Fifty-ninth General Assembly

Fifth Committee

30^th Meeting (AM)

budget committee approves 2004-2005 financing

 

for former yugoslavia, rwanda tribunals

 

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning recommended to the General Assembly revised financing for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Tribunal for Rwanda.  The Committee also considered the first performance report on the programme budget for the biennium 2004-2005 and reports on the United Nations Web site.

By the draft texts approved by the Committee, the Assembly would decide on a revised appropriation for 2004-2005 of $329.32 million gross ($298.44 million net) for the Special Account for the Former Yugoslavia Tribunal, and $255.91 million gross ($231.51 million net) for the Special Account for the Rwanda Tribunal.  The revisions included changes with respect to exchange rates, as a result of the weakening of the United States dollar vis-à-vis the euro, and provision for the Tribunals’ Investigations Divisions for 2005.

In both texts, the Assembly would urge Member States to pay their assessed contributions on time, as the “precarious financial situation of the Tribunal” and the levels of unpaid assessed contributions had resulted in a freeze imposed by the Secretariat on the Tribunals, which was having a negative impact on the completion strategies.  It would request the Secretary-General to make every effort to ensure that areas critical to the successful completion of the mandate of the Tribunals were exempt from any freezes.

The first performance report on the 2004-2005 programme budget, which was introduced by United Nations Controller Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, identifies adjustments for inflation and exchange rate variations, as well as unforeseen and extraordinary items and additional mandates approved by the General Assembly and the Security Council after the adoption of the budget.  Such a report is normally submitted at the end of the first year of the biennium.  The revised requirements under the expenditure sections amount to some $3.35 billion, an increase of $172 million vis-à-vis the appropriation level approved in June 2004 (or $190.3 million more than the initial appropriation approved in December 2003).

Introducing a related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), its Chairman, Vladimir Kuznetsov, said the Advisory Committee was disappointed with the apparent reluctance of the Secretariat thus far to comply with the Assembly’s directives in resolution 58/270 by which it was given greater flexibility, on an experimental basis, in redeployment of posts.  Greater efforts should be made to utilize the flexibility given to the Secretary-General in implementing mandated programmes, rather than proceeding automatically to propose new posts.

The representative of the Netherlands, speaking on behalf of the European Union, noted that the initial appropriation for 2002-2003 had been about $2.63 billion and that, by the time the decision would be made next year for the next biennium, the Committee would be looking at proposals in the region of $3.7 billion.  The delegations of the Union collectively paid 37 per cent of those costs and the $1 billion-plus increase in just four years was a significant challenge for them.

He noted with concern the comments of the Secretariat that the freeze on General Service recruitment had led to a gradual increase in the realized monthly General Service vacancy rate and to difficulties in implementing planned programmes of work.  That, of course, had not been the intention of the proposal, he said, which aimed at encouraging a reduced dependence on General Service staff across the board through better management and increased use of information and communication technology by Professional-level staff.

Qatar’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, noted that, depending upon the outcome of considerations not reflected in the report, the budget might actually increase by as much as $312 million, while the report reflected an increase of $172 million.

As the Committee turned to the report on the efforts to strengthen the United Nations Web site, several speakers agreed with the representative of the United States, who stressed that the site could be seen as one of the major accomplishments of the United Nations over the last years.  It had been very useful to the Organization, the delegates and peoples around the world.  Moreover, it had been accomplished on a relatively small budget.

However, several delegates felt that more needed to be done to achieve the goals of multilingualism, and the representative of Cuba said that the Committee needed to take a decision that would truly contribute towards full and complete equality among the Organization’s six official languages.

In that connection, Syria’s representative said that, despite all efforts, there was an imbalance in the capacity in all languages.  There was stark difference in the quality of the Web site in the five official languages, compared to English.  As it was particularly true in the case of the Arabic language, it was important to ensure the quality of that page.  It was very clear from the report that, in the light of the Department’s inability to further redeploy posts, it was necessary to allocate staff to the Web site.

Also speaking this morning were representatives of Nigeria (on behalf of the African Group), China, Tunisia, Japan and Canada.

