EXPENDITURE ON HUMAN RIGTHS IS MONEY WELL SPENT, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Press Release
GA/AB/3338

EXPENDITURE ON HUMAN RIGTHS IS MONEY WELL SPENT, FIFTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Committee Takes up Proposed Programme Budget Part on Human Rights and Humanitarian Assistance

Any expenditure on human rights was money well spent, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told this afternoon, as it commenced its discussion of the human rights and humanitarian assistance part of the Secretary-General’s budget proposal, as part of its continuing part-by-part consideration of the United Nations programme budget for 2000-2001.

In the light of Nigeria’s recent history of being held hostage by regimes with no regard for human rights, it strongly endorsed the Secretary-General’s proposed funding increases for human rights programmes, Nigeria’s representative added. More resources might usefully be allocated to the human rights advisory service, which assisted developing countries to prepare reports requested by human rights bodies.

The representative of China, however, expressed dissatisfaction at the narrative part of that budget section, which explains what programme managers aim to achieve with the resources proposed. The expected accomplishments included encouraging countries to accede to human rights treaties, she noted, but accession to treaties was the prerogative of sovereign States.

Not only had another aim -- to assist in translating international human rights norms into national legislation -- not been mentioned in the key policy statement provided by Member States to the Secretariat on how to implement mandates (the medium-term plan), but such assistance could only be provided in response to specific Member State requests, she said. She also noted that resources requested for this area were increasing, while other areas of the Organization were reducing expenditures.

The representative of Cuba also expressed concerns about the narrative of this section. The proposal to develop a consolidated list of human rights indicators had not been mandated, she said. Including unmandated activities in the budget should be stopped.

The representative of Finland, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said he was concerned that resources for

Fifth Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/AB/3338 32nd Meeting (PM) 9 November 1999

human rights -- a priority activity of the United Nations -- were still less than 2 per cent of the total budget. The programme was clearly under-funded and heavily dependent on extrabudgetary resources, he added.

The Committee also concluded its initial reading of the budget part on regional cooperation for development.

The representatives of Chile, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Ecuador, Brazil, Japan, United States, Canada, Kuwait, Syria, Australia, Algeria, Guyana (on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), India, Philippines, Cameroon, Republic of Korea and Uganda also spoke.

C.S.M. Mselle, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), introduced that body’s comments on budget part VI -- human rights and humanitarian affairs. The United Nations Controller, Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, and Warren Sach, Director of the Budget Division, answered Member States’ questions.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, when it will continue its consideration of the programme budget.

Committee Work Programme

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to continue its consideration of part V of the proposed programme budget (on regional cooperation for development), commencing with section 19 on economic and social development for Latin America and the Caribbean, and to begin its consideration of part VI (on human rights and humanitarian affairs), as part of its part-by-part examination of the programme budget for 2000-2001.

It had before it the Secretary-General's proposals for that part, contained in his report on the proposed programme budget (document A/54/6), and the related comments of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) contained in its report (document A/54/7).

Part VI

For human rights (section 22), the Secretary-General proposes almost $42.4 million, which is 3.7 per cent (or $1.54 million) more than for 1998-1999. Some $30.4 million is expected under extrabudgetary resources -- more than $5 million less than the current biennium, largely due to the elimination of resources for human rights activities in Rwanda and Burundi. The Secretary-General proposes seven new posts (two P-5, two P-4, and three P-3), the reclassification of a G-6 post to a G-7 for a Computer Information Assistant, and the redeployment of two posts (1 P-4 for a Programme Management Officer from New York to Geneva, and one P-5 for a Senior Legal Officer from Geneva to New York).

The seven new posts would be as follows: one P-5, one P-4 and one P-3 under subprogramme 1 -- Right to development, research and analysis; two P-3 posts under subprogramme 2 -- Supporting human rights bodies and organs; one P-5 post under subprogramme 3 -- Advisory services, technical cooperation, support to human rights fact-finding procedures and field activities; and one P-4 post at the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In its comments, the ACABQ notes that the proposed new P-4 post and a redeployment of a P-4 post to the Geneva Office in exchange for a P-5 post from Geneva to New York are requested for the drafting of substantive human rights papers for the executive committees. But it feels that effective participation in the executive committees should not depend mainly on the work of the staff of the New York Office. Input to the work of the executive committees should also be made by the substantive units of the Geneva Office and the staff of the High Commissioner in Geneva. That would take away the need to increase the personnel of the New York Office and the committees would benefit from a larger pool of expertise. Since the executive committee arrangement was instituted by the Secretary-General to coordinate implementation of mandates entrusted to him by Member States, it should not entail a request for additional resources over and above those authorized for implementing those mandates.

For the above reasons, the ACABQ agrees with the redeployment to the New York Office of a P-5 post, but it does not agree with the request for the additional new P-4 post. However, should the High Commissioner conclude that such a post is indispensable, the ACABQ feels this should be obtained by redeployment. It does not object to the other six new posts or to the reclassification.

