General Assembly would approve the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) on the emoluments, pensions and other conditions of service of members of the International Court, and also of the judges of the two Tribunals. It would decide to amend article 7, paragraph 2 of the Pension Scheme regulations for members of the Court to ensure that pensions are automatically revised at the same time and by the same percentage as salaries. It would approve the travel and subsistence regulations proposed by the Secretary-General for the two Tribunals, and the Secretary-General's proposals for their pension scheme regulations pending decisions of the current General Assembly session. It would also decide to review the emoluments, pensions and conditions of service of the members of the Court and the two Tribunals at its fifty-sixth session.

The Committee had before it a draft resolution in seven parts, submitted by its Chairman, on programme planning (document A/C.5/53/L.18). By terms of the draft, the General Assembly would reaffirm the role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) as the main General Assembly subsidiary organ of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council for planning programming and coordination.

The Committee had before it a five-part draft resolution with over 70 operative paragraphs, submitted by its Chairman, on pattern of conferences (document A/C.5/53/L.24). Regretting that 19 per cent of the requests for interpretation services made by regional and other major groupings of Member States were not met, and recognizing that meetings of Charter and mandated

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bodies must be serviced as a priority, it would decide to include all necessary resources in the budget for the next biennium to provide interpretation services upon request to those bodies, on an ad hoc basis.

By other terms, the Secretary-General would be requested to ensure that the use of remote interpretation and translation would not affect the quality of interpretation and translation and would not, in itself, lead to a reduction of language posts. Also, he would be requested to intensify his efforts aimed at filling vacancies in language services at all duty stations. Further, he would be requested, when filling those posts, irrespective of their proposed contractual status, to take into account their professional qualifications to maintain the highest possible quality in the interpretation and translation services, and to ensure equal treatment of language units in the Secretariat.

Stressing that the quality of interpretation in the six official languages should be improved, the Assembly, by further terms of the text, would decide that the standards that govern the staffing of the interpretation booths should continue to be observed. Also, it would welcome the new organizational structure of conference services.

On publications, the Assembly would decide that if a report was submitted late to conference services, the reasons for the delay should be included in a footnote to the document. Also, it would endorse the request of the Committee on Conferences to the Secretariat that a report containing detailed data on the reasons for delays in the issuance of documentation, and an analysis of costs incurred by document-processing services and other financial implications of the late submission and issuance of documents be presented to the Committee at its 1999 substantive session.

Regretting the difficulties faced by language service staff in relation to career development, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to submit a report to it in the fifty-third session analysing such problems, according to the draft. While noting with appreciation the Department of Public Information (DPI)'s launching of United Nations web sites in Russian, Arabic and Chinese this year, it would stress the need for continuous development, maintenance and enrichment of United Nations web sites, with a view to achieving equal treatment of the six official languages. The Secretary-General would be requested to submit proposals on that during the Assembly's fifty-fourth session.

Regarding the cost-accounting system for conference services, the Assembly would endorse the views of the ACABQ that the Secretary-General's report on the matter did not contain sufficient information to allow the Assembly to recommend the endorsement of a full-fledged development of a cost- accounting system. The Secretary-General would be requested to submit a report to the Assembly at the earliest opportunity.

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Action on Texts

The Committee first took up a draft resolution on financing the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) (document A/C.5/53/L.19), submitted by Lovemore Mazemo (Zimbabwe) on behalf of the Committee's Chairman, Movses Abelian (Armenia). The draft was approved without a vote.

The Committee then turned to the draft resolution on pattern of conferences (document A/C.5/53/L.24), submitted by Radhia Achouri (Tunisia) on behalf of the Chairman.

RADHIA ACHOURI (Tunisia) introduced the draft. She said that in informal consultations it had been decided that the draft could be approved by consensus.

The draft was approved without a vote.

The representative of Saudi Arabia said his delegation would like to receive, by the resumed session, a list of the names of United Nations staff with experience in cost accounting. The list should also include their academic background and prior achievements.

The representative of Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the resolution was important and should be implemented in the spirit of partnership. It could improve the work of the United Nations, the General Assembly and of its Main Committees. The draft represented the concerns of the Group, and was in the interest of all parties. In future, the Secretariat should address the chronic problem with timely submission of documentation to smooth the functioning and the decision-making processes of the Fifth Committee.

The representative of Austria, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the Union attached great importance to conference services. He regretted that it had taken several months of informal consultations to reach consensus on this resolution, since many of the concerns had already been mentioned in the Committee on Conferences' report.

The representative of Poland said Poland aligned itself with the remarks made by the representative of Austria.

