NEED FOR STRENGTHENED MANAGEMENT OF GROWING PEACEKEEPING BUDGET STRESSED BY SPEAKERS IN FIFTH COMMITTEE

Fifty-Ninth General Assembly

Fifth Committee

48^th Meeting (AM)

NEED FOR STRENGTHENED MANAGEMENT OF GROWING PEACEKEEPING BUDGET

STRESSED BY SPEAKERS IN FIFTH COMMITTEE

As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) considered the Organization’s peacekeeping budget, expected to reach $5 billion in 2005/2006, speakers stressed that in the face of numerous new challenges, ranging from the expansion in the number, size and complexity of missions to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against peacekeepers and field personnel, it was particularly important to achieve greater efficiency in the management and use of resources.

The United States’ representative said that, following the surge in peacekeeping that had strained the United Nations, she had expected stronger management, more efficient and effective implementation of mandates, and greater accountability for action.  However, she had an impression of general weak management, ongoing allegations of serious misconduct and little -– if any –- accountability.  “Simply creating more jobs is not the answer to these problems”, she said.

The representative of Belgium, who spoke on behalf of the European Union -- the largest financial contributor to peacekeeping -– said that he expected peacekeeping operations to be tightly and efficiently run.  Budgets needed to be focused on real needs, and such elements as training and information technology expenditure should result in demonstrable returns in terms of improved efficiencies and performance, while respecting the mandates of the Security Council.

He noted “with discomfort” a number of persistent management problems identified by the Board of Auditors and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), including non-compliance with administrative instructions, weaknesses in the management culture and consistent misuse of the provision for special service.  The growing delay in payments of assessed contributions had a growing impact on the Organization’s ability to meet its financial obligations.

The representative of the Republic of Korea agreed that the forecast jump in assessed contributions by Member States should be matched by a concerted effort on the part of the missions and Headquarters to find the most cost-effective ways to carry out the mandates.  With outstanding assessments in 2003/2004 showing a 41 per cent increase, there was a real danger that the expanded requirements for the new budget year might end with an even larger increase in unpaid contributions.  To minimize that likelihood, the budget proposals must indicate that every effort was being made to avoid unnecessary costs.

Several delegations also noted the Advisory Committee’s observation that the Support Account, which had been established in 1991 to allow the Secretariat to plan and deploy peacekeeping operations in a coordinated manner, had “evolved well beyond what was originally foreseen”.  In that connection, the representative of Belgium said that, while there was no rigid mathematical formula, the level of that account should be commensurate to the number and size of active peacekeeping missions.  He accepted that the surge in peacekeeping obviously warranted additional resources, but for some of the Support Account posts there seemed little in-depth justification.  He also wondered if there was a duplication of functions in such areas as information technology, training and recruitment, with structures that already existed within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and more widely within the Secretariat.

Japan’s representative noted that the rate of increase in the budget of the Support Account was far greater than that of the total peacekeeping budget and concurred with the ACABQ that the efficiency and effectiveness of the management process needed to be regularly reviewed before additional resources were asked for.  Every effort should be made to justify not only the new resource requirements, but also the totality of resources.  It was also important to review and redeploy existing functions and resources and coordinate between missions and the departments at Headquarters.

The representative of New Zealand, who also spoke for Australia and Canada (CANZ), supported the ACABQ recommendations to review the Support Account, particularly given perceptions that it was viewed as a “cookie jar” by Headquarters departments.  It was time to examine the effectiveness of existing processes, in order to streamline them.

Members of CANZ also shared the Advisory Committee’s impatience for the issuance of long-awaited ethical guidelines for procurement personnel, she said.  Acknowledging numerous practical measures that had been taken to improve the process and reduce lead times, she was particularly interested in the initiatives designed to improve the professionalism of procurement staff.  Overall, though, she noted that important measures described in the reports before the Committee had been “in process” for a long time.  It was time to see results.

Also debated today were human resources management issues, including conditions of service of field staff, mission subsistence allowances, the use of national staff, the need to ensure timely recruitment and placement of personnel, and the use of rosters as a means of accelerating the process.  One of the most important cross-cutting issues was the introduction of an integrated complex mission concept, which, it was hoped, would allow the Organization to strengthen strategic planning in the area of peacekeeping.  Also highly prominent in the debate were the issues of sexual exploitation and abuse, the top-heavy structure that persisted in the administration of missions and air transportation expenditures.

Statements were also made by representatives of Brazil (on behalf of the Rio Group), China, Mexico, Nigeria (on behalf of the African Group on the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)), Ghana (on behalf of the African Group on the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)), South Africa, Syria and Egypt.

Several reports on the evaluation of the United Nations Volunteers Programme were introduced by the Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit, Ion Gorita, and the Executive Director of the UN Volunteers Programme in Bonn, Ad de Raad.  Closing statements were made by Sabiniano Cabatuan, Chairman, Audit Operations Committee, Board of Auditors; and the United Nations Controller, Warren Sach.