Other concerns involve the high average vacancy rate for Professional and General Service staff. In 1998, the average vacancy rate for Professionals was 18.2 per cent, and that at the end of April 1999 it was 15.7 per cent. For General Service staff, the average rate for 1998 was 17.5 per cent, and at the end of April 1999 it was 17.3 per cent. The total number of vacant posts at the end of April 1999 was 23 (14 Professional and 9 General Service). Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights informed the ACABQ that attempts were being made to reduce the vacancy rates and that the current procedures followed in filling posts contributed to the lengthy recruitment process.

The ACABQ draws attention to the fact that a total of 25 policy- making organs, including committees and working groups are enumerated in the proposed programme budget. In 2000-2001, 1469 meetings (917 plenary meetings and 552 meetings of working groups) are expected to be held and 258 human rights reports issued.

The ACABQ says that the proposed budget does not contain adequate information on action taken in response to its observation two years ago that the Commission should come up with a more pragmatic meeting programme for the various subcommissions, committees and other groups and that the number and timing of documents could adversely affect the efficiency of the legislative process. The ACABQ was informed that an inter-sessional open-ended working group had been established by the Commission to continue examining the subject, and its conclusions will be reviewed at the Commission's fifty-seventh session.

In other comments, the ACABQ asks the Secretary-General to identify more clearly resources related to the right to development, subprogramme 1; and to review printing capacity in Geneva with a view to ensuring that it can accommodate needs in a cost-effective manner. Also, finding that some $6.41 million was requested for perennial activities resulting from Economic and Social Council mandates, the ACABQ reiterates the position in its report on the relationship between the treatment of perennial activities in the programme budget and the use of the contingency fund (A/53/7/Add.9).

[In that report, the ACABQ stresses that resources appropriated for perennial activities are subject to the approval of the respective mandates and may not be spent unless the mandates are approved or renewed. The problem of what constitutes a perennial activity should be settled by the General Assembly.]

For protection of and assistance to refugees (section 23), the Secretary-General asks for close to $45.1 million to cover administrative expenditures relating to the functioning of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). All other expenditures, according to article 20 of the UNHCR's statute, are financed by voluntary contributions.

The Secretary-General is proposing the same level of resources and the same number of posts as for the current biennium. Some $1.684 billion is projected for extrabudgetary resources, more than $100 million less than for 1998-1999.

The ACABQ notes that the Secretary-General's report states that a review of the funding of the UNHCR posts from the regular budget would take place in the near future on the basis of the outcome of the new categorization of posts in UNHCR, the evolution of UNHCR requirements and the desirability of streamlining and simplifying the budget process. The outcome of the review will be submitted to the General Assembly through the ACABQ. It requests that the review take into account the extent to which agreements or disagreements on the role between voluntary contributions and regular resources had contributed to a weak financial situation.

Under Palestine refugees, (section 24) the Secretary-General asks for $21.8 million under the regular budget and 92 posts (82 Professional and above, and 10 General Service). He recalls that the General Assembly decided in resolution 3331 B (XXIX) 1974 that expenses related to the emoluments of international staff in the service of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which would otherwise have been charged to voluntary contributions, are provided for under the regular budget for the duration of the Agency's mandate, which currently extends until 2002.

The ACABQ states that it was informed that under extrabudgetary funding, a total of $726 million was projected rather than the amount of $772.79 million indicated in the proposed budget document. Upon enquiry, it was informed that a decrease in resources has had a direct impact on the quality of services provided by UNRWA. Also, the ACABQ notes that the number of locally employed staff funded from extrabudgetary funds totalled 22,000 in 2000-2001.

For humanitarian assistance (section 25), the Secretary-General proposes close to $19.29 million for 2000-2001, which is $1.7 million more than resources for 1998-1999. Under extrabudgetary resources, some $140.33 million is projected. The total number of regular budget posts proposed for 2000-2001 is 54, which is four more than the 50 posts for 1998-1999. Three hundred and twelve extrabudgetary posts are proposed, which is 21 fewer than for 1998-1999. The decrease is largely due to the removal from the section of the functions of demining, which were transferred to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and the transfer to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) of the national capacity-building related to disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness.

The Secretary-General also requests four new posts (one P-5, one P-4, and two P-3s) and proposes five posts for redeployment, to improve the balance between regular budget and extrabudgetary posts in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The P-5 post and one P-3 post are for subprogramme 1, Policy and analysis, to carry out the functions of chief of Policy Development and a policy development officer. The P-4 post and one P-3 post are for the functions of desk officers for section II, Emergencies in Africa, and for section III, Emergencies in the rest of the world of the Complex Emergency Response Branch in Geneva. The Advisory Committee recommends approving the creation of four new posts and the redeployment of the five posts.

The ACABQ notes that the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction ends on 31 December. For the 2000-2001 biennium, the secretariat for the decade would comprise 13 posts, all funded from extrabudgetary resources. The follow-up mechanisms for disaster reduction in the twenty-first century is under consideration and the content and structure of successor arrangements will have to be approved by the Assembly. The ACABQ is of the view that before another secretariat structure is established, it should first be determined whether the related tasks could be undertaken by existing units of the Secretariat in New York and Geneva.