The representative of Syria said that his delegation had proposed that the Secretariat translate the Procurement Manual into the six official languages. While that proposal had not met with agreement in the informal consultations on this item, the Manual should be translated. The issue was closely linked to the pattern of conferences agenda item. The translation was important so that all Member States would be able to benefit from United Nations procurement.

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The Committee then took up the draft resolution on Programme Planning (document A/C.5/53/L.18) submitted by Nester Odaga-Jalomayo (Uganda), on behalf of the Committee Chairman.

NESTER ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) introduced the draft. He said it was an omnibus resolution, in seven parts. It welcomed the report of the CPC and its efforts to improve its working methods and procedures. This was a sign of the good work done by that Committee and its Secretariat. The delivery of the draft was not easy, with complications at the last hour, but with maximum support and flexibility, the draft -- a delicate balance of all views -- had been produced by consensus. He recommended the draft be approved without a vote.

MOVSES ABELIAN (Armenia), Committee Chairman, congratulated the representative of Uganda for his work in coordinating informal consultations on the draft.

The Committee then approved the text without a vote.

The representative of Austria, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the Union had stressed that due attention must be paid to all phases of the budget cycle. There should be closer links between planning and budgeting to allow for better coordination. Evaluation was important in that regard. The Union regretted that the Secretary-General's reports did not provide Member States with sufficient information to allow analysis across areas. He hoped that the Secretary-General would follow the revised rules when setting out the programme budget for the 2000-2001 biennium. The Union believed that that would contribute to Member States' evaluation of individual projects on their own merit, but also to systematic evaluation of the main aims of the Organization.

The representative of Poland supported the statement made on behalf of the Union and expressed appreciation to the representative of Uganda for his significant contribution to the draft.

The representative of Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said the draft reflected a delicate balance of the interests and positions of all parties, and that that should be to the benefit of the Organization. The draft did not fully satisfy the Group, but in the spirit of partnership and constructive dialogue it had joined the consensus. He fully supported the position that priorities should continue to be established in the medium-term plan, and welcomed the fact that the budget outline priorities were in conformity with the medium-term plan. In spite of the difficulties, the draft was sound.

The Committee then took up the draft decision on human resources management (document A/C.5/53/L.26), submitted by the Committee's Vice- Chairman, MILES ARMITAGE (Australia). Introducing the draft, he said the

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agenda item had attracted a great deal of interest. There had been many expressions of disappointment that it could not be considered substantively in a session where human resources were supposed to be the focus of the Committee's attention. He recommended the approval of the decision without a vote.

The representative of Indonesia said he wished to draw the Committee's attention to a correction that should be made to the printed draft text, which indicated that it fell under agenda item 199, instead of 119.

The Committee then approved the draft decision without a vote.

The representative of Austria, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said she regretted that, in a year where personnel was the focus, the debate on the issue had not been begun until mid-November, largely because of lack of documentation. By then, there had been no time for a thorough debate on the issue, and,for that reason,the Union recommended deferral.

The representative of Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said that at the beginning of the fifty-third session the Group had said it would attach great importance to the item during the session. Therefore, it regretted that the Fifth Committee had to defer its consideration until the first part of its resumed session. The Group had reluctantly joined the consensus to defer the item because the Committee had not been able to start its consideration early enough. However, it wished to make a strong appeal to the Committee that it give ample time to finalizing its work on human resources management in the first part of its resumed session. He acknowledged that it was not an easy item. It had various complex elements and, therefore, needed sufficient time. The Group was ready to work with the coordinator of the informal consultations and engage in constructive dialogue with all negotiating partners to enable the drafting of a concrete consensus resolution in the resumed session.

The representative of Japan said that, with this draft decision, the Committee was recommending that all the related issues be deferred to the resumed session. Japan regretted that that had to be done, because the agenda item was supposed to have been the main item for consideration this year. The Committee should take the deferral seriously and make arrangements to ensure it was not repeated. The Secretariat should be encouraged to issue documents in a timely fashion.

Regarding the second paragraph of the draft decision on the issue of the judgement by the Administrative Tribunal, he said that because of the time factor, the Committee was not in a position to take a substantive position on that urgent matter. The purpose of the paragraph was to convey a clear message to the Secretary-General that until the Fifth Committee had considered the decision, the Tribunal's judgement should apply only to the case it had decided.

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He hoped that would save the Secretary-General from difficulties. On that understanding, Japan had joined the consensus. He looked forward to a final resolution of the issue at the resumed session next year.

The representative of Poland aligned Poland with the statement made by Austria.

