Sixty-second General Assembly

Fifth Committee

7^th Meeting (AM)

BUDGET COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXT ON UN OFFICE FOR PARTNERSHIPS; TAKES

UP ITEMS ON AVIAN FLU PREPAREDNESS, SECRETARIAT CONSOLIDATED REPORT

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning recommended that the Assembly take note of the Secretary-General’s report on the recently-established United Nations Office for Partnerships, which updates the Assembly on the programmes operating under that Office:  the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), as well as Partnership and Advisory Services and Outreach.

The Office for Partnerships has evolved on the basis of the UNFIP model of grant making and programme management, which also led to the establishment of UNDEF in 2005.  It serves as a gateway to engage corporations, foundations and civil society to help achieve United Nations goals.  In 2006, the Office handled almost 500 inquiries from partners, non-governmental organizations and foundations to explore possible collaboration with the United Nations.

By approving, without a vote, a draft resolution that was distributed in the room, the Committee also endorsed the conclusions and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), which noted with appreciation that, in addition to the commitment of $1 billion by Robert E. Turner, the United Nations Foundation –- established to disburse Ted Turner’s $1 billion contribution to United Nations causes -- had been working on a second phase that could yield another $1 billion from other partners to support United Nations causes.

Placing particular emphasis on simplifying the administration, grants management and the assurance of full accountability, the Advisory Committee welcomed the inclusion of a section on lessons learned in the report of the Secretary-General.  It also looked forward to progress by UNDEF in the process of developing its own streamlined monitoring and evaluation strategy by drawing on the experiences of UNFIP and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Also this morning, the Committee debated the Secretary-General’s request for $7.87 million for avian flu pandemic preparedness during the 2008-2009 biennium.  Introducing a report on the matter, Joan W. McDonald, Director of the Facilities and Commercial Services Division, Office of Central Support Services, Department of Management, said that, according to public health experts, the occurrence of a pandemic was not a matter of “if”, but rather of “when”, and it was imperative for the United Nations to be prepared.  The report included actions to ensure continuity of critical United Nations functions and operations; medical intervention and prevention; and preparatory activities, such as capacity-building and training. 

While not denying the necessity of taking special measures to ensure preparedness in a pandemic crisis, the representative of Japan, supported by Portugal (on behalf of the European Union), expressed concern about the piecemeal approach to the matter.  Existing resources, including the stock of knowledge in the World Health Organization, should first be utilized.  Therefore, the establishment of a new dedicated unit only for avian influenza should be considered with caution.  The whole picture of business continuity, including human influenza pandemics and disaster recovery, should be received by the Chief Information Technology Officer, and a comprehensive report should be submitted to the current session of the Assembly. 

Recognizing the seriousness of the threat of avian flu, the representative of Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that appropriate preparedness constituted an important obligation of the Organization towards all its employees.  He appreciated the efforts towards developing a coordinated response and strategy to deal with the pandemic, including the appointment of the United Nations System Influenza Coordinator and the steering committee on avian flu.  He hoped that such measures as appointment of coordinators at all duty stations, preparation of guidelines and contingency plans by the senior emergency policy teams would create sufficient capacity to protect the Organization’s personnel, physical assets and continuation of critical functions.

The Committee also considered the feasibility of the continuation of publishing the United Nations Secretariat Consolidated Report -- a document initially envisioned in the context of the Secretary-General’s management reform proposals.  The report was intended to be a tool for enhancing the transparency and accountability of the Secretariat to Member States and to the public at large.

Switzerland’s representative welcomed the Secretariat’s effort to provide an overview of its accomplishments and challenges during the year, organized according to the Organization’s strategic priority areas, in particular, the presentation of the Secretariat’s budget, expenditures and staffing.  There was no other United Nations document that provided such a straightforward and user-friendly summary of relevant data.  As a strong supporter of cost-effectiveness and efficiency, he wanted to explore cost reductions in connection with the publication and suggested several improvements, including further efforts to define clearly the document’s target audience and include in it the work of United Nations funds, programmes and other bodies.  He recommended an incremental approach to the development of the report and saw value in a document with less ambitious scope.

The representative of the Russian Federation supported the Advisory Committee in its recommendation that the publication be discontinued, sharing its concern that the form and contents of the document were not in keeping with the goal of enhancing transparency and accountability.  He also insisted that the 2005 report –- issued in violation of resolution 60/283, under which the report was to be submitted to the Fifth Committee before its publication -- be immediately removed from sale at the United Nations bookshop, and the Office of Internal Oversight Services be requested to conduct an investigation into the senior officials who had authorized the publication in violation of the Assembly resolution.