The Committee will hold its next formal meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, 5 May.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to consider its consideration of administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations (see yesterday’s Press Release GA/AB/3671 for introduction of reports in that regard) and to consider the Report of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on United Nations Volunteers (UNV) (documents A/59/68 and Add.1).

Introduction of Reports

ION GORITA, Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), introducing the report though video connection from Geneva, said the important developments in recent years of the UN Volunteers Programme led the JIU to conclude that the time was ripe for assessment of the Programme’s efficiency in coping with the challenge of its expanded mandate given to the UNV in the promotion of volunteerism generally, bearing in mind the role of volunteerism in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.  The UNV had been increasingly involved in major humanitarian, emergency-relief, peacebuilding and electoral-support activities.  The year 2001 had been proclaimed as the International Year of Volunteers.

He said the report covered the areas of:  mandate; partnership; governance; management structure; volunteer-resources management; regular human-resources management; programme planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting; and oversight.  The Inspector had found that the UNV had proved to be a dynamic and fast-responding programme to changing and expanded demands, with a high degree of autonomy and commitment to continuous improvement.  The report had identified actions regarding UNV management that the UNV should take to improve methods, process and procedures in certain areas.  Recommendations ranged from the improvement of the representation of volunteers from underrepresented developing countries, women, youth and national volunteers to seeking a clear definition of the privileges and immunities of volunteers.

It was recommended, he said, that efforts should be made to concentrate in a reduced number of high priority activities, implement a human resource strategy and fine-tune monitoring and analytical reporting to measure and present the results and impact of UNV activities.  The Inspector also suggested that a regular oversight cycle of UNV resources be instituted.  The Secretary-General (in document A/59/68/Add.1) had found the conclusions of the JIU report generally balanced and constructive and had indicated that action on recommendations was already being taken to implement them, as appropriate.  The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) also had reviewed the report and its recommendations were fully consonant with the JIU’s recommendations.

The Secretary-General’s comments on that report (document A/59/68/Add.1) were introduced by AD DE RAAD, Executive Director, United Nations Volunteers Programme in Bonn, who said that the Secretary-General generally found the JIU comments balanced and constructive.  He was pleased that the Inspector had concluded that the UNV, as a programme administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), had proven to be dynamic and quick to respond to changing and expanding demands, with a high degree of commitment to continuous improvement and with its profile, distinctive image and core values enhanced.  In this connection, the Secretary-General welcomed generally the recommendations and suggestions made in a number of areas.

Prior to going into the Secretary-General’s comments on individual recommendations contained in the JIU report, he noted that the Inspector’s findings confirmed that the positive impact of actions taken by UNV and UNDP in the area of management and administration had been sustained and further built upon.  These actions had been guided, in particular, by the earlier far-reaching workflow review undertaken by the UNV itself and the extensive management audit carried out by the UNDP Office of Audit and Performance Review in the late 1990s.

According to the report, the findings of the JIU, when combined with those pertaining to the more substantive aspects of the UNV Programme, confirmed the relevance of the programme as it had evolved over recent years, in particular, as a result of using the International Year of Volunteers in 2001 as a strategic opportunity.  In that connection, the Secretary-General drew attention to the UNDP Administrator’s regular biennial report on UNV that he had presented to the June 2004 annual session of the UNDP/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Board (document DP/2004/24) and to Executive Board decision 2004/16, adopted following its deliberations on the report.

SABINIANO CABATUAN, Chairman, Audit Operations Committee, Board of Auditors, said in closing statements that the Board of Auditors recognized that the coverage of the Board’s review and its reporting format and contents needed further enhancements.  The Board would endeavour to maintain a right balance or mix between financial and management audits.  It had noted the many requests and suggestions from the ACABQ), as well as the views of delegations.  Those valuable suggestions and requests would be considered in detail.  In matters of prioritization of implementation of recommendations, including the setting up of time frames, the principal responsibility rested with the Administration.

KARL VAN DEN BOSSCHE (Belgium), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, stressed that United Nations peacekeeping faced many challenges, ranging from the expansion in the number, size and complexity of missions to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against peacekeepers and field personnel.  All of those elements needed to be considered in the context of the budget, which had risen to $5 billion a year and was placing enormous pressures on all Member States.

Continuing, he commended the Secretariat for its budget presentations in the results-based format.  Indicators of achievement had become more focused and specific, and the link between resources, expected accomplishments and outputs was clearer.  In order to complete that results-based budgeting presentation, it might be appropriate to study the opportunity of realignment of budgetary lines according to the objectives of a mission.  That would facilitate the management of peacekeeping operations according to the results aimed at in their respective mandates, as well as their budgetary control.