Responses to questions and comments from the floor were provided by the Director of the Programme and Budget Division, Warren Sach.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 15 December, to take action on two draft texts and to consider the programme budget for the biennium 2004-2005.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning was expected to act on draft resolutions related to the financing of international tribunals (see Action on Drafts) and take up the first performance report for the current biennium, as well as the requirements for strengthening the United Nations Web site.

The Committee had before it the first performance report on the 2004-2005 budget (document A/59/578), which identifies adjustments for inflation and exchange rate variations, as well as unforeseen and extraordinary items and additional mandates approved by the General Assembly and the Security Council after the adoption of the budget.  Such a report is normally submitted at the end of the first year of the biennium.

The revised requirements under the expenditure sections amount to some $3.35 billion, an increase of $172 million vis-à-vis the appropriation level approved in June 2004 (or $190.3 million more than the initial appropriation approved in December 2003).  The revised estimates under the income sections amount to $424.7 million, an increase of $9.4 million.  Consequently, net requirements amount to some $2.93 billion, an increase of $162.5 million.

According to the document, changes in exchange rates have increased the budget by some $79.43 million, and an increase of some $32.81 million can be attributed to inflation.  An amount of some $40.6 million would be needed to cover decisions of policy-making bodies related to strengthening the security and safety of United Nations operations, staff and premises ($39.75 million); to strengthen the Office of the President of the General Assembly ($815,000); and pay for the Security Council meeting that was held in Nairobi last month ($37,400).

Regarding unforeseen and extraordinary expenses, the report states that, under the terms of Assembly resolution 58/273 of 23 December 2003, the Secretary-General is authorized, with the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, to enter into commitments not exceeding a total of $8 million in any one year to finance unforeseen and extraordinary expenses related to the maintenance of peace and security and activities of the International Court of Justice.  He is also allowed to enter into commitments not exceeding a total of $500,000 in connection with inter-organizational security measures.

The Secretary-General reports that he has entered into commitments in the amount of some $7.45 million, as follows:  $7.34 million for the maintenance of peace and security (including the activities of such bodies as the Commission of Inquiry for Côte d’Ivoire and Commission of Inquiry for Darfur); $103,700 for unforeseen expenses in respect of the International Court of Justice; and $4,200 for inter-organizational security measures.

An addendum to the performance report (document A/59/578/Add.1) addresses the implementation of the United Nations Official Document System (ODS), providing a review of increasing availability and expansion of the system use over the past two bienniums.  According to the document, significant progress has been made in the past two years and efforts will continue to enhance the operation.  It is expected that, by the end of 2004, free ODS access will be available to the general public, and all main offices will be loading documents onto the system from their premises in a production operation mode.

The Advisory Committee, in a related report (document A/59/601) finds the performance report well prepared, with adequate technical information and analysis.  It does, however, also comment on matters where, in itsopinion, there is a need to present information in a more transparent manner.  With the exception of a reduction of $815,000 explained below, the Advisory Committee recommends that the Assembly approve the revised estimates contained in the Secretary-General’s report, subject to such adjustments as may be necessary as a result of its consideration of matters now before it, including estimates related to special political missions and security and the consolidated statement of revised estimates and programme budget implications.

The Advisory Committee recommends that the amount of $815,000 be absorbed from within existing resources for the biennium 2004-2005.  That amount was requested for three additional posts (one D-2, one D-1 and one General Service) within the Office of the President of the General Assembly.  In that connection, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) recalls that, by the terms of Assembly resolution 58/126 of 19 December 2003, resources available to that Office in personnel and other support costs should be augmented from within existing resources.  The Assembly also decided that five additional posts should be made available to supplement current support, of which three should be filled on an annual basis, following consultations with the incoming President, beginning at the fifty-ninth session of the Assembly.  Two vacant posts (one P-3 and one P-4) have been identified within the existing establishment of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, and the Advisory Committee is of the opinion that the remaining three posts should also be provided through redeployment.