In other comments, the ACABQ notes "fine-tuning" of the changes put in place in the programme of work of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), as well as adjustments in its structure, but states that the Office could benefit from further streamlining. The proposed budget explains that the functions in support of humanitarian coordination in the field and resources mobilization were transferred from New York to a new Complex Emergency Response Branch in Geneva in order to enhance coordination of complex humanitarian emergencies.

The transfer is intended to take advantage of the presence in Europe of major donors as well as the time advantage in Geneva, which is essential in addressing complex emergencies, most of which are in Africa, Western Asia and the Caucasus. An Emergency Liaison Branch has been established in New York to coordinate with the Department of Political Affairs, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and other concerned entities in respect of cross-cutting policy issues, country situations and United Nations field operations with humanitarian, political, security and military dimensions.

But the ACABQ doubts the extent to which this arrangement ensures timely and effective response to complex emergencies. Such arrangements have the potential for cumbersome coordination processes with attendant delays in decision-making. It questions the rationale of establishing an Emergency Liaison Branch in New York. To enhance operational efficiency, the functions of the two branches should be reviewed to determine the extent to which they could be combined under one organizational unit. Also, a review should be made of the efficiency of the administrative functioning of the secretariat of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which is located in New York and has a liaison unit in Geneva.

[For a general introduction to the programme budget proposal and the general response of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), see Press Release GA/AB/3322 of 27 October 1999. For background on part V of the programme budget, see Press Release GA/AB/3335 of 8 November].

Statements on Proposed Programme Budget

Because of conflicting schedules, C.S.M. MSELLE, Chairman of ACABQ, introduced that body’s comments on part VI of the Secretary- General’s proposed budget, on human rights and humanitarian affairs, prior to the resumption of the Fifth Committee’s consideration of part V, on regional cooperation for development.

The Committee then resumed its consideration of part V, specifically section 19 on economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean.

ALVARO JARA (Chile) stressed the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) importance, and said that, in general terms, the budget proposed appeared consistent with the medium- term plan. This section of the budget should receive all necessary resources to implement programmes, he said. He welcomed the new programme on mainstreaming of gender perspective into regional development, and also the full integration of the Centre for Demography into ECLAC.

Chile attached great importance to the implementation of the pilot management scheme of ECLAC, and sought more information on its progress.

ERNESTO HERRERA (Mexico) said development was a priority for Mexico and therefore ECLAC’s work was of fundamental importance. The work helped increase understanding of the region’s development and of potential responses to globalization.

Mexico noted the continued improvement at ECLAC, he said. He also sought information on the implementation of the pilot management scheme.

GAIL GUY (Trinidad and Tobago) said she expected that adequate resources would be provided to enable the Commission to implement its mandated programmes. She said she was reminded that there were a number of “worrisome structural problems” looming over the region and that “social equity has become a subject that deserves to be singled out for the increasing relevance it is gaining in the region”.

She pointed out that the programme budget was inspired by the objective of getting the most value from the “expected level of resource allocation” and asked whether or not there was a pre-set level of resources determining what was or was not proposed in the budget. She added that any reduction in the level of resources for the sub-programme on globalization contributed further to the marginalization of the small economies of the region. Her delegation also sought clarification from the Secretariat on the resources allocated to small States, particularly in the area of technical cooperation.

She supported the position that resources should be proposed for the implementation of activities in relation to natural disasters. This should also extend to the assessment of the socio-economic impacts of these occurrences on the affected countries of the region.

DENYS TOSCANO (Ecuador) said he fully supported the process of reform underway at ECLAC, which was part of an adaptation to the new realities and exigencies dictated by the countries of Latin America. Efficient management would enable ECLAC to resume its role as a centre of excellence for development ideas.

This process had already produced results, he said, such as the detailed reports on the effects of natural phenomena such as El Niño, which had caused devastation on the coast of Ecuador and in other countries of the region. The work of the Commission was equally essential for the negotiations for a free trade zone in the Americas -– an experiment which could be extended to include negotiations with the European Union. Its technical support was also of crucial importance for plans to relieve the chronic external debt in the region. He insisted on full support for ECLAC, and stated that the proposed programme budget was only a necessary minimum.

CARLOS DEN HARTOG (Brazil) said he strongly supported the activities of the United Nations regional commissions. The ECLAC was a synonym for economic development and for creative efforts to address development issues. It continued to offer important support to the countries of the region.

He basically agreed with the Committee for Programme and Coordination recommendations that the narrative be amended to be in conformity with the medium-term plan. The overall level of resources proposed was a very modest increase, he added.

On the ongoing process of reform of ECLAC, which Brazil supported, he stated that while it was important to increase the cost-effectiveness of the Commission, this should not become an end in itself. More attention should be given to the mandated activities of the Commission than to those aimed at reforming its processes.

TETSUO KONDO (Japan) said his delegation had noted an expensive proposal to reclassify a local post to the professional level, and also a 10 per cent increase in other staff costs. An explanation of this proposed double increase would be appreciated. Regarding increases in requests for travel of some 30 per cent, he sought information on expenditures for travel to date for the current biennium, to ensure this was an appropriate level.

