Sixty-third General Assembly

Fifth Committee

14^th Meeting (AM)

SPEAKERS PRAISE STEPS TAKEN TO HARMONIZE CONFERENCE SERVicING IN UNITED NATIONS

SYSTEM AS BUDGET COMMITTEE TAKES UP REPORT ON PATTERN OF CONFERENCES

Also Express Concerns about Timely Issuance of Documents, Availability

Of High-Quality Language Services, Inappropriate Use of United Nations Premises

As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) considered a wide range of issues relating to the management of meetings at the United Nations this morning, most speakers commended recent initiatives aimed at integrating and harmonizing conference services throughout the United Nations system, while expressing concern about the timely issuance of documents, the availability of high-quality language services and inappropriate use of United Nations premises.

The representative of France, speaking on behalf of the European Union, was among speakers who expressed concern that a large number of documents were being submitted late by author departments and noted unprecedented delays in the issuance of documentation in 2008, which had seriously hampered the work of the General Assembly.  The Secretary-General must redouble his efforts to remedy the problem, she said, especially with regard to documentation for the Fifth Committee.

On documentation, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, Shaaban M. Shaaban, who introduced the Secretary-General’s report on pattern of conferences, said that it was impossible to “issue documents we do not have”, and urged timely submission of documents for processing.

Also, seeking to address a serious shortfall in language services, due to pending retirements of language staff, he proposed a three-pronged approach asking for approval of:  a waiver on the earnings ceiling of language retirees until the end of 2009; a permanent increase in that ceiling to 185 workdays per year; and/or the possibility of waiving the current retirement requirement for all language staff until such time as the “retirement wave” had subsided and suitable replacements had been recruited and trained.

The representative of the Russian Federation also drew the Committee’s attention to the problem of depletion of language services rosters to fill vacancies in the interpretation and translation services and the need for conducting appropriate examinations expeditiously.  He did not think that would place an unmanageable burden on the Office of Human Resources Management, as the bulk of the work and responsibilities in connection with the exams lay with the language services themselves.  He supported the Department’s initiative to revitalize contacts with academic institutions teaching language skills in the countries whose population spoke United Nations languages, in an effort to mitigate shortfalls in language services.

Continuing, he expressed concern at the quality of interpretation, especially from Russian into English, which was particularly regrettable when produced on the basis of a text provided by the delegation.  That attested not only to insufficient knowledge of the language, but also to insufficient preparation for the meetings.  The duty of interpreters included familiarizing themselves with the subject matter and terminology of the meeting, but, as he had learned, with the current planning, interpreters did not have an opportunity to read the reports.  He believed that subject should be considered separately.

Expressing disappointment over the interpretation vacancy rate at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, which now stood at 35 per cent, the representative of Angola, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that Office had never been accorded posts at the P-5 level, as was the case in other duty stations.  Again, unlike other duty stations, not all translator/reviser posts in Nairobi were funded through the regular budget.  The Group perceived that as differential treatment and a deliberate effort to undermine the potential and effectiveness of the Nairobi Office.  The Group, nevertheless, considered the intention to attract good language staff to the station by availing posts at a higher level as a step towards rectifying the challenges faced by that Office.

Questions were also raised regarding the use of the Organization’s premises for non-United Nations meetings.

Several speakers supported a question raised by Antigua and Barbuda, on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries, regarding the initiative of the Secretary-General to invite the Group of Eight (G-8) to convene its forthcoming meeting at the United Nations and asked whether that initiative had been agreed to by the Committee on Conferences before its announcement.  The Group, joined by Cuba, Iran and Syria, expressed serious concern about the use of United Nations premises by a few States for activities that neither maintained the impartiality of the Organization, nor were in line with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.  The issue required particular attention, since it created the perception of possible misuse of United Nations premises.

Speakers also agreed that the implementation of the Capital Master Plan must not have any negative impact on the quality and availability of conference services, as well as equal treatment and working conditions of language services in all official languages.

Also participating in the debate were the representatives of the Philippines, United States, Pakistan and China.

Reports were also introduced by Patrick A. Chuasoto, Chairman of the Committee on Conferences; Fatoumata N’diaye, Deputy Director, Internal Audit Division/Office of Internal Oversight Services; and Collen Kelapile, Vice-Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.  Vladimir Belov, Officer-in-Charge, Service III, of the Programme Planning and Budget Division, provided an oral statement of programme budget implications arising from the Committee on Conferences draft resolution on pattern of conferences.

