Resumed Fifty-fifth General Assembly

Fifth Committee

65^th Meeting (AM)

FIFTH COMMITTEE WINDS UP DISCUSSION OF MONUC FINANCING;

DRAFT RESOLUTION ON UNIFIL INTRODUCED

Action on UNIFIL Draft Expected Friday

In a brief meeting this morning, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) concluded its general discussion on the financing of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).

Introducing the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) (document A/55/941), that body’s Chairman, Conrad S.M. Mselle, said that the recommendations of the Advisory Committee were set out in paragraph 26 of the report and were based on the detailed review of the report of the Secretary-General (document A/55/935) -- which had been introduced by the Secretariat on the opening day of the Committee’s second resumed session -- and the Committee’s own comments.  The main recommendations included the authorization by the Assembly of an additional assessment of $90.8 million for the period ending 30 June 2001.  The report included another main recommendation for an authorization and assessment of $200 million for the period from 1 July 2001 to

1 December. 

The representative of Morocco drew the Committee’s attention to a  correction that had been made to the text.  He reminded members that up to now, neither the Assembly nor the Advisory Committee had had the opportunity to examine a proper budget for MONUC.  This was mainly due to the circumstances underlying the involvement of the United Nations in the Congo and the pace at which the Council was authorizing the Mission’s mandate.  The Advisory Committee would recommend that a full budget be presented to the Assembly at its fifty-sixth session.  He added that an unspent balance of $3.4 million from 1999 should be applied to the period 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001.

The Committee next heard the oral introduction of a draft resolution on the financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) (document A/C.5/55/L.77) by the representative of Iran on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China.  By that draft resolution, the Assembly would, among other things, urge all Member States to make every effort to assure payment of their assessed contributions to the Force in full and on time.  The Committee’s Chairman informed members that it was expected to act on the draft on Friday morning, 25 May.

Several representatives noted that the draft resolution reiterated the Secretary-General’s identification of costs to be borne by Israel resulting from the incident at Qana, Lebanon, on 18 April 1996. 

The representative of Lebanon asserted that the language in the text was not political but financial, calling for reparations for the direct aggression against a United Nations peacekeeping headquarters.  He said a precedent must be set to ensure that no State would repeat such action.  Informal consultations had shown that a vote would be necessary on the draft resolution.  He hoped the Chairman would specify a time for that vote so that all delegations could be present. 

The representative of Israel said the draft included political paragraphs which would make it impossible to adopt by consensus.  There was no precedent for a particular Member State bearing sole responsibility for damage caused to a United Nations headquarters.  Any damage incurred should be absorbed by the general budget of peacekeeping operations, in line with the principle of collective responsibility.  Moreover, the attack had not been deliberate; it had been in response to the three-day bombardment of his country by Hezbollah from within the Force’s camp.  No country would stand by and watch as its people and cities were bombed for three days.

The representative of the United States said that the draft resolution contained political arguments that did not belong in such a text.  That view was also shared by the representative of Sweden, speaking on behalf of the European Union.

The representative of Syria, endorsing the statement made by Lebanon, said the bombing had been deliberate, the losses had been assessed, and it was now a matter of Israel respecting its obligations to the United Nations and to the international community.  While he understood that any country facing aggression would feel the need to respond, his position that Israel must bear the cost of the bombing of the UNIFIL camp was based on information in the relevant report of the Secretary-General.

The representative of Iraq concurred with the statements of Lebanon and Syria.

The Committee will meet again on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.

* *** *