SECRETARY-GENERAL WOULD BE GIVEN ESTIMATE OF $2.545 BILLION TO PREPARE PROPOSED PROGRAMME BUDGET FOR 2000-2001, BY FIFTH COMMITTEE TEXT

18 December 1998

Press Release
GA/AB/3282

SECRETARY-GENERAL WOULD BE GIVEN ESTIMATE OF $2.545 BILLION TO PREPARE PROPOSED PROGRAMME BUDGET FOR 2000-2001, BY FIFTH COMMITTEE TEXT

19981218 As Committee Concludes Work for Main Part of Fifty-third Session, Texts Also Approved on 1998-1999 Programme Budget, International Tribunals

Member States would give the Secretary-General a preliminary estimate of $2.545 billion with which to prepare his proposed programme budget for 2000- 2001, according to a draft resolution on the budget outline approved this afternoon by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary). The United States and Japan disassociated themselves from consensus on the text. The meeting began Thursday morning and continued through Friday evening with suspensions to allow for consultations, mainly on the outline figure.

The Assembly would decide that the preliminary estimate should include some $86.2 million for special political missions expected for the biennium, by other provisions, and that priorities for the upcoming period should be: international peace and security; promoting economic growth and sustainable development; development of Africa; promoting human rights; humanitarian assistance coordination; promoting justice and international law; disarmament; and drug control and crime prevention.

For 1999, the Assembly would appropriate $1.261 billion and, of that amount, assess almost $1.218 billion on Member States, by one of several other texts approved without a vote as the Committee completed its work for the main part of the Assembly's fifty-third session. Also, the programme budget for 1998-1999 would be reduced from some $2.532 billion to about $2.527 billion, reflecting revised cost estimates and resolutions adopted by the General Assembly during the current session.

In other action, the Committee approved draft resolutions on financing the two International Criminal Tribunals for 1999. For the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Assembly would appropriate nearly $75.8 million gross and for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, a total of some $102.5 million gross would be appropriated.

* The 45th meeting of the Fifth Committee began on Thursday, 17 December, and resumed on Friday, 18 December.

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Under provisions in another text, the Assembly would note a balance of just over $15.3 million in the contingency fund. A draft resolution on the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) would have it approve an additional appropriation of $3.3 million and request the Secretary-General to take action to ensure that related activities are performed efficiently and economically and that adequate and qualified staff are assigned to operate IMIS in all user departments.

A text on results-based budgeting would have the Assembly decide that the next programme budget proposal, for 2000-2001, should be submitted in accordance with existing procedures, but that prototypes for the proposed technique also be submitted. Meanwhile, the General Assembly and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) should continue to receive detailed information on posts and non-post requirements.

The Committee decided to defer consideration of the Development Account until the first part of its resumed fifty-third session, and resume considering pilot projects at its resumed fifty-third session. It approved a text on guidelines for internal control standards and another that would have the Assembly approve the Committee's biennial programme of work. Also, the Committee approved a five-part draft resolution on the United Nations common system, covering a wide range of issues related to the conditions of service of United Nations staff. Further, it also recommended a candidate for the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Committee.

Statements were made by the representatives of Pakistan, Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco, New Zealand, Uganda, Japan, United States, Mexico, Bahamas, Austria (for the European Union), Bangladesh, Indonesia (for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), Poland, India, Algeria, Cuba, China, Kenya, Libya, Cameroon, Russian Federation and Syria.

Also, the Chairman of the ACABQ, C.S.M. Mselle, introduced that body's views on several matters.

Closing statements were made by the representative of Indonesia for the Group of 77 and China; the representative of Austria for the Western European and Other States Group; Pakistan's representative for the Asian States Group; the representative of the Russian Federation for the Eastern European States Group; the representative of Guatemala for the Latin American and Caribbean States Group; and the representatives of Egypt, the United States, ("for the group of groupless countries") and India.

The Committee's Chairman, Movses Abelian (Armenia), in concluding remarks, hoped that in upcoming sessions, the spirit of compromise would prevail.

Fifth Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to take action on all its outstanding matters for the main part of the fifty- third session.

(For background on reports by the Secretary-General and the ACABQ on the programme budget implications of draft resolution A/53/L.66, related to the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, see Press Release GA/AB/3279 of 10 December.)

Appointments to Fill Vacancies

The Committee had before it a note from the Secretary-General requesting inclusion of an additional sub-item on the General Assembly's agenda on appointment of a member of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee (document A/53/235). The Secretary-General says that Tadanori Inomata (Japan) resigned from the Committee and that, accordingly, the Assembly will be required to appoint someone to complete his term, which expires on 31 December 2000.

A letter from the General Assembly President (document A/C.5/53/1/Add.1) advises that the additional sub-item has been allocated to the Fifth Committee.

In a related note (document A/C.5/53/46), the Secretary-General advises that the Government of Japan has nominated Kenshiro Akimoto (Japan) to fill the vacancy. Attached to the note is the candidate's curriculum vitae.

United Nations Common System

The Committee had before it draft resolution on the United Nations common system (document A/C.5/53/L.20) divided into five major parts and subdivided into specific sections.

Part I of the draft relates to the conditions of service of professional and higher level staff.

By the terms of the section on the Noblemaire Principle and its applications, the General Assembly would reaffirm the continued application of the Noblemaire Principle [by which the level of the salaries for United Nations common system staff at the Professional and higher levels are established]. It would take note of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) decision to suspend total compensation comparisons until 2001 and request the Commission to undertake a study to identify the highest paid national civil service in 2001, in a manner consistent with the United States/United Nations total compensation comparison.

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Under the section on evolution of the margin, the General Assembly would take note of the ICSC's intention to explore possible solutions to imbalances in the United Nations/United States net remuneration ratios at individual grade levels, and that the margin between net remuneration of United Nations Professional staff and equivalent United States staff is 114.8. [The margin is the average percentage difference between remuneration of United Nations staff from the P-1 to the D-2 levels and their United States federal civil service equivalents.]

Under its section on the base/floor salary scale, the draft would have the General Assembly approve a revised base scale annexed to the draft and also the consequential amendment to the Staff Regulations, also annexed to the draft.

Under the draft's section on treatment of expatriation, the General Assembly would take note of the ICSC's consideration contained in paragraphs 104 to 117 of its report [in which the ICSC, in response to a General Assembly request, discussed consequences of partial phasing out of expatriate elements of the margin for staff with long service at one duty station] and request it to develop this study and report to the fifty-fourth General Assembly session.