The Fifth Committee will next meet at a time to be announced.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this morning to take up its “pattern of conferences” agenda item, which relates to the management of meetings organized within the United Nations system.

The Committee had before it a report of the Committee on Conferences for 2008 (document A/63/32), which, in annex I, contains a draft resolution on the pattern of conferences.  That draft resolution provides details relating to:  the calendar of conferences and meetings; utilization of conference-servicing resources; the impact of the Capital Master Plan, strategy IV (phased approach), on meetings held at Headquarters during its implementation; integrated global management; documentation and publication-related matters; and translation and interpretation-related matters.

Also before the Committee was the Secretary-General’s report on the pattern of conferences (document A/63/119) which covers the issues referenced in the draft resolution, except for the calendar of conferences, which is provided in an addendum to the report, the draft revised calendar of conferences and meetings for 2009 (document A/63/119/Add.1), which also contains a list of bodies whose mandates are to be presented for renewal to the General Assembly at its sixty-third session.  The report notes that considerable progress has been made in the management of conferences and in the pursuit of harmonization and enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in the use of conference services.

According to the report, the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management aims to ensure optimal conference services cost-effectively, with equal treatment given to all the Organization’s official languages and with timely presentation of documents.  An improved and structured conference planning system along with harmonization of policies, practices and procedures across the four duty stations are beginning to bear fruit.  Among areas showing improvement are the management of lateral transfers of language staff between duty stations, exchanges of staff, consolidation of the roster for contractual translation (expected to be operational in September 2008), workload forecasting and capacity planning.  Overall utilization of conference services for 2007 remained at 83 per cent, the same figure for 2006.  The document also outlines the impact of the integrated global management process along with the global information technology initiative.

Regarding the timely issuance of documents to intergovernmental organizations, the report states that any further improvements depend on author departments improving timely submissions, since the Department has been able to process nearly all documents submitted on time and within the relevant guidelines on length, within a four-week period.

To ensure smooth provision of conference services during the implementation of the Capital Master Plan, the Department has communicated anticipated challenges, concerns and possible bottlenecks to the Plan’s Executive Director.  Contributing to the challenges would be such factors beyond the Department’s control as the unpredictability of meetings, and the scattering of the Department’s resources over five locations.  Continued smooth operation of the Department’s critical conference services hardware and software systems will be vital throughout this period of major disruption.

The Department is also pursuing strategic workforce planning to ensure continuity in all language sections in the face of the high number of expected retirements (56 in 2008-2009).  It anticipates the need for a minimum of nine language competitive examinations in 2009 and recommends that additional temporary resources be allocated to the Examinations and Tests Section and the Office of Human Resources Management, which organize the examinations.  Otherwise, the Department may not be able to guarantee delivery of documentation and interpretation in six official languages.

As there are many parameters which are beyond the Department’s control, the support and guidance of the Assembly with regard to further improvement and the difficult challenge of recruiting and retaining quality language staff in all duty stations would be appreciated.

The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), in a related report (document A/63/509) welcomes recent positive developments, including significantly enhanced cooperation between the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management and the regional commissions of the United Nations.

In connection with the global conference management system, the Advisory Committee requests that the Secretary-General include, in his next report on the pattern of conferences, information about the financial savings achieved through the implementation of that initiative, stressing that efforts to optimize efficiency gains should continue and be fully reported to the Assembly.  Future reports of the Secretary-General should also contain a better analysis of how efficiently and cost-effectively the Department conducts its work, as well as a clear explanation of how those efficiencies are calculated.  In future, the Department should also report on the progress of reform efforts.

Concerned about the slow pace of recruitment to fill vacant conference services posts in Geneva, the Advisory Committee expects all necessary measures to be taken to address the situation expeditiously.  It also requests that underlying reasons for delays in filling vacancies be analysed and included in the next report on pattern of conferences.  On conference services in Nairobi, the Advisory Committee trusts that the Department will assist the United Nations Office at Nairobi, as required, to ensure that it meets its highest requirements for conference services.

