FIFTH COMMITTEE, IN RESUMED SESSION, TAKES ACTION CONCERNING ASSESSMENTS OF REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, COMOROS, TAJIKISTAN

Press Release
GA/AB/3303

FIFTH COMMITTEE, IN RESUMED SESSION, TAKES ACTION CONCERNING ASSESSMENTS OF REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, COMOROS, TAJIKISTAN

Having considered the recommendations of the Committee on Contributions, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon recommended to the General Assembly that it decide that the failure of the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Comoros and Tajikistan to pay the amount necessary to avoid the application of Article 19 of the Charter was due to conditions beyond their control.

The Committee took that action as it adopted, without a vote, a draft resolution introduced by its Chairman, Movses Abelian (Armenia), on the scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations. By the terms of the text, the Assembly would permit the Republic of Moldova to vote in the Assembly until 31 December 1999. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Comoros and Tajikistan would be permitted to retain their voting rights until 30 June 2000.

[Article 19 of the Charter states that a Member of the United Nations, which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years. The Assembly may, nevertheless, permit such a Member to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the Member's control.]

The Assembly would also decide to revert to the procedural aspects of the consideration of requests for exemption under Article 19 at the fifty- fourth session.

Again, acting without a vote, the Committee adopted another text, by whose terms the General Assembly would grant Georgia temporary exemption under Article 19 of the Charter so that it is permitted to vote, until a final decision on the matter is taken by the General Assembly. It would decide further that the procedural arrangements in the resolution will not set a precedent for the future.

Also, the Assembly would request the Committee on Contributions to consider the request of Georgia as contained in document A/C.5/53/65, as a matter of priority, taking into account the views expressed by Member States, and to transmit its views, also as a matter of priority, to the Assembly, to the extent possible, before the end of its fifty-third session.

Statements were made this afternoon by the representatives of Côte d'Ivoire, United Republic of Tanzania, Finland (on behalf of the European Union and associated States), Mexico, Russian Federation, Cuba, Australia (also on behalf of Canada and New Zealand), Chile, Republic of Korea, Georgia, Uganda, Pakistan, and India.

The Fifth Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 20 July, to consider the financing of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to resume its consideration of the scale of assessments for the apportionment of expenses of the United Nations.

The Committee had before it a letter from the President of the General Assembly to the Fifth Committee Chairman (document A/C.5/53/64) transmitting a letter from the Chairman of the Committee on Contributions in which he refers to the requests for exemptions under Article 19 of the United Nations Charter from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Comoros, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Tajikistan. The appendix to the letter from the Chairman of the Committee on Contributions contains the sections of the Committee's report on its fifty- ninth session that deal with these questions.

The Committee on Contributions recommends to the Assembly that: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Tajikistan be permitted to vote until 30 June 2000, in the expectation that this would be the final extension of this exemption under Article 19; Comoros be permitted to vote until 30 June 2000; and the Republic of Moldova be permitted to vote until 31 December 1999, in line with its request. In view of the late receipt of Georgia's communication, the Committee was not in a position to consider its request.

Also before the Committee was a letter dated 12 July from the Acting President of the Assembly addressed to the Chairman of the Fifth Committee (document A/C.5/53/65), transmitting a letter from the Permanent Representative of Georgia containing a request, under Article 19, on the subject of his country's arrears. He requests the Fifth Committee to discuss the possibility of granting Georgia the right to vote in the Assembly during the fifty-fourth session.

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The Committee also had before it a draft resolution submitted by its Chairman on the scale of assessments for the apportionment of expenses of the United Nations.

By the terms of the draft (document A/C.5/53/L.77), the Committee would recommend that the General Assembly decide that the failure of the Republic of Moldova to pay the amount necessary to avoid the application of Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations is due to conditions beyond its control and that, accordingly, it is permitted to vote until 31 December 1999.

The Committee would recommend that the Assembly decide that the failure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Comoros and Tajikistan to pay the amount necessary to avoid application of Article 19 of the Charter is due to conditions beyond their control and that, accordingly, they are permitted to vote until 30 June 2000.

By the text, the Committee would recommend that the Assembly reaffirm its role in Article 19 of the Charter and the advisory role of the Committee on Contributions in accordance with rule 160 of the Assembly rules of procedure. It would also recommend that the Assembly decide to revert to the procedural aspects of the consideration of requests for exemption under Article 19 at the fifty-fourth session.