Under the section on the common scale of staff assessments, the General Assembly would take note of the ICSC conclusion that the current scale of staff assessment should continue and be reviewed in 2000, and of its conclusion on the impact of staff assessment and local taxes on the levels of pensionable remuneration of General Service and related categories of staff. It would endorse the ICSC view that the local practice approach to determining pensionable remuneration of General Service staff should not be further pursued.

Under dependency allowances, the Assembly would approve an increase of 14.6 per cent in children's allowance -- including for disabled children -- and in the secondary children's allowance, effective 1 January 1992. It would also take note that dependency allowances should be reduced by the amount of any direct payment received from a government in respect of dependents. Further, it would request the ICSC to examine the methodology, rationale and scope of allowances in the year 2000.

By the section on post adjustment matters, the Assembly would take note of ICSC conclusions regarding the operation of the post adjustment system at the base, and request it to continue to explore the feasibility of using outside data sources for the next place to place surveys. It would take note of the ICSC conclusions in paragraphs 156 and 157 of its report on the Geneva post adjustment, and further note that, whilse establishing a single post adjustment for Geneva is technically feasible, the legal implications of such an approach are beyond the ICSC's mandate.

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The second part of the draft relates to conditions of service applicable to both Professional and General Service staff.

Under its section on the education grant, the Assembly would approve increases in maximum reimbursement levels in seven specific currency areas, as well as other adjustments contained in paragraph 190 of the ICSC report. It would note the ICSC's decision to review the methodology in 2001.

Under its section on recognition of language knowledge, the Assembly would, recalling its request that the ICSC review the common system language incentive scheme, note that a number of essential elements remained to be resolved including the rationale for its recommending changes, the degree to which such changes will continue to serve as an incentive for multilingualism and the basis for determining incentive amounts and transitional measures. The Assembly would also request the ICSC to submit to the assembly's fifty- fourth session a comprehensive report covering all the elements raised.

Under the section on hazard pay, the section on standards of travel and per diem, and the section on Mission Subsistence Allowance, the draft would have the Assembly take note of the ICSC's decisions.

Part III of the draft resolution relates to the consultative process and working arrangements of the ICSC. By this part, the Assembly would emphasize that responsibility for the ICSC's decisions rests solely with its members, and welcome the progress in promoting a spirit of constructive cooperation and flexibility towards improving working relations with the staff bodies. The Assembly would take note of the Committee's changes to its rules of procedure and other procedural changes, and that these changes could enable all parties to ensure their views are reflected in all phases of the consideration of issues. It would request the ICSC to monitor the implementation of the revised rules and report to the General Assembly's fifty-seventh session.

Part IV of the draft would have the Assembly decide to revert to the following issues, among others, related to the ICSC: its working methods, including the respective roles of the Commission and its secretariat, the selection and appointment of members of the Commission and the role of the Commision in the review process in the context of its consideration of the Secretary-General's recommendation for the review of the Commission at the resumed fifty-third session.

Part V of the draft resolution concerns the framework for human resources management. Under this part, the Assembly would welcome the ICSC initiative to examine a framework for human resources management. It would invite the ICSC, as part of the review, to examine reform initiatives both inside and outside the common system, the facilitation of inter-agency mobility and the introduction of specialist pay. The ICSC would be urged to speedily address the Assembly's request for a study of human resources management and report thereon to the fifty-fourth Assembly session.

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Under part VI of the draft, on gender balance in the United Nations system, the Assembly would note the ICSC's work to assist organizations to achieve gender balance, and endorse its request to all organizations under paragraph 291 of its report [where it asked common system organizations to bring the Beijing Platform for Action to their managers' attention, to evaluate their recruitment pools to ensure qualified women were being presented by Member States, and to engage in human resources planning]. It would take note that the ICSC would revert to this issue in 2001.

Part VII of the draft is on the Report of the Board of Auditors. By its terms, the Assembly would request the Board to conduct audits of the ICSC secretariat on a periodic basis, in accordance with financial regulation 12.5 of the United Nations Financial Regulations and Rules and the ICSC's statute.

The Committee also had before it a draft resolution on financing the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (document A/C.5/53/L.22). By the terms of this draft, the General Assembly would decide to revise the level of appropriation for financing the Tribunal to a total of some $68.3 million gross (about $61.9 million net) for the period 1 January to 31 December 1998. It would also decide to appropriate some 103.4 million gross (about $94.1 million net) for the period 1 January to 31 December 1999, to include provisions for revised salaries and other conditions for the Tribunal's members.

It would further decide that the 1999 financing for the Tribunal will take into account some $3.5 million in unencumbered balance for 1997, the reduction of $515,300 from the 1998 initial appropriation, and estimated income of $5,200 set off against the aggregated appropriation. It would decide to apportion some $49.7 million gross in accordance with the 1999 regular budget scale of assessments, and some $49.7 million gross in accordance with the 1999 scale of assessments for peacekeeping. It would welcome contributions already made to the Voluntary Fund to support the Tribunal's work, and invite future contributions.

By other terms, the Assembly would take note of the observations and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) report, and express concern on the late submission of the budget proposal for 1999 as well as on the format of the presentation. It would request the Secretary-General to improve the presentation of future budget proposals and also to conduct, in full cooperation with the Presidents of the Tribunals, a review, without prejudice to the provisions of the Tribunal's statutes and their independent character, and to report thereon to the relevant United Nations organs.

The Assembly would express concern at high vacancy rates at the Tribunal, request all measure be taken to address them and request the Secretary-General to include information on monthly post incumbency in future budget proposals. It would reaffirm that gratis personnel should be phased

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out in accordance with its relevant resolutions, emphasize that delegation of authority for human resources management should be in accord with the Staff Rules and Regulations and emphasize that recruitment should be in accordance with Article 101.3 of the Charter. [Article 101.3 states that paramount consideration in employment shall be securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, and that due regard should be given to recruiting staff on as wide a geographic basis as possible.]

It would note with concern that a number of Tribunal workload indicators are inaccurate, inflated and unjustifiable, request the Secretary-General to ensure these indicators are monitored and checked for accuracy and consistency, and also request him to include a section in future budget proposals on the implementation of oversight body recommendations. The Assembly would further request that he maintain an accounting inventory of furniture and equipment acquired since the Tribunal's establishment, and that he provide information on items for which replacement or additional proposals are made, in the format used in peacekeeping budget proposals, in the next financing report.