In connection with the Capital Master Plan, the Advisory Committee stresses the importance of providing proper support to ensure uninterrupted service throughout the project’s implementation.  It also stresses the importance of the Chief Information Technology Officer’s active involvement in ensuring that established information technology standards, policies and procedures are followed.

On documentation, the Advisory Committee shares the concern of the Committee on Conferences about the late submission of documentation by author departments, while welcoming the fact that a number of entities have improved their rate of timely submission.  The ACABQ encourages those entities to share best practices with others.

Further, according to the report, the Advisory Committee recommends that the Secretary-General engage all relevant departments with a view to holding competitive language staff examinations as early as possible in order to fill language services vacancies in a timely manner.  The ACABQ stresses the importance of revamping the examination process and outreach activities and requests the Secretary-General to keep the Assembly apprised of progress made.  It also notes with interest such recent initiatives as an outreach programme to universities and enhanced training of serving staff.

The Advisory Committee also notes with concern the 35 per cent vacancy rate for the interpretation section at the United Nations Office at Nairobi and encourages the Secretary-General to continue efforts at capacity utilization and sharing with regard to publications.  The ACABQ also recommends increased use of internal printing capacity, and a progress report in the context of the proposed budget for 2010-2011.

Annexed to the report is a letter from the Chair of the Advisory Committee to the Secretary-General in connection with a request by the United Nations Controller, who sought a temporary waiver of the 125 workdays ceiling for retired language staff for the balance of the calendar year 2008 at New York Headquarters, and an agreement for further discussions in the context of its consideration of human resources issues.

In the Advisory Committee’s opinion, the Assembly was clear that the ceiling was to be set in terms of workdays, not compensation days.  Therefore, only those days on which the employee works should be counted towards the ceiling of 125 days.  Upon enquiry, the Advisory Committee was informed that, if the ceiling were calculated in terms of actual workdays, as stipulated by the Assembly, requirements for additional language staff could be met and there would be no need for lifting the ceiling.  The ACABQ was also informed that additional requirements for the hiring of retired staff would be met from within existing resources.  Accordingly, the Advisory Committee sees no need to lift the ceiling of 125 days and recommends that the Secretariat reconsider its interpretation of related provisions of resolution 57/305.

The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) conducted an audit of existing special arrangements governing the recruitment of temporary assistance staff in the language services across the four main duty stations (United Nations Headquarters and the Organization’s Offices at Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi).  Under special arrangements, temporary assistance posts in the language services are funded primarily by the regular budget through a unique funding mechanism established specifically to supplement the permanent conference-servicing resources of those stations.  Conditions of service for language specialists are governed by pertinent General Assembly resolutions, the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and agreements between the Organization and the International Association of Conference Translators and the International Association of Conference Interpreters.

In its report of the OIOS on the audit of the existing special arrangements governing the recruitment of temporary assistance staff in the language services across the four main duty stations (document A/63/94), OIOS found that there was no global approach to managing the recruitment of temporary assistance staff in the language services and no clear criteria, guidelines or standard operating procedures for their recruitment.  Consequently there was a lack of transparency and consistency in listing and selecting candidates, so that OIOS was unable to establish whether all language services were given equal treatment and equally favourable working conditions and resources.

At Headquarters, the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management did not establish procedures that could be used by all duty stations in determining the professional domicile of temporary assistance staff, leading to their contracts being based on local conditions even when they came from countries outside the duty stations concerned.  The pattern of recruitment of such staff for language services at Headquarters and the Offices at Geneva and Vienna showed that sometimes candidates were recruited under local conditions of service due to managers’ concerns about cost-effectiveness and efficiency.  All four duty stations implemented capacity-planning exercises to determine requirements for temporary assistance, but there was no global planning process in place and the approach differed from one duty station to another.

The OIOS made six recommendations to the Department, all of which were accepted and were currently in the implementation process.  They include:  reviewing and updating agreements with the relevant professional translators and interpreters associations to ensure that they conform to all pertinent resolutions, rules and regulations; ensuring the implementation of standard operating procedures by all duty stations in determining the professional domicile, and so the conditions of service, of temporary assistance staff in the language services; establishing centrally managed rosters of candidates and related standard operating procedures to be used by language services across duty stations; implementing centralized guidelines for capacity planning and evaluation of capacity plans; addressing the issue of integrating computer-assisted tools to ensure interoperability of software used by the language services across duty stations; and implementation of mechanisms to ensure that the approved workday limits for retirees are not exceeded.