EVA SILOT BRAVO (Cuba) said ECLAC’s reform should help ensure that the Commission’s work could be carried out in a more efficient way. Cuba said the General Assembly should take steps to ensure that the technical cooperation projects of the Commission should not be reduced or affected. She also raised the question of locally recruited staff. She asked for some indication from the Secretariat about the legislative reference which had led it to adopt its approach to comparative advantages. She said one support for hemispheric activities should not be selective but should benefit all countries of the region. She felt the General Assembly should take steps to make all expected accomplishments more harmonious with the medium-term plan. The reduction of resources for the development of social equity should be done by reallocation rather than reduction.

THOMAS REPASCH (United States) encouraged ECLAC to continue with its own reform, adding that the Commission could play a useful coordination role in the region. Reform was not an end in itself, but a process of continuous improvement, stressed. He encouraged ECLAC to make useful contributions to the summit of the Americas process; ECLAC could serve its members better by focusing on projects with practical results. The United States also wanted to hear the rationale behind the reclassification of certain posts.

Mr. JARA (Chile) took the floor again to associate his delegation with the statement previously made by the representative of Guyana, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China.

JOHN ORR (Canada) said ECLAC was important to the region, and sought information on its cooperation with the Association of American States.

WARREN SACH, Director of the Budget Division, responded to Member States’ questions. On overall levels of resources, he said there was no pre-set level of resources used in preparation of the sections of the proposed budget. Every level had been adjusted during the negotiations between programme managers and the centre. There were constraints, however, which were a consequence of the efforts to live within the level of resources given to the Secretary-General as an estimate for his proposal by Member States in the budget outline. This, of course, influenced the proposals related to individual programmes, as did the priorities set by Member States in the medium-term plan.

There were some redeployments of resources between the various subprogrammes of this proposed budget section, he noted. These were mostly a consequence of the restructuring of subprogrammes. There were large reductions proposed under subprogrammes one and five, and large increases proposed under subprogrammes seven and twelve. The reduction in subprogramme one reflected the transfer of a transport unit to the subprogramme on environment and land resource sustainability. This did not change the level of resources available to ECLAC but merely changed the administration of those resources in an effort to better use them.

The recurrent outputs of the 1998-1999 programme budget were all still available, he said, and all were budgeted in the proposal. One would expect this when the total proposed was a slight increase in resources, he added.

A reduction of about $600,000 had been proposed for subprogramme 5, on social development and social equity, but those resources had simply been transferred to the new subprogramme 12, on mainstreaming gender perspectives.

The request for reclassification of three local level posts to the P-2 level reflected changes in the duties of those posts, which had been added to over several years, from support posts to those with professional responsibilities. The proposals had been submitted following a reclassification review by the Office of Human Resources Management. Besides an increase proposed for these reclassifications, there were also increases requested, under other staff costs, which related to general temporary assistance, mostly to provide ECLAC with the capacity to continue to support and operate of Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) following its full installation in 2000. This would allow the Commission to be self-sustaining until 2001, in the day- to-day operation of IMIS. In addition minor increases of some $9,300 were sought for general temporary assistance for each of the social development subprogramme and the new subprogramme 12 on gender mainstreaming, he added.

Regarding the proposed travel increases, a Member State had noted this was significant increase over 1996-1997, he said. As he had said before, comparisons between 1998-1999 and 1996-1997 must be made carefully, as the budget for the 1996-1997 biennium was exceptionally low. For the current biennium, the expectation was that the provision made would be spent and might be slightly over-spent. The retaining of the 1998-1999 amount was borne out by the experience of that biennium.

Regarding the observation about extrabudgetary resources dropping, he said comparisons between confirmed figures for the current biennium and estimates for the future must be treated circumspectly. Drops in resources from major multilateral organizations, which seemed to be able to provide less funding to ECLAC, had led to the lower estimates.

The vacancy rates had improved since the budget proposal report, he said, and at the end of last month it was 3.3 per cent for Professional posts and 1.9 per cent for General Service posts. There was clearly no vacancy rate problem at ECLAC.

He was sure the need to implement programme 13 without any bias towards countries in the region recommended by the Committee for Programme and Coordination, would be on the minds of the ECLAC administration. He would respond to questions on the relationship of ECLAC with the Organization of American States, and on comparative advantage, in writing.

MOHAMMAD AL-JDEIA (Kuwait) said, under section 20, that collective security had increased slightly as far as allocation of resources was concerned. The medium-term priorities for the sub-programme must take into account the applicability of sub-programmes during the biennium. Advantage should be taken of the past experience of other Commissions. He said that for various reasons the vacancy rate was still very high. He supported the recommendation of the Advisory Committee that this be brought down by giving priority to candidates and speeding up recruitment. The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) carried out many tasks and his delegation believed the work done by the Commission was of great importance and every support should be given to it.

ABDOU AL MOULA NAKKARI (Syria) said there was a very high vacancy rate in ESCWA that could have an adverse impact on the effectiveness of the Commission. The issue should be kept under constant review and measures taken to reduce it.

He said there had also been an extrabudgetary decline which had forced reliance on the regular budget. The ESCWA was performing a vital role in many areas, and his delegation supported the role of ESCWA.