The Advisory Committee also points out that, as part of normal personnel practice, continuing need for a post should be evaluated prior to filling that post again.  Staff turnover does provide an element of flexibility, especially if the staffing table is managed as a whole.  In this regard, the ACABQ stresses the need to view the allocation of posts as dynamic, rather than static; posts need to be reviewed periodically to ensure that their functions are consistent with current objectives.  Moreover, as stated in a previous ACABQ report, departments should not “own” particular posts at particular grade levels.  The Advisory Committee is disappointed with the apparent reluctance of the Secretariat thus far to comply with the Assembly’s directives in resolution 58/270.  Greater efforts should be made to utilize the flexibility given to the Secretary-General in implementing mandated programmes, rather than proceeding automatically to propose new posts.

The Committee also had before it the Secretary-General’s report on the status of strengthening of the Department of Public Information, within the existing capacity, in order to support and enhance the United Nations Web site in all official languages (document A/59/336).  The Web site is being strengthened through redeployment of resources within the Department.  Currently, the staff of the Web Site Section comprises 25 posts (one P-5, three P-4, six P-3, three P-2 and 12 General Service posts) redeployed from other functions of the Department of Public Information.  In addition, three General Service staff work in the Section under general temporary assistance.  The Department has also taken steps to enhance the Web site and facilitate the availability of materials in all official languages by entering into arrangements with universities in various regions for pro bono translation of information materials.

However, the report states that, with continuing growth of content of the Web site, there are no further opportunities within the current budget of the Department to absorb the costs involved in enhancing the Web site without adversely affecting implementation of Member States’ mandates for other activities.  The Department is faced with trying to close the extensive gap between English and the other official languages in the context of a continuing heavy increase in the volume of material in which English continues to dominate.  The combination of these factors places increasing demands on the United Nations Web site and the Department’s current resource capacity continues to be severely strained.

In increasing the volume of material in official languages, the Department is facing expanded responsibilities and an increase in the workload required to ensure continued maintenance of the Web site.  For example, the News Centres require constant updating, as well as the daily input of news; the translated materials from the universities need to be edited, processed, formatted and converted for posting; and the continually expanding database programming needs ongoing monitoring and enhancement.  In addition, the Committee on Information has requested the Department to ensure that all new and revised pages adhere to the obligatory level of compliance with recognized industry standards regarding accessibility by persons with disabilities.

The Advisory Committee, in a related report (document A/59/558), welcomes cooperation with universities for translation of information materials and encourages the Department to continue this work.  As for the workload and future requirements of the Web site Section, the ACABQ is planning to revert to the matter in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007.  For now, the Advisory Committee recommends that the Assembly take note of the Secretary-General’s report.

Programme Budget

As the Committee took up the first performance report for the biennium 2004-2005, Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts and United Nations Controller JEAN-PIERRE HALBWACHS introduced the documents before the Committee.

Introducing a related report of the ACABQ, its Chairman, VLADIMIR KUZNETSOV, highlighted the issues related to the resources for the Office of the General Assembly President and redeployment of posts.  The Advisory Committee supported the funding for the Office of the Assembly President, but the proposal contained in the Secretary-General’s report ran counter to resolution 58/126, by which the Assembly had decided that resources available to that Office in personnel and other support costs should be augmented from within existing resources.  The Advisory Committee was not satisfied that sufficient effort had been given by the Secretariat in that regard.

As for the redeployment of posts, he said that the ACABQ was disappointed with the apparent reluctance of the Secretariat thus far to comply with the Assembly’s directives in resolution 58/270.  Greater efforts should be made to utilize the flexibility given to the Secretary-General in implementing mandated programmes, rather than proceeding automatically to propose new posts.

Statements

MARK ZELLENRATH (Netherlands), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said that, together with the budget outline for 2006-2007, the performance report brought home to the delegations the major increases in funds now required by the Organization to carry out its mandates.  The initial appropriation for 2002-2003 had been about $2.63 billion.  By last year, when the Committee had approved the appropriation for the current biennium, that amount had risen to $3.16 billion, and by the time the decision would be made next year for the next biennium, the Committee would be looking at proposals in the region of $3.7 billion.  The delegations of the European Union collectively paid 37 per cent of those costs, and the $1 billion-plus increase in just four years was a significant challenge for them.