Introductions

PATRICK A. CHUASOTO, Chairman of the Committee on Conferences, introducing that Committee’s report, said that it covered the work carried out by the Committee since the substantive session in 2007, discussions that took place during the 2008 session, specific recommendations made to the General Assembly and directives given to the Secretariat.  It also included a draft resolution, which the Committee had adopted by consensus.

The report approved the revised draft calendar of conferences and meetings of the United Nations for 2009, subject to provisions within the resolution, and authorized the Committee on Conferences to make necessary adjustments based on actions or decisions taken during the sixty-third session of the General Assembly, he said.

On utilization of conference-servicing resources, he said that he had consulted with the chairpersons and secretaries of bodies that had been underutilizing their resources for three consecutive years and identified key factors leading to that underutilization, so as to find efficient ways and means to improve the situation.  Five bodies, three of them Main Committees, fell into the category of multi-year underutilizers.  Their utilization factors were within the 72 to 75 per cent range, close to the applicable benchmark of 80 per cent.  With some additional efforts for improvement in the areas of cancellations, late starts and early endings, those intergovernmental bodies could reach the established benchmark.  Having quantified such waste in monetary terms -- one three-hour meeting with interpretation in 6 languages in New York cost $11,250 -- all bureaus and secretariats agreed that underutilization must be avoided.

Time lost due to late starts and early endings had a noticeable impact on the utilization factor for all five bodies, he said.  Committee secretaries should stay in contact with meeting planners for advanced notification of abbreviated meetings so that services could be reassigned to other meetings, especially those for regional and other major groupings of Member States.  Such a strategy could make the difference between almost reaching the benchmark and surpassing it.

Continuing, he said that the Committee reiterated the need for a three‑pronged approach to the matter:  the Chairman should continue to hold those consultations, especially with incoming chairpersons of underutilizing bodies; the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management should continue its proactive approach at the planning stage; and intergovernmental bodies should, to the extent possible, be more realistic in their requests for conference services.

For the first time, he said, the Secretary-General’s report on pattern of conferences provided statistics on bodies entitled to meet “as required”.  Eighty-eight per cent of those meetings in 2007 were provided with services.  The Committee requested the Secretary-General to continue to report on that matter.

Regarding the provision of conference services to regional and other major groupings, he acknowledged the increase, from 76 per cent to 84 per cent, of meetings provided with interpretation in 2007.  However, the draft resolution requested the Secretary-General to continue exploring ways to address the difficulties experienced by Member States owing to the lack of conference services.

He noted with satisfaction that all meetings of Nairobi-based United Nations bodies took place in Nairobi in 2007 and appreciated the initiatives undertaken by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) conference centre, which led to a continued upward trend in utilization of the premises in 2007.

On the impact of the Capital Master Plan on meetings held at Headquarters during its implementation, those requesting and organizing meetings were asked to liaise closely with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management on all matters relating to the scheduling of meetings to allow maximum predictability in coordinating activities at Headquarters during the construction period.  In addition, the Committee asked that adequate information technology support continue to be provided for conference services within the Department’s existing resources, to ensure seamless operation throughout implementation of the Capital Master Plan.

On documentation and publication-related matters, he expressed concern at the unprecedented delays in issuing documents in 2008, which impacted the work of the General Assembly, and requested the Secretary-General to elaborate on more effective accountability measures to ensure that both authors and their senior managers provided for timely issuance of documents in all six official languages and to report on that matter at the sixty-fourth session.

Further, on late submission of documents, the Secretary-General was asked to enhance efforts to address the problem, particularly concerning documentation considered at the second resumed session of the Fifth Committee, including convening the task force formed to study the matter.  An interim report was requested for its organizational session in 2009 on the results of consultations and actions taken to solve the problem of documentation concerning peacekeeping financing, so that the Fifth Committee could consider the report at its second resumed session in 2009.  The Secretary-General was requested to provide a comprehensive report on the issue to the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly.

On matters relating to translation and interpretation, the Committee took note of recommendations made in the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on existing special arrangements governing recruitment of temporary assistance staff in language services at the four major duty stations, particularly their compliance with relevant staff rules and regulations and General Assembly mandates in the field of human resources management.

