Sixty-second General Assembly

Fifth Committee

16^th Meeting (AM)

BUDGET COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXTS ON PATTERN OF CONFERENCES, OVERSIGHT BODIES;

UNITED NATIONS CONTROLLER BRIEFS, SAYS 2007 FINANCIAL INDICATORS ‘MIXED’

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning made recommendations to the General Assembly on its pattern of conferences item and reports of two oversight bodies -– the Board of Auditors and the Joint Inspection Unit –- as well as hearing a briefing on the Organization’s current financial situation by the United Nations Controller.

Acting without a vote on a draft resolution on the pattern of conferences, the Committee approved the draft calendar of United Nations conferences and meetings for 2008-2009 and addressed issues of the utilization of conference-servicing resources; the impact of the capital master plan on meetings held at Headquarters; integrated global management; documentation and publications; and translation- and interpretation-related matters.

By two other texts, also approved without a vote, the Assembly would emphasize the importance of full and timely implementation of the Joint Inspection Unit and Board of Auditors’ recommendations.  By the Joint Inspection Unit draft, it would request executive heads of participating organizations to improve the implementation rates of the Unit’s recommendations and invite concerned legislative organs to take action in that regard.  As the only system-wide external oversight body of the United Nations, the Assembly would also urge the Unit to continue to focus on issues of system-wide interest, value and relevance.

By the terms of the Board of Auditors’ text, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to provide a full explanation for the delays in implementation, in particular, of recommendations that are two or more years old.  He would also be asked to indicate an expected time frame in future reports for the implementation of the Board’s recommendations, as well as the priorities for their implementation, and that office holders to be held accountable.

While accepting the Board’s financial reports, audited financial statements and audit opinions regarding voluntary funds administered by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for 2006 and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for 2005, the Assembly would note the Board’s concern about the general financial situation of UNHCR, including the level of reserves of the Office, while encouraging the Office to continue to implement the Board’s recommendations and Member States to respond in a timely manner to the appeal of UNHCR for resources.  The Assembly would also note the Board’s concerns about UNOPS’ financial reports and audited statements and would welcome measures by that body to address the severity of its financial problems.

In his briefing, the Controller, Warren Sach, said that the financial indicators for 2007 were mixed.  The position of the regular budget was uncertain and the outcome for the year would depend on the action to be taken in the next few weeks by a few Member States.  In order to maintain the Organization’s financial health, it remained as critical as ever for Member States to meet their financial obligations to the United Nations in full and on time.  On behalf of the Secretary-General, he urged all Member States to endeavour to do so.

Regarding peacekeeping, he said that unpaid assessments were showing increases, but should anticipated receipts materialize in the coming weeks, the Organization could end 2007 with a lower amount of debt to troop contributors than what it had had at the beginning of the year.

The Committee will meet again at a time to be announced.

Controller’s Statement

WARREN SACH, United Nations Controller, said that the picture of the Organization’s finances was mixed.  Both assessments and payments had been higher as at 31 October than on the same date last year, by $314 million and $151 million, respectively.  However, due to the increase in assessments being higher than the increase in payments, unpaid dues were also higher by $175 million -– at $836 million -– on 31 October 2007, compared with $661 million last year.  At 126, the number of Member States that had paid their regular budget assessments in full by 31 October had been four higher at the end of October this year.  The outstanding assessment amount ($836 million) was highly concentrated, with 94 per cent owed by a single Member State ( United States).  Clearly, the final picture for 2007 would largely depend on the action taken by countries in the coming few weeks.

The final position with regard to the Organization’s cash resources would largely depend on the action taken by Member States, as well, he said.  As for the month-by-month cash position in 2006-2007, in November 2006, the United Nations had had to draw on its reserves.  Although the cash balance of the General Fund had been positive so far in 2007, he anticipated a drawdown on reserves in November and December this year, as well.