Other documents before the Committee were introduced by Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, Amir Dossal; Chairman of ACABQ, Rajat Saha; and Chief of Audit and Internal Justice Office, Nancy Hurtz-Soyka.

The date and time of the Committee’s next formal meeting will be announced.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to take up reports on the work of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP) and measures to combat avian flu as well as a consolidated report on the United Nations Secretariat.

In the first report before the Committee (document A/62/328), the Secretary-General requests some $7.87 million for avian and human influenza pandemic crisis preparedness during the 2008-2009 biennium.  Preparedness activities mentioned in the report include, maintaining the continuity of critical United Nations functions and operations; medical intervention and prevention; and preparatory activities, such as capacity-building and training.  The proposals in the report are directly aligned with the Secretariat’s strategy for crisis management and continuity of operations and are structured to complement the comprehensive report on information and communications technology disaster recovery and continuity of operations for the Secretariat, which is to be submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session.

In addition to the requested funds for preparedness, the report also presents further resources, currently estimated at $9.98 million, which may be requested in the event of an actual pandemic.  The report added that, because of the uncertainty of when a pandemic could arise, it was prudent to undertake certain activities -— among them the procurement of critical equipment and supplies —- as soon as possible.  This strategy would hasten the achievement of a state of full preparedness for a pandemic and would mitigate the risk of certain items being in short supply as a pandemic approaches.

In response to the emergence of a virulent strain of avian influenza known as A(H5N1), which the report notes has put the world on alert for a new human influenza pandemic, on 25 September 2005, the United Nations established a United Nations System Influenza Coordinator.  Following the creation of a new position, coordinator posts were also appointed in Geneva, New York, Vienna and Nairobi.  The System Coordinator was tasked with developing and implementing a comprehensive unified strategy for the United Nations system on pandemic influenza prevention, preparedness and response, and with improving efforts to control avian influenza.

Given the onset of avian influenza, the Organization gave renewed attention to its capacity to sustain operations and protect staff in the event of a major and protracted pandemic influenza crisis, by ensuring that viable business continuity and staff protection plans are in place.  The report also stressed that a pandemic would constitute a different type of crisis than those covered by crisis management plans currently in place, given its slow onset, long duration and potential for affecting a significant number of staff and their families.

Another report before the Committee (document A/62/220) updates the Assembly on the activities of UNFIP, the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), as well as Partnership and Advisory Services and Outreach -- all programmes operated under the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

The Office for Partnerships has evolved on the basis of the UNFIP model of grant making and programme management, which also led to the establishment of UNDEF in 2005.  It serves as a gateway to engage corporations, foundations and civil society to help achieve United Nations goals.  In 2006 the Office has handled almost 500 inquiries from partners, non-governmental organizations and foundations to explore possible collaboration with the United Nations.

According to the report, UNFIP continued its partnership activities with the United Nations Foundation, which was established to disburse Ted Turner’s $1 billion contribution to United Nations causes.  That partnership has yielded dividends in the form of new and additional resources for United Nations causes.  The Foundation is now working on a second phase that should yield another $1 billion from other partners, to be managed through UNFIP, building on highly successful programmes.

Since the partnership between UNFIP and the United Nations was launched in 1998, $994.4 million has gone to some 400 UNFIP projects.  The report notes that the projects, administered under the framework of the Millennium Development Goals since 2000, have been funded through both the United Nations Foundation -- $335 million -- and other donors and partners -- $561 million.  Children’s health programmes have been given $613.4 million; $133.8 million has been allocated to women’s and population projects; and $164.6 million to environmental programmes.  The conservation of World Heritage sites also remains paramount.  Some 58 peace, security and human rights programmes have been allocated $49.5 million.

Regarding UNFIP, the report states that a total of $191.2 million was programmed for the Fund for 2006.  The most substantial allocation, $180.5 million went to children’s health programmes for eight new projects.  Three projects for population and women received $3.2 million.  Six environmental projects were allotted $1 million, while two projects concerning peace, security and human rights received $0.1 million.