The Union was deeply disappointed that the report requested in decision A/59/507 on the management structures of peacekeeping operations would not be presented during the current session.  He would welcome a clear explanation of why -- when the Committee this year was being asked to approve $5 billion for United Nations peacekeeping activities -- it was not possible to carry out that review.  At the same time, the Union thanked the Board of Auditors which had given the Committee an update of its work.  It seemed that even more oversight was needed, and he urged the Secretariat to finally take action on several of painful pending issues.  Like the ACABQ, he trusted that expeditious establishment of a high-level follow-up mechanism, as intended by the Secretary-General, would help in that regard.  He noted “with discomfort” a number of persistent management problems identified by the Board of Auditors and the ACABQ, including non-compliance with administrative instructions, weaknesses in the management culture and consistent misuse of the provision for special service.  The growing delay in payments of assessed contributions had a growing impact on the Organization’s ability to meet its financial obligations.

As many administrative, logistical and other activities were common to all peacekeeping operations, the Union was keen to explore those commonalities early in the work of the Committee, he said.  Assessment of individual budgets on their own merits complemented the examination of thematic and horizontal issues in more depth.  Regarding the Support Account, he added that, while there was no rigid mathematical formula, its level should be commensurate to the number and size of active peacekeeping missions. He accepted that the surge in peacekeeping obviously warranted additional resources, but for some of the Support Account posts there seemed little in-depth justification.  He also wondered if there was a duplication of functions in such areas as information technology, training and recruitment, with structures that already existed within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and more widely within the Secretariat.  Before the Support Account budget was determined, he would appreciate clarification as to what existing resources might be drawn upon within the Secretariat to assist with peacekeeping backstopping, rather than simply proposing the addition of new posts.

The Union fully subscribed to the concept of integrated missions, he continued.  However, it was unclear what the delineation was between the functions on the ground of various components of the social and humanitarian pillars of peacekeeping operations and funds and programmes, and how they interacted both in terms of personnel, funding and programmatic activities.  That touched upon much broader policy questions, which directly related to ongoing discussions on other issues, such as the proposed peacebuilding commission.  It would be useful to receive clearer guidance from the ACABQ and the Secretariat, at least in terms of budget presentations, on the humanitarian and peacebuilding activities of peacekeeping operations.

Turning to the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse, he noted the resource requests in the note on programme budget implications (document A/C.5/59/28), together with the resources already proposed in the Support Account and individual peacekeeping operations budgets.  This session, the Union stood ready to approve resources to address that problem.  However, he was concerned that one of the main elements of the Special Committee discussions on the matter -- an independent investigative capacity -- had failed to be adequately addressed in the programme budget implications.

On the United Nations Logistics Base, he took note of the ongoing negotiations with the Government of Italy (also involving the World Food Programme (WFP)) for the expansion of the facility to the San Vito base, whose conclusion would allow the financing of the first stage of the expansion plan.  He underlined the advantages of the site and various purposes for which the base at San Vito could be used, including training and short-term staff accommodation.  He invited the secretariat to rapidly conclude those negotiations to make full use of the favourable opportunity offered by Italy.

In conclusion, he said that, while remaining a steadfast supporter of United Nations peacekeeping, as the largest financial group contributor the Union expected peacekeeping operations to be tightly and efficiently run.  Budgets needed to be focused on real needs, and such elements as training and information technology expenditure should result in demonstrable returns in terms of improved efficiencies and performance, while respecting the mandates of the Security Council.

FREDERICO S. DUQUE ESTRADA MEYER (Brazil), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said decisions on policies regarding cross-cutting issues should be taken by the Assembly, and recommendations should be made with a view to enhancing efficiency of the management process and performance in  peacekeeping operations.  He reiterated the need for using resources in the peacekeeping operations budgets according to mandates.  He had concerns regarding such areas as procurement, food rations, air services, information technology equipment and air safety, among others.

Regarding air safety, he said there was continued inefficiency in implementation of monitoring activities. There was a lack of continued cooperation between missions and Headquarters regarding food rations.  It was necessary to finalize the guidelines for conduct and behaviour of United Nations employees.  There was also a need to intensify efforts to incorporate suppliers from all regions, especially from developing countries, in procurement policies.  The Group expected fulfilment of policies regarding stock control and replenishment.

He said the Group also expected proper management in human resource planning to avoid the excessive rate of higher category posts.  Regarding training, he said adequate and coordinated use of available methodological and technological means should be achieved.  As for information technology, he was concerned that the Galaxy system had not been applied for all missions.  He emphasized the importance of full implementation of the communication and information technology strategy adopted by the General Assembly.

FELICITY BUCHANAN (New Zealand), also speaking on behalf of Australia and Canada (CANZ), expressed her appreciation to the Board of Auditors for the quality of its observations, which were related to good management and cost-effective operations.  Concerning procurement, she underscored the importance of recommended measures to strengthen the integrity, competitiveness and sound administration of the procurement system, as well as improving access to a broader range of suppliers, including local ones.  CANZ shared the Advisory Committee’s impatience for the issuance of long-awaited ethical guidelines for procurement personnel.  Acknowledging the many practical measures that had been taken to improve the process and reduce lead times, she was particularly interested in the initiatives designed to improve the professionalism of procurement staff.  Overall, though, she noted that important measures described in the reports before the Committee had been “in process” for a long time.  It was time to see results.