The representative of India said the statements made by previous speakers were more or less all the same. India associated itself with them.

The Committee then turned to the draft resolution, submitted by its Vice-Chairman, Sharon Brennen-Haylock (Bahamas), on conditions of service and compensation for members of the International Court of Justice and judges of the two International Criminal Tribunals (document A/C.5/53/L.25).

SHARON BRENNEN-HAYLOCK (Bahamas), introducing the draft, said that consensus had taken some time because there had been concern as to how the draft would affect the conditions of the judges and members. However, a consensus had been reached. She summarized the changes that would arise from the draft and recommended its approval without a vote.

The representative of the United States said that his delegation appreciated the importance of the International Court of Justice and that it needed to attract the best possible jurists. Therefore, it had supported the proposed substantial salary increase, but it had envisaged a more modest increase in members' pensions. A pension of one half of salary after nine years of service -- amounting to $80,000 at present -- was excessive. He recalled that Under-Secretaries-General would, after nine years of service, only receive 15 per cent of their final average remuneration as pension, and would have contributed to that pension.

A pension of one third of salary -- $53,333 -- was generous, particularly as judges were not required to contribute, there was no minimum age requirement and provision was made for a surviving spouse's benefit, he said. The United States had proposed a pension of one third of salary after nine years, rising to two thirds if they served a second term, as originally proposed by the Secretariat. Because that proposal could not be accommodated, the United States disassociated itself from the consensus.

The draft resolution was then approved without a vote.

The representative of Cuba wished to explain her delegation's position on the draft resolution approved earlier in the meeting on programme planning. It had taken a great deal of time to arrive at consensus on that subject. Cuba had joined the consensus on the understanding that all considerations and observations of the CPC report about results-based budgeting, and its recommendations on the matter, would remain pending until the General Assembly

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took action on results-based budgeting. Results-based budgeting was an independent item on the programme of work of the Fifth Committee.

The Committee then took up the programme budget implications of the draft resolution on the United Nations Special Mission budget to Afghanistan (document A/53/L.66). It had before it the Secretariat's written replies to questions posed by the representative of Pakistan on 10 December.

The representative of Pakistan asked for written responses to additional questions. He noted that the ACABQ had recommended a 10 per cent reduction in the allocation proposed by the Secretary-General. What impact would that proposed reduction have on the number of posts and activities? he asked. The Secretary-General had proposed funds for hazard pay -- that proposal should be clarified and justified. Other areas that required justification included a proposed increase in the cost for military observers and the cost of civilian staff. There was need for clarification regarding procurement, and reasons for excess expenditures in 1998 in travel should be provided.

The Secretary-General had proposed resources for visits for "political groups", he noted. Who were those groups, how were they defined, had their activities been mandated by the Assembly, and what amount would be spent on such visits? he asked.

An annex to the Secretary-General's report indicated that the number of international staff would increase from 13 to 30, yet elsewhere in the document the total number of international staff for 1999 was 29, he said. That should be clarified. Also, it appeared that estimated costs for equipment were inaccurate. For example, the prices for data processing equipment were excessive. A desktop computer normally did not cost more than a laptop, and scanners did not cost $2,000. The Secretary-General should look into those and other anomalies and submit a corrigendum.

He noted that over $61,000 had been spent for the Special Rapporteur's report, yet he had visited neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan, due to the "security situation". What security situation had prevented the Special Rapporteur from visiting the special Mission's headquarters in Islamabad? he asked.

The CHAIRMAN suggested that the Committee discuss the matter in informal consultations, where the Secretariat could provide further information. He appealed to delegations to work in the spirit of Rule 153 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly.

[Rule 153 states, in part, that the Fifth Committee must indicate the effect on United Nations budget estimates before a draft resolution for which expenditures are expected is adopted by the Assembly.]

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The CHAIRMAN then read out the following draft decision for the Committee's consideration during its informal consultations:

"Should the General Assembly adopt A/53/L.66, an additional appropriation of some $5.9 million would be required under Section 3 of the programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999. An additional appropriation of $412,100 would also be required under Section 32, Staff assessment, offset by the same amount under Income Section 1, Income from staff assessment."

Other Matters

The CHAIRMAN reviewed the Committee's work programme for the next 24 hours, stating that it was scheduled to conclude the main part of its session tomorrow, 11 December. He asked that any delegation that planned to insist that an item be deferred to a resumed session do so from the outset, rather than feigning flexibility until the last hour. There was no need for surprises -- delegations had already been informed by their authorities which cases they would have to insist on deferring.

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