Turning to the financing of peacekeeping operations, he said that the total amount outstanding for peacekeeping operations at 31 October 2007 had stood at over $3 billion -- approximately $1.6 billion higher than at the end of 2006.  That was partly due to the fact that almost $1 billion in assessments for 2006 had been deferred and assessed only in January 2007, due to the fact that the scale of assessments for 2007 had not been adopted until the end of December 2006, as well as a significant increase in the budgets of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and, to a lesser extent, the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).  The total outstanding amount included assessments within the 30-day period, of some $940 million, that had been issued on 31 October 2007.  It did not include assessments for new operations, including those in Darfur, Central African Republic and Chad.  The assessments for those two missions (African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT)) were currently estimated at $1.5 billion and would be issued early next year, subject to the Assembly’s approval.  As with the regular budget, over half of the $3.5 billion in unpaid assessments was from just two Member States ( United States and Japan).

Due to the unpredictable amount and timing of peacekeeping assessments throughout the year, it was difficult for Member States to keep fully current with assessments.  Therefore, special thanks were due to the 23 Member States, which had paid all their peacekeeping dues in full at 31 October:   Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Canada, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand and Togo.  Since then, Georgia, Guinea and Sweden had also paid all their peacekeeping assessments that were due and payable.

The cash balance in peacekeeping accounts at 31 October had stood at about $1.8 billion, divided between the accounts of a number of ongoing and closed operations and the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund.  However, there were restrictions on the use of those resources, and only some of the cash available in the accounts of closed missions was currently available for cross-borrowing.  He expected that total cash available in peacekeeping accounts at the end of the year would total a little less than $1.9 billion, with $1.1 billion in the accounts of active missions, $622 million in the accounts of closed missions, and $110 million in the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund.  Those estimates were based on projected income and outgoing funds, as well as retention of cash balances in closed missions.  He added that, of the $622 million expected to be available in the accounts of closed operations at the end of the year, $21 million related to cash-deficit missions and $411 million had been set aside to pay for outstanding liabilities, such as troop and equipment payments and credits to be returned to individual States.  That left only $190 million available for possible cross-borrowing.  So far, in 2007, cross-borrowing had been required from the accounts of closed missions for five active missions -- United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

Regarding debt to Member States, he said that, while in May the Organization had hoped to reduce its debt to troop and equipment providers, it now appeared that the amount outstanding at the end of 2007 would be some $731 million, which was somewhat higher than the projection, but nevertheless significantly lower than the amount outstanding at 31 December 2006.  New obligations this year were up, mainly due to full deployment in Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lebanon.  Payments of troop and equipment obligations had been broadly current for several missions through the summer.  However, there was a real possibility that the Secretariat would not be able to make the next quarterly payment to troop contributors until at least the early months of 2008, as it was necessary to first ensure adequate cash resources for meeting ongoing requirements through the first months of 2008.  The peacekeeping cash flow would be constantly monitored and the next quarterly payment would be made as soon as possible.

On a more optimistic note, he said that there were indicators that the major contributor might make a partial payment in the near future, covering some of its outstanding obligations towards certain missions.  In that event, immediate special payments would be made to troop contributors of those missions.  The Secretary-General was committed to meeting the Organization’s obligations to Member States providing troops and equipment as expeditiously as possible.  To do so, he depended on Member States to meet their financial obligations to the United Nations in full and on time, as well as the finalization of memorandums of understanding with troop contributors for provision of equipment.

The financial position of the International Tribunals remained “relatively acceptable” this year, he continued.  Assessments and the amount outstanding had both been slightly higher this year, by about $9 million.  The number of Member States paying their assessments for both courts in full by 31 October had been 92, seven more than at the same time last year.  The final financial situation of the Tribunals would obviously depend on the payment of dues by Member States during the balance of this year.  If recent positive trends continued, the Tribunals should end the year with positive cash balances, although he expected the position of the former Yugoslavia Tribunal to be stronger than that of Rwanda Tribunal.

On the capital master plan, he said that the total $1.88 billion budget of the project had been approved by the General Assembly on 22 December 2006.  As of 7 May this year, 180 Member States had been under the multi-year payment system, and 12 countries had opted for a one-time payment.  Since then, a further eight Member States had paid their multi-year assessments in a single payment.  As of 31 October, 107 Member States had made payments totalling $355 million, with $150 million still outstanding.  In addition, as of the end of October, 123 countries had made payments for the working capital reserve totalling over $33 million.

