Sixty-first General Assembly

Fifth Committee

36^th Meeting (PM)

BUDGET COMMITTEE APPROVES DRAFTS ON HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT,

CAPITAL MASTER PLAN, PROGRAMME PLANNING, PROCUREMENT REFORM

Other Texts Address Financing Lebanon Mission, International Tribunals;

Oversight Review, Joint Inspection Unit, Economic Commission for Africa

Among the texts approved by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon was a 17-part draft resolution on human resources -- the main item of the current “personnel” session -- which addresses the issues of human resources management reform; recruitment and staffing; national competitive examinations; mobility; career development; contractual arrangements; harmonization of conditions of service; reform of the field service; building leadership and management capacity; measures to improve equitable geographic distribution; gender representation; accountability; human resources information technology; staff buyout; consultants and individual contractors; employment of retired staff; and other matters.

When the Committee took up human resources management on 30 October, Secretary-General Kofi Annan had appealed to Member States to give strong support to the proposals contained in his Investing in People report, to achieve a strong international civil service with the highest standards.  He said that change needed to begin with the way people were recruited, the conditions of service offered to them and the way their skills were developed.  The reform package sought to speed up recruitment; introduce unified contractual arrangements; harmonize conditions of service at Headquarters and in the field; and designate 2,500 career civilian peacekeeping positions to ensure continuity and expertise.

Pronouncing itself on those proposals today, the Committee recommended a review of the staff selection system, with particular emphasis on performance, and suggested a report to verify that the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity are applied in employment of staff, with due regard to achieving as wide a geographical base as possible.  On recruitment and staffing, the Secretary-General would be requested to continue to reduce the period required to fill vacancies by addressing the factors contributing to delays.  Noting the Secretary-General’s intention to establish a dedicated recruitment and staffing centre, the Assembly would ask for proposals in that regard in the context of the next budget.

Also by the draft, the Assembly would appropriate an additional $3 million for leadership and management development and training; decide not to pursue the Secretary-General’s proposal on staff buyout; request the Secretary-General to ensure expeditious placement of successful national competitive exam candidates; and request several reports, including on the implementation of mobility policies and results achieved.  The Secretary-General would be asked to provide an analysis of the managed mobility programme, including its financial implications and usefulness.

The Assembly would request the Secretary-General to present a detailed road map on the implementation of proposed contractual arrangements at the second part of its resumed session.  It would also ask for a report from the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), on the proposal to introduce “one staff contract under one set of staff rules”.  The Assembly would take up the harmonization of the conditions of service at its second resumed session, pending submission of a relevant ICSC report. Also at the second resumed session, the Secretary-General would be requested to submit proposals for the operation of the proposed cadre of civilian peacekeeping positions.

Reiterating its serious concern over the risks and deficiencies of the United Nations Headquarters complex, the Committee -- by the terms of another draft -- recommended approval of the Capital Master Plan for its reconstruction, to be completed by 2014, at a total cost of up to $1.88 billion and with a working capital reserve of $45 million.  The Plan would be funded on the basis of the regular budget scale of assessments for 2007.  Member States would be allowed, within a specified period, to select the option of one-time or multi-year payments.  The Assembly would also establish a letter of credit facility, to be used “as a last resort”.

By a draft on programme planning, the Committee provided recommendations to the Assembly on the proposed strategic framework for 2008-2009, which constitutes the Organization’s principal policy directive for the biennium.  The first such document was prepared on a trial basis for 2006-2007, to replace the previous four-year plan.  By the text, the Assembly would take no decision on part one of that document -- a plan outline for the biennium.  The Assembly would decide on eight main priorities for 2008-2009, on the basis of which the Secretary-General should prepare his next budget proposal: maintenance of international peace and security; sustainable development; development of Africa; human rights; coordination of humanitarian assistance; justice and international law; disarmament; and drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism.

Taking note of the Organization’s performance report for 2004-2005, the Assembly would recognize the role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination, encouraging it to provide action-oriented recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the Organization. The Secretary-General would be requested to ensure that future performance reports provided more detailed reasons for the less-than-full implementation of programmed outputs or the postponement or termination thereof.

By another text, the Assembly would take note of a series of reports on the comprehensive review of governance and oversight within the United Nations system, which had been undertaken at the request of the 2005 World Summit.  It would request reports on the establishment of the proposed Independent Audit Advisory Committee; strengthening the Office of Internal Oversight Services; enterprise risk management and internal control framework; results-based management; and an accountability framework.

While one of the recommendations of the steering committee of experts that presented a report on governance and oversight was to discontinue the Joint Inspection Unit, the Committee -- by yet another draft -- recommended that the Assembly welcome the Unit’s efforts to improve implementation of its reform process and urge the Unit -- the only system-wide external oversight body -- to continue to focus its work on system-wide issues relevant to the efficient functioning of all organizations to which it provides services.