By other terms in the draft, the Assembly would request the Secretary- General to take all necessary actions to ensure the Tribunal is administered efficiently and with maximum economy, but also stress the need to provide it with resources adequate to fulfil its mandate and respond effectively to new challenges. It would approve the budgetary recommendations of the ACABQ, and note that the General Assembly has approved a revised salary and revised conditions of service for members of the Tribunal, resulting in additional requirements of $219,700 net for 1999.

By the terms of a draft resolution on financing the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (document A/C.5/53/L.23), the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to conduct the review of the two Tribunals that the ACABQ had recommended. That should be done with a view to evaluating their operation and functioning, in full cooperation with the Presidents of the Tribunals and without prejudice to the Tribunals' Statutes or their independent characters.

For financing the Tribunal in 1999, the Assembly would decide to appropriate some $75.3 million gross (about $68.5 million net), which would include provision for revised conditions of service for Tribunal members, according to the text. It would set off against that amount reductions from initial 1998 appropriations and an unencumbered balance as at 31 December 1997. The Assembly would thus decide to assess some $64.2 million for 1999 -- half according to the scale of assessments used for the 1999 regular budget, and half according to the scale used for peacekeeping operations for 1999.

By other terms, the Assembly would express concern about high vacancy rates in both Professional and General Service categories, and request the

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Secretary-General to take all necessary measures to address those. Noting with concern that gratis personnel had been accepted in 1998, it would reaffirm that such staff shall be phased out by the end of 1998.

Review of Efficiency

By a draft decision on guidelines for internal control standards (document A/C.5/53/L.30), the Assembly would decide to take note of the Secretary-General's report on these guidelines. It would endorse the related observations of the ACABQ, and request the Secretary-General to report to it at its fifty-fourth session, via the Board of Auditors and the ACABQ, taking into account the Guidelines for Internal Control Standards approved by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions as appropriate.

Also before the Committee was a draft resolution on results-based budgeting (document A/C.5/53/L.35), by which the Assembly would decide that the proposed programme budget for 2000-2001 should be prepared and submitted according to existing budgetary procedures and processes. The Secretary- General would be requested to submit prototype fascicles for that budget.

By other provisions, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to submit to it, through the ACABQ, for consideration at its fifty-fourth session, a report on the proposal for results-based budgeting. The report should include, among other things, the following elements: justification for the change, a comparison of the two budgetary procedures, and identification of the weakness in the present procedure and in the Administration that hindered their implementation, as well as identification of measures needed to improve the current budgetary procedure. The Joint Inspection Unit would be requested to prepare a study by August 1999 of the experience of United Nations system bodies that are using a results-based budgeting approach.

Emphasizing that Member States should continue to be fully involved in the budgetary process, the Assembly would decide that detailed information on posts and non-post requirements should continue to be provided to it and to the ACABQ, by other terms. Recognizing the international, multilateral character of the Organization and emphasizing that quantitative anticipated results should not be the sole justification for resource requirements, the Assembly would stress Member States' role in analysing resource allocation to all sections of the budget.

1998-1999 Programme Budget

By a draft decision on the Development Account (document A/C.5/53/L.34), the General Assembly would defer consideration of the Development Account until the first part of its resumed fifty-third session.

Another draft decision on review of efficiency (document A/C.5/53/L.31) would have the Assembly decide to resume considering the question of the pilot

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projects on budgetary practices and procedures at its resumed fifty-third session, and request that the Secretary-General then submit to it the additional information requested by the ACABQ.

A draft resolution on the first performance report on the programme budget for 1998-1999 (document A/C.5/53/L.36) would have the Assembly approve a net decrease of $48.2 million in appropriations for 1998-1999 and a net decrease of some $4.6 million in income estimates in the same period, to be apportioned among expenditures and income sections as indicated in the Secretary-General's report. It would reiterate the need for the Secretary- General to ensure that resources are utilized strictly for the purposes approved by the Assembly.

Also by the draft, the Assembly would reaffirm that it alone has the authority to establish and abolish posts in the regular budget, and request the Secretary-General to immediately intensify recruitment efforts to reduce the number of vacancies. It would decide that the vacancy rate for posts in Professional and higher categories should not be more than 5 per cent at the end of the current biennium, and that the Secretary-General should provide an explanation when those rates are higher. It would regret the tendency towards excessive use of consultants and ask that the Secretary-General, in presenting budget performance reports, separately reflect the impact of average vacancy rates in salaries and common staff costs for each budget section.

By other provisions, the Secretary-General would be requested to enhance the Office of the President of the General Assembly, and the Assembly would decide that its President shall have full authority to use funds provided in the budget for that Office for accomplishing official responsibilities.

The General Assembly would take note of the procedures to be followed in the proposed programme budget regarding activities of country special rapporteurs whose mandates had expired in 1997 and that there were no individual mandates included in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999. It would reaffirm that, in accordance with resolution 52/220, no funds directly related to those non-mandated activities could be committed pending consideration of the report on the relationship between the treatment of perennial activities and the use of the contingency fund. It would regret that the required report was not considered before 1998 activities related to country special rapporteurs were implemented.

In his report on recosting of outstanding statements of programme budget implications and revised estimates (document A/C.5/53/49), the Secretary- General says that items which had not been included in the first performance report had now been recosted, changing overall requirements for sections of the programme budget. Those changes are as follows:

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Section Difference in thousands

1A Overall policy-making, direction $ 5.5 and coordination 3. Peacekeeping operations and special missions 182.9 22. Human Rights 2.1 27. Administrative services 10.9 32. Staff assessment 15.8

The Fifth Committee may wish to note the recosting and reflect the related adjustments in the revised appropriation for the biennium 1998-1999 to be recommended to the General Assembly, the report states.

Also before the Committee was the draft report of the Fifth Committee (document A/C.5/53/L.27), containing draft texts by which the 1998-1999 programme budget would be decreased by a little over $5.6 million, to reflect the Secretary-General's revised estimates and the programme budget implications of resolutions adopted by the Assembly on the recommendation of other of its Committees. Accordingly, the budget level that the Assembly approved in 1997 for the current biennium, of some $2.532 billion, would be adjusted to just under $2.527 billion. By another text in the same report, the Assembly would appropriate some $1.261 billion for 1999. Of that amount, almost $1.218 billion would be assessed on Member States.

