GENERAL ASSEMBLY FILLS VACANCY ON ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY QUESTIONS

Press Release
GA/9698

GENERAL ASSEMBLY FILLS VACANCY ON ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY QUESTIONS

The General Assembly this morning appointed Juichi Takahara of Japan To the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). Mr. Takahara, who was nominated by his Government, will fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Fumiaki Toya, also of Japan, and will serve the remainder of Mr. Toya’s term, due to end on 31 December 2001.

The ACABQ has 16 members, elected in their personal capacity for three-year terms. At least three of the members must be financial experts of recognized standing. The Committee, set up by the first session of the General Assembly, is charged with examining the regular and peacekeeping budgets of the United Nations, as well as the United Nations accounts.

Also this morning, the Assembly President, Theo-Ben Gurirab (Namibia), invited Member States to note a letter from the Secretary-General (document A/54/730) listing the 52 Member States currently in arrears of their financial obligations, to the extent that sanctions entailed in Article 19 of the United Nations Charter apply. According to Article 19, if a Member State’s arrears equal or exceed the amount it owes in contributions for the preceding two full years, it shall have no vote in the Assembly. The letter also lists the minimum amounts required from those Member States to avoid Article 19 sanctions.

The Assembly also offered its condolences to the bereaved families, relatives and friends of those who lost their lives in two aeroplane crashes: an Air Kenya plane that crashed off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire; and an Alaska Airlines plane that crashed off California.

The Assembly President also announced that he had designated Kishore Mahbubani (Singapore) and Inocencio Arias (Spain) as vice-chairpersons of the open-ended working group of the Assembly on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa -– a working group chaired by the President. This group, he said, would next meet in March 2000.

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