Recognizing that ongoing procurement reform should focus on ensuring efficiency, transparency, cost-effectiveness, strengthened internal controls and greater accountability, the Assembly would approve an additional $1.05 million for the strengthening of the Procurement Division.  Also, all staff involved in procurement, including at the senior levels, would have to file annual financial disclosure statements.  The Assembly would also stress the importance of developing an ethics and integrity programme for procurement staff and establish an independent bid protest system outside of the reporting hierarchy of the Procurement Division to allow vendors to dispute procurement decisions.

The Committee approved all texts without a vote, except for a draft resolution on the financing of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which was approved by a vote of 142 in favour, to 4 against (Côte d’Ivoire, Israel, Palau, United States), with 1 abstention (Australia) (see annex II).  By its terms, the Assembly would authorize the Secretary-General to enter into commitments for an amount not exceeding $257.34 million, inclusive of the $50 million previously authorized, and in addition to the $97.58 million already appropriated.  The request for commitment authority was presented pending submission of a fully revised budget, to reflect the change in the Force’s mandate and strength.

Prior to action on the text as a whole, the Committee, by a separate vote of 93 in favour to 6 against (Australia, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Israel, Palau, United States), with 47 abstentions, decided to retain several paragraphs, by the terms of which the Assembly would stress that Israel has to pay $1.12 million resulting from the 1996 incident at the mission’s headquarters at Qana, and ask for full implementation of some 12 related resolutions. (Annex I.)

By two other texts, the Assembly would revise the budgets of the International Tribunals, to reflect the changes due to inflation and weakening of the dollar, deciding on a revised appropriation of $277.13 million for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and $326.57 million for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

The Committee also recommended that the Assembly request a comprehensive plan of action to strengthen the subregional offices of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and recall its request to ensure that adequate resources are provided to continue their support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the regional communities of Africa.

In other action today, the Committee elected Tirtha Raj Wagle ( Nepal) as its Vice-Chairman, following the resignation of Ram Babu Dhakal ( Nepal).

The Committee will meet again Friday, 21 October, at a time to be announced.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon took action on a number of outstanding texts.

Action

First, the Committee took up a draft resolution on enhancing the role of subregional offices of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) (document A/C.5/61/L.18), by the terms of which the Assembly would stress the important role of ECA in coordinating the activities of the United Nations system at the regional level in support of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and welcome its efforts to conduct the comprehensive review aimed at repositioning it to better respond to the challenges facing Africa and to implement the recommendations of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).

Further by the text, the Assembly would recall its previous request to the Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive plan of action to strengthen the subregional offices and note with appreciation the steps taken to define the role and mission of those offices to address the recommendations of OIOS. It would also recall its request to ensure that adequate resources are provided to ECA and its subregional offices to continue their support for NEPAD and the regional communities of Africa.

Recalling its concern in resolution 60/235 over the finding that the ECA subregional offices have a restricted ability to act in their respective subregions, owing to the lack of adequate resources for core functions, insufficient level of guidance and support from the headquarters of the Commission and the lack of a clear understanding as to the role of the subregional offices, the draft also notes that the repositioning exercise and implementation of the OIOS recommendations would be addressed through redeployment of post and non-post resource requirements in 2006-2007, and that remaining proposals for resources and reorganization would be addressed in the context of the budget proposal for 2008-2009.

In the context of the report on the Organization’s comprehensive information and communication technology strategy, the Secretary-General would be requested to include detailed information on the implementation of paragraph 6 of its resolution 60/235, which concerned the need to ensure that the information and communication technology capacity and strategy of ECA and its subregional offices are fully integrated with the information and communication technology strategy of the Organization, and that it is used to its full capacity to disseminate information by electronic means.

The Committee approved the draft without a vote.

In explanation of position, the representative of Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said the Group had joined consensus on the clear understanding that the Secretary-General, in presenting his report, had not responded fully to Assembly resolution 60/235.  The Secretary-General should, in the context of the proposed programme budget for 2008-2009, address remaining proposals regarding resources that would enable ECA to credibly perform its actions.  She emphasized the crucial role ECA played in support of NEPAD and African Governments.

The representative of Brazil associated himself with the statement of Nigeria on behalf of the African Group, saying he too would have liked to see resources appropriated now, but had joined consensus anyway.

The Committee then took up a draft resolution on programme planning (document A/C.5/61/L.16), by the provisions of which the Assembly would re-emphasize its role in reviewing and taking action on the appropriate recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC).  Regarding the proposed strategic framework for the period 2008-2009, the Assembly would decide not to take a decision on the plan outline of the proposed strategic framework (document A/61/6 Part 1).

Stressing that setting the Organization’s priorities is the prerogative of the Member States, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to prepare the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009 on the basis of eight priorities:  maintenance of international peace and security; promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development; development of Africa; promotion of human rights; effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts; promotion of justice and international law; disarmament; and drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism.

Taking note of the Secretary-General’s report on the programme performance of the United Nations for the biennium 2004-2005 (document A/61/64), the Assembly would recognize the role of CPC in monitoring and evaluation, and encourages it, in reviewing performance and evaluation reports, to provide action-oriented recommendations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and impact of the activities of the Organization.

