Sixty-first General Assembly

Fifth Committee

46^th Meeting (AM)

AS IT CONCLUDES FIRST RESUMED SESSION, FIFTH COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS REGULAR BUDGET

SUPPORT, ON EXCEPTIONAL BASIS, FOR WOMEN’S TRAINING INSTITUTE

Defers Consideration of Several Matters

Until Second Resumed Session, to Be Held in May

Taking up the issue that held up the closing of its session last Friday, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning recommended that the General Assembly, on an exceptional basis, authorize the Secretary-General to enter into commitments of up to $190,000 from the Organization’s regular budget for the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), subject to full reimbursement upon receipt of voluntary contributions by the Institute.

By the terms of a draft decision that was approved without a vote, the Assembly would reaffirm that regular budget resources would not be used to finance the activities of INSTRAW, in accordance with its Statute, and appeal to Member States, as a matter of urgency, to contribute voluntary funds to honour existing pledges in support of the Institute.  The Secretary-General would be requested to report on the financial situation of INSTRAW during the Committee’s second resumed session next month.

An initial text on INSTRAW was submitted by Mexico and Pakistan, on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, one day before the scheduled closing of the session.  By the draft, the Assembly would authorize the Secretary-General to enter into commitments in an amount up to $857,800 for the functioning of the Institute.  After several delegations objected that the move to formally introduce the draft without prior negotiations or a report by either the Secretary-General or the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) went against the Committee’s established practice, the co-sponsors withdrew the text on Friday.  Today’s draft was elaborated in informal consultations on Friday evening.

The United States disassociated itself from today’s decision, with its representative expressing disappointment over the manner in which the matter had come before the Committee.  He said the unexpected introduction of the draft close to the end of the first resumed session -- on an item not scheduled for discussion -- had been contrary to the established practice of the Committee, as was the absence of official Secretariat and ACABQ reports.  The Committee had demonstrated that it was prepared to completely ignore such procedures when it came to rescuing a voluntarily funded organization, whose principal supporters had failed to fulfil their pledges.  He hoped that the speed with which the Committee had been able to act on INSTRAW suggested that it was also prepared to act quickly and decisively on future reform efforts.

He added that, if INSTRAW’s Executive Board had been able to approve a proposed work plan and 2007 operational budget amounting to some $1.53 million based on pledges of only $325,011, then perhaps it was time for the Board to rethink its priorities based on the contributions available.  Subventions were never intended to be an annual ritual.

The representative of Germany, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that he was grateful that the delegations that had initially tabled the draft had withdrawn it, allowing the Committee to take forward its work in line with its practices.  Friendship and trust were the guiding principles of the Committee, and he hoped that all delegations would respect the working practices of the Committee, as well as the provisions of resolution 41/213.

The representative of Algeria said INSTRAW was too important for its work not to continue.

Speaking in explanation of position following action on the draft, Japan’s representative reiterated that INSTRAW should be financed solely through voluntary contributions, in accordance with its Statute.  Continuous subventions from the budget would create serious doubts on management and budgetary discipline.  The measure taken should be an exception, and the final one at that.  If any other subvention was necessary, an alternative solution should be sought, including phasing out of the Institute.  Moreover, the Committee should not take up Institute’s financing anew.

Canada’s representative, speaking also on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, said she did not favour using the regular budget for the financing of INSTRAW, but recognized that the General Assembly, in resolution 60/229, had decided to provide financing in the 2006-2007 biennium.  The Assembly should be explicit, however, in stating that the current subvention should be the last one.  Moreover, it was important to honour the Committee’s working methods.  Consensus should always be sought through negotiations.

The representative of Mexico -- one of the initial co-sponsors of the draft -- thanked the delegations for their willingness to achieve results.  Now was not the best moment to recall the events that had started with how the Committee had been prevented from its ordinary process of working on resolutions with financial implications.  Friday’s meetings had been illustrative for delegations, and he thanked all the coordinators who had facilitated the work on the resolutions that day and throughout the session.  He hoped the Committee would be able to keep the spirit of cordiality in its work.

Pakistan’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, expressed gratitude for all those who had made today’s outcome possible, saying that the Committee had had “some difficult issues and odd moments”, but consensus had been forged.  INSTRAW had a responsibility to promote the core objectives of the United Nations on gender empowerment, including the goal of 50-50 gender representation.  He did not understand the great difficulty that many delegations had in supporting the Institute.  The delegations he represented had endeavoured, and would always endeavour, to preserve the integrity of consideration of budget matters and would not try to break away from that tradition.  In this case, the co-sponsors had been left with no other option, in view of the impeding financial crisis faced by INSTRAW. Of course, he was mindful of the concerns expressed.

He added that he was grateful to all who had reciprocated the co-sponsors’ gesture with flexibility to come up with a compromise.  While not very comfortable with it, he understood the concerns.  However, it was necessary to find a more reasonable basis for financing INSTRAW, whose Statute clearly stipulated its relations with the United Nations and how it could seek support from the Organization.  He was concerned how the Statute had been “spun around” to void it of any support to the Institute.  He hoped that, with the Secretary-General’s report and ACABQ comments, the Committee would be able to make a more reasonable, well-argued decision to further support the Institute’s useful work and ensure how pledges were honoured.

The representative of the Dominican Republic, speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, supported the position of the Group of 77 and Mexico, and expressed satisfaction with the agreement.  He hoped that, as the required reports had been received during the second resumed session, the question would not require a lengthy discussion.  He regretted that it had not been possible to have had the document with the Executive Board’s request in six official languages during the current session.  He emphasized, however, the sound management by the Institute’s Director, who had made important contributions to gender mainstreaming in both developing and developed countries.  There was a responsibility to endow INSTRAW with a sound financial basis, so that it could discharge its important task.

Also this morning, the Committee approved a draft decision that would have the Assembly defer consideration of several agenda items until the second part of its resumed session, including several reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and concerning the Organization’s information and communications technology strategy.  Prior to the approval of the text, the Committee was informed of the Bureau’s recommendation that the issue of governance and oversight be taken up at the early part of the second resumed session.

Closing the first resumed session, the Chairman of the Fifth Committee, Yousef Yousfi (Algeria), said that the Committee had been able to decide on a number of matters that were important, not only for the day-to-day functioning of the United Nations, but also for peacekeeping and special political missions.  The draft on the administration of justice at the United Nations was an important milestone.  All that would not have been possible without strong dedication by everybody involved.  In the near future, the Committee would examine several long-overdue issues relating to the reform of the Secretariat.

The Committee was informed that its four-week second resumed session would take place in May, its exact dates to be determined.

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For information media • not an official record