He appreciated the initiative to seek a long-term solution to the high vacancy rates in language services at the United Nations Office at Nairobi through exploration of possibilities to provide enhanced training programmes to potential professional translators and interpreters on the African continent, and asked for a report on those efforts.  He further asked the Secretary-General to address the acute problems faced by the United Nations Office at Geneva in providing required conference services.  He further requested the Secretary-General to clarify and implement provisions in General Assembly resolution 57/305 concerning the ceiling on earnings of United Nations language staff retirees and welcomed steps he had taken to address the demographic situation and issue of succession planning.

Reports were also requested on the quality of translation, in particular for contractual translation, and on the experience and lessons learned and best practices of the main duty stations in performing quality control, including on requirements relating to the number and appropriate level of staff needed for that function, as well as on the impact of freelance recruitment on the quality of interpretation at all duty stations.

SHAABAN M. SHAABAN, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on pattern of conferences.  He said that the issues today were the same as at the meeting in early September, although some of them had become more critical as time had passed without results.

The Secretary-General’s report contained responses to the numerous requests of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) during its sixty-second session, he continued.  He focused on how the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management was addressing a number of challenges it was currently facing.  Noting that the reform process initiated six years ago had a great impact on how the Department delivered services, he highlighted progress made in implementing integrated global management of conference services.  The Department continued efforts to standardize work methods and to integrate and share resources among duty stations.  It was also moving forward with the global information technology project at Headquarters, in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi and was making progress towards establishing a global reporting data warehouse; global solutions for meetings planning and services; and for documentation planning and processing.

He said progress on those projects was monitored through regular videoconferences, based on a highly collaborative approach, which, while labour-intensive, was yielding results.  For example there was improvement in timely provision of documents in New York, with most author departments trying to compress reports and present them to the Department in a timely way.  However, improvement was still needed in creating an orderly document production workflow.  The Secretariat was determined not to repeat the difficulties encountered in the availability of documentation to the Fifth Committee during its second resumed session in 2008.  He noted, however, that the report of the Committee on Conferences stressed the “issuance” of documents and emphasized the importance of their timely submission, as “we cannot issue documents we do not have”.

Speaking of succession planning for language services, he noted that language staff could not be fully operational “off the shelf” due to the complexity of issues under discussion.  New staff must be trained by those more experienced.  Additionally, there was a serious problem of lateral transfers from New York to Geneva and Vienna, as New York was no longer considered desirable.  It was difficult to identify, select and bring on board the high quality staff required, especially in the language services.  The demographic changes in services could jeopardize the service the Organization relied on.

More language staff was required and there was no time to wait for long-term solutions, he said.  In addition to conducting competitive exams and the outreach programmes the Department had undertaken to language training institutions around the world, he asked support for a three-pronged approach that would also address shortfalls in the shorter term.  He asked for approval of:  a waiver on the earnings of language retirees until the end of 2009; a permanent increase in the ceiling to 185 workdays per year; and/or the possibility of waiving the current retirement requirement for all language staff until such time that the “retirement wave” had subsided and suitable replacements had been recruited.

Regarding the Capital Master Plan, he said that the newly adopted accelerated strategy would shorten overall renovation time, but would increase the chances of disruption.  He could guarantee that there would be sufficient facilities for all core activities during the period, but there would be less available for parallel meetings and side events.  Staff would be scattered over five locations; nearby, but not as close as originally foreseen.  Accommodation for temporary staff was inadequate, as currently planned.  Everything possible would be done, but delivery of services might be affected at times of peek demand.

A related and as yet unresolved aspect in that connection, he said, was the additional staffing needs of the information technology support service, which must ensure that over a dozen mission-critical systems would perform without disruption across multiple locations throughout the renovation period.  He renewed his appeal for adequate permanent Professional staff for the information and communications technology service of the Department and requested approval, in the 2010-2011 budget, for one P-4 and two P-2 posts for that section.

He made a last request that delegations fill in the annual survey on conference management.  He also noted that there were now feedback forms kept in all conference rooms and invited delegates to use them as needed.

VLADIMIR BELOV, Officer in Charge, Service II of the Programme Planning and Budget Division, presented an oral statement of programme budget implications of the draft resolution contained in the report of the Committee on Conferences.  He said that adoption of that draft resolution would not give rise, at this stage, to programme budget implications for the biennium 2008-2009.