Recognizing the increasing demands on the United Nations and the need to fund its responsibilities, the Union also appreciated the efforts of programme managers and the Secretariat to restrain to a great extent calls for additional resources, he said.  The background of pressing need made it all the more vital for the Secretariat and membership together to identify ways of reallocating resources to the main priority areas.  He also wished to see the United Nations make more flexible use of the resources it had.  Like the ACABQ, the countries he represented would have liked to see further progress by now in using the additional flexibility for redeploying staff granted to the Secretariat in the budget resolution last year.  He hoped that would be pursued vigorously in 2005.

Continuing, he noted with concern the comments of the Secretariat that the freeze on General Service recruitment had led to a gradual increase in the realized monthly General Service vacancy rate and to difficulties in implementing planned programmes of work.  That, of course, had not been the intention of the proposal, which aimed at encouraging a reduced dependence on General Service staff across the board through better management and increased use of information and communication technology by Professional-level staff.

On safety and security, he said that the European Union was prepared to incorporate the additional costs for 2004-2005 to be decided this session, into the total appropriation for 2005.  Ongoing security costs beyond 2005 would need to be additional to those figures, to be approved in the context of the budget outline for 2006-2007.

In summary, he said that the Union was prepared to approve the Secretary-General’s proposals and the ACABQ recommendations regarding the performance report and the budget outline for 2006-2007.  In doing so, the Union emphasized that it continued to closely monitor the ongoing process of reform within the United Nations, and especially the reform elements set in train in resolution 58/268 on the programme budget.  He fully supported the comments of the Secretary-General in paragraph 7 of the budget outline to the effect that budget proposals would reflect the benefit of further reviews of possible obsolete activities, additional cost-effective measures and simplified procedures.  In the next biennial budget, he looked forward to working with the Secretariat and MemberStates to ensure the optimal use of resources.

MISHAL MOHAMMED AL-ANSARI (Qatar), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, noted that the revised requirements under expenditure sections amounted to $3.35 billion, reflecting an increase of $172 million.  He also noted that the budget might increase by as much as $312 million depending upon the outcome of considerations not reflected in the first performance report.  He had also taken note of the explanation provided by the Secretariat for the difficulties that it had experienced in 2004 to identify programmes that could benefit from the experiment of staffing flexibility.

Noting the information provided regarding efforts made to absorb the cost of, or mobilize resources for the Repertory of Practice of the United Nationsorgans, he reiterated its call for the Secretariat to make every effort to ensure the continuation of the Repertory.  He observed the omission in not including provision of the necessary resource requirements for the Joint Inspection Unit for 2005 and looked forward to making the necessary provision for that purpose.

THOMAS REPASCH (United States) said that, although the report was well prepared and realizing that it contained data showing what had taken place, rather than proposals, he asked about the difference in figures given in paragraphs 15 and 16, dealing with strengthening the security and safety of United Nations operations, staff and premises.  Paragraph 15 gave a figure of $38 million, while paragraph 16 mentioned a figure of $39.75 million.  He wanted to know the basis for the discrepancy.

Regarding the issue of redeployment of posts, he said the Assembly last year had provided for such flexibility at the request of the Secretariat.  He was very disappointed to learn that, a year later, nothing had happened.  He asked in that regard what “redoubling of efforts” meant and requested a more concrete action plan.  Another question related to a report from the Office of Internal Oversight Services (document A/59/396) that had recommended that the Office for Central Support should surrender $4.8 million, as the projects for which the funds were mentioned had been deferred.  He asked when the Secretariat would surrender those funds.

He announced that he would submit a proposal to eliminate a disparity that had occurred since the Assembly had decided to eliminate the tiered system for the daily subsistence rates of Secretariat officials when travelling.

NORMA GOICOCHEA (Cuba) supported the position of the Group of 77 and China and noted the observation in paragraph 8 of the Secretary-General’s report in connection with the Assembly decision, in resolution 58/270, to defer the appropriation of budgetary provisions for the Joint Inspection Unit.  Accordingly, while the report included recosting adjustments in respect of the approved provision for 2004 for the Unit, no budgetary provision for 2005 or related recosting had been included.  Allocations should be given to the Unit and reflected in the level of resources to be adopted on the performance report.  The Assembly should take an unequivocal stand on that issue.