The Assembly would request the Secretary-General to ensure that future programme performance reports provide more detailed information on the reasons for the less-than-full implementation of programmed outputs or the postponement or termination thereof.  It would also request proposals to improve the links between monitoring, evaluation, programme planning and budgeting.

In explanation of position before the vote, the representative of the United States said his delegation had contributed earnestly, energetically and diligently to CPC, hoping that progress would be made on working methods.  However, it had been very disappointed that CPC, once again, had been unable to reach consensus on concrete, meaningful steps that could have been taken to make it a more efficient and meaningful body.  As a result of CPC’s failure to carry out the direction of the Assembly to improve its working methods, and given the continued underlying problems resulting from that failure, the United States had decided to disassociate from consensus on the report of CPC.

He said that, of the nearly 60 proposals submitted by the United States, only one change had been accepted.  That gesture had not been enough to overcome the generally dismissive manner in which all proposals had been met, with some Member States arguing that, having been a member of CPC, the United States did not have the right to seek any changes to the strategic framework during Fifth Committee discussions.  In that regard, he reiterated that every Member State had the right to make whatever reasoned proposals and comments concerning any report that came before the Fifth Committee.  In that context, his delegation disassociated from consensus on agenda item 118, programme planning.

The draft text was approved without a vote.

Explaining his position after the vote, the representative of Japan said he was not satisfied with CPC, and expressed disappointment with the resolution, as it did not enjoy the full support of the Committee.  He further expressed concern with the process relating to CPC.

Also in explanation of the vote, South Africa’s representative, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that the Group attached great importance to the work of CPC and fully supported its role and mandate.  She was disappointed that some Member States had disassociated from the consensus, bearing in mind that tremendous efforts had gone into ensuring agreement.  The reason for the lack of consensus was a concern that CPC could not reach agreement on measures to improve its working methods.  But, the reason it did not reach that agreement was that the same delegations that now had disassociated, had not been willing to join consensus in CPC.  One could not refuse to join consensus and then use the lack of consensus as a criticism about the way an intergovernmental body functioned.  It was important that States who were members of such bodies participated in a constructive manner, ensuring that consensus was reached.  The lack of consensus could not be used as a veto.  The Fifth Committee had a practice where States who were members of an intergovernmental body could not reopen issues considered in those bodies.

On the other hand, the Group was encouraged that it had received reassurance from delegations that they attached great importance to CPC and would continue to assist it in its efforts to improve its work, and that the next session of the Committee would not have to go through the same difficulties.  Only through constructive participation could Member States ensure their effectiveness.

The Committee then turned to a draft resolution on the Joint Inspection Unit (document A/C.5/61/L.20), by which the Assembly, welcoming the Unit’s ongoing efforts to improve implementation of its reform process, would urge the Unit, as the only system-wide external oversight body, to continue to focus its work and reports on issues of system-wide interest, value and relevance to the efficient and effective functioning of all organizations to which it provides services.

The Assembly would request that, whenever possible, reports also include information on estimated savings, actual savings achieved, acceptance rate of recommendations and implementation status of each impact category.  Noting the ongoing efforts of the unit to improve its working methods, the Assembly would invite it to undergo external peer reviews as necessary.

Regarding the procedures of the appointment of inspectors, the Assembly, by part B of the draft, would confirm the existing procedure of the appointment of the inspectors in accordance with article 3 of the statute of the Unit, and decide that the Assembly President, when drawing up a list of countries to be requested to propose candidates, would invite Member States to submit the names of the countries and their respective candidates simultaneously.

The draft was approved by consensus.

The Committee then took up two texts on the financing of the International Tribunals.  By the terms of a draft resolution on the financing of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (document A/C.5/61/L.13), the Assembly would decide on a revised appropriation for the Tribunal in the amount of $277.13 million gross, to reflect the changes due to inflation and weakening of the dollar, which have led to an additional requirement of $7.9 million for the current biennium.

The Assembly would further endorse the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), one of which related to the need to further explore ways and means of applying existing staff regulations and rules, in order to retain staff, as the Secretary-General’s current proposal to introduce retention bonuses is too broad and could lead to the creation of a new entitlement.  The Assembly would also emphasize the importance of implementing the recommendations of the Board of Auditors and request the Secretary-General report on progress in that regard in the context of the Tribunal’s proposed budget for 2008-2009.

A draft resolution on the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (A/C.5/61/L.14), would have the Assembly increase, by $21.44 million gross ($18.84 million net) the 2006-2007 appropriation to the Tribunal’s special account to $326.57 million gross ($297.15 million net).  Similar to the text on the Rwanda Tribunal, the Assembly would also endorse the recommendations of ACABQ and emphasize the importance of implementing the recommendations of the Board of Auditors.

Both texts were approved without a vote.

Taking up the main item of the current “personnel” session, the Committee turned to a 17-part draft resolution on human resources management (document A/C.5/61/L.24), which addresses the issues of human resources management reform; recruitment and staffing; national competitive examinations; mobility; career development and support; contractual arrangements; harmonization of conditions of service; reform of the field service; building leadership and management capacity; measures to improve equitable geographic distribution; gender representation; accountability; human resources information technology; staff buyout; consultants and individual contractors; employment of retired staff; and other matters.