Further, he said that, with regard to paragraph 8 of the draft resolution, relating to the problems faced by the United Nations Office at Geneva in providing conference services as required, those issues would be reviewed and reported to the General Assembly, as appropriate, in accordance with established budgetary procedures during the current biennium.

Regarding paragraph 17 of that document, requesting the Secretary-General to provide all duty stations with adequate staff at the appropriate level, with a view to ensuring appropriate quality control for external translation with due consideration of the principle of equal grade for equal work, those matters would be considered in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2010-2011.

Concerning paragraph 19 of the draft resolution, it was estimated, at this stage, that any future financial implications in terms of the number and appropriate level of staff for that purpose would be reported, as requested, to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session.

FATOUMATA N’DIAYE, Deputy Director, Internal Audit Division/Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), introduced the report of that Office on the audit of the existing special arrangements governing the recruitment of temporary assistance staff in the language services across the four main duty stations.  Under those special arrangements, the posts were funded primarily by the regular budget through a unique funding mechanism established specifically to supplement the permanent conference-servicing resources of the four duty stations, she said.

The OIOS believed that the lack of guidelines and standardized procedures could result in non-compliance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly regarding equity in recruitment and the United Nations’ agreements with professional interpretation and translation organizations regarding conditions of service.

COLLEN KELAPILE, Vice-Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), introduced the related report of the Advisory Committee.

He further pointed out that the Advisory Committee’s report should be considered by the General Assembly in conjunction with the its first report on the proposed programme budget for 2008-2009 and the report of the Committee on Conferences for 2008, as well as relevant General Assembly resolutions.

Statements

CONROD HUNTE (Antigua and Barbuda), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, stressed the importance of the recommendations of the Committee on Conferences, which would greatly facilitate the consideration of the item by the Fifth.  The draft submitted by the Committee on Conferences would provide a sound basis for the Committee’s work.  The Group noted that the overall utilization of conference services remained above the established benchmark of 80 per cent and had remained at 83 per cent in 2007, which was 2 per cent lower than the factor in 2005.  He hoped that improved coordination between planning officers and technical secretariats would lead to a further rise in the overall utilization in 2009.  He noted with satisfaction the utilization rate of 100 per cent recorded in Nairobi and the marked increased from 64.13 per cent in 2006 to the current rate of 69.34 per cent recorded by the Conference Centre at the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa.  He hoped that positive trend would continue.

With respect to any proposed departures from the approved calendar of conferences and meetings that had administrative and financial implications, he said that the Committee acted on behalf of the General Assembly in conformity with the budgetary process and with full respect for the mandates of other bodies.  In that regard, further clarification was sought on the initiative of the Secretary-General to invite the Group of Eight (G-8) to convene its forthcoming meeting in the United Nations and whether that initiative had been put for concurrence of the Committee on Conferences before its announcement.  As mentioned in the Committee report, the Group would like to express serious concern about the use of United Nations premises by a few States for activities that neither maintained the impartiality of the Organization, nor were in line with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.  The issue required particular attention, since it created the perception of possible misuse of United Nations premises.  He would like to ask the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management for clarification concerning the administrative arrangements on the use of United Nations premises for meetings.

Continuing, he noted with appreciation the improvement in the percentage of the meetings of regional groups provided with interpretation services at the four main duty stations.  The Group welcomed the initiative to put in place a strategic reserve of three additional meetings per week to accommodate meetings of “as required” bodies.  That strategic reserve was the reason why more meetings of regional and other major groupings had been provided with interpretation in 2007.  While welcoming that development, the group also underlined that there should be a proper and stable mechanism to provide all meetings of major groupings with those services on a permanent basis.

Regarding the integrated global management initiative, he reiterated that its purpose was to ensure a balanced division of labour between Headquarters and other duty stations, with the goal of increasing the quality of interpretation and translation in all official languages at all duty stations.  In harmonizing methods of work, care must be taken to respect the unique aspects of each duty station and language group and to observe the principle of equal grade for equal work.  All integrated global management initiatives must comply with the Assembly’s resolutions.  He also said that the implementation of the Capital Master Plan must not have any negative impact on the quality and availability of conference services, as well as equal treatment and working conditions of language services in all official languages.  The Group requested the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management to take appropriate measures to ensure smooth continuation of its services during the implementation of the project.