Turning to training, she said that the United Nations had important training responsibilities that went beyond its own staff, to support the efforts of troop- and police-contributing countries.  What was required was a clear training policy and strategy that would define the clients, the desired outcomes, the operating methods, resource needs and evaluation methods.  That was essential to enable understanding of important proposals to create new capacities, such as the proposed training cell in Brindisi.  She also noted that there were multiple training structures, based on type of personnel served.  Although training had various clients, it was important to examine the merits of adopting a unified approach to the provision of training services.

Regarding human resource management, the Secretary-General had indicated that the peacekeeping model, based on people coming and going for one mission at a time, was not suited to present needs, she said.  He needed now to articulate an alternate approach that could then be considered by the Assembly.  Conditions of service were a key part of the equation.  The General Assembly had already mandated for the sixty-first session comprehensive reports concerning the possibility of harmonizing conditions of service or creating a peacekeeping stream.  In the interim, the Secretary-General should be able to continue to reappoint well functioning staff from 300 series contracts to 100 series, on the same basis as outlined in resolution 59/266.  In that context, she saw no basis now for changing the character or purpose of the mission subsistence allowance (MSA).  She did not agree that the MSA should be anything other than what its name suggested:  it was not a tool to compensate for difficulty of life or hardship.  Related clusters of issues should be addressed in the wider context of conditions of service as a whole.

More timely recruitment and placement were essential, she continued.  She strongly encouraged further use of rosters as a means of accelerating the process.  National personnel in field missions needed to increase.  Within existing rules, more innovative and dynamic measures could be taken by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Office for Human Resources Management.  Also, the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) needed to review, as a matter of priority, archaic limitations on the use of national officers.

Turning to the Support Account, she supported the ACABQ recommendations to review it, particularly given perceptions that it was viewed as a “cookie jar” by Headquarters departments.  The Account was a budgetary concept, not a programme.  Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) aside, it provided primarily for administrative functions by the Peacekeeping Department and the Department of Management.  It was time to examine the effectiveness of existing processes, in order to streamline them.  In order to go beyond considering whether any particular additional post was required, it was necessary to consider whether the work was done was, in fact, efficient.

On sexual exploitation and abuse, she said that the Support Account budget contained elements of the Secretary-General’s proposed response to the issue.  CANZ supported two main ideas reflected in that proposal:  strengthening of capacity to ensure appropriate conduct by personnel in the field; and strengthening of the investigative capacity of the OIOS.  It was imperative for the Secretary-General to clarify how the whole spectrum of conduct functions would work, including the role of the Oversight Office in conducting investigations.

Perhaps one of the most important, but difficult, cross-cutting issues was the functioning of the integrated mission concept, she added.  She was open to the argument that more robust strategic planning capacity and the creation of Joint Mission Analysis Cells (JMACs) could strengthen integration and common purpose within missions, but agreed that the case needed to be made more comprehensively.  That there was still no policy on JMACs was surprising, given that several were proposed.  She was concerned that one element of the integrated concept -– the funding from the UNDP for the second Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General function -- appeared not to have materialized.  It was disappointing that a report on the mission structure was not available.  The continuum of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, humanitarian and development work was obviously vital in many missions, but who did what and who paid for what seemed unclear.

HITOSHI KOZAKI (Japan) expressed concern over the fact that reports on the review of the management structure of peacekeeping and on the overview of peacekeeping financing had not been presented to the Committee, for they would have provided the Secretary-General a good opportunity to explain to Member States his commitments and undertakings for a more efficient and effective management of peacekeeping operations.  On the other hand, the Advisory Committee and Board of Auditors’ reports provided a high-quality analysis on management issues.  It was crucial that the recommendations of those two bodies were followed up and implemented without delay.  It was imperative that the Assembly provided clear guidance to the Secretary-General on the management of peacekeeping operations, making best use of the ACABQ recommendations.

Since Member States needed to see concrete results, he requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the decisions made on those issues and results achieved in the context of his next overview report.  His delegation intended to pursue budgetary discipline in the context of the discussion of individual mission budgets, while paying due attention to the individual operational requirements of each mission.  Since many issues were management-related and were commonly found across missions, it was essential for the Fifth Committee to tackle cross-cutting issues to discharge its responsibility as the body dealing with budgetary and management matters.

Continuing, he expressed concern at the tendency of the Secretariat to use the budget of peacekeeping operations to introduce initiatives with policy implications, a point noted by the ACABQ.  The Secretary-General should seek decision on policy matters from the Assembly before implementing them.  The role played by MemberStates and the Secretariat was clear.  His Government stressed the importance of budget approval process as a means of maintaining budgetary discipline, as well as efficient resource management in the Secretariat.