Stressing the importance of a meaningful dialogue between staff and management on human resources management issues, the Assembly would express concern over the fact that staff representatives from New York did not participate in the consultation process, and call upon both parties to overcome differences and resume the consultative process.  Noting that minimizing high rates of job turnover in professional categories is essential to the smooth functioning of the United Nations, it would request the Secretary-General to report on the yearly rate of professional turnover, both in the Secretariat and field missions.

On recruitment and staffing, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to report on measures to verify the application of the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity as a paramount consideration in employment of staff with due regard to achieving as wide a geographical base as possible.  The Secretary-General would be requested to ensure the effective role of central review bodies in the staff selection system and to develop an induction and training programme for their members.  It would also emphasize the importance of staff participation in review bodies’ work.  The Secretary-General would be asked to undertake a review of the staff selection system, with particular emphasis on enhancing performance.

Recognizing the importance of speeding up the recruitment and staffing process, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to explore ways to further increase awareness of job opportunities in the United Nations system through more extensive outreach by the Department of Public Information, Information Centres and United Nations country offices.  The Secretary-General would be requested to promote full utilization of existing rosters for recruitment and further elaborate the use of pre-screened rosters, based on the organizational needs identified through strategic planning.  Noting the Secretary-General’s intention to establish a recruitment and staffing centre to support managers in the selection of staff and enhance consistency of recruitment, the Assembly would ask for proposals in that regard in the context of the budget for the next biennium.

The Assembly would request that the Secretary-General ensure that the use of the envisaged expedited recruitment process be confined to surge needs, with established procedures being waived only in exceptional cases.  The Assembly would further decide to maintain the limitations for the assignment of General Service staff to field missions.  The Assembly would also reaffirm the need to respect the equality of each of the two working languages of the Secretariat. In that connection, the Assembly would reaffirm the use of additional working languages in specific duty stations and acknowledge that language skills constitute an important element of the selection and training.  Command of the official languages spoken in the country of residence should be taken into account as an additional asset.

The Assembly would further request the Secretary-General to accelerate the recruitment of national competitive candidates and note with concern that a large number of candidates who have successfully completed the examinations remain on the roster for years.  In that connection, the Secretary-General would be requested to ensure expeditious placement of successful candidates and welcome the efforts to centrally manage their placement.

By another term of the text, the Assembly would stress that the purpose of managed mobility is to improve the effectiveness of the Organization and to foster the skills and capacity of staff.  While recognizing mobility’s anticipated positive effects, it would also reaffirm that the implementation of mobility policies may give rise to problems and challenges that should be addressed.  The Assembly would request several reports in that regard, including one on the implementation of mobility policies and specific measures to facilitate mobility and results achieved.  The Secretary-General would also be asked to provide an analysis of the managed mobility programme, including information on financial implications and its usefulness.  In light of the experience, the Assembly would review the enforcement of post occupancy limits at its sixty-third session.

The Secretary-General would be requested to ensure that mobility is not used as an instrument of coercion against staff and that appropriate monitoring and accountability measures are in place.  The International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) would be asked to keep the question of mobility under review, including its implications for career development.  The text also addresses the need to continue considering the use of incentives to encourage staff to move to duty stations with chronically high vacancy rates, support mobility through the efforts to improve conditions of life and work at various duty stations, assist spouses to find employment, provide career counselling and job search assistance and ensure specific training opportunities.  Host countries would be invited to review, as appropriate, their policies for granting work permits to spouses of United Nations staff.

In the career development and support section of the draft, the Assembly would note that the Secretariat should fully use the existing resources and decide to appropriate an additional $3 million specifically devoted to leadership and management development, information technology training, upgrading of substantive skills and expansion of languages and communication.  The Secretary-General would be requested to allocate the training resources on a needs basis and in an equitable manner, stressing that training opportunities should be available for all staff.

Stressing the need to rationalize the current system of contractual arrangements, which lacks transparency and is complex to administer, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to present a detailed road map on the implementation of the proposed contractual arrangements, including eligibility criteria, at the second part of its resumed session.  It would also request an ICSC report on the proposals of the Secretary-General, in particular the proposal to introduce one staff contract under one set of staff rules.

Deciding to continue to suspend the four-year maximum limit for appointment of limited duration under the 300 series of staff rules in peacekeeping operations until 30 June 2007, the Assembly would authorize reappointment under the 100 series those mission staff whose service has reached that limit by 30 June 2007, provided that their functions have been reviewed and found necessary, and their performance has been confirmed as fully satisfactory.

Noting that ICSC has established a working group to review conditions of service of internationally recruited staff in non-family duty stations, the Assembly would take note of the proposals on their harmonization and decide to revert to the issue at its second resumed session next spring, following the report of ICSC on the matter.  Also for the second resumed session, the Secretary-General would be requested to submit proposals for the operation of the proposed cadre of continuing civilian positions to enhance the ability of the United Nations to respond quickly to peacekeeping needs, taking into account the recommendations of ACABQ.