He also expressed serious concern about the persistently late submission, processing and issuance of documents in all six official languages, contrary to relevant Assembly resolutions.  Regrettably, late issuance of documentation had presented serious challenges for the Fifth Committee during its second resumed session in May.  That was a long-standing problem that the Secretariat must address seriously.  He noted the improvement made during the current session and thanked the Secretary of the Fifth Committee for his efforts in following up with the author departments, but he would like to remind the Secretariat that the issuance of documents in this session was not in compliance with the six-week rule.  He hoped that the strengthening of proactive management could result in timely issuance of documents, improve quality and productivity.  The Group noted that the item before the Committee was being introduced late, due to the lack of the ACABQ report.

Concerned over the challenges presented by the demographic situation in the language services, he concurred with the Secretary-General that there was a need to appropriately address the issue.  He welcomed the programme of outreach to universities and other training institutions, as well as to professional associations.  The Secretariat should also proactively put into place a long-term solution to tackle the critical issues of demographic transition and succession planning for language services.

And finally, he drew the Committee’s attention to the incident on 13 October, when several members of the Group had attempted to vote on a number of critical resolutions in the Fourth Committee, but were informed by the Secretariat that their votes could not be counted.  That had happened even though the General Assembly had already passed a resolution permitting them to vote for the duration of the session.  The Secretariat did not seem to have been aware of that and later tried to blame it on the voting machines.  The incident had also not been reported in the summary records of the meeting.  That was a serious matter, which concerned the ability of Member States to exercise their rights and privileges in the United Nations.  He would, therefore, appreciate a clarification by the Secretariat in that regard.

Ms. TABOURI ( France), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, welcomed the report of the Secretary-General on the pattern of conferences and the work done by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management.  She welcomed the steps taken within the framework of the integrated global management initiative to rationalize procedures, achieve economies of scale and improve the quality of conference services.  The European Union encouraged the Department to actively follow up on all reform initiatives.  She also emphasized the need to apply strict criteria to the provision of language services in all six official languages and to ensure availability of adequate conference facilities, which were essential for the work of intergovernmental and expert bodies.  The Union trusted that the Secretary-General would make sure that adequate conference and language services would be provided during the implementation of the Capital Master Plan.

Continuing, she said that the European Union was disturbed that a large number of documents were being submitted late by author departments and noted with concern unprecedented delays in the issuance of documentation in 2008, which had seriously hampered the work of the General Assembly.  The Secretary-General must redouble his efforts to remedy the problem, especially as far as the documentation for the Fifth Committee was concerned.  She also noted the progress achieved in different duty stations, but noted that much still remained to be done to improve the situation in several United Nations offices.  Concerned over the high turnover of language staff, she welcomed the measures to address that demographic situation and plan for turnover, particularly by employing temporary staff, enhancing training, developing staff exchange and cooperating with universities training language professionals.  The Union was ready to accept and adopt the report of Committee on Conferences as it stood, as well as the draft resolution in annex I.

HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR., ( Philippines) supported the position of the Group of 77 and said that his delegation recognized the vital role of conference management in United Nations operations.  The provision of interpretation, translation and documentation was a sine qua non for the “meeting of minds” that resulted in the resolutions and decisions of United Nations principal organs.  The three pillars of the United Nations would not have been agreed upon without meetings.  Conference servicing was the brick and mortar used in constructing those pillars.

Conference servicing had gone through a lot of changes since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, and Member States, the end-users of services, should endeavour to work towards its continued improvement, he said.  His delegation supported the efforts towards that end and commended the Committee on Conferences for its useful work in providing guidance to conference servicing in the United Nations system.  The Committee’s recommendations, including the draft resolution it had come up with, was a very important contribution to the Fifth Committee’s work.

Highlighting the most important issues that had to be addressed, he said that non-availability of reports had a domino effect on the delegates’ work, particularly in the Fifth Committee.  Late reports resulted in rescheduling of meetings, which inevitably led to cramming at the end of the session.  He hoped that the quest for a sustainable solution to that systemic difficulty would continue and that the Assembly, through the Committee on Conferences, would thoroughly study the matter.