Mr. KONDO (Japan) said he was concerned about possible overlap of programmes and an increase in programme support. Further coordination was necessary to avoid overlap with other development agencies, for which he gave a number of examples among sub-programmes.

He asked why, if the support for IMIS was on a maintenance level, such an increase was needed. He also asked for further information on an increase $29,800 for special services for video and satellite integration and why travel expenses reserved for consultants and experts were so high.

DULCE BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) said the ESCWA vacancy rate was very high and it must be addressed. She asked for more information on the rate and what steps were being taken to reduce it. She said the approach to human rights was somewhat different to the approach taken in the medium-term plan. She drew attention to the formulation of social indicators to follow up the recommendations of world conferences and asked for clarification on the status of the question of their formulation for this section. Cuba wished to reiterate its support for regional commissions, which did good work in many parts of the world.

Mr. REPASCH (United States) asked what the ESCWA vacancy rate was now -– he thought the level of expenditure should be lower given the high vacancy rate. The ESCWA was proposing to acquire feedback on its home page and wondered what kind of feedback had been provided. He asked, given the high vacancy rate, what the justification was for an upgraded post. He also asked what savings had emerged from the merging of ESCWA divisions.

Mr. ORR (Canada) said he had waited for consideration of ESCWA to ask a general question about programme support costs, as this Commission seemed to have the highest level of such costs as a proportion of its budget. He understood the reason for the differences in support costs between those entities that were co-located with other United Nations headquarters, he said. However, the differences in programme support costs between the Commissions was startling. Out of every dollar spent at ESCWA, some 55 cents were spent on programme support. In the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) a much lower proportion, some 39 cents per dollar, was spent. Out of every dollar spent on programme activities by ESCWA $1.03 was spent on support. In the ECA, only 65 cents were spent on support for every dollar spent on programme activities.

He asked for information on the differences in support cost requirements between the regional Commissions.

FOLORUNSO OSEWA (Nigeria) said he wanted to express support for this budget programme. He noted that subprogramme 2 was aimed at improving the quality of life of the people, and commended ESCWA for devising such a programme. In a number of Commissions, he noted that attention was now diverted to programmes that reached people and improved their lives. He had expected more resources would have been devoted to subprogramme 2.

He noticed what appeared to be duplication in subprogrammes 3 and 4, he said, with both subprogrammes geared towards addressing the same problem -- globalization. He asked whether these two could not be merged, with the resources saved to be used to improve resource levels for programme two.

Mr. SACH, Director of the Budget Division, addressed the questions raised. On the vacancy rate, he said things had improved since April, and the rate was now 15.5 per cent (16 vacancies) for Professional posts. A number of measures had been put in place to achieve this, including the preparation of job descriptions and vacancy announcements in advance of the vacancies arising.

He explained that there had been a reorganization of the support services at all the Commissions, to include in each a standard package for programme support. That would allow comparative benchmarking across Commissions. In ESCWA some staff and resources had been moved in from the executive development and management area to programme support, resulting in a growth in the programme support area.

In ESCWA, the expenditure request for this area was high, but ECLAC and the ECA had similar rates, he said. This reflected in part the functions of the regional Commissions, which primarily supported technological cooperation in the region. The technical implementation of projects was also undertaken with resources allocated under this area.

He also noted that ESCWA was the smallest Commission, and that there was a minimum size for all programme support operations if they were to contain the required specializations, like finance and personnel. The fixed costs therefore loomed larger as a proportion of budget in the small Commission than they did in the larger ones.

The maintenance provisions requested for IMIS were for the day-to- day operation of the System, he said, not for maintenance in the sense of maintaining resources from previous biennia, as there was no budget provision for this previously. On the amount of resources requested for travel, he pointed out that airfares in this region were high, and that per deums were necessarily high. The requests on the higher side compared to those made for travel in other regions.

HENRY FOX (Australia) said the increases for regional commissions were of an extremely modest nature, and it was Australia’s view that where organizations dealt in tens of millions of dollars they should be able to absorb costs. He was surprised that the managers of these Commissions were coming to the Committee for small amounts of money.

Additional resources were being sought for the ECA to address the daunting development needs of Africa, but he did not believe that providing additional resources to a Commission in the middle of a process of reform was necessarily the best way to proceed.

If investments were being made in information technology, he said, then Australia would like to see where this had led to savings. On the New York Office for the Commissions, he asked whether the budget for that Office came from the budget of the various Commissions. The level of resources devoted to liaison offices was considerable, but it was not always clear what was being accomplished. He shared the Advisory Committee’s concern in this regard, and would have difficulty agreeing to an increase in resources without the benefit of the review that the Advisory Committee had called for. He, too, was concerned about the high vacancy rates, he added.

Mr. MOKTEFI (Algeria) said the ECA should be given resources commensurate with the challenges facing Africa. His delegation was firmly committed to Africa and he insisted that the continent be given resources that were equal to its problems.

Mr. SACH said that liaison offices were funded from their own sub- section of the budget. The growth rate for the Regional Commissions was set at 0.2 per cent real growth –- and hence was neither a positive nor a negative priority in terms of the overall budget.