Among other things, the text also contains detailed provisions aimed at ensuring gender parity in the Secretariat and improving equitable geographic distribution of posts.  By the draft, the Secretary-General would be requested to take steps, to the extent possible, to reduce the number of under- or unrepresented countries by 20 to 30 per cent, by the years 2008 and 2010, respectively.  The Assembly would also decide to continue the fast track roster for an additional two-year period and request the Secretary-General to report on its effectiveness at the sixty-third session.  The Assembly would also express regret that the Secretary-General has not succeeded in complying with several resolutions declaring that no post should be considered the exclusive preserve of any Member State or group of States, including at the highest levels.  As a general rule, no national of a Member State succeeds a national of that State in a senior post, and there is no monopoly on senior posts by nationals of any State or group of States.

The Assembly would also decide not to pursue the Secretary-General’s proposal on staff buyout and ask him to submit a proposal for the use of incentives and sanctions as an integral part of the personnel management system, bearing in mind the relevant work of ICSC, for its consideration at the sixty-third session.  The Secretary-General would also be requested to improve accountability in human resources management reform.

Prior to action on the text, a representative of the Secretariat said that it was the Secretariat’s understanding that paragraph 10 of section 2 of the draft requested continuing use of existing rosters and that proposed rosters of pre-screened candidates should be further elaborated to be presented at the second resumed session.

The text was approved without a vote.

The representative of Finland, speaking on behalf of the European Union, welcomed the draft resolution, which was based on the Secretary-General’s proposals in his Investing in People report.  It marked an important achievement of the Fifth Committee and she paid tribute to the coordinator of the negotiations on the draft.

The Committee then turned to another draft resolution (document A/C.5/61/L.15), by the terms of which the Assembly would take note of the Secretary-General’s report on the comprehensive review of governance and oversight within the United Nations system and several related documents, including the reports of the Joint Inspection Unit and OIOS on the matter. It would also endorse the conclusions and recommendations of ACABQ on the comprehensive review, which was undertaken at a request by the 2005 World Summit.  The review was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers under the guidance of a steering committee of independent experts.

Further to the text, the Assembly would request several reports for its consideration during the first resumed session next spring, including those on revised terms of reference for the proposed Independent Audit Advisory Committee; and strengthening of OIOS.  During the second part of its resumed session, if possible, but not later than by the end of its sixty-first session, the Assembly would ask for reports on enterprise risk management and an internal control framework, results-based management and accountability framework.

The text was approved by consensus.

Also approved by consensus was a draft resolution on procurement reform (document A/C.5/61/L.23), which would have the Assembly approve the conversion of 20 positions funded under general temporary assistance to established posts under the support account for peacekeeping operations for the period ending 30 June 2007.  There would be 11 posts for the Procurement Division; 2 posts for the Office of Mission Support; 3 posts for the Headquarters Committee on Contracts/Office of Under-Secretary-General for Management; and 4 posts for General Legal Division, Office of Legal Affairs.  It would also approve the conversion of six positions for the Procurement Division, funded under general temporary assistance, to established posts and an amount of $706,500, representing the balance of the resource requirement for the six posts under the support account for peacekeeping operations for the period ending 30 June 2007.

The Assembly would further decide that, from the thus established posts, one P-4, one P-3 and one General Service would be designated to the Vendor Registration and Management Team to promote diversification in the origin of vendors among all Member States, as well as simplify vendor registration, management of the vendor database and liaising with vendors.

The Assembly would also approve the resource requirements of $1.05 million for the Procurement Division under the support account for peacekeeping operations for the rest of the fiscal year ending on 30 June 2007 for consultants to review industry practices and procurement models, training of procurement staff and travel to business seminars.

The Assembly would also approve reclassification of the D-1 Chief of Procurement post to the D-2 level.

By the provisions of the draft, the Assembly would recognize that procurement reform was an ongoing process and should focus on ensuring the efficiency, transparency and cost-effectiveness of United Nations procurement, as well as strengthened internal controls, greater accountability to member States and full implementation of Assembly resolutions on procurement reform.

The Assembly would request the Secretary-General to ensure that all staff involved in procurement, including at the senior levels, file financial disclosure statements annually.  It would regret that the Secretary-General had not yet submitted proposals related to the issue of conflict of interest, as requested in resolution 60/266, and request him to do so no later than by the second part of the Committee’s resumed session.  It would stress the importance of developing and implementing an ethics and integrity programme for procurement staff.

The Secretary-General is requested to establish an independent bid protest system outside of the reporting hierarchy of the Procurement Division, in order to furnish vendors with a means to dispute procurement-related decisions.  The Assembly would further request the Secretary-General to continue to simplify and streamline the vendor registration process, taking into account the varying levels of Internet access in countries.

Noting with concern the possible weakness in the control environment due to the split of responsibilities between the Department of Management and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to submit, at the second part of the resumed sixty-first session, a comprehensive report on, among other things:  management arrangements for procurement; respective responsibilities of the two Departments; and the functioning of the Headquarters Contracts Committee and the local committees on contracts.