The United Nations Democracy Fund was announced by the Secretary-General in July 2005.  In the World Summit Outcome, world leaders welcomed “the establishment of a Democracy Fund at the United Nations”.  The Secretary-General tasked UNFIP to develop UNDEF into a grants-making facility to support partnerships between civil society and the United Nations aimed at the promotion of democratic values.  In just over one year, the Democracy Fund has established itself as a strategic fund with a unique niche that looks to civil society as a vital pillar of democracy.

According to the document, the United Nations budgeted $36 million for 125 UNDEF projects relating to civic education, electoral support and political parties; democratic dialogue and constitutional processes; civil society empowerment; accountability, transparency and integrity; human rights and fundamental freedoms; and access to information.  By developing numerous partnerships with Member States, non-governmental organizations and think tanks, the Fund has quickly become a recognized voice on democracy at international forums.

The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), in a related report (A/62/363), notes with appreciation that, in addition to the commitment of $1 billion by Robert E. Turner, the United Nations Foundation has been working on a second phase that could yield another $1 billion from other partners to support United Nations causes.  Placing particular emphasis on simplifying the administration, grants management and the assurance of full accountability, the Advisory Committee welcomed the inclusion of a section on lessons learned in the report of the Secretary-General.  In conclusion, the Committee looked forward to progress by UNDEF in the process of developing its own streamlined monitoring and evaluation strategy by drawing on the experiences of UNFIP and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

By his note in document A/62/162, the Secretary-General submits to the General Assembly the United Nations Secretariat Consolidated Report 2006 -– a document initially envisioned in the context of the Secretary-General’s management reform proposals set out in his reports Investing in the United Nations:  for a stronger organization worldwide.  The report was intended to be a tool for enhancing the transparency and accountability of the Secretariat to Member States and to the public at large.  The first Consolidated Report was issued for 2005 in English only and was not reviewed by the Assembly.

As requested in Assembly resolution 60/283, the report contains financial and programme information.  For the purposes of greater scrutiny by the General Assembly and enhanced transparency, the document further provides an overview of the Secretariat’s main accomplishments and challenges in 2006 and an analysis of the Organization’s performance.  It focuses on results and progress and, together with a detailed account of the corresponding expenditures and staffing, illustrates the value provided by the Organization against given priorities.

The Secretary-General concludes that, should the Assembly consider the Consolidated Report 2006 and the information presented therein to be valuable, it may wish to request the Secretary-General to produce the document on an annual basis.

Commenting on that document, ACABQ, in a related report (document A/62/352), recommends discontinuing the publication of the Consolidated Report, as it is not convinced that the document, as currently presented, improves transparency or accountability in any significant way.

From the Secretary-General’s foreword to the report, the Advisory Committee notes that it is intended for both the general public and Member States.  However, ACABQ was informed that, in accordance with its previous recommendation, the document had been directed more towards Member States than the public at large.  The report itself appears to be designed and presented in a manner intended for the general public, rather than as a parliamentary document for consideration by the Assembly.  In the Advisory Committee’s view, there remains ambiguity about the report’s intended audience, and, in its present form, it targets too many audiences, thereby limiting its usefulness.

The Advisory Committee welcomes, however, the succinct overview provided of the distribution of the regular budget and other assessed and extrabudgetary resources by strategic programme activity, as well as the summary of the Secretariat’s financial performance.  It notes that such synthesized, comprehensive data, consolidated in one place, is not found in other public documents.  The Committee is of the view that such data could be provided to Member States in the annual report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization.

According to ACABQ, resources required for the preparation of the report include the full-time capacity of a P-5 and a P-4 in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management for approximately three months; the services of a consultant engaged for a four-month period to facilitate the conduct of a workshop for departmental focal points and editing of the performance section; the services of the Graphic Design Unit of the Department of Public Information; and the services of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management to proofread, translate and print the report.  Specific details on the number of months of work devoted by staff to the preparation of the report are still under review and will be reported in the context of the second performance report on the programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007.

Upon request, the Advisory Committee was informed that the external consultant provided a journalistic tone to the content of the report and that the Department of Public Information had not been asked to assist in its drafting.  The Advisory Committee questions why a report on the activities of the United Nations Secretariat could not be prepared in-house, given the role of DPI.

Introduction

AMIR DOSSAL, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, introduced the report on the Office (A/62/220).  He noted that, for the first time, he was reporting on UNDEF, as well as partnership-building.  He said partnerships had flourished and, as a result of Ted Turner’s philanthropy, there was a possibility of an additional $1 billion being received to support United Nations causes.  He said the Office served as a gateway for the United Nations system and outside actors to engage in the work of the United Nations and had two main objectives:  advocacy and building new partnerships.