GARFIELD BARNWELL (Guyana), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said, under section 21, that in considering the issues that were of strategic importance to accelerating the rate of economic growth in developing countries, technical cooperation remained key, and higher levels of coordination seemed inevitable in the future. International cooperation was facing a larger and growing agenda, he said, and developing countries needed to position themselves to address the challenges. The regular programme of technical cooperation reflected the continuing commitment of the developing countries to strengthen their efforts in support of national development.

The Group regretted, he said, that the ACABQ had not given technical advice under section 21, but instead had transmitted the section to the General Assembly for appropriate action.

Mr. KONDO (Japan) said he did not wish to make specific comments on this section, but was in a position to support the estimate in the programme budget.

Mr. MOKTEFI (Algeria) said this section was of major importance, but he was concerned at the lack of clarity concerning possible overlap between this section and other sections. He asked for more transparency and asked for a table showing the various kinds of expenditure. He added that he would have welcomed the views of the ACABQ.

Ms. SILOT BRAVO (Cuba) said she fully supported the statements made by the representative of Guyana and Algeria. Cuba had similar concerns, and felt it was vitally important to maintain this programme.

Mr. REPASCH (United States) said he saw this programme as a fund for development assistance providing technical assistance to countries that asked for it. He insisted on the need to receive evidence of achievements from programme managers, and felt there was no basis for the recosting of this account.

RAMESH CHANDRA (India) said he supported the statement by the representative of Guyana. While he understood that the proposals at this stage only indicated major programmes, he was concerned about discordance between allocation for disaster relief and complex emergencies. It was essential to enable developing countries to take advantage of globalization and at the same time avoid its risks.

Mr. ORR (Canada) asked what the procedure was under which governments registered technical help and whether there was a list available of countries that had benefited.

Mr SACH, Director of the Budget Division, answering a question about the scrutiny of funds used under this budget section, pointed out that the substantive activities under the regular programme for technological cooperation were scrutinized and reported through the UNDP.

The question asked about the human rights provisions seemed to be based on a misreading of the Secretary-General’s report, he said, as the report indicated there had been no real growth in this area. He noted that an indicative distribution of resources was provided in this section, as resources followed requests received.

There was a recosting provision for this section to maintain the real value of the allocation, he said, and this was consistent with past practice. He would make the guidelines for requests for assistance under this budget section available in informal consultations.

Mr. REPASCH (United States) noted the reference to the established information and reporting procedures for this programme. He asked, given that the annual reports were submitted to UNDP’s executive board, who audited the accounts of activities under this programme. He would also like to be directed towards any audit or evaluations reports he could look at on this section, he added.

Mr. SACH, said that for this section there were the same audit and oversight provisions as for every other budget section, and that the Board of Auditors conducted external audits of it, while the Oversight Office could internally audit it. Audit information was contained in the regular reports of these offices.

Mr. ODAGA JALOMAYO (Uganda) said he thought this budget section deserved the support of all Member States. He noted there had been no increase in resources requested, but there were a lot of activities that warranted resources, like gender perspective programmes, support for efforts to deal with globalization, and issues relating to least- developed, landlocked and small island States. These deserved adequate resources.

The section also provided for training support, he said. Uganda supported the fellowships provided under this section. It also supported provisions made for the Third Conference for least developed countries (LDCs). He noted that in the crime prevention and criminal justice area of this section, some fellowships were restricted to developed countries and countries-in-transition, and asked why they were so restricted.

The Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts and United Nations Controller, JEAN-PIERRE HALBWACHS, explained said that page 296 of the proposed budget actually referred to fellowships restricted to developing countries, not developed countries. There had been a typographical error in an early version of the proposal, he noted, but this had been corrected.

The Committee then turned its attention to part VI of the programme budget, on human rights and humanitarian affairs.

MARY JO ARAGON (Philippines) stressed the importance her delegation attached to the protection of migrant workers –- especially women. In this regard, she was pleased to note the strengthening of the protection of migrant workers as one of the expected accomplishments under sub-programme one.

She was also pleased to see that one of the continuing objectives of sub-programme two was the ratification of the international convention on the protection of migrant workers and their families. She asked for an update on the status of the convention and of the measures being taken by the Secretariat in disseminating the Convention as requested by the General Assembly. She noted with regret the proposed reduction for sub-programme three, and asked for assurances that activities relating in particular to advisory services and technical cooperation would not be adversely affected by this reduction.

JARMO SAREVA (Finland), spoke on behalf of the European Union, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Liechtenstein and Norway. Under section 22, he said he was concerned that resources for this priority activity of the United Nations were still at less than 2 per cent of the total budget. The programme was clearly under-funded and heavily dependent on extrabudgetary resources.

The Union wanted to know whether measures had been taken by the Office of Human Resources Management to speed up recruitment in order to bring down the vacancy rate. It was unacceptable that so many candidates on the roster were contacted so late as to be no longer available for recruitment. He also reiterated the Union’s strong support for sections 23 and 24 of the programme budget. Under section 25, he said it was hard to understand why this received less than 1 per cent of the budget.