Japan believed that close cooperation between peacekeeping missions and funds and programmes and specialized agencies was fundamental, he said. Therefore, it could support the concept of integrated and complex missions.  On the other hand, he was deeply concerned by the use of assessed peacekeeping contributions for activities that were traditionally funded through voluntary contributions.  Integrated missions should not be used as an easy mechanism to finance activities that should be undertaken by other United Nations entities.  As for the proposal to convert a number of posts in several missions, his delegation would carefully study the matter and looked forward to receiving full explanation in order to pursue a justified and transparent management of posts.

He also noted with interest the fact pointed out by the Board of Auditors that the rate of increase in the budget of the Support Account was far greater than that of the total peacekeeping budget.  That point was relevant for the Committee’s discussion of the matter.  He fully concurred with the ACABQ that the efficiency and effectiveness of the management process needed to be regularly reviewed before additional resources were asked for.  Every effort should be made to justify not only the new resource requirements, but also the totality of resources.  Furthermore, the situation on the ground sometimes necessitated the addition of new functions to peacekeeping operations.  Even when such additions took place, those did not automatically justify the establishment of new posts in the mission.  Full efforts should be undertaken to review and redeploy existing functions and resources in the mission, and to coordinate between missions and the departments at Headquarters.

MELANIE ATTWOOLL (United States), paying respect to those who had nobly lost their lives in the duty of peacekeeping, said United Nations staff had responded to the unprecedented surge in operations with professionalism, dedication and a true desire to make United Nations peacekeeping a success.  Her country’s commitment to peacekeeping was firm.  However, the problems were many and the challenges immense.

She said that as the number of peacekeeping mission was increasing, so were the post and non-post resources.  Because of new challenges following from the surge in peacekeeping operations that had strained the Organization, she had expected stronger management, more efficient and effective implementation of mandates, and greater accountability for action.  However, she had an impression of general weak management, ongoing allegations of serious misconduct and little  -- if any -- accountability.  “Simply creating more jobs is not the answer to these problems”, she said.

Regarding individual peacekeeping operations, she commended the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for its force modernization programme.  She would appreciate information of the cost to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for administering the loan of many of its personnel to other missions.  Regarding the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), she said that there seemed to be no clear management strategy or direction and that the resource request for MONUC was the result of a piecemeal approach.  She was also concerned by the proposal to establish a personnel conduct unit that did not report directly to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and asked why the Mission, which had been the host to a devastating criminal abuse of women and children, still appeared not to be taking the bold steps necessary to stop those horrific offences.

She said that the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) budget contained a proposal of $4.5 million for what was termed disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, but in effect dealt entirely with reintegration of reinsertion.  However, reintegration fell under the operational and budgetary prerogative of the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes.  It should not be left to peacekeeping missions to carry out and finance such a development activity, particularly when they had competing priorities related to the maintenance of peace and security.

Her country was concerned with the “back door” approach to increasing the number of permanent posts in Brindisi, UNDOF and UNIFIL through the conversion of international contractors to national general service posts, she said.  Noting that the proposed budget for the Support Account contained a request for an additional 100 posts, she said there was yet no description of how functions dedicated to finalized or downsized missions were being redeployed.  Regarding the non-issuance of the report on management structure requested by the Assembly, she said the absence of analysis confirmed a lack of management vision and strategy in some of the larger and newer missions.  The functions of many of the rejustified posts remained duplicative of the functions of existing posts.

She said the inclusion of reintegration funds into assessed budgets, the lack of formalized arrangements for financing the humanitarian Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the inclusion into the humanitarian pillar of what otherwise should be voluntarily funded positions raised questions regarding the role, functioning and effectiveness of the humanitarian pillar.  While supporting the inclusion of a humanitarian component in complex missions, she said the time had come to review whether the Deputy Special Representative function, as currently structured, was achieving what it was mandated to do.

Regarding the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse, she said that an independent, professional investigative capacity within the OIOS was essential for transparency.  The proposal in the Support Account budget to increase the capacity of the Investigations Division of the OIOS represented a critical first step.  She also supported a strong capacity within missions to educate mission personnel about the code of conduct and related issues, and to follow up in a comprehensive manner, and at the highest possible level, on any allegations.

WANG XINXIA (China), noting the Board of Auditor’s review concerning management of peacekeeping operations and effectiveness of utilization of resources, expressed the hope that the effort would play a catalytic role in enhancing effectiveness of management.  The Department of Peacekeeping Operations should provide full cooperation in the audit processes.  She supported the ACABQ’s view that the departments concerned should provide a timetable for implementation of the Board’s recommendations.  She was concerned that there were some cases of non-compliance with administrative instructions in some peacekeeping missions, she said, and such situations should be corrected immediately.

In the ACABQ’s report on the Support Account, she said she had noticed that from 2000 to 2005 the overall level had increased by 217 per cent and that there was a corresponding large increase in human resources capacity in the Peacekeeping Department. There should be proper justification for the increase in requirements.  The utilization of information technology, training and new management methods should result in enhancement of work efficiency and saving of resources.  Regarding a request for a study and assessment of the Support Account, she said that if the study’s purpose was to help Member States understand the real need for the Support Account, such a study would be useful.