On the demographic transition problem in language services, he said it was alarming that the number of vacancies in language services would amount to 25 per cent during the five-year period from 2007 to 2011, due to a large number of retirements.  He supported priority efforts to address that situation through holding competitive examinations, enhancing training programmes, developing staff exchange programmes among organizations, participating in outreach to training institutions, and exploring the possibility of introducing a traineeship programme for young professionals.  Conference management did not command the same attention as peace and security or human rights.  It, however, remained very important.  He hoped the Committee would keep that in mind during its deliberations on the issue.

ELSA CRISTINA DE JESUS PATACA (Angola), speaking on behalf of the African Group, fully aligned herself with the position of the Group of 77 and said that the African Group had continued to abide by resolution 57/283 by holding the meetings in their Nairobi facilities.  That positive gesture had been pivotal to continued improvements in the utilization of conference facilities at the United Nations Office at Nairobi.  The Group realized, however, that the positive improvement was not an end-mark and that the more aggressive marketing strategy to encourage clients to use the facility should remain in place.

Expressing disappointment over the vacancy rate in the area of interpretation at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, which now stood at 35 per cent, she said that Office had been never accorded senior posts at the P-5 level, as was the case with other duty stations.  Again, unlike other duty stations, not all translator/reviser posts in Nairobi were funded through the regular budget.  The Group perceived that as differential treatment and a deliberate effort to undermine the potential and effectiveness of the Nairobi Office.  The Group, nevertheless, considered the intention to attract good language staff to the station by availing posts at a higher level as a stepping stone towards rectifying the multifaceted challenges faced by the Nairobi Office.  She looked forward to receiving more concrete information on that issue.  She also welcomed the fact that the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management was pursuing an integrated conference management system, which might provide an opportunity to address inequalities that existed among the duty stations.

On the utilization of conference facilities at the Economic Commission for Africa, the Group noted an improvement from 42.23 per cent in 2005 to 64.13 per cent in 2006 and 69.34 per cent in 2007.  That demonstrated that promotional efforts, partnerships and marketing initiatives undertaken by the management of the ECA facilities were on the right path towards achieving the intended goals.  The Group appreciated the efforts of the management of the ECA conference centre for its continued endeavours to address the situation, despite the budget constraints in place.  In particular, she expressed appreciation for the efforts to create linkages with other centres.  The involvement with high-profile international conventions and exhibitions, such as IMEX, held in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2007, and the ICCA in Pattay, Thailand, in October 2007, had added an impetus to the dissemination of information about the ECA conference facilities.  It would, however, be of utmost importance to assess the impact of such engagements on the utilization of the conference facilities.

She added that the assistance of the Addis Ababa Tourism Commission and other relevant entities that had supported the efforts of the Economic Commission for Africa to disseminate information on its conference facilities was exemplary.  The African Group also welcomed the staff exchange programme between the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management and the ECA, in which a senior adviser from the former was exchanged for a P-3 from the latter.  That had provided the Commission with a more independent adviser, which did not require constant supervision.  She encouraged continuing such measures.

LARA PHAM ( United States) commended the members of the Committee on Conferences for putting forward a consensus resolution containing recommendations for the Fifth Committee.  She hoped all Member States would join her delegation in supporting the consensus resolution.  As a strong supporter of efficient conference management, her delegation appreciated the ongoing efforts of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management to maximize both efficiency and cost-effectiveness, without compromising the quality of services.  She was confident that the quality of services would not be diminished during the Capital Master Plan.  She specifically took note of the overall utilization rate of 83 per cent, which was above the 80 per cent benchmark.  Her delegation was concerned, however, that the utilization rate in New York stood at 79 per cent, below the benchmark.

She encouraged the Department to continue to pursue the necessary measures to ensure optimum utilization of conference-servicing resources.  The primary reasons for under-utilization were late starts, unplanned early endings of meetings, and cancellations.  Those all resulted in a loss of resources.  Therefore, she fully supported the language in the draft resolution that pushed for increased communication between the secretariats and bureaus of intergovernmental bodies to prevent loss of those valuable services.

Turning to documentation, she took note of increased emphasis on accountability in terms of timely submission, processing and issuance.  She recognized the ongoing efforts of the Secretariat to solve that urgent problem, which could often hamper the important work of intergovernmental bodies.  Her delegation was pleased to support the language in the draft calling for the Secretary-General to reconvene the existing