Mr. MOKTEFI (Algeria) said, under section 22, that some elements of the narrative were not actually included in the medium-term plan. Activities that related to the right to development should be given the necessary resources, as development was a dimension of human rights. He too was concerned about an increase in travel expenses and consultants.

The section’s presentation was not very detailed, he said, and he asked for verbal clarifications on what amount was being allocated to which activity. He was also concerned about the inclusion of some activities that were not requested by the General Assembly. He said a number of paragraphs should be deleted from the narrative, while noting that there was no paragraph dealing with economic rights or the right to development in a specific manner.

SUN MINQIN (China) said no reference had been made to the medium term plan, which should be the guiding factor for this section of the budget. On expected accomplishments, the number of countries which acceded to treaties had been included; however, accession to treaties was the prerogative of sovereign States -- its inclusion was neither necessary nor desirable in the programme budget. On translating international norms into national legislation, this had not been mentioned in the medium-term plan. It was only at the request of States that the United Nations could provide assistance.

She sought a clarification of the term ‘human rights indicators’ which was used in the narrative, and asked where the mandate could be found in the medium-term plan for the development of such indicators.

She agreed with the ACABQ that there was no need for an additional human rights P-4 post, she said. She noted that expenses for this section had increased, while other areas were reducing their costs.

EKORONG A. DONG (Cameroon) said her fully supported this programme, to which he attached great importance. In his general statement on the proposed budget, he had made an appeal for initiatives to assist developing countries to introduce human rights into their culture. The Committee for Programme and Coordination and the ACABQ had made certain comments that he supported, he said. He drew particular attention to concepts used in the narrative that had not been endorsed by the Assembly. The small growth rate in requested resources did not reflect the importance of this area, which had been termed a priority in the medium-term plan.

The Assembly had endorsed the establishment of a regional human rights centre for Central Africa, and he hoped that resources would be available to implement that decision, he said. Despite a somewhat inappropriate allocation between the various subprogrammes, he supported the requested resources for the programme.

MAE JOHNSON (Canada) stressed the importance of the Organization’s human rights activities. In light of the significance of the task, the resources allocated to the programme were modest -- less than half the amount spent on information technology and less than the Organization’s travel budget. The request for additional resources must be seen in that light.

PARK HAE-YUN (Republic of Korea), also on human rights, said his delegation attached great importance to the section, which was a priority in the medium-term plan. The proposed level of resources was some $43 million. He welcomed the modest increase of roughly $1.5 million from the current biennium. However, the proposed budget for human rights remained less than 2 per cent of the total budget. The proposed increase and the overall resources for human rights were in no way sufficient to implement mandated activities. While his delegation supported the seven new posts, it was concerned about the high vacancy rates. The Secretariat should speed the recruitment process.

DULCE BUERGO RODRIGUEZ (Cuba) expressed concerns about mandates and the narrative. Certain areas indicated a difference from the approach in the medium-term plan in dealing with the subjects. Some activities had been included on which there had been no decision by the Assembly, or which departed from the mandate given by the Assembly. This was the case, for example, with the proposal in the Secretary- General’s budget that there be a consolidated list of human rights indicators. The Secretariat should explain what mandate had been used to include the elaboration of indicators. The subject was sensitive and had been debated extensively by the Assembly. Including activities in the budget without any mandate should be stopped.

Further, she was concerned about the lack of information about the availability of resources for subprogrammes, she continued. Her delegation would appreciate a breakdown of distribution of resources among the various subprogrammes.

She said her delegation would offer more specific comments in informal consultations. Regarding subprogramme 1, documentation for the meetings, what mandate was there for preparation of two reports on forensic medicine, and the two reports on minimum humanitarian norms? she asked. Reference was made to the provision of other services for special rapporteurs, she noted. How many would there be per country and per theme? The activities to be carried out under the section in the next biennium were a priority for the Organization and her delegation had noted the significant increase in resources for those activities.

RAMESH CHANDRA (India), speaking on the humanitarian assistance section of the budget proposal, said it was essential that all paragraphs of this fascicle be in conformity with Assembly decisions. India valued the growth of some 9.6 per cent in proposed resources over the last biennium. It had hoped to see similar growth in other areas of the programme budget.

He was unable to accept the statement in the narrative of this section that humanitarian responses should be fully integrated with peacekeeping and political initiatives, he said. The Non-aligned Movement and others had stressed the need to ensure that the difference between humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping and political activities were maintained. This paragraph needed to be appropriately modified.

In the same paragraph, he also objected to the use of the term “technological emergencies”, he said, which had not yet received Assembly approval, as well as certain other terms used in this section that, similarly, were still to be approved by the Assembly.

India was opposed to the political use of humanitarian assistance, he said, and was therefore opposed to references in the narrative to strategies that did not support the distinction between these two areas.

Mr. ODAGA JALOMAYO (Uganda) said this was a priority section and, as he came from Uganda -– a country with a past record on human rights that people were aware of -- he was sympathetic to the proposals contained in it.