KANG KYUNG-WHA (Republic of Korea) noted that the extension and expansion of many existing missions must have placed a great deal of strain on the Secretariat, but while sympathizing with those difficult circumstances, she concurred with the ACABQ’s concern over the unevenness in the quality of the presentation in the budget proposals.  The basic information and data for the proposals were fed in from the field missions, but the final responsibility for the proposals rested with Headquarters.  Despite the diversity on the ground, with clearer guidance and leadership from Headquarters, there could and should be a greater level of standardization in the budget proposals of various missions.  With the overall expenditure for peacekeeping operations to reach $5 billion during the new budget year, outstripping the regular budget by 2.5 times, greater efforts should be made to reign in what the ACABQ Chair had called “a very chaotic situation” in the administration and financing of peacekeeping operations.

The forecasted jump in assessed contributions by Member States should be matched by a concerted effort on the part of the missions and Headquarters to find the most cost-effective ways to carry out the peacekeeping mandates.  With outstanding assessments in 2003/2004 showing a 41 per cent increase, there was a real danger that the expanded requirements for the new budget year may end with an even larger increase in unpaid contributions.  To minimize that likelihood, the budget proposals must indicate that every effort was being made to avoid unnecessary costs.

Continuing, she drew the Committee’s attention to the top-heavy structure that persisted in the administration of missions, especially complex integrated ones.  She was not entirely convinced of the necessity of many of the higher positions in the missions and dismayed that, in some cases, little thought was being given to the matter and the need to reassess a number of higher level posts.  She also pointed to air transportation expenditures as the area where significant savings could be achieved.

As for the increase in the proposed budget for the Support Account, she understood the necessity generated by the expanding peacekeeping activities for additional posts, she said.  However, the Support Account had evolved beyond the purposes for which it had been initially introduced in 1991.  A review of the changes over the years and consideration of the most appropriate ways to structure the Account’s future utilization would be most useful.  While the importance of the humanitarian pillar in post-conflict situations could not be overstated, the ACABQ was right to point out the problem of the peacekeeping budgets being used for humanitarian activities without the necessary guidance from the General Assembly.

Turning to the OIOS report on the first-year experience of regional investigators, she supported the Office’s conclusion that a combination of regional and resident investigators would be the most efficient approach in meeting the increasing demand for immediate investigation.  Swift investigation in allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse was the first step in re-establishing the credibility of United Nations peacekeeping operations, and she expected the good example to be kept up.

DIEGO SINANCAS (Mexico), aligning himself with the statement made on behalf of the Rio Group, said the historic level of resources for peacekeeping operations exerted great pressure on States.  Nonetheless, his Government had made considerable efforts to comply with its financial commitments regarding peacekeeping operations.  He expected strict spending controls in peacekeeping operations.  There was a tendency to use peacekeeping operations budget to introduce policy initiatives.  He further regretted that requested reports had not been presented, in particular, when a historic budget was being considered for peacekeeping operation of more that $5 billion.

SALEH MANU PISAGIH (Nigeria), speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) had been and remained a flagship mission of which all Member States could be proud.  The Mission’s budget proposal before the Committee, as well as the ACABQ’s comments thereon, demonstrated that UNAMSIL had strived to maintain its trailblazing position.  The Group commended the men and women of UNAMSIL for their excellent work and was saddened over the loss of lives to Lassa fever.  Increased incidents of that disease remained a source of great concern, and he wanted to know if everything possible was being done to arrest the situation.  He also wondered if the hiring of a specialist on infectious diseases had proven to be effective in dealing with the problem.  The Department of Peacekeeping Operations should work with UNAMSIL to ensure that all the pending disability cases were settled expeditiously.

From the budget submission, the Group had been pleased to learn that there was low incidence of death and disability cases, which had given rise to some savings, he said.  Efficient utilization of resources by the Mission and attendant savings in 2003/2004 should also be commended.  He was also pleased that the vacancy rate had been lower than budgeted.  That was a welcome relief for UNAMSIL, which, like some other missions, had continuously suffered from the problem of high vacancy rates.  Despite a slight improvement, some concerns still persisted, however.  The continued exodus of well trained staff during the Mission’s final drawdown phase was worrisome.

At its last meeting on the Mission last October, the African Group had suggested that there was a clear need for an in-depth consideration of possible mechanisms to curb such an exodus of staff towards the end of a mission’s mandate, he recalled.  Every effort should be made to retain essential staff, including through planned transfers at the final completion and closure phases.  In that connection, he reiterated the Advisory Committee’s call on the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to fully ensure that UNAMSIL maintained experienced staff that it needed for the final phase of its mandate.