Continuing, she supported a request by the Secretary-General for the Office of the President of the General Assembly, taking note of the fact that three remaining posts still had not been identified for redeployment.  She also expressed concern over the information contained in paragraph 42 of the performance report regarding increasing difficulties in implementing planned programmes of work as a result of the suspension in General Service recruitment. She supported the statement contained in the report that a report was to be submitted to the General Assembly in the latter part of 2005 recommending the lifting of the suspension of recruitment for General Service posts for the remainder of the biennium.  It was important to look at the issue.

She also supported the position of the Group of 77 on the Repertory of Practice and looked forward to receiving details on the issue.  She also agreed with the technical adjustment to reclassify the field service post to the P-4 level for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and raised a question in connection with the regular technical cooperation programme.  She wanted to know about the impact on the level of resources for that programme in connection with paragraph 9 of General Assembly resolution 58/270, by the terms of which the Assembly had decided not to apply recosting to that programme.

NONYE UDO (Nigeria), speaking on behalf of the African Group, associated herself with the statement by Qatar on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, saying that she wanted to focus on the situation of the Office of General Assembly President.  During the budget negotiations last year, the African Group had supported the decision to strengthen that Office.  Her delegation took note of the submission put forward by the Secretary-General in connection with the Office and the ACABQ comments on the matter.  Three posts still remained to be filled, and the Advisory Committee believed that they should be provided through redeployment.  She would like to receive information from the Secretariat on whether it would be in position to do that and how soon.  Were there any impediments?

WARREN SACH, Director, Programme Planning and Budget Division, addressing the question on arrangements made for strengthening the office of the President of the General Assembly, said solutions had been sought based on existing vacancies.  However, there had been fewer vacancies than required.  Therefore, temporary assistance had been sought.  Although the ACABQ had recommended against the sought amount for temporary assistance, he said the Secretariat could not invent vacancies if they did not exist.  The Secretariat would continue efforts to provide the President with the approved resources, but could not promise that vacancies could be used if they did not occur.

As to the question about the regular programme of technical cooperation, he said the appropriation had not been recosted.  As to the difference mentioned by the representative of the United States, he said the amount mentioned in paragraph 16 had been adjusted for inflation and changing exchange rates.  As to the question of what was meant by “redoubling efforts” in implementing post flexibility, he said the Secretariat would be more proactive in identifying posts that would become vacant due to retirement.

Addressing the question about surrendering $4.8 million, as suggested by the OIOS, he said that amount had been intended for funding construction activities for security at Headquarters.  Those funds had been recorded as expenses when the funds had been transferred.  He would consult with the Office of Common Services as to the intended scheduling of the delayed work.  He noted that surrendering of the funds would require a later appropriation of the funds.

Ms. UDO (Nigeria) asked if she had understood correctly that resources for the Assembly President would continue to be provided.

Mr. SACH answered that work was done based on the mandate provided by the fifty-eighth session of the Assembly, which had approved that the required services should be given.  Three of the posts had been absorbed; for two posts, temporary assistance was sought and there would be continued efforts to fill them.  If those efforts were not successful, then recourse had to be taken to some degree of temporary assistance, according to what he thought was the wish of the Assembly.

Strengthening of United Nations Web Site

Mr. HALBWACHS then introduced the reports on the Secretary-General on the United Nations Web site in all official languages (document A/59/336).

Mr. KUZNETSOV introduced a related ACABQ report (document A/59/558).

WANG XINXIA (China) reiterated that her country attached great importance to enhancing the United Nations Web site and recalled that, by its resolution 58/270, the Assembly had requested the Secretary-General to continue to strengthen the United Nations Web site through further redeployment to the required language posts and to report on the status of its implementation to the Assembly at its fifty-ninth session.  In 2004-2005, redeployment of seven posts had been approved, including one P-4, for which recruitment was in the final stage, according to the report.  All the General Service posts had been advertised, and five had already been filled.  The remaining post, that of the Web site assistant in Chinese, had not been filled owing to the absence of eligible internal candidates.  She was concerned about that situation and asked for an update on the recruitment for that post.  She also wanted to know to which language the P-4 had been allocated.  What had been done to facilitate recruitment of the Chinese assistant?  She hoped the Department of Public Information would continue its efforts to ensure proper staffing for the Web site.