Statements on Scale of Assessments

MANLAN AHOUNOU (Côte d'Ivoire) expressed his delegation's frustration and disappointment at the manner in which the current issue was being handled. The United Nations should be transparent in all its negotiations. Yet, the morning meeting was suspended without guidelines to delegations on how to proceed. There were no clear instructions, and delegations were not informed of the facts. A consensus seemed to have emerged around acceptance of the request by Georgia. Given that unanimity, it should not have been difficult to take the appropriate decision.

He drew attention to the vexing nature of working with a small group and imposing the view of such a group on other Member States. In the "informal informals" which had taken place, not all delegations had been allowed to participate and put forward their views. That was not the way of the United Nations. He thought, when the meeting was suspended this morning, that the Committee would proceed to informals as was the custom. However, the small circle that met did not include everyone.

MOVSES ABELIAN (Armenia), Chairman of the Fifth Committee, said that he had not held any "informal informal" consultations. The consultations had been open and no Member State was prevented from participating. Secondly, if he had anything to propose to bridge the gap before the formal was suspended this morning, he would have done so. He had to consult with Member States

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concerned on the request of Georgia. Moreover, he would not accept allegations that he had prevented Member States from participating.

MUHAMMAD YUSUF (United Republic of Tanzania) said he agreed with the position of Côte d'Ivoire. It was obvious that consensus could not be reached. The Committee, therefore, had the right to take the next available course of action. When the meeting was adjourned this morning, it was decided to convene at 3 p.m. for another formal meeting. However, that did not happen at the proposed time. Everyone wanted a consensus resolution, but the proper procedures had to be followed in the spirit and to the letter. Now, what needed to be done was to examine the issue in a formal meeting. If consensus was not possible, then the appropriate course of action would have to be decided on.

The CHAIRMAN said, when he suspended the morning meeting, he did not elaborate that he was holding informal consultations. When the meeting was suspended, delegations were free to do whatever they wanted. He apologized for starting the current meeting late. If the Committee now wished to move to informals, he would do that.

The meeting was then suspended at 3:50 p.m., and the Committee went into informal consultations.

The meeting resumed at 5:55 p.m.

Action

The Committee first took up the draft on the scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations (document A/C.5/53/L.77), which was adopted without a vote.

The Committee also adopted without a vote a draft resolution on the request by Georgia (document A/C.5/53/L.78).

By the terms of that text, the Assembly, having considered the letter dated 12 July from the Acting President of the General Assembly addressed to the Chairman of the Fifth Committee (document A/C.5/53/65), would reaffirm its role in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations and the advisory role of the Committee on Contributions in accordance with rule 160 of the rules of procedure of the Assembly.

The Assembly would request the Committee on Contributions to consider the request of Georgia as contained in document A/C.5/53/65, as a matter of priority, taking into account the views expressed by Member States, and to transmit its views, also as a matter of priority, to the Assembly, to the extent possible, before the end of its fifty-third session. The Assembly would also decide to grant Georgia temporary exemption under Article 19 of the Charter so that it is permitted to vote, until a final decision on the matter

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is taken by the Assembly. It would decide further that the procedural arrangements in the resolution would not set a precedent for the future.

Speaking in explanation of position, JARMA SAREVA (Finland), on behalf of the European Union and the associated countries of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Iceland and Norway, said the Union would express its opinion on the actions taken today in the plenary of the Assembly.

ERNESTO HERRERA (Mexico) said it was his delegation's opinion that all of the exemptions granted under Article 19 of the Charter should be considered on their own merits on a case-by-case basis. He would also have preferred that all texts adopted in future fulfilled all normal requirements, and he hoped the present type of action would not become a practice.

ALEXIE DVINIANINE (Russian Federation), commenting on the resolution on the request of Georgia, said his delegation fully sympathized with that country and understood the economic difficulties being experienced. However, there was still a need for all Member States to adhere to the established rules of procedure.

DULCE MARIA BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said her delegation had joined in the consensus on both drafts even though the procedures followed were highly exceptional. Addressing the draft on Georgia, she reaffirmed the role of the Assembly in dealing with the question of exemption. Referring to operative paragraph 2, of the draft, she said she believed that consideration by the Committee on Contributions should be consistent with established procedures.

She fully agreed with the view expressed that consideration of the subjects discussed today should be done on a case-by-case basis should the Assembly receive any such requests in the future. It was regrettable, however, that the Committee on Contributions was unable to submit any recommendations on the current subject to the Fifth Committee's work today.

