LARGE CONSENSUS EXISTS ON ABSOLUTE NECESSITY FOR IMPROVED OVERSIGHT FOR UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Press Release
GA/AB/3315

LARGE CONSENSUS EXISTS ON ABSOLUTE NECESSITY FOR IMPROVED OVERSIGHT FOR UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Committee Takes Up Reports of Joint Inspection Unit

There was a large consensus on the absolute necessity for improved oversight for the United Nations system, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told this morning as it commenced its discussion of the work and reports of the Joint Inspection Unit.

The Joint Inspection Unit is an oversight body, composed of eleven inspectors elected by the General Assembly, charged with determining whether organizations within the United Nations system are performing their duties both economically and efficiently. It reports to the Assembly and to other governing bodies, and makes recommendations aimed at improving management and coordination within the United Nations system.

All organizations of the system faced the challenge of remaining "penny- wise" while avoiding becoming "pound-foolish", Louis-Dominique Ouedraogo, Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit, told the Committee. The system of follow-up on the Unit’s recommendations, recently approved by the Fifth Committee, would be an important tool for the Unit in assisting them to meet that challenge.

The representative of Bangladesh told the Committee that it was essential that the Joint Inspection Unit live up to its responsibility of providing an independent view, aimed at improving management and methods. The Unit’s report again revealed the value of its work.

Because of the nature of their work, United Nations’ oversight bodies sometimes did not get the attention they deserved, according to the representative of the United States. He hoped the Committee’s recent approval of Inspection Unit proposals would be only the first important agreement on oversight that it would arrive at.

The representative of Uganda also addressed the Committee, when it turned its attention to other matters.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. this afternoon, when it will continue its discussion of the scale of assessments and the pattern of United Nations conferences.

Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to take up its agenda item on the Joint Inspection Unit.

The Committee had before it a note by the Secretary-General transmitting the work programme of the Joint Inspection Unit for 1999 and the preliminary listing of potential reports for 2000 and beyond (document A/53/841). According to the work programme, in 1999 the Unit plans to report on common and joint services in Vienna as part of its series of reports on common administrative services for co-located United Nations system organizations.

It also plans to produce the second part of its report on policies, practices and procedures for senior-level appointments in the United Nations system, covering the specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It will focus on current policies, practices and procedures for senior-level appointments with a view to identifying the most efficient, rational and transparent. The first part, on the United Nations and its programmes and funds is in preparation.

It plans to evaluate the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), to review the management and administration of the International Court of Justice, to examine private sector involvement and collaboration with the United Nations system, and to consider recent developments in the economic and financial fields worldwide, including a new approach and more productive cooperation between the United Nations and the private sector.

According to the note, the Unit intends to review the administration of justice in the United Nations, to report on delegation of authority, to review the use of contractual services to support established staff resources in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), to report on safety and security of United Nations system civilian personnel, and to assess the investigation capabilities in United Nations system organization. It will also examine the financial situation in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

According to its preliminary listing of potential reports for 2000 and beyond, the Inspection Unit anticipates conducting an examination of the management and administration in the World Health Organization (WHO), reporting on the effectiveness of the United Nations Performance Appraisal System (PAS) and examining the planning, programming, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation procedures in the United Nations system. It will look at United Nations revenue-producing and income-generating activities financed from extrabudgetary resources, examine support costs on programmes and activities financed from extrabudgetary resources, report on the practice of donors' attaching conditions to special-purpose contributions and consider the possibility of successfully extending technical cooperation projects to the end-beneficiaries.

The Unit advises that both the 1999 plans and the preliminary listing for 2000 and beyond are subject to change, and it invites comment on the proposals from legislative bodies.

The Committee also had before it the Report of the Joint Inspection Unit for 1999 (A/54/34), in which the Inspection Unit detailed measures to further enhance its functioning and impact. The Inspection Unit considered that leadership by the Chairman should be based on delegated authority from other Inspectors in the interest of proper coordination and implementation of the approved programme of work. Thus, effective leadership cannot and should not be imposed, but derived from the “collective wisdom and choice” of the Inspectors themselves.

The report goes on to state that serious consideration should be given in the future to more appropriate resource requirements to allow the Unit to better discharge its mandate.

The report also states that the General Assembly may wish to clarify the provision of Article 20.1 of the Inspection Unit statute, which describes the procedure to be followed for the consideration of the budget of the Unit. The obvious objective, by letting the Member States themselves be the final judges of proposals made by the Unit, is to ensure that the independence of the Unit is not jeopardized by the inspectees through the budgetary process.