NAJIB ELJI (Syria) said that his delegation supported enhancement of the Web site in all official languages through strengthening the Department of Public Information.  It was important to ensure that all information was available on an equal footing in all official languages of the United Nations.  Taking note of the report, he said that, despite all efforts, there was an imbalance in the capacity in all languages.  Any visitor could see that there was stark difference in the quality of the Web site in the five official languages, compared to English.  That was particularly true for Arabic, which used non-Latin letters.  It was important to ensure the quality of that page, and the technology used should be friendly to users in all official languages, including Arabic.

He also took note of the fact that the administration was unable to undertake further redeployment to enhance the Web site.  The situation was exacerbated by the fact that there was a significant increase in the number of visitors, as well as the volume of information available on the site.  That required further allocation of resources.  It was very clear from the report that, in the light of the Department’s inability to further redeploy posts, it was necessary to allocate staff for that purpose.

Turning to the freeze on recruitment of General Service staff, he said that it should not apply to workers related to the Web site.  The Department of Management should review its mistaken interpretation of the General Assembly resolution in that regard.  He called on the Secretariat to provide the Committee with written information in informal consultations on post requirements, in light of the site’s current workload.

Mr. REPASCH (United States) expressed his pleasure with the progress made at the United Nations Web site.  It could be seen as one of the major accomplishments of the United Nations over the last years and had been very useful to the Organization, the delegates and peoples around the world.  Moreover, it had been accomplished on a relatively small budget.

Ms. GOICOCHEA (Cuba) agreed with the delegations of China and Syria that the question of multilingualism was an important one.  The recommendation mentioned by the ACABQ in paragraph 29 of the report did not have any practical effect, as there was a problem of resources.  She expected a decision that would truly contribute towards full and complete equality between languages.

Ms. UDO (Nigeria) noted that paragraph 5 of the report mentioned the use of “Galaxy” to automatically assign candidates to current vacancies and asked for more information about it.

RAFLA M’RABET (Tunisia) reaffirmed the importance of the United Nations Web site and the need to expand access to its content in all official languages.  All diplomats in New York and Geneva, as well as the public in Member States, should have access to the information contained on the Web site.

HITOSHI KOZAKI (Japan) agreed with previous speakers who had commended the efforts of the Department of Public Information (DPI) to improve the Web site within existing resources.  He suggested that the Committee should hold a short informal meeting to prepare a decision on the matter, by which it would endorse the recommendations of the ACABQ to take note of the Secretary-General’s report.

Mr. ZELLENRATH (Netherlands) said that yesterday, his delegation had expressed its concern about the limited time that the Committee had to conclude its work.  For that reason, he supported the proposal by Japan.

Responding to questions from the floor, Mr. SACH provided information regarding the posts mentioned in paragraph 7 of the Secretary-General’s report.  The report had been prepared at the end of August; at the beginning of September, the P-4 post had been filled in Arabic.  As for the vacancy for a Web site assistant in Chinese, that did remain vacant at this point. The Secretariat was working with the Office of Human Resources Management to fill the post but, at the moment, there were no suitable internal candidates.  The post could only be filled internally by moving staff around.

Regarding interpretation of resolution 58/270, he recalled that, by the terms of paragraph 25 of that text, the Assembly had requested the Secretary-General to suspend recruitment action for new vacancies in General Service posts for the biennium 2004–2005, with the exception of safety and security personnel and editorial assistants (text processors) in language functions, and to report on the progress made and on the impact of those measures in the context of his performance reports.  While a suggestion had been made that the Secretariat had made a mistake in the interpretation of the resolution, as written it did not provide for discretion by the Secretary-General.  The only exceptions allowed were quite specific, and language assistants within the Web site did not fall within the occupational groups identified in the text.  Thus, no flexibility could be exercised in that regard.

Mr. ELJI (Syria) pointed out that, when the resolution was adopted, his delegation had been vary active in making sure that paragraph 25 should make that exception to the freeze.  The words “text processors” had been added later by the Secretariat through editing.  Language services should not be negatively affected by the freeze.