In conclusion, he paid special tribute to 22 Member States that had paid all their assessments in full as at 31 October:   Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Canada, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Thailand. Subsequently, Georgia, Guinea and Sweden had also paid all their dues in full.

Action on Drafts

The Committee took up a draft resolution on the Board of Auditors reports (document A/C.5/62/L.5), by the terms of which the Assembly would accept the Board’s financial report, audited financial statements and the Board’s reports and audit opinions regarding voluntary funds administered by UNHCRfor the year ending 31 December 2006, and UNOPS for the year ending 31 December 2005.  The Assembly would endorse the Board’s recommendations contained in its report to the two aforementioned Offices and commend the Board for the superior quality and streamlined format of its reports.

Further by the draft, the Assembly would endorse the conclusions and recommendations contained in the reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).  It would also note the Board’s concern about the general financial situation of UNHCR, including the level of reserves of the Office, and would request that the Office continue to implement the Board’s recommendations.  Member States would also be encouraged to respond in a timely manner to the appeal of UNHCR for resources.  The Assembly would also note the Board’s concerns about UNOPS’ financial reports and audited statements and would welcome UNOPS to take measures to address the severity of its financial problems.

The Assembly would encourage the Secretary-General to carefully monitor the UNHCR and UNOPS implementation of the Board’s recommendations.  It would also reiterate its request to the Secretary-General and executive heads of funds and programmes to ensure full implementation of the pertinent recommendations, in a prompt and timely manner, with programme managers held accountable for implementation.  The Secretary-General would be asked to provide in his reports on the implementation of the Board’s recommendations, a full explanation for the delays in implementation, in particular of those recommendations not yet fully implemented, which are two or more years old.  The Assembly would also ask the Secretary-General to indicate an expected time frame in future reports for the implementation of the Board’s recommendations, as well as the priorities for their implementation and the office holders to be held accountable.

The Committee approved the draft resolution on the Board of Auditors reports without a vote.

The Committee then turned to a five-part draft resolution on the pattern of conferences, by the terms of which the Assembly would approve the draft calendar of United Nations conferences and meetings for 2008-2009 and address issues of the utilization of conference-servicing resources; the impact of the capital master plan, strategy IV, on meetings held at Headquarters during its implementation; integrated global management; documentation- and publication-related matters; and translation- and interpretation-related matters.

The Assembly would note that the overall utilization factor of conference services and facilities at the four main duty stations decreased from 85 per cent in 2005 to 83 per cent in 2006, while the planning accuracy factor improved by 5 per cent during that same time.  Welcoming steps taken to achieve the optimum utilization of conference-servicing resources, the Committee on Conferences would be encouraged to consult with those that under-utilize such resources.  The Assembly would invite relevant entities to avoid late starts and unplanned early endings of meetings.

The Secretary-General would be requested to ensure, as far as possible, that all requests for conference services for meetings of regional and other major groupings are met.  Intergovernmental bodies would be urged to make provisions at the planning stage for all such meetings in their programmes of work and to notify conferencing services in advance of cancellations so that unutilized resources may, to the extent possible, be reassigned to meetings of regional and other major groupings of States.  Noting that the percentage of meetings of these groupings provided with interpretation services decreased from 87 per cent in 2005 to 76 per cent in 2006, the Secretary-General would be requested to explore innovative ways to address this decrease.

The Assembly would recognize that all meetings of Nairobi-based United Nations bodies were held in Nairobi in 2006 and would reiterate the need for vigilance on this matter.  It would also welcome the increase in promotional activities by the management of the Economic Commission for Africa’s conference centre, asking the Secretary-General to continue to explore means to increase the utilization of that facility.  Cooperation agreements with Conference Services in Nairobi, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the United Nations Offices in Geneva and Headquarters in New York would be welcomed by the Assembly.

In view of imminent limitations and inflexibility of conference facilities during the construction phase of the Headquarters capital master plan, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to ensure that the work of the Security Council and the quality of conference services are not compromised during the plan.  Noting that part of the conference-servicing staff and information technology resources would be relocated to swing space during construction, the Secretary-General would be requested to ensure continued maintenance of information technology facilities and documentation services.