In the report, the Inspection Unit reminds the General Assembly that it submitted, in its 1997 annual report, a proposal entitled "Towards a more effective system of follow-up on reports of the Joint Inspection Unit", and that unfortunately no action has been taken so far on that proposal.

The Inspection Unit report also briefly discusses relations with Member States, participating organizations and other oversight bodies.

The Committee also had before it a report by the Secretary-General on the implementation of the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit (A/54/223), which reproduces those recommendations in succinct form.

On the involvement of the United Nations system in providing and coordinating humanitarian assistance, the reports says the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), through the Consolidated Inter- Agency Appeal Process, has developed a strategic approach towards humanitarian assistance programmes; that the issue of indigenous coping mechanisms has been addressed thoroughly by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee and is reflected in the Consolidated Appeal Process; that the Military and Civil Defence Unit, established in response to a decision taken by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee in November 1995, has become operational and responds to both natural disasters and complex emergencies; and that the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs has been established to ensure complementary and lateral cooperation not only with humanitarian organizations but also with the political and peacekeeping departments of the United Nations Secretariat. The report also comments on eight other Inspection Unit recommendations under this sub-heading.

On the advancement of the status of women in the United Nations Secretariat in an era of human resources management and accountability, the Inspection Unit report states that, on its recommendation, the 1991-1995 action programme for improvement of the status of women was replaced by the strategic plan of action for the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat for the period 1995-2000; the Secretary-General had appointed the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women at the level of Assistant Secretary-General; gender issues were since 1997 reviewed in meetings of a Senior Management Group chaired by the Secretary-General; and that to improve staff development opportunities for General Service staff, the majority of whom are women, a special staff development programme has been introduced and is being implemented throughout the Secretariat. Several other improvements had also been made, according to the report.

On the prospects for the advancement of women in and through the programmes of the United Nations system after the Fourth World Conference on Women, the report lists a number of steps taken on its recommendation by the executive heads of organizations of the United Nations system to make their substantive women's/gender programmes more effective, among other ways, through the development of action plans; the streamlining of system-wide programming processes; the regularization of ad hoc inter-agency meetings on women's programmes; the assessment of resource allocations; increased emphasis on outreach and interaction with women's and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The report also details their efforts to decisively advance the long- stalled efforts at improving the status of women in the system through, among other methods, the formulation of systematic action plans; the development of better system-wide human resources statistics; greater attention to the needs and concerns of the long-neglected majority of their women staff, that is, those in the General Service and other categories. The report also discusses various other initiatives taken to strengthen focal point leadership of the women’s programmes of the United Nations system.

On the staffing of the United Nations peacekeeping and related missions, the Inspection Unit report indicates that a majority of its recommendations are being implemented. Among those which the reports are clearly being implemented are: that there should be more decentralization and delegation of authority to the field; that a pre-certified roster of personnel with specialized training in administrative, financial, logistical and electoral components should be established; that a roster of retirees should be at the disposal of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations; that United Nations Volunteers should be more extensively recruited; that orientation and training of mission personnel should be more institutionalized; that existing United Nations training facilities, such as the International Training Centre at Turin, should be utilized for peacekeeping operations; that Member States and regional organizations should put their training resources at the disposal of the United Nations; and that the security of personnel must be included in all mission planning, briefing, training and execution.

Other subjects covered by the report are: the investigation of the relationship between humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping operations; the military component of United Nations peacekeeping operations; prospects for a new system of performance appraisal in the United Nations Secretariat; the inspection of the application of United Nations recruitment, placement and promotion policies; a comparison of methods of calculating equitable geographical distribution within the United Nations common system; communication for development programmes in the United Nations system; the national execution of projects; United Nations system support for science and technology in Asia and the Pacific; and managing works of art in the United Nations.

Statements

LOUIS-DOMINIQUE OUEDRAOGO, Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), introduced that body’s reports. He thanked the Committee for approving a draft resolution last week noting improvements and expressing confidence in the work of the Unit. There was a large consensus on the absolute necessity for improved oversight for the United Nations system. The challenge to remain “penny-wise,” while avoiding becoming “pound-foolish,” existed for all the organizations of the system. The system of follow-up on recommendations would be an important tool for the Unit, and he would appreciate it if other governing bodies were called on to take similar action on follow-up to that taken by the Assembly.