The Assembly would also request the Secretary-General to explore additional ways to improve procurement opportunities for vendors from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and to invite the inter-agency procurement working group to recommend concrete proposals to diversify the sourcing of goods and services.

The draft text further addressed procurement management in United Nations organizations and improvements to be made to the website of the Procurement Division, as well as measures to reduce the time line associated with invoice payment.

Following approval of the draft, Singapore’s representative said that it was good that a real discussion on procurement reform had been deferred until next year.  The draft resolution just approved was in response to half-measures by the Secretariat, and procurement reform would continue to be half-measures, unless some basic issues were addressed.  As an example, he cited the case of Andrew Toh, a Singapore national working in the Department of Management, who had been in limbo since 16 January, when he had been placed on administrative leave based on a draft OIOS report on United Nations procurement in peacekeeping operations.  He was not defending Mr. Toh –- all he asked was for his case to be handled transparently and fairly.  If there was no evidence of impropriety, he should be reinstated and properly vindicated.

So far, there had been no evidence against Mr. Toh, he added.  Replies from the Secretary-General’s Office and the Secretariat had been evasive and cited multiple reasons for prolonging the investigation.  “More information necessary” had been the mantra.  Mr. Toh had actually met with the Procurement Task Force and voluntarily disclosed his and his wife’s financial records -- all without formal charges filed against him.  As far as he understood, the Procurement Task Force had not found any anomaly in those financial records.

He wondered why, after almost a year, the case seemed no closer to resolution, since six other people placed on administrative leave had been quietly reinstated.  That was in stark contrast to the public way they had been removed.  In the Security Council last February, Singapore’s representative had said that investigations should be completed before the Secretary-General stepped out, because investigations in the United Nations had an odd habit of dragging on to become another person’s problem.  In fact, that seemed almost inevitable.  The Secretary-General’s recent report on the Procurement Task Force stated that the work of the Task Force was expected to be completed in December 2007, and some aspects could be carried over to 2008 and 2009.  In the meantime, Mr. Toh was in limbo, and the investigation continued.  The report claimed that, in 2006, the investigation had been focused on eight staff on administrative leave; yet, the Procurement Task Force had seemingly come up with nothing on Mr. Toh.  There was still no determination if he would be charged or cleared.  How much time was needed to decide whether a man should be charged?  How much was the investigation costing?

The issues here were responsibility and accountability, he said.  Former Under-Secretary-General for Management, Christopher Burnham, who had a penchant for grandstanding with the media when discussing alleged United Nations corruption, was gone.  Mark Malloch Brown, who had placed Mr. Toh on administrative leave, would be stepping down shortly.  The Secretary-General himself would soon step down.  How unfair it would be for the case to land on the desk of the new Secretary-General.  No one should be denied justice.  “Charge him or reinstate him, but cease this delay and let the man have justice one way or another,” he said.

The Committee then took up a draft resolution on financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) (document A/C.5/61/L.17), by the provisions of which the Assembly would authorize the Secretary-General to enter into commitments for the period from 1 July 2006 to 31 March 2007 an amount not exceeding $257.34 million, inclusive of the amount of $50 million previously authorized, and in addition to the $97.58 million already appropriated.

The Assembly would also decide, without setting a precedent, to authorize the utilization of not more than $750,000 for temporary fuel assistance for UNIFIL to assist the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon.

The Assembly would stress, once again, that Israel pay $1.12 million resulting from the incident at Qana on 18 April 1996, and would request the Secretary-General to ensure the full implementation of some 12 resolutions in that regard.

CATHERINE POLLARD, Director, Peacekeeping Financing Division, said the Secretariat would interpret paragraph 17 of the draft as providing for one-time support to UNIFIL for fuel assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces.  An amount of $750,000 for fuel assistance on a one-time basis would be reflected in the budget.

First, the Committee voted on the preambular paragraph 4 and on operative paragraphs 4, 5 and 21 of the draft, relating to the incident at Qana.  In a recorded vote of 93 in favour to 6 against ( Australia, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Israel, Palau, United States), with 47 abstentions (see annex I), the Committee approved those paragraphs.

The Committee then approved the text as a whole by a recorded vote of 142 in favour to 4 against (Côte d’Ivoire, Israel, Palau, United States), with 1 abstention (Australia) (see annex II).

Speaking in explanation of the vote, the representative of Finland, on behalf of the European Union, said the Union had abstained on the separate vote for the paragraphs because the text as drafted was inappropriate in the context of financing a Mission.  The incident in Qana had been debated in the Assembly, resulting in a resolution.  The Union position had been made clear then in its statement and in the voting on that resolution.  The Union underlined that, likewise, it would have wished that consultations in the Fifth Committee would have been confined to budgetary aspects.

Canada’s representative regretted that consensus on the matter had not been possible because of inappropriate paragraphs in the text.  Those paragraphs undermined the understanding that political considerations had no place in resolutions of a technical character.  Neutrality was a core aspect of United Nations peacekeeping. It was inappropriate that one party was targeted and criticized for non-compliance.