RAJAT SAHA, Chairman of ACABQ, introduced the Committee’s report on the Office for Partnerships (A/62/363).

Statements

IMTIAZ HUSSAIN (Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, conveyed deep appreciation to the United Nations Office for Partnerships for its important work and worldwide accomplishments in diverse fields.  He noted that the Office had demonstrated an impressive performance since its inception.  The allocation of $1 billion for 400 projects implemented by 39 United Nations agencies in 123 countries in critical areas such as children’s health, women, population, environment, peace, security, human rights and the Millennium Development Goals spoke volumes about the Office’s performance.  In particular, he commended the Office for projects aimed to support national efforts towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

He welcomed the Office’s ongoing efforts to seek a new tranche of $1 billion and he conveyed his appreciation to civil society actors and foundations who had contributed to the effort.  He considered the Office a gateway between the United Nations system, and the private sector, foundations and civil society and its activities, in conformity with the World Summit Outcome document.  He said increased interest from prospective partners attested to the Office’s credibility.  Further, he asked whether the Office could explore the possibility of having the Development Account for the Secretary-General explore options with the private sector.  Also, could financing for development be taken up by the Office for Partnerships?

Responding to questions, Mr. DOSSAL thanked the Committee for its positive comments and said that the issue of how to address regional and national needs had been raised at the last Board meeting three months ago.  Earlier this week, the Under-Secretary-General for Management had called a meeting to discuss strategies of replicating the positive practices.  “The Development Account has a special link to us, and we have supported the work of the Financing for Development Office, for example,” he said.  In the light of comments made, the Office for Partnerships intended to establish a more formal relationship with both the Development Account and other relevant offices, to see “how we can pull the resources for the common good”.

The Committee then approved a draft decision -– distributed in the room -- by which the Assembly would take note of the Secretary-General’s report and endorse the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee on the matter.

Avian Flu Introduction

JOAN W. MCDONALD, Director of the Facilities and Commercial Services Division, Office of Central Support Services, Department of Management, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on the revised estimates to ensure operational preparedness in the event of a protracted avian flu crisis, saying that, as of 12 September this year, a total of 328 human cases and 200 deaths from avian influenza had been reported in 12 countries since 2003.  Public health experts had indicated that the occurrence of a pandemic was not a matter of “if”, but rather of “when”.  A recently released World Health Organization (WHO) report referred to the pandemic influenza as the most feared among potential public health emergencies of international concern.  Having been forewarned, it was imperative for the United Nations to be prepared.

The planning and preparedness process included activities in the following three main areas, she continued:  maintaining business continuity, medical interventions and prevention, and preparatory activities.  Careful attention was given to make sure that the activities considered in the report were harmonized with and complementary to other ongoing activities in related areas undertaken by various United Nations units, funds and programmes, to avoid any duplication of efforts.

Chairman of ACABQ, Mr. SAHA, introducing the Committee’s related report (document A/62/474), said that the Advisory Committee, while recognizing the need for preparedness and contingency planning for a protracted human influenza pandemic, advocated a prudent and well-coordinated approach across the United Nations system.  The Committee had recommended a comprehensive approach to business continuity requirements, including those arising in the event of an influenza pandemic, and those related to disaster recovery and business continuity in the area of information and communication technology, for which a separate report was being submitted to the Assembly.  The Assembly might wish to approve the revised estimates for 2008-2009, subject to the recommendations made by the Advisory Committee in paragraph 14 of its report.

Statements

Mr. HUSSAIN ( Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77, said that the Group recognized the seriousness of the threat of the virulent strain of avian flu to humankind, including United Nations staff.  Appropriate preparedness constituted an important obligation of the Organization towards all its employees.  He noted with appreciation the efforts of the United Nations towards developing a coordinated response and strategy to deal with the pandemic, including the appointment of the Coordinator with a mandate to develop a unified and comprehensive strategy.  The Group also noted the appointment and activities of the steering committee on avian flu.  He hoped that those and related measures, such as appointment of coordinators at all duty stations, preparation of guidelines and contingency plans by the senior emergency policy teams, would create sufficient capacity to protect the health, safety and security of United Nations personnel, the Organization’s physical assets and continuation of critical functions and operations.