The Assembly would commend progress in the implementation of the global information technology project, the global approach to harmonizing standards and information technology, and sharing good practices.  It would reaffirm that major reform goals of the Department of the General Assembly and Conference Management include providing high-quality documents in all official languages, as well as high-quality conference services to Member States at all duty stations, in a cost-effective, timely and efficient manner.  In that regard, the Secretary-General would be requested to ensure that all language services are equally treated and provided for, and that technologies are compatible in all official languages.  He would also be requested to complete the uploading of the Organization’s important old documents onto the United Nations website on a priority basis.

Further by the text, the Assembly would address the need to ensure implementation of document distribution rules, both electronically and in print, elaborate on the main elements to be included in reports, and reiterate its request that recommendations submitted to legislative organs for consideration and action should be in bold print.  It would also reiterate that the issuance of documents on planning, budgetary and administrative matters requiring urgent consideration by the Assembly shall be accorded priority.  The text also requests the Secretary-General to improve the quality and accuracy of meeting records and to report any impediments to achieving full compliance with the 10-week and six-week rules for the issuance of pre-session documents, including proposed measures to address such impediments.

Reiterating the need to ensure the highest quality of interpretation and translation, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to confirm the use of the latest linguistic norms and terminology.  The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) would be requested to conduct a comprehensive review of special arrangements governing the recruitment of temporary assistance staff in language services.  The Assembly would also request, as a matter of priority, that competitive language examinations are held to fill vacant slots in Nairobi.  The issue of succession planning in language services would be addressed by enhancing internal and external training programmes, developing staff exchange programmes, and participating with language-training institutions.

Improving the accuracy of documents, providing duty stations with adequate staff to ensure quality control for external translation, and reporting on the impact of freelance recruitment on interpretation, were among the requests contained in the draft.  The Secretary-General would also be requested to report on the experience and lessons learned in performing quality control of contractual translations, including the requirements relating to the number of appropriate level of staff needed to carry out that function.

Prior to action on the draft, SHARON VAN BUERLE, Director of the Programme Planning and Budget Division, on behalf of the Secretary-General, gave a statement in which she recalled that the Secretary-General had put, on record, a statement of financial implications in accordance with rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly.  Subsequent to the issuance of that financial statement, a revision was introduced, contained in the draft before the Committee this morning.

She then brought to the Committee’s attention paragraph 7 of section II, part B, of the draft resolution, which notes that during implementation of the capital master plan, a part of the conference-servicing staff and information technology resources of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management would be temporarily relocated to swing space and requests the Secretary-General to provide adequate support to ensure continued maintenance of the information technology facilities of the Department, the global information technology initiative, and delivery of quality conference services.

In that regard, she recalled that the General Assembly is currently seized with the proposal of the Secretary-General for an accelerated strategy IV and emphasized that any financial implication arising from implementation of paragraph 7 of section II, part B, would be considered in a cohesive and comprehensive manner in conjunction with the needs of the United Nations Headquarters operations.

The Committee approved the draft resolution on the pattern of conferences without a vote.

The Committee then turned to a draft resolution on the Joint Inspection Unit (document A/C.5/62/L.3), by which the Assembly, welcoming the Unit’s efforts to reform its annual planning process and the positive impact it has had on coordination with other United Nations oversight bodies, would urge the Unit to continue to coordinate with the Board of Auditors and OIOS to maximize its use of resources and share experiences, knowledge, best practices and lessons learned.

Emphasizing the importance of full and timely implementation of the Unit’s oversight recommendations, the Assembly would request executive heads of participating organizations to take the necessary steps to improve the implementation rates of the Unit’s recommendations and would invite concerned legislative organs to consider and take action in that regard.

As the only system-wide external oversight body of the United Nations, the Assembly also would urge the Unit to continue to focus its work and reports, whenever possible, on issues of system-wide interest, value and relevance to the efficient and effective functioning of all relevant organizations.

The Committee approved the draft resolution on the Joint Inspection Unit without a vote.

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For information media • not an official record