By another text in the draft report, the Assembly would note a balance of just over $15.3 million in the contingency fund.

A draft resolution in the report pertaining to the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) (document A/C.5/53/L.32) would have the Assembly approve an additional appropriation of $3.3 million, while also requesting that the Secretary-General take action to ensure that related activities are performed efficiently and economically and that adequate and qualified staff are assigned to implement and operate IMIS in all user departments.

Under other terms, the Assembly would defer consideration of the Secretary-General's tenth progress report, the report of the independent experts and the related report of the ACABQ to its resumed fifty-third session, and request the Secretary-General to submit an addendum to his report, taking into consideration the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services.

The document also contains a series of drafts by which the Assembly would:

-- approve a subvention of $213,000 for the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research for 1999;

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-- decide to defer consideration of reports on the relationship between the treatment of perennial activities in the programme budget and the use of the contingency fund;

-- take note of the Secretary-General's report on a cost-benefit analysis on conference facilities at the Palais Wilson in Geneva;

-- take note of his report on net budgeting and endorse the observations of the ACABQ;

-- take note of the report on financial arrangements for the International Court of Justice's dining room, understanding that the United Nations does not subsidize that operation;

-- take note of the Secretary-General's report on the consolidation of technical secretariat servicing of intergovernmental bodies, and revert to the matter as appropriate; and

-- take note of the Secretary-General's report on conference facilities at Addis Ababa and Bangkok and endorse the ACABQ's recommendations in paragraph 5 of its report.

Review of Efficiency

A draft decision on the Fifth Committee's biennial programme of work (document A/C.5/53/L.29) would have the Assembly approve that programme for the biennium 1999-2000.

According to an annex to the text, the Committee's agenda for 1999 would contain the following items: review of efficiency; programme budget for 1998-1999; proposed programme budget for 2000-2001; improving the financial situation of the United Nations; Joint Inspection Unit; pattern of conferences; scale of assessments for apportioning the Organization's expenses among Member States; common system; activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services; financing United Nations peacekeeping operations; administrative and budgetary aspects of peacekeeping operations; report of the Economic and Social Council; and appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments.

The 16 items to be taken up in 2000 are: financial reports and reports of the Board of Auditors; review of efficiency; programme budget for 2000-2001; programme planning; improving the United Nations financial situation; administrative and budgetary coordination of the United Nations with the specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency; pattern of conferences; scale of assessments; human resources management; common system; pension system; activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services; financing United Nations peacekeeping operations; administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of United Nations peacekeeping operations;

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report of the Economic and Social Council; and appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments.

A draft decision on review of efficiency (document A/C.5/53/L.28) would have the General Assembly decide that the Fifth Committee should continue considering 35 agenda items and reports. Those are: financial reports and reports of the Board of Auditors; review of efficiency; programme budget for 1998-1999; improving the United Nations financial situation; pattern of conferences; scale of assessments; human resources management; financing of the International Tribunals for The former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda; administrative and budgetary aspects of peacekeeping operations; the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services; review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 48/218B [by which the Oversight Office was established]; and the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU).

Also, the Committee would continue considering the financing and liquidation costs of United Nations peacekeeping operations. These are: United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East; activities arising from Security Council resolution 687 (1991); the United Nations Angola Verification Mission and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola; the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara; the United Nations Operation in Somalia; the United Nations Operation in Mozambique; the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic; the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone; the United Nations Mission in Liberia; and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda.

It would also consider the financing of: the United Nations Mission in Haiti, the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti, the United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti and the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti; the Military Observer Group of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala; the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia; the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan; the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia; the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus; the United Nations Protection Force, the United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia, the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force and the United Nations Peace Force headquarters; the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium; and the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force.

Statements

NESTOR ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) said that it was more important that the Committee spend time on the remaining unresolved issue this morning, rather than on those already resolved. He proposed that the formal meeting be adjourned so that the Committee could focus on the unresolved item and then adopt everything in one formal meeting, rather than address some matters now and the remainder later.

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SHARON BRENNEN-HAYLOCK (Bahamas) recalled that the Committee, when it had finished the final round of informal consultations yesterday evening, had decided that a small group representative of regional groups and those Member States not part of regional groups would meet to discuss the unresolved item. This morning the small group was to meet again to provide its members with the responses to its consultations from the larger groups. The formal meeting could continue while this small group met. A number of delegations were not really involved in negotiations on the unresolved issue, and they could complete the Committee's work on items where consensus already existed.

Mr. ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) said that the informal group had been formed to facilitate discussion. Those not taking part in it might still have a great interest in the unresolved item. Uganda had such interest. He proposed again that the meeting be adjourned pending resolution of the unresolved item.

WEN CHIN POWLES (New Zealand) said that she stood ready to continue the formal meeting. It was a simple way to use time effectively, given the short time still available for the Committee's activities.

HUMAYUN KABIR (Bangladesh) said he would be very reluctant for the Committee to have formal and informal consultations at the same time.

Mrs. BRENNEN-HAYLOCK (Bahamas) said she would join the consensus on whatever the Committee decided, but that the simultaneous meeting would involve the eight people who had met last night, representing regional groups and those unrepresented in regional groups. They would simply be reporting what had arisen from the larger groups' internal discussions. After that, those representatives would go back to their larger groups to report.

ERLING SKJONSBERG (Norway) supported the statements made by the representatives of the Bahamas and New Zealand.

MOVSES ABELIAN (Armenia), Committee Chairman, pointed out that Rule 116 of the General Assembly Rules of Procedures only allowed for two speakers in favour and two against a motion to adjourn a debate, and then the Committee must decide.

Mr. ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) thanked the Chairman for drawing the Committee's attention to the relevant Rule of Procedure. He had not anticipated that his proposal would go to a vote. His idea was that it would just be the best use of time. One very important item had not yet been agreed upon. It would be more useful to engage in consultations to resolve that pending issue, rather than spend time on what had already been agreed to.

The CHAIRMAN said each Member State had an opinion and was free to express it. However, the Committee had a responsibility to follow the General Assembly Rules of Procedure.