Continuing, he sought clarifications regarding the assumptions behind the resources requested in the report, particularly that the pandemic would impact approximately 30 to 40 per cent of the United Nations personnel and that it had the potential to affect all duty stations.  He also sought additional information regarding coordination and consultation with WHO and national health authorities in the preparation of the report.  The Group believed that ACABQ had offered very useful advice with regard to a comprehensive review of business continuity requirements under the supervision of the Chief Information Technology Officer, instead of a piecemeal approach to the issue.  He also generally agreed with other observations and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the medical intervention and prevention, capacity-building and training aspects of the report.  The Group would engage in the discussions on the mater, with a view to putting in place adequate measures and arrangements to ensure safety, security and health of United Nations employees.

KENICHIRO MUKAI ( Japan) said that his country has been actively cooperating with coordination activities through the United Nations System Influenza Coordinator.  He understood that knowledge and information on new influenza preparedness, including business continuity, had already been accumulated at the United Nations through the assistance of Member States, including Japan.  Although he did not deny the necessity of taking special measures at the United Nations Headquarters in advance to ensure preparedness in a pandemic crisis, he was of the view that the existing resources, including the stock of knowledge in the World Health Organization, should first be utilized. 

Continuing, he said existing institutions should conduct business based on the stock of information at WHO and other United Nations funds and agencies, bearing in mind the need for business continuity under the outbreak of a pandemic.  He said, therefore, the establishment of a new dedicated unit only for avian influenza should be considered with caution.  He asked if the World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had the same kind of independent units for avian influenza at their headquarters.

He stressed that the whole picture of business continuity, including human influenza pandemics and disaster recovery, should be presented and received by the Chief Information Technology Officer and a comprehensive report should be submitted to the sixty-second session of the General Assembly.  He said he was very much concerned about the piecemeal approach, only for avian influenza.

Concerning medical intervention and prevention, he said that could be covered by the emergency medical measures prepared by the host countries, the existing medical centre of the Organization, the existing medical unit, the existing medical staff and existing medical contracts.  He also asked why the existing package of medical insurance could not cover this function.

In relation to capacity-building and training, he understood that the awareness activities including websites, and training tools, were accumulated at the World Health Organization and other United Nations funds and agencies.  Therefore, he said that existing resources should be utilized before requiring new resources.  The incumbent staffs of the United Nations had the responsibility to gather the necessary information and dealing with the issue by utilizing the experiences and resources of the World Health Organization.

Mr. RAMOS (Portugal), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that he wanted to add the Union’s voice to the concerns expressed by the representative of Japan and pose a question on document A/62/328.  That document explained the background of the matter and referred to the fact that the System Influenza Coordinator had been appointed in 2005.  In that connection, he wanted to know why, with avian flu-related activities undertaken since 2005, related estimates had not been included in the proposed programme budget?

Responding to questions, Ms. MCDONALD said that the assumption of the requirements had been validated by outside expertise in June-July this year.  While that verification had produced no changes to the Headquarters requirements, minor changes had been made for some locations.

Regarding coordination, she said that the Secretariat had, indeed, coordinated its efforts with the World Health Organization, but that organization dealt exclusively with health issues -- not with business continuity within the Organization, including the issues of how to deal with payroll and keep facilities going in a protracted emergency.  As pointed out in the report, the activities considered in the document were not duplicating, but complementing other efforts.  Regarding reviewing business continuity in the context of information technology, she said that, again, business continuity and disaster recovery was one thing for information technology as a tool used in the Organization, and something else for substantive running of the Organization’s departments.

Introduction of Consolidated Report

NANCY HURTZ-SOYKA, Chief of the Audit and Internal Justice Office in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, introduced the United Nations Secretariat Consolidated Report 2006.  She noted that the General Assembly emphasized that the report be developed in the context of paragraphs 68 and 69 of ACABQ’s report, bearing in mind that all reporting pertaining to administrative and budgetary matters was subject to the consideration of the Fifth Committee, as the appropriate main Committee of the Assembly.  She brought to the Committee’s attention that the report would complement, but not replace the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization required under Article 98 of the Charter of the Untied Nations.

Mr. SAHA, Chairman of ACABQ, said that the Committee was interested in defining more clearly the target audience and finding out more about the purpose of the report.  He noted that the report was intended to enhance transparency and accountability of the Secretariat to Member States and to the public at large, but the Committee was not convinced that the report, as currently presented, improved transparency or accountability in any significant way.  He said the Committee, therefore, recommended it be discontinued.