The representative of the United States said his country strongly supported UNIFIL, which was carrying out important mandates.  However, he had opposed the same resolutions in the past, as they required Israel to pay for an incident in Qana.  They were not consensus resolutions.  The Secretary-General pursued the settlement of claims against States or a State.  Using the current resolution to legislate a settlement politicized the work of the Committee and should be avoided in the future.

Israel’s representative said that, during informals, delegates had been reminded that it was not the practice of the Fifth Committee to single out and target one State.  Israel did not enjoy the same treatment as others in the Committee and was consistently singled out for criticism.  The Committee was supposed to deal with technical and budgetary aspects, as well as administrative issues.  The language of the draft was not appropriate and was not even negotiated.  He supported UNIFIL on the ground, but had been forced to vote against the draft, because it had singled out Israel for criticism.  UNIFIL was important and should be strengthened.  A new UNIFIL, as created by resolution 1701 (2006), reflected the wishes of the international community.  It was different from its predecessor, yet the same paragraphs applicable to previous UNIFIL had been inserted in the text.

Historically, no State had been held solely responsible for activities resulting from attacks of armed groups, he continued.  A principle of collective responsibility should not be ignored.  The new UNIFIL created in the wake of resolution 1701 required international support, as its presence was critical to peace and security on the ground.  But, divisiveness, such as the text just voted, would undermine the strength of UNIFIL and hinder implementation of resolution 1701.

The representative of Australia said that his delegation supported UNIFIL and supported the expansion of the mission under resolution 1701. However, he had abstained in the voting, as the text was not appropriately focused on financial issues.  Politicizing the issue and singling out Israel was not appropriate.

The representative of Lebanon said that, as his country appreciated the role of UNIFIL, especially after Security Council resolution 1701, it had always supported the budgetary requests for that mission.  He underscored that operative paragraph 17 did not prejudge the outcome of an memorandum of understanding that was currently being negotiated between the Government of Lebanon and UNIFIL.  That memorandum of understanding was expected to outline the framework of support the UNIFIL would be providing to the Lebanese army.

He said the expenses of the Organization should be shared by its Member States.  That did not contradict the responsibility of States under international law for their wrongful acts.  Israel’s representative had wondered why his delegation had been singled out.  The very simple explanation could be found in the history of the region.  As for references to Hizbollah, he reminded Israel’s representative that Hizbollah had not existed until after the invasions by Israel.  Hizbollah was a by-product of occupation.  Also, Israel should not talk about terrorism, as two of Israel’s Prime Ministers, one of them a founding father of the country, had been considered terrorists by the British police and been subject to international arrest warrants.

The Committee then took up a draft resolution on the Capital Master Plan (document A/C.5/61/L.19), by the terms of which the Assembly would reiterate its serious concern over the hazards, risks and deficiencies at the current United Nations Headquarters complex and stress the special role of the host country in providing support for the United Nations in New York.

Reaffirming several previous texts, it would call on the Secretary-General to explore the possibility of private donor funding for the Plan and continue efforts to secure financial resources from the public and private sectors for upgrading facilities and equipment, including participation of private companies in infrastructure improvements, where such participation has no financial implications for the Organization.  According to the text, acceptance of any donation should conform to the international and intergovernmental character of the Organization and should be in full compliance with the financial regulations and rules of the United Nations.

Stressing the need for establishing sufficient cash flow for the Plan, based on practical and predictable assessment, the Assembly would approve the Capital Master Plan, including the recommended scope options, to be completed over the period 2006-2014, at a total revised project budget not to exceed some $1.88 billion (exclusive of any credit facility fees).  In that connection, it would note that forward pricing escalation is already included in the approved budget and request the Secretary-General to make every effort to avoid budget increases through sound management practices and to submit possible options on remaining within the approved amount “in the unlikely event that it becomes evident that the costs will exceed the approved budget”. Should the costs escalate beyond the approved amount of $1.88 billion, all Member States would be subject to a further assessment to meet the revised financial requirements.

Further by the draft, the Plan would be funded through a mix of one-time and equal multi-year assessments, based on the regular budget scale of assessments applicable for 2007.  Member States would be allowed, within a specified period, to select the option of one-time or multi-year payments.  Unless the Organization is notified otherwise, Member States would be placed on the multi-year plans for the full period of the project.  Should a Member State select the one-time payment, its decision would be irrevocable, unless the Secretary-General is notified otherwise within the period specified in the draft.

The Assembly would also establish a working capital reserve of $45 million for the implementation of the Plan, to which Member States would make advances in accordance with the 2007 assessment rates.  Another financing instrument envisioned in the text is a letter of credit facility, pursuant to a bidding process in accordance with existing regulations.  However, the Assembly would stress that any drawdown under the letter should be used “as a last resort” and solely for the purpose of financing the Capital Master Plan.  The Secretary-General would be requested to ensure that the best possible terms and conditions are negotiated with the construction manager in respect of the internationally syndicated letter of credit.  He would also be asked to enter into consultations with the host Government regarding the possibility of facilitating the establishment of the letter of credit without the imposition of fees or charges to the United Nations.