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AHMED DARWISH (Egypt) said the Committee should not spend time discussing the proposed adjournment, as there were important matters pending that still needed to be resolved. He was flexible, but if a formal meeting would expedite the issuance of documents for the meeting of the General Assembly, he would support its continuation.

The CHAIRMAN drew the Committee's attention to the items for consideration by the Committee, as listed in the Journal. He proposed that the formal meeting continue until the first six matters listed had been dealt

with. The other listed items would be left until the Committee could take action on all remaining items.

Mr. ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) said it was not his intention to halt the work of the Committee. His proposal did not mean he had a preference for a particular item. He asked what the hurry was to adopt those matters which were already agreed upon. He would not subscribe to selecting items for consideration. Rather he wanted to go to informal consultations to approve all remaining matters in one go.

The CHAIRMAN explained that taking some action would facilitate the work of the General Assembly, which had indicated it would finish this part of its fifty-third session today. His proposal was only aimed at facilitating the work of the Committee.

JAN JAREMCZUK (Poland) said he supported the Chairman's proposal.

NARARETH INCERA (Costa Rica) said she supported the proposal from the representative of Uganda.

Mr. DARWISH (Egypt) appealed to his colleague from Uganda to avoid a vote on the issue. That was not necessary and more important issues were decided in the Committee by consensus. He hoped that Uganda's representative would agree to have the formal meeting to facilitate the work of the Committee.

ADAM ADAWA (Kenya) asked who had suggested a vote on the proposals. The representative of Uganda had only asked that the remaining issue before the Committee be resolved, which could be done in 40 minutes. He asked why things were being proposed that were against the wishes of the majority of the Committee.

The CHAIRMAN explained that he had not called for a vote. Rather a decision was required by Rule 116 of the Rules of Procedure. He proposed the meeting be suspended for 10 minutes to discuss what action the Committee would take.

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Upon the meeting's resumption, the CHAIRMAN announced that late last night, Prayono Atiyanto (Indonesia) had become the father of a baby girl.

PRAYONO ATIYANTO (Indonesia) said that after a long and difficult delivery, his daughter had been born healthy. He and his wife greatly appreciated the support Committee members had offered. He hoped his daughter would grow to be healthy and contribute to the international community. He hoped she would be as good as the representative of Austria, as tough as the representative of Cuba, and as patient as the representative of New Zealand. He hoped Committee members would be her extended family.

NICK THORNE (United Kingdom) said he was sure the new baby would be a formidable force in twenty years' time. He then suggested, based on the informal discussion during the suspension, that the meeting be suspended for one hour.

The meeting was suspended.

Upon resumption of the meeting, the CHAIRMAN, said that during the suspension, informal consultations had continued. He invited the coordinator, Mrs. Brennen-Haylock (Bahamas), to advise the Committee on the status of those consultations.

Mrs. BRENNEN-HAYLOCK (Bahamas) said that, at this stage, she had nothing concrete to report except that the representative group would need more time to continue discussions so as to have something to report shortly on the proposed draft resolution on the budget outline. The atmosphere in the representative group discussions was productive and, if it so continued, she would have something positive to report shortly.

Mr. ATIYANTO (Indonesia), speaking for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, expressed his appreciation to the coordinator of the informal consultations. As she had mentioned, the atmosphere in the small informal consultative group was good but the consultations needed to continue. It was also critical to understand that the process could not continue indefinitely. As all were aware, time was of the essence. The Group fully understood the need to proceed on the issue. The Committee also needed to be pragmatic and realistic. He did not hesitate to say that the Group possessed the full spirit of consensus, but pragmatism was also required. At a certain point consultations needed to stop, but he did not know how they would stop. No pressure should be put on any Member State or group of Member States. This must be a collective effort, if the spirit of consensus was to be pursued. However, there was a limit.

MUHAMMAD YUSUF MSHAMBA (United Republic of Tanzania) said he echoed the sentiments of frustration expressed by the chairman of the Group of 77 and China. His statement had been pertinent and the Committee should take it into consideration. Discussions could not continue without any specific time

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frame. The Committee's work had to be finished today, and the General Assembly had to finish its work today.

He asked the Secretariat what would happen if the Committee could not reach agreement on the budget outline. The Secretary-General could perhaps go ahead and prepare a budget anyway. He asked the Secretariat to enlighten the Committee on the consequences of no draft recommendation to the General Assembly on the budget outline.

THOMAS SCHLESINGER (Austria) said that prior to resolution 41/213, proposed programme budgets had been prepared without a budget outline. The introduction of the outline had ended a crisis which had been perceived as a real threat to the Organization. The Organization's "wise persons" had consulted on the matter for a year and eventually come up with the idea of the outline. The Assembly had then adopted that concept via resolution 41/213. If the Committee failed to come up with a budget outline, it would mark a dramatic departure from that resolution. The Committee should not contemplate that move. The outline was too important; failure to approve it would put the functioning of the United Nations at risk.

ZHANG WANHAI (China) said the outline was necessary. He hoped all Member States would adhere to the provisions of resolution 41/213. The Committee's decision should be in accordance with that text. Time was of the essence; a decision should be taken today.

Mr. DARWISH (Egypt) said he was pleased to hear from the coordinator that progress was being made on the item. The Committee should strive to achieve a budget outline, based on the broadest possible agreement, and in line with the provisions of resolution 41/213.

JEAN-PIERRE HALBWACHS, United Nations Controller, said he hoped the Assembly would guide the Secretary-General through a budget outline. He then explained that according to financial resolution 3.4, if the outline was not adopted, the Secretary-General would submit his proposed programme budget for the following period, but there would be no contingency fund.

Mr. ATIYANTO (Indonesia) asked to hear the views of the Chairman of the ACABQ.

C.S.M. MSELLE, ACABQ Chairman, said that if the Committee failed to approve an outline, the status of resolution 41/213 would be in jeopardy. The Secretary-General, as Chief Administrative Officer, was required to propose a budget and present it to the General Assembly. That proposed budget would be based on the Secretary-General's own judgement as to what resources were required to implement the mandates entrusted to him by the General Assembly. The Secretary-General would submit a budget proposal at a level he determined, and the General Assembly would then decide whether the level proposed was more or less what should be accepted. Failing to adopt an outline would mean

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reverting to the situation prior to 1986, and it was not appropriate at the present time to contemplate the consequences of such a move.