MILES ARMITAGE (Australia), also on behalf of Canada and New Zealand, said they had joined the consensus today reluctantly. That was, however, without prejudice to the request made by Georgia and was based instead on misgivings on the procedural actions taken today. All requests should be considered first by the Committee on Contribution before the Assembly exercised its authority. That position was based on the need to safeguard and protect Article 19.

On this occasion, he said, "our views did not command consensus and indeed only minimal support". That was regrettable. Today's approach would make the Fifth Committee's job more difficult in considering future exemptions in a fair and consistent manner. It was also regrettable that the Committee on Contributions was not in a position to provide advice.

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He advised Member States seeking such exemptions to respect the Committee on Contributions and established procedures. He noted that there was clearly a need for that Committee to look for ways to avoid the regrettable choices and dimensions experienced today.

ALVARO JARA (Chile) said that he joined in the consensus so as to relieve Georgia of the situation it was facing. The only two ways to receive exemptions were through a decision by the Assembly and by a recommendation of the Committee on Contributions. Seeking advice in a non-formal way undermined the Committee on Contributions. The resolution on Georgia that was just adopted was one of the most unfortunate resolutions to be adopted by the Fifth Committee.

PARK HAE-YUN (Republic of Korea) said that he joined the consensus sympathizing with Georgia's situation. As a matter of principle, he was concerned about the recurring situation in which temporary exemptions were being granted by bypassing the Committee's established rules of procedure.

GUEORGUI Z. VOLSKI (Georgia) said that he wanted to ensure delegations that he understood the regrets expressed concerning his country's request. He appreciated that the Committee understood Georgia's problems.

NESTER ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) said that he was keen to see that the Assembly did not undermine the role mandated to the Fifth Committee, and the Fifth Committee did not undermine the role mandated to the advisory bodies. The decision taken today did undermine the role of the Assembly and the Committee on Contributions. If the right procedure had been followed, the job of the Fifth Committee would have been more simple. Uganda found it difficult to join the consensus and had problems with paragraphs 2 and 3 of the resolution on Georgia. The phrase "taking into account the views of the Member States" in paragraph 2 was vague. In paragraph 3, "until a final decision is taken on the matter" was open-ended and did not set a time limit. In the spirit of the Committee, he decided not to block the consensus, but rather put on the record that he was not part of the decision taken.

Mr. YUSUF (United Republic of Tanzania) said that he associated himself with the statement made by Uganda.

AMJAD HUSSAIN B. SIAL (Pakistan) said that he had supported the two decisions taken, particularly the one on Georgia, because the conditions contributing to the countries' failure to pay their arrears were beyond its control. The decision taken upheld the prerogative of the Assembly and respected the mandate of the Committee on Contributions. He hoped that when the Committee on Contributions considers the question of Georgia, his views would be taken into account.

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RAJAT SAHA (India) said he joined the consensus, taking into account the genuine difficulty faced by Georgia. He was confident that the procedural aspect could be addressed in the forthcoming session as a matter of priority.

Other Matters

Ms. BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said that she was concerned about the trend that was emerging as to the Committee's practice on taking decisions, as was seen in the case of East Timor and in today's discussion. It had appeared that, in some way, the Committee might be undermining the procedure that it had established for consideration of items on its agenda. Items should be formally introduced by the Chairman of the respective organs and the Committee should decide if it was able to take a decision at the time or move into informal consultations. If delegations believed that decision-making procedures should be changed, the Committee should decide on that, having had consultations on its working methods.

Mr. ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) said he supported the views expressed by Cuba and wanted to know whether there were any other meetings planned for the Committee apart from the one for next week. There was a need to discuss in detail the Committee's working methods.

The CHAIRMAN said that when the Committee had concluded its work on 28 May, it had not been informed that it would be discussing East Timor or Kosovo. It also did not know what the outcome of the fifty-ninth session of the Committee on Contributions would be. At the current stage, he was not aware of any item besides Kosovo that the Committee would be required to consider before the end of the fifty-third session.

Concerning the Committee's working methods, he said that it was not his intention to change the Committee's working methods. With regard to East Timor, he had taken informal consultations with almost all Member States, before going into a formal meeting. He did not do that for the other 17 peacekeeping operations the Committee considered. Also, he thought it would be desirable to have the Fifth Committee session now rather than in August. As to having the Chairman of the Committee on Contributions introduce its report, that should have been requested by delegations when the agenda item was opened.

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