JERRY KRAMER (Canada), addressing the performance report, noted the Secretary-General’s intention to come back to the issue of the freeze of recruitment of the General Service staff.  In that regard, he asked whether an intended study on the functions and number of General Service staff would be undertaken.  He also asked whether the Secretariat envisaged testing the flexibility of moving posts.

Regarding the Web site, he agreed with the representative of the United States on progress made and supported Japan’s proposal.  He assured delegates that the words “editorial assistance” in paragraph 25 of resolution 58/270 had indeed been negotiated and that it had not been an editorial insertion.

Mr. ELJI (Syria) said that although “editorial assistance” had been negotiated, the words “text processor” had been added by the Secretariat.  Those words changed the meaning of the paragraph.  However, in paragraph 42 of resolution 58/270, the Secretary-General had been asked to redeploy language posts to strengthen the Web site.  That paragraph did not mention “within the resources of the Department of Public Information”.  Why had the flexibility in mobility not been used in order to redeploy the two language posts? he asked.

Mr. SACH answered the last question by saying that paragraph 14 of the resolution had put restrictions on flexibility.  According to that paragraph, the experiment on flexibility could not apply to language services.  As for the question asked by the representative of Canada on testing flexibility, he again pointed out that paragraph 14 of the resolution had limited the utilization of flexibility.  The study mentioned by the representative of Canada would be carried out during 2005.

Mr. ELJI (Syria) remarked that he had not intended to ask about the language posts, but about the technical posts for the Web site.  However, he did not intend to prolong the discussion.

Ms. UDO (Nigeria) asked whether the Office of Human Resources Management could comment in written form on her question regarding paragraph 5 of the report, even though that paragraph was not now under discussion.

Action on Drafts

The Committee then took up consideration of a draft resolution on the financing of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (document A/C.5/59/L.15), by which the Assembly would decide on a revised appropriation to the Special Account for the Tribunal for a total amount of $255.91 million gross ($231.51 million net) for the biennium 2004-2005.  The Assembly would further approve the proposed post and non–post resources for the Investigations Division for 2005.

The first performance report for the Rwanda Tribunal (document A/59/549) reflected a requirement of additional appropriations of $26.8 million, net of staff assessment, over the initial appropriation for the biennium 2004-2005.  The requirement included changes with respect to exchange rates as a result of the weakening of the United States dollar vis-à-vis the euro and provision for the Investigations Division for 2005.

Noting with concern the precarious financial situation of the Tribunal, the levels of unpaid assessed contributions and the resulting freeze imposed by the Secretariat on the Tribunal, which was having a negative impact on the completion strategy, the Assembly would urge Member States to pay their assessed contributions on time, and request the Secretary-General to make every effort to ensure that areas critical to the successful completion of the mandate of the Tribunal were exempt from any freezes.

Also, the Assembly would request the Tribunal to develop and implement outreach programmes that are proactive and contribute to the reconciliation process by effectively developing an increased understanding of its work among Rwandans, optimally utilizing available resources.

The draft was adopted without a vote.

The Committee then turned its attention to a draft resolution on the financing for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (document A/C.5/59/L.16), by which the Assembly would decide on a revised appropriation to the special Account for the Tribunal of a total amount of $329.32 million gross ($298.44 million net) for the biennium 2004-2005.  The Assembly would also decide to approve the proposed post and non-post resources for the Investigations Division.

The first performance reports of the biennium 2004-2005 for the former Yugoslavia Tribunal (document A/59/547) reflects a requirement of additional appropriations of $26.8 million, net of staff assessment, over the initial appropriation for the biennium 2004-2005.  The requirement includes changes with respect to exchange rates as a result of the weakening of the United States dollar vis-à-vis the euro and provision for the Investigations Division for 2005.

Noting with concern the precarious financial situation of the Tribunal, the levels of unpaid assessed contributions and the resulting freeze imposed by the Secretariat on the Tribunal, which was having a negative impact on the completion strategy, the Assembly would urge Member States to pay their assessed contributions on time, and request the Secretary-General to make every effort to ensure that areas critical to the successful completion of the mandate of the Tribunal were exempt from any freezes.

The draft was adopted without a vote.

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