The CHAIRMAN suggested that the meeting be suspended to allow "informal informal" consultations to continue. While he was unable to propose a time for the meeting to resume, he hoped it would be soon. He suggested that at 3 p.m. the entire Committee return to informal consultations.

Mr. ATIYANTO (Indonesia), for the Group of 77 and China, asked about the timing of the "informal informal" consultations. The Group also needed time for consultations. The CHAIRMAN asked the coordinator of the informal consultations to make a statement about the continuation of informal consultations.

Mrs. BRENNEN-HAYLOCK (Bahamas) suggested that the small informal group adjourn to the back of the room upon suspension of the meeting. It should be finished by 1:45 p.m., so that the Chairman of the Group of 77 and other representatives could report back to their groups.

The CHAIRMAN proposed that the small group informal consultations continue at the suspension of the meeting, and that the Committee would meet informally at 3 p.m.

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The meeting resumed the following day, Friday, 18 December, at 3 p.m.

Appointments to Fill Vacancies

MOVSES ABELIAN (Armenia), Committee Chairman, advised the Committee of the nomination of Kenshiro Akimoto (Japan) to fill the unexpired portion of the term of office of Tadanori Inomata (Japan) on the United Nations Staff Pension Fund.

The Committee decided by acclamation to recommend Mr. Akimoto to the General Assembly for the position.

Action on Texts

The Committee turned its attention to the programme budget implications of resolution A/53/L.66, related to the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security.

The representative of Pakistan thanked the Secretariat for forwarding replies to many of his questions. He was still of the view that some of the answers were not satisfactory. There was hardly any justification for the extensive budget increases. He had also asked for the issuance of a corrigendum on errors and omissions, and he hoped it would be issued soon. He would not, however, stand in the way of consensus.

The CHAIRMAN then proposed that the Committee recommend the following draft decision to the General Assembly:

"Should the General Assembly adopt draft resolution A/53/L.66, an additional appropriation of $5,896,200 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 section 1, Income from staff assessment."

The Committee approved that draft without a vote.

The Committee then turned to a draft resolution on the common system, submitted by its Vice-Chairman, MANLAN AHOUNOU (Côte d'Ivoire). He said it would not be intellectually honest if he failed to report the considerable input of the Secretariat and the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), without which it would not have been born.

The representative of Morocco said that there had been agreement in informal consultations that introduction of the draft would include a statement which he had not heard.

The Committee suspended to allow its to consult with the Vice-Chairman.

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Upon the meeting's resumption, the CHAIRMAN said the Committee would return to the item later in the meeting.

The Committee then considered the draft resolution on financing the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (document A/C.5/53/L.22).

WEN CHIN POWLES (New Zealand) introduced the text. She said the agreement reached on the level of funding for 1999 should not be considered a precedent for future action on funding the Tribunals and peacekeeping operations.

Without a vote, the Committee approved that draft.

It next turned to the draft resolution on financing the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (document A/C.5/52/L.23).

Ms. POWLES (New Zealand) introduced that text and said that her earlier comments related to the Rwanda Tribunal as well.

The representative of Uganda drew attention to a technical error in the text.

The Committee then approved the draft without a vote.

The representative of Japan said that the work of both Tribunals was of great importance, but those bodies should not prepare and use budgets as they liked. Many problems had been identified, such as high vacancy rates and large unencumbered balances, indicating that there was no accountability in the budgetary process. In light of such "easy-going" tendencies, something should be done on the two Tribunals' management. Future budget proposals should reflect greater accountability.

The representative of the United States said the United States had joined consensus because of the importance of the Tribunal's work, but elements of the draft did not satisfactorily address its concerns, for example the paragraph that took note with appreciation of the work of the Tribunal. Much still needed to be done to address the issues raised by the Office of Internal Oversight Services and other management concerns. The Tribunal management must address itself to improvement. She hoped the review recommended in the draft would contribute to improvements.

She said that nothing in the resolution should be seen as an endorsement of the idea that the two Tribunals should have separate Prosecutors. The matter was in the purview of the Security Council. The United States was also not comfortable with the transfer of seven Hague-based staff from the establishment of the Rwanda Tribunal to the establishment of the Former

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Yugoslavia Tribunal. That should not be viewed as in any way reducing the Prosecutor's role in managing the Rwanda Tribunal.

The Committee then took up the draft resolution on guidelines for internal control standards (document A/C.5/53/L.30), submitted by its Chairman.

The Committee approved the draft without a vote.

It then took up the draft on results-based budgeting (document A/C.5/53/L.35), also submitted by its Chairman.

The Committee also approved that draft without a vote.

The representative of the United States, speaking in explanation of position, said that the resolution was not all she had hoped for. She noted that the Secretary-General would be producing results-based prototypes for the next budget and that the ACABQ would comment on them. The United States had long supported results-based budgeting and believed that it was already possible within the existing rules. The Secretary-General should go ahead and establish a mechanism that was more focused on results. The United States looked forward to the continued evolution of the matter.

The representative of Mexico said he was looking forward with interest to the prototypes -- he would have more to say about results-based budgeting when they were available.

The representative of New Zealand said she would be making a statement, also on behalf of Canada and Australia, this evening at the General Assembly plenary.

The representative of Pakistan said he looked forward to the requested Secretary-General's reports, and agreed that the ACABQ had been invited to comment on the prototypes the draft requested. He also looked forward to a comprehensive and analytical report from the ACABQ which would facilitate consideration of the issue. He then proposed a minor amendment to the draft.

The Committee approved the amendment.

The Committee then turned to the draft decision on the impact of the implementation of pilot projects on budgetary practices and procedures (document A/C.5/53/L.31), submitted by its Vice Chairman, SHARON BRENNEN- HAYLOCK (Bahamas), which it approved without a vote.

The Committee then considered a draft resolution on the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) (document A/C.5/53/L.32), also submitted by Mrs. BRENNEN-HAYLOCK (Bahamas), and also approved without a vote.

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The representative of Austria, speaking in explanation of position on behalf of the European Union, said that the Union strongly believed that IMIS was important. Having studied the outcome of the independent expert review, the Union shared the experts' opinion that the level of investment was reasonable. The successful implementation of IMIS would depend on the provision of the necessary funding, particularly for implementation in field offices. Not to provide such funding would be unwise, and would risk undermining the considerable investment already made.

The Union had joined the consensus, but it believed that the Committee should revert to the issue as a matter of priority.