He was concerned about the high level of vacancies, and sought an update on those levels, he said. Concerns had been expressed that recruitment to the Centre for Human Rights was not based on as wide a geographical base as possible, and he hoped to receive information on this in informal consultations. Human rights should not be looked at as belonging to a particular region of the world, and therefore the Centre’s recruitment in the Commission should have as wide a geographical-base as possible.

He also attached importance to activities on the right to development, he said, and was interested to know why information the ACABQ had asked be included in the next budget proposal, on the amount of resources that would be used to address this right, was not available at present. He also sought information on the criteria for the establishment of human rights field offices.

He had noted the Commission’s special printing needs, he said, and would like information on savings achieved by using external printing, as well as on efforts that had been made to strengthen the printing capacity at the United Nations office in Geneva.

ALEXANDER PABB (United States) expressed support for the proposed budget levels for human rights. He was pleased that the proposal addressed the central role of the Commissioner in enhancing coordination. The section was fully consistent with the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and other relevant mandates. It also reflected resources required to service the number of mandates given to the operative units and the increased workloads of treaty bodies.

The United States would like to see more specific indicators listed under accomplishments, he said, but the accomplishments listed were generally in accord with the mandates. He asked what the basis was for an apparent over-budgeting for the Committee on missing persons in Cyprus. He would also be interested in current vacancy-rate figures.

FOLORUNSO OSEWA (Nigeria) supported the activities carried out by the United Nations under this section, but also supported the ACABQ comments on steps that needed to be taken to avoid duplication. The human rights advisory services, which assisted developing countries to prepare reports requested by human rights bodies, were significant, and he would like to see more funds allocated to this area. Staff levels for this programme were inadequate in the light of work it was called upon to do.

Any expenditure on human rights was money well spent, he said. In the light of Nigeria’s recent history, when it had been held hostage by regimes with no regard for human rights, he expressed his country’s strong support for the budget proposals for human rights programmes.

Mr. KONDO (Japan) expressed deep appreciation for the High Commissioner’s determined commitment to one of the most contentious issues in the medium-term plan. The level of resources was appropriate. Also, distribution of resources among the subprogrammes was also pertinent. At the 39th session of the Committee for Programme and Coordination it had been stressed that to undertake human rights activities, cooperation with governments was crucial. Similarly, the High Commissioner should be closely working with all United Nations entities for the promotion of rights.

Regarding some $112,000 having to do with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, he said that if that Convention’s entry into force was not an imminent event, the unspent amount should appear in the surplus. His delegation shared the concerns of the ACABQ about redeploying a post for the New York office.

Mr. SACH, Director of the Budget Division, said section 22 was a section of the budget on which all delegations tended to work harder than normal to reach consensus.

Noting concerns that the level of activities for advisory services and technical cooperation might be adversely affected by the proposed reduction in subprogramme 3 of section 25, he said the Secretariat was prepared to give assurances that this would not happen. There had been a special situation regarding Rwanda; those needs were no longer present and the overall reduction was consistent with that change. There would be no collateral effects.

Delegates had asked for information about the vacancy situation, he said. At the end of April, Professional level vacancies had been 15.7 per cent, but that had changed to 6.7 per cent at the end of September. For General Service staff, a 17.3 per cent vacancy at the end of April had become 5.8 per cent at the end of September.

On the larger issue of the question of the programme of work under section 22, and its conformity with the provisions of the medium-term plan and related mandates, there had been questions on human rights indicators and on the Paris Principles, he noted. The CPC had been able to agree to approve the programme narrative of the section, subject to seven modifications. One area where there had not been total agreement was the item on preparation of a consolidated list of human rights indicators. This item was justified based on the revised medium-term plan. Programme 19, of the medium-term plan, human rights, called in part for the identification of indicators showing successes regarding compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. That was based on the Vienna Declaration adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993). Part II, paragraph 98 of the Declaration, calling for strengthening of the enjoyment of economic, cultural and social rights, stated that additional approaches should be considered, including the elaboration of indicators. The CPC had had difficulty on that part of the narrative and recommended that the Assembly carefully consider it, bearing in mind the ongoing consideration of the issues.

Other questions related to the Paris Principles, he said. The basis for the narrative’s reference to national institutions for the promotion of human rights had been adopted by the General Assembly in the mid-1970s.

On perennials and the provision of resources without mandates, he said that the procedure had been followed since the mid-1980s in certain sections. These arrangements had been adopted based on resolution 41/213 [by which the Organization’s budgetary process was established]. The procedure had then been reviewed at the fifty-third session by the ACABQ.

The Secretariat understood that those arrangements and procedures regarding perennials were in place, and therefore governed provisions in section 22 on rapporteurs and other elements. Given the process by which individual mandates were assigned, thematically or on a country- by-country basis by the High Commissioner, it had not been known at the time of budget preparation which themes or countries would have activities. The practice was to maintain a level of resource from budget to budget on the basis of the previous biennium. To questions on “over-budgeting” for the component of Section 22 on the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, he said those provisions reflected optimism regarding what progress could be made at a substantive level in terms of moving forward on the problem. Unfortunately, that optimism had not been rewarded, and there was a pattern of the resources being underspent by the time the Secretariat reported on each section of the budget.

Other information would be made available for informal consultations.

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