Deciding that any charges arising from the use of credit would not be charged on Member States that have paid their Capital Master Plan assessments in full, the Assembly would further authorize the apportionment of those charges among Member States that did not pay their dues for the plan in full, within the specified period.  It would also stress the importance of oversight over the implementation of the Plan and request the Secretary-General to continue to explore ways to increase procurement opportunities for vendors from developing countries and countries with economies in transition.  The procurement processes should be conducted in a transparent manner and in full compliance with relevant Assembly resolutions.

And finally, the Assembly would emphasize the importance of effectively managing multiple staff relocations in the approved phasing plan, in order to keep the project on schedule, and urge the Secretary-General to expedite the process of setting up the advisory board on the project, reflecting a wide geographical representation.  Efforts should also be made to ensure that the works of art, masterpieces and gifts are appropriately handled during all the stages of renovation work.

MOHAMMED NAJIB ELJI ( Syria), introducing the draft resolution, announced that, thanks to negotiations into the small hours of the night, consensus had been reached. The success of the Fifth Committee in achieving consensus was the cornerstone and the beginning of a major project that would improve the working conditions at Headquarters.

WARREN SACH, Controller, clarified, at the request of certain delegations, some of the text’s provisions on the timeline of the project, as well as on the mechanisms for paying assessments. 

The text was then approved by consensus.

Speaking after adoption, the representative of South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, thanked the staff of the project for their cooperation and dedication, even when the future of the project seemed to be in doubt.  She also thanked the coordinator, without whom consensus would have been possible, and all delegations for their flexible approach.

She said it had taken six years until approval.  Action had been delayed as a result of the search for swing-space options.  The resolution envisaged further consultation on the renovation of the Headquarters complex, bearing in mind the

responsibility of the host country.  The Group expected that the project would be completed on time.

The representative of Finland, on behalf of the European Union, welcomed adoption of the draft, the subject of which had been under discussion since 2000.  The Union had always stressed the need to bring the building in line with proper safety regulations.  Now that the decision on financing had been achieved, construction could begin on schedule.  Over the last six years, Member States had engaged in long and complex negotiation. Congratulations were, therefore, due to all Member States who had agreed on the equitable financing mechanism.  She stressed, in that regard, the importance for Member States to paid their assessments in full, on time, and without conditions.  She also thanked the coordinator, saying that the outcome would not have been possible without his help.

The representative of Cuba fully endorsed the position of the Group of 77 and China and said that over five years had passed since the proposal had been presented to renovate the Headquarters complex.  She thanked the Secretariat officials who had worked with the Committee over the years to provide it with information that would allow it to take decisions.  She also thanked the coordinator of the negotiations on the draft.  It was now up to each Member State to meet their commitments to provide the necessary funds to carry out the work within the deadlines established.

She added that, despite the positive results, it was regrettable that the host country had not offered a loan free of interest.  That would have been a minimum sign of gratitude for the benefits from the presence of the United Nations in the country, as well as the benefits the country would gain from the project. She hoped the plan would be concluded successfully.

The United States’ representative welcomed the adoption of the draft after many years of discussion.  On many occasions, her delegation had expressed concern over the state of the building, and she was glad the Committee had agreed on the financing plan allowing the project to move forward.  She also thanked the coordinator and the Secretariat officials for their assistance.  She looked forward to seeing progress on the project.

The representative of Jamaica supported the position of the Group of 77 and added her voice to those who had thanked the coordinator for his great work.  She also appreciated the cooperative spirit demonstrated by delegations during the negotiations.  In early stages of the negotiations, some delegation had expressed their wish to give consideration to further utilization of the swing space temporary facility on the North Lawn.  That building needed to be fully sustainable to accommodate meetings of the Assembly and its main Committees.  The plan to demolish the structure should be reviewed, and she urged delegations to give serious consideration to utilizing the building after the project had been completed, perhaps for exhibitions, non-governmental organizations meetings and other events.  It would cost less and be to the benefit of the Organization.

The representative of the United Republic of Tanzania, addressing the options for paying assessments, asked the Secretariat to provide the status of Member States’ contributions.

ANNEX I

Vote on Preambular/Operative Paragraphs in UNIFIL

The fifth preambular paragraphs and operative paragraphs 4, 5 and 21 of the draft resolution in financing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) (document A/C.5/61/L.17) were approved by a recorded vote of 93 in favour to 6 against, with 47 abstentions, as follows:

In favour:  Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against:  Australia, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Israel, Palau, United States.

Abstain:  Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay.

Absent:  Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Montenegro, Nauru, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Suriname, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu.

ANNEX II

Vote on Financing for UNIFIL

The draft resolution on the financing of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) (document A/C.5/61/L.17) was approved by a recorded vote of 142 in favour to 4 against, with 1 abstention, as follows:

In favour:  Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against:  Côte d’Ivoire, Israel, Palau, United States.

Abstain:  Australia.

Absent:  Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Montenegro, Nauru, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Suriname, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record