The meeting was then suspended for 10 minutes.

When the meeting resumed, the Committee reverted to consideration of the draft resolution on the United Nations common system postponed earlier in the meeting.

Mr. AHOUNOU (Côte d'Ivoire), Committee Vice-Chairman, spoke on the draft. He said it was the understanding of the Committee that all activities of the ICSC related to human resources management should be programmed in such a manner that the Commission would derive the maximum benefit from such activities.

The Committee then approved the draft resolution without a vote.

The Committee next turned to a draft resolution on the Development Account (document A/C.5/53/L.34), submitted on behalf of the Chairman by HUMAYUN KABIR (Bangladesh), who said that informal consultations had been held, but Member States needed more time to discuss the issue, so they had chosen to recommend deferral.

The Committee approved the draft without a vote.

The representative of Austria, speaking in explanation of position for the European Union, said the Union had supported the concept of the Development Account from the outset and was prepared to see savings derived from efficiency gains used for development activities. The Union did not consider that a budget reduction exercise. It should not affect the proper implementation of mandated activities, and should be sustainable over time. He endorsed the Secretary-General's most recent proposals approved by the ACABQ.

The Union found it a great pity that other delegations, particulary those from developing countries, who would benefit from the Development Account, could not agree on the Secretary-General's proposal, he said. It was unfortunate that the Committee had to resort to the simply procedural draft resolution just adopted, which postponed any substantive decision.

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He said he hoped that future discussions would be more fruitful. Nothing in that procedural draft resolution undermined the Secretary-General's long-standing responsibility to identify and implement efficiency measures within the Organization, something which could not be submitted for prior approval from the General Assembly. He hoped that future discussion would lead to agreement on the modalities for the transfer of resources released by internally generated efficiency measures to the Development Account for the benefit of those who needed them most.

The representative of Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said that the Group deeply regretted that the Fifth Committee had failed to take a substantive decision. The resources appropriated under the relevant budget section should be used for new projects for developing countries. The guidelines the Group had previously suggested should be employed to determine projects to be funded.

It was the strong wish of the Group that consideration of the item should be given priority in the Committee's resumed session. That would permit progress to be achieved, while taking fully into account the views of developing countries who would be the sole beneficiaries of the Development Account.

The representative of Japan said that he, too, was disappointed with the lack of a substantive draft, particularly as Japan had been one of the initiators of the Development Account. He was saddened by the decision, but believed it was the only thing that could be done at this stage. Japan would like to reflect again on the item next year. This year, he had often repeated one sentence -- "It is too late". He would try to find a new sentence for next year.

The representative of Poland aligned himself with the statement made for the Union.

The representative of Uganda said the issue had been of great importance to his delegation, and he was disappointed, once again, that the Assembly could not take a substantive decision on the matter. He hoped that when it resumed considering the matter, a decision would be taken so the money could be put into use. Regarding the European Union's statement, he said that while it had given the impression that developing countries had been unwilling to negotiate for a substantive decision, that did not accurately portray what had occurred.

The representative of the United States said her delegation was disappointed that the Committee was again unable to decide on the modalities or use of the amount in the Account. The Secretary-General had the authority and responsibility to ensure that mandates were implemented in the most efficient manner. He should continue to pursue efforts to increase efficiency. She hoped the matter would be resolved soon.

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The representative of India associated himself with the statement made by Uganda's representative.

The representative of Algeria regretted that the Committee had been unable to take a decision of substance. He deplored the statement made by the Union: developed and developing countries equally shared responsibility for the fact that the Committee had not been able to come up with a decision. Developing countries had approved the Secretary-General's proposal to create the Account, and the Union's remarks were inappropriate.

The representative of Cuba said negotiations on the item had been lengthy, and she regretted that a substantive decision had not been taken. She hoped the matter would be addressed as a priority in the resumed session, and a decision taken, particularly regarding the use of the $13 million already in the Account. She agreed with comments made about the collective responsibility of the failure to reach a decision on the matter.

The representative of China agreed with those comments as well.

The representative of Indonesia, speaking for the Group of 77 and China, deeply regretted that the statement just delivered by the representative of Austria for the Union did not reflect the process in which the matter had been considered.

The representative of Kenya expressed regret that the issue had not been finalized. He fully associated himself with the statements made by the Group of 77 and the supplementary statements by its members. Members must respect each other -- all States bore equal responsibility.

The Committee next took up the report of the Secretary-General on the recosting of outstanding statements of programme budget implications and revised estimates (document A/C.5/53/49).

C.S.M. MSELLE, Chairman of the ACABQ, orally presented that body's report on the matter.

He said that the Secretary-General had advised that the effect of recosting of expenditure not included in the performance report, arising under several sections, had led to a reduction of $195,500. The Fifth Committee might wish to note that recosting and to reflect the adjustment in the appropriations for the biennium 1998-1999.

The CHAIRMAN of the Fifth Committee then proposed the Fifth Committee recommend that the General Assembly take note of the report of the Secretary- General on the recosting of outstanding statements and decide that the recosting and the related adjustments should be reflected in the revised appropriations for the biennium 1998-1999.

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The Committee decided to do so.

The Committee then turned its attention to the report of the Secretary- General on the contingency fund: consolidated statement of programme budget implications and revised estimates (document A/C.5/53/48).

Mr. MSELLE, ACABQ Chairman, orally introduced that body's report on the subject. He said that the ACABQ recommended an additional appropriation, so the balance of the fund would become $15,307,800.

The Fifth Committee Chairman then proposed that the Fifth Committee recommend that the General Assembly take note of the report of the Secretary- General on the contingency fund and note that a balance of $15,307,800 would remain in the contingency fund.

It was so decided.

Turning then to the first performance report for the biennium 1998-1999, the Chairman introduced the related draft resolution (contained in document A/C.5/53/L.36) on behalf of the Vice-Chairman, Mrs. BRENNEN-HAYLOCK, who had coordinated discussion.

The Committee approved the draft without a vote.

Next taking up the draft report of the Fifth Committee (document A/C.5/53/L.27), the Chairman said that the various parts of draft resolution I contained in the report had been adopted at previous meetings.

Draft resolution II in the report was approved without a vote.