The Unit had not followed its traditional practice of rotating chairmanship on a regional basis, but had held open elections this year, he said. That was a reflection of the belief that the priorities of the Unit should be derived from collective wisdom and the choice of the Inspectors themselves. He also noted that total staff resources for the Unit had not changed since 1968, and expressed hope that serious consideration would be given to provision of more adequate human resources in the future.

The Unit believed it would be useful if the Assembly would clarify the interpretation of Article 20.1 of its statute, he said. At present, it was interpreted such that the Unit’s budget estimates were subject to review by representatives of those the Unit was charged with inspecting. Member States themselves, with support of expert bodies, should be the final judges of estimates proposed by the Unit.

The Unit planned to improve its interaction with all the system’s oversight bodies and internal audit services, he said. Annual tripartite meetings had already been held with the Office of Internal Oversight Services and the Board of Auditors. A series of notes were being issued to executive heads of organizations highlighting how the Unit’s reports were dealt with by governing bodies and what improvements were to be made.

The Unit’s programme of work had not been submitted to the Assembly for approval, he noted, and many of the recommendations and activities contained in it were already underway. However, comments by Member States would be an important guide to the Unit, and guidance regarding priorities from the Assembly would be useful.

ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said delegations would recall the Princeton retreat of 1998, which had included the following main recommendations on the JIU: the executive heads of the JIU participating organizations should send their comments on the respective JIU report for inclusion as an annex to the report, to the extent that those were not accepted by the Unit; the JIU should indicate to the Executive Head which recommendations required approval by the legislative organs of the organization concerned and which did not; an independent review panel should review the candidatures of the inspectors upon nomination by regional groups; the Unit should be allowed to submit its budget estimates to the Secretary-General; the need for an effective and efficient conduct of business should apply to the JIU; when considering a leaner Unit its Secretariat should be strengthened; the Chairman should be elected for one non- renewable term at a higher level; the Unit should also make use of notes and confidential letters as envisaged in its statutes.

He added that it was absolutely essential that the JIU live up to its responsibility of providing an independent view aimed at improving management and methods. The recommendations in the report and information on the status of their implementation emphasized the value of the work done by the JIU.

THOMAS REPASCH (United States) said his country was pleased to be able to discuss the work of a United Nations oversight body. Because of the nature of their work, oversight bodies often did not get the attention they deserved from the Secretariat and Member States. He hoped the draft resolution approved last week by the Committee on the work of the Inspection Unit and on proposed follow-up on its recommendations was only the first of several important agreements on oversight that would come from the Fifth Committee.

Paragraph 4 of the Unit’s annual report stated that, in addition to reports, the Unit produced notes and confidential letters to heads of organizations, he said. He would like to know how many notes were issued and to be told more about the subjects of those notes. Similarly, he would appreciate information on the number of confidential letters and on the topics they covered. It would also be useful to know if any savings or improvements accrued from them.

He noted that the Unit had issued nine reports over the past 12 months, and wished to be informed how this compared to previous reporting periods and, if the number was different, why this was so. Similarly he sought clarification on what appeared to be a contradiction concerning the Unit’s functional independence in paragraphs 19 and 20 of its report.

Commenting on the Secretary-General’s report on implementation of Inspection Unit recommendations, he said that the report did not make clear what actions had been taken as a direct result of the Unit’s recommendations –- information the Members States and Unit needed. It also did not make clear why it had reported on the action taken on certain reports and recommendations and not on others.

Now that the JIU’s follow-up system had been approved, he said, such Secretary-General’s reports might not be necessary in the future, as the JIU itself planned to report on follow-up action taken as a result of its recommendations. Regarding the Unit’s work programme, he reiterated the United States’ view that the Unit should focus its resources more narrowly. For example, the Unit had said it planned to report on the management and administration of the WHO. The United States did not believe the Unit possessed the resources to effectively examine such a large topic, even over five years. The Unit should limit its work commensurate with its resources. If it did so, its reports would be more useful to Member States.

PENNY WENSLEY (Australia), Fifth Committee Chairman, said that the JIU Chairman would be invited to attend the Committee’s meeting tomorrow to respond to Member States’ questions.

Other Matters

NESTER ODAGA-JALOMAYO (Uganda) then gave the Committee a brief report on the tone and scheduling of the informal consultations on the Development Account that he was coordinating.

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