Continuing, he commended the Mission for submitting a well defined results-based budget, the clarity and transparent presentation of which should be highlighted.  The African Group supported the two distinct phases for the maintenance and liquidation of the Mission and took due note that UNAMSIL was downsizing more rapidly than anticipated.  However, the final exit strategy should continue to be guided by the need to ensure that gains made were not jeopardized at the crucial final stage.  Bearing in mind the critical role that the Mission had played for the Sierra Leone Court and other neighbouring missions, the Group hoped that every effort would be made to maintain sufficient capacity for rapid response in Sierra Leone.

It was important that UNAMSIL should be able to conclude its work smoothly, he stressed.  Proper attention should be paid to oversight functions, among other things.  Therefore, it was surprising that not all the posts allocated to the OIOS for UNAMSIL had been filled.  He wanted to know why those posts had remained unencumbered and how soon they would be filled.  All vacant posts should be filled expeditiously, ahead of the proposed January 2006 commencement of liquidation activities.

The overall resource requirements for UNAMSIL for the two-part winding-down project in the amount of some $107.16 million (a 63.3 per cent decrease from the 2004/2005 budget) was quite reasonable.  He, therefore, concurred with the ACABQ’s recommendation for its approval.

GLORIA POKU (Ghana), speaking on behalf of the African Group on the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), said that, while the Mission was able to carry out some of the activities it envisaged under its indicators of achievement, others were deferred due to delayed recruitment of staff.  As a consequence of high vacancy rates, the promotion and protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and natural reconciliation in Liberia faced difficulties.  She would appreciate receiving an update on delayed activities and on the actual incumbency of international and national staff posts at present.

Regarding coordination and synergies between missions in the subregion, she welcomed the cooperation between UNMIL and UNAMSIL.  Owing to the downsizing of UNAMSIL, UNMIL had had to establish offices of its own in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.  She hoped, nevertheless, that UNMIL and other peacekeeping operations would be guided by lessons learned and best practices from UNAMSIL.

As for the proposed budget, she said the African Group was perplexed by the ACABQ’s proposed reduction of $1.04 million from the medical budget.  That sent an ambiguous signal, especially when there was a clear and present danger of contagious diseases in the mission area. She was also concerned about the 19 cases of serious psychological stress disorders, including suicides, which indicated a serious case of low staff morale.

She said the African Group was concerned by the sudden departure of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, leaving UNMIL to absorb its functions.  It was further concerned at the shortfall of $40 million needed for the rehabilitation and reintegration projects for ex-combatants.  Bearing in mind the positive outcomes achieved with the introduction of the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation, a shortfall in funding could jeopardize the programme.  She called on the Secretary-General to make every effort to resolve the matter.  She supported the Advisory Committee’s observation that it would be ready to consider additional budgetary requirements arising from the Secretary-General’s sixth progress report, which could reflect the need for an additional 120 civilian police for a six-month period.

KAREN LOCK (South Africa) said that the implementation of the ACABQ and oversight bodies should lead to efficiencies in the financial period starting on 1 July and guide the Secretariat’s preparations for future budget submissions.  The Advisory Committee had been working under tremendous pressure and, due to a growing number of reports and items assigned to the Fifth Committee, it now found itself in session almost year-round.  It may be opportune to reflect on whether the conditions of service and other assumptions upon which the ACABQ had been founded were still relevant, given the present realities.

Commenting on the growing number and complexity of United Nations peacekeeping operations, she said that Member States had the task of ensuring that the necessary support was provided to enable the Organization to meet new challenges.  It was important to ensure that, when deploying men and women in the field, the Organization did so with all the necessary resources and support required to achieve the mandates given to them.  The Secretary-General had recently stated that the fundamental security task of peacekeeping “remained the foundation for many complex mandates, but success depends on concurrent progress along multiple tasks of the mandate”.  Member States had seen the positive impact of such an integrated approach towards the resolution of the conflict in Sierra Leone.  She, therefore, trusted that the Secretariat would address some of the outstanding matters related to the administration of the integrated approach, as highlighted by the ACABQ.

The Fifth Committee in the current session had an ideal opportunity to reflect on the implementation of the reforms emanating from the Brahimi report, she continued.  While the Committee might be unable to answer all the questions, the audits conducted by internal and external oversight bodies, coupled with the comments of the Advisory Committee, would facilitate its assessment of the implementation of reform efforts that fell within the Committee’s purview.

From the reports before the Committee, it was clear that significant progress had been made through the Brahimi report to enhance the capacity of the Headquarters to plan and manage peacekeeping operations in all their aspects, she said.  It was imperative that those changes continued to be translated into effectiveness and efficiency in the field.  Among the welcome developments, she highlighted improvements in the presentation of the budgets, delivery of food rations, management of air operations, utilization of training resources and reimbursement rates.  She believed that measures proposed by the Board of Auditors and the ACABQ would lead to further improvements in the overall management of peacekeeping.  Member States had a shared responsibility to ensure that the United Nations had adequate personnel, material readiness and funding to deploy operations within the agreed time frames for rapid deployment.  The benefit of that capability had been clearly demonstrated in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, Sudan and Haiti.