The Committee then approved draft decision I in the report -- on financial arrangements associated with the dining room at the International Court of Justice -- without a vote. In the same manner, it approved draft decision II -- on the relationship between the treatment of perennial activities in the programme budget and the use of the contingency fund -- and draft decision III -- on the development account.

The Committee next took up the draft resolution on the proposed programme budget outline for 2000-2001 (document A/C.5/53/L.33), submitted by the representative of the Bahamas, the Committee's Vice-Chairman.

[By terms of the draft, the Assembly would invite the Secretary-General to prepare his proposed programme budget for 2000-2001 on the basis of a total preliminary estimate of $2.545 billion at revised 1998-1999 rates. That estimate would include some provision for political missions expected to be extended or approved during the course of the biennium. The Assembly would decide that the anticipated reduction of $19.8 million related to compensating economies would not be included in the budget outline, and recognize that

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efforts to achieve efficient utilization of resources was an ongoing process and should not adversely affect the implementation of mandated programmes and activities.]

The representative of the United States said her delegation could not join agreement on the amount of $2.545 billion for 2000-2001, and would speak further during the General Assembly's plenary session.

The representative of Japan said many governments, including his own, were committed to streamlining their administrative structures. The United Nations, whose expenses were borne by Member States, could not be isolated from that general international trend. Unless the Organization was viewed as being as efficient as possible, his Government would find it difficult to persuade its citizens to support it. Japan was of the view that the Organization had not yet been streamlined to the maximum.

Shouldering one fifth of the United Nations expenses, Japan was convinced that it was possible to reduce the budget amount, and prepare a programme budget for the next biennium at the same level as the budget for 1998-1999. The budget figure of $2.545 billion had been the result of intensive negotiations, but was still too high. Japan could not support the consensus. A programme budget proposal to be based on that figure would not be acceptable to his delegation. However, in view of the fact that today was the last day of the main part of the Assembly's fifty-third session, and that the budget outline was only one step in the process of preparing and approving a budget, his delegation would not block the draft from being approved without a vote.

The representative of Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said the agreed level of the preliminary estimate that the Committee would like to approve by consensus did not, in any way, satisfy the Group of 77 and China. The Group believed in the validity and technical justification of the preliminary estimate proposed in the report of the ACABQ of $2,568.8 million. Demonstrating its constructive spirit and responsibility, the Group had agreed to join the consensus on a preliminary estimate of the outline of $2,545 million, at revised 1998-1999 rates, and to allow the Fifth Committee to approve the draft without a vote.

The Group also agreed to join the consensus that the contingency fund be set a 0.75 per cent, and the affirmation of the budgetary procedure in accordance with General Assembly resolution 41/213.

The representative of Austria, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the Union reserved its right to state its position in the plenary.

The representative of Uganda said the Group of 77 had settled for a position very far from what it had proposed. His understanding was that the issue before the Committee was the preliminary estimate to guide the

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Secretary-General in preparing his budget proposal. Only when negotiating the final budget would the Committee get into detail. When the Secretary-General prepared his proposed budget, he would be using $2.545 million, and then whatever was agreed upon at that time would determine the final level of the budget.

The representative of Libya drew attention to an error in paragraph 10 of the Arabic text of the draft.

The representative of Pakistan drew attention to two errors.

The CHAIRMAN proposed an oral amendment to address one of the representative of Pakistan's concerns in the language of paragraph 2 of the draft.

Mr. MSELLE, Chairman of the ACABQ, also drew attention to two further typographical errors in the text.

The representative of Poland also drew attention to a typographical error.

The representative of Cameroon said Cameroon continued to be concerned at the downward trend of means available to the Organization to cope with its obligations. Additionally, the priorities reaffirmed in the draft should be taken into account by the Secretary-General, in particular when he made his budget proposal. Cameroon would be severe in defending African priorities. Programme managers must clearly demonstrate that they recognized Africa as a priority when developing their budget proposals. With regard to the United Nations Information Centres, everything must be done to ensure that the Centres in Africa were no longer treated as poor relatives.

The Committee then approved the draft, without a vote.

The representative of Mexico said the gravity of the financial crisis and the drastic decline in oil prices had strongly impacted his country's economy. His Government had had to carry out significant budget reductions, and in 1999 those would be even more severe. He was therefore dissatisfied with the proposed increase for the budget for 2000-2001. He decisively supported incorporating special missions in the outline, but the amount that had been included had not been justified in light of past experience. He had not heard convincing arguments on the need for the level of those resources. Also, the outline was not consistent with the seriousness of the international financial crisis.

Despite those reservations, his delegation had joined the consensus, as it attached the greatest priority to the work of the Organization. Committed to the principles of the United Nations Charter, Mexico had always said the Organization should be given the resources it required to carry out its

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mandates. Further, his delegation had always sought to participate in consensus. His country would continue to be a responsible backer for the Organization.

The representative of Cuba said her delegation would make an explanation of position in the plenary. Regarding the modalities used for negotiating the draft, Cuba was pleased by the way it had been represented, but in the future, it would not be in favour of the procedures that had been used. All paragraphs of all draft resolutions should be negotiated by all Member States.

The CHAIRMAN said he had tried three times to conduct negotiations with all Member States, but delegations had not wanted to do so.

The representative of Japan said he understood that the draft resolution had been approved without a vote, not by consensus.

The CHAIRMAN confirmed that.

The representative of the Russian Federation said he hoped the climate of trust and willingness to make concessions would prevail in future years. His delegation had joined the draft resolution based on the importance of ensuring broadest possible agreement on such an important matter. He believed that, in preparing the draft budget for the next two-year period, the Secretary-General would be guided by the need to enhance the Organization's efficiency to ensure zero budget growth without negatively impacting mandated programmes and activities.

The representative of Syria said his delegation had not directly participated in the informal consultations on the matter, but his position had been expressed by the representative of Indonesia, speaking for the Group of 77 and China. He associated himself with the statement made by that representative, as well as other members of the Group, Cuba in particular. He drew attention to a technical error in the Arabic language text.

The representative of Indonesia thanked Committee members for their constructive and serious spirit during negotiations.

Next, the Committee took up the draft decision regarding its biennial programme of work (document A/C.5/53/L.29), approving that text without a vote.

The CHAIRMAN said the first part of the Assembly's resumed session would be held from 8 to 26 March 1999 and the second part from 10 to 28 May 1999. The Committee then took up the draft decision on remaining items (document A/C.5/53/L.28), approving the text without a vote.

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