THOMAS GUERBER ( Switzerland) welcomed the Secretariat’s effort to provide an overview of its accomplishments and challenges during the year, organized according to the Organization’s strategic priority areas, in particular the useful and comprehensive presentation of the Secretariat’s budget, expenditures and staffing.  He noted that there was no other United Nations document that provided such a straightforward and user-friendly summary of relevant data.

Despite these accomplishments, he said the report still had room for improvement.  Regarding who the report was geared to, he agreed with the Advisory Committee’s observation that the target audience needed to be defined more clearly.  Otherwise, he said, it would be impossible to tailor the report’s format and content to the needs of target readers.  It was his view that the report should be targeted towards Government officials, members of national parliaments, academia and non-governmental organizations, given the support and goodwill that those political constituencies had shown to the United Nations in the past.  He said the Consolidated Report could ensure their continued support by strengthening efforts to sensitize them to the Organization’s performance, challenges and management of resources.

He agreed with the Advisory Committee that the scope of the report should be expanded to include the work of United Nations funds, programmes and other bodies.  However, he said, taking into account the complexity of mandates and structures of the different entities within the United Nations family, he recommended an incremental approach and saw value in a report with a less ambitious scope.  He also concurred with the Advisory Committee that some areas of activity were underrepresented in the current report and did not adequately reflect the priority Member States attached to them.  He would be interested in learning more about the process that led to the current text structure and would like to discuss how a more equitable balance between editorial space and content relevance could be achieved in future reports.

As a strong supporter of cost-effectiveness and efficiency, he said he would like to explore possibilities to further reduce costs related to the production of the report.  For instance, he said he did not see any compelling reason why the report needed to be synchronized with the calendar year.  He said that, if it were synchronized with the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization, information gathering would be easier and cheaper.  Moreover, he said he would like to discuss why an external consultant was hired to assist in the production of the report, while the capacity of the Department of Public Information remained untapped.

MAXIM N.GOLOVINOV ( Russian Federation) said that his country attached priority attention to increasing the Secretariat’s transparency and accountability to Member States as the main goal of the Organization’s reform.  It was precisely that goal that should have been pursued in the preparation of the Consolidated Report.

According to part V of resolution 60/283 of the General Assembly, he continued, the Secretary-General was supposed to prepare the report, to be submitted for consideration by the Fifth Committee, which would make a decision regarding the advisability of the document.  Instead, the first consolidated report for 2005 had been published, in violation of that resolution without the authorization of the Assembly, and put on sale at the United Nations book store.  It was puzzling to him that, even after the overwhelming majority of delegations had expressed outrage about those actions during the sixty-first session, the brochure was still on the shelves of the book shop.

In that connection, he added that the 2005 report should be immediately removed from sale, and the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) should be requested to conduct an investigation into the senior officials who had authorized the publication in violation of the Assembly resolution, with a view to recouping the financial loss caused to the Organization by that useless publication.  He would also like to get a clarification from OIOS about why such an investigation had not yet been conducted.

Turning to the 2006 report, he said it was difficult to add anything to the comments of ACABQ on the matter.  He shared the concern about the fact that the form and contents of the document were not in keeping with enhancing transparency and accountability, as proclaimed in the well-known Secretary-General’s report on Investing in the United Nations.  He also regretted that, although the Secretary-General had referred to part V of resolution 60/283 and paragraphs 68 and 69 of the Advisory Committee’s report in document A/60/870, it was clear that, in the preparation of the 2006 report, those texts had been basically ignored.  Like ACABQ, he was surprised that the Department of Public Information had not been brought in, and an outside consultant had been used in preparing the report.  In that connection, he wanted to know what amount of money had been spent for preparing and publishing both reports.  He supported ACABQ in its recommendation that the publication be discontinued.

Mr. HUSSAIN ( Pakistan) said he concurred with the Advisory Committee in its report on the Consolidated Report.

Responding to questions, Ms. HURTZ-SOYKA said that the 2005 year report had been on sale at the bookstore for a limited time.  About 100 copies were sold for $20 each.

The current text structure, she said, was contained in the strategic priorities section in the 2005 report.

Mr. GOLOVINOV ( Russian Federation) replied that, literally five minutes before his statement, he had seen that the report was on sale, placed prominently in the store.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record