Several measures had been proposed to improve the functioning of the Logistics Base, as well as timely replenishment and maintenance of strategic deployment stocks, she continued.  However, her delegation regretted that two thirds of Member States received less than 10 per cent of the total procurement contracts for strategic deployment stocks.  In that connection, she urged the Secretariat to comply with the spirit of resolution 56/292, as stressed by the Advisory Committee in paragraph 41 of its report A/59/736/Add.2.

On the Support Account, she supported the provision of adequate staffing and resources to ensure effective provision of administrative and logistical support by Headquarters to the field.  The surge in the level of peacekeeping activity over the past year had strained the capacity of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to establish and effectively manage operations under its direction.  She trusted that additional posts requested would alleviate that situation.  In addition, the Department, within the level of resources approved for the Support Account, provided backstopping to an increasing number of special political missions.  The analysis -- rightly requested by the ACABQ -- of the evolution and operation of the Support Account should also take that aspect into account.

As for the financing of specific missions, her delegation fully supported the resource requirements for the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), UNAMSIL and UNMIL.  Those four Missions had undertaken reviews of the respective structures and concept of operations, in order to better respond to the mandates of the Council.  Also, UNAMSIL had made an important contribution to the establishment of UNMIL.  She noted that the Secretariat had pursued greater cooperation between peacekeeping operations in Africa, as evident from the efficiencies realized through the sharing of logistics, equipment and administrative support.  The UNAMSIL, UNMIL and the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) had further been sharing information and analysis and held regular meetings between military and functional staff.  She trusted the Secretariat would continue with those efforts where they made operational sense.  Furthermore, she remained concerned with the precarious cash position of MINURSO due to late payment or non-payment of dues.

NAJIB ELJI (Syria) said the establishment of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) 30 years ago was due to the Israeli occupation of the occupied Syrian Golan and Israeli defiance of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions asking for total withdrawal.  The responsibility for funding of UNDOF should, therefore, rest with the occupying Power.  He welcomed the ACABQ recommendation that the budget proposed by the Secretary-General be adopted.  Syria had welcomed UNDOF since its establishment, he said, and had always presented the necessary support, appreciating the noble task carried out by the Force personnel.

WARREN SACH, Controller, responding to questions raised, said he appreciated the many detailed statements and recognized the importance of the ACABQ Board of Auditors’ reports and recommendations.  He assured Member States that the recommendations would be taken in the spirit offered.

He said that, regarding remarks on the availability of reports, in particular, the non-availability of the report on management structure, the surge in peacekeeping operations between October and now had made it impossible to address the issue, even though the importance was recognized.  However, human resources database had been completed in November last year and staffing tables from missions were being reconciled with data at Headquarters -- basic work for preparation of the report.  He expected a complete analysis of staffing structures across all missions in July and intended to come forward with the requested report at the sixtieth session.  Submission of an overview report, as had been asked for by delegates, was not a mandated requirement.  Although such a report had been issued last year, other priorities such as budgets for the mission, had made it impossible to produce such a report.

As for comments regarding the financing of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, he said a “non-paper” on the subject would be made available during informal consultations.  However, the clarity of the Security Council mandates regarding disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes affected their financing.

Sexual exploitation and abuse was a complex item, he continued, addressing comments in that regard.  It was a sensitive issue that had several different layers.  There was movement in stages on the issue.  A proposal for an independent investigator would be forthcoming during the sixtieth session.

Regarding remarks on the issue of the Support Account, in particular on its expansion, Mr. Sach said that there could not be an expansion of missions on the ground without commensurate expansion at Headquarters, which was found in the Support Account.  The issue of reviewing the Support Account in the context of a balance between regular budgets for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Support Account budgets had been considered at length during discussions of the Brahimi reforms.  At that time, the Fifth Committee had decided to work with the Support Account.

As for integrated missions, he said that, in most cases, the Deputy Special Representatives were financed by the UNDP.  That approach was appropriate, he believed, but could be fine tuned.  The costs of staff borrowed by other missions from UNIFIL were borne by missions to which they were assigned.  The Medical Director was on a mission to Liberia and other countries in the region to deal with medical issues in UNMIL, including issues relating to psychological conditions.  As for the exodus of well trained staff in UNAMSIL, he said the mission, which was in the process of downsizing, had been asked to identify those staff who were essential.

YASSER ELNAGGAR (Egypt) emphasized the importance of the timing of the Committee’s work regarding peacekeeping budgets, particularly vis-à-vis its consideration of the regular budget.  In that context, it was important for the Committee to keep in mind that, as peacekeeping was evolving, it was necessary to consider not only preparedness of documents, but also the preparedness of delegations to consider budgets.  It was necessary, in his opinion, to give serious consideration to cross-cutting and policy issues in the context of the Committee’s consideration of administrative and budgetary aspects of peacekeeping.  To look at each and every budget, it would take the Committee at least two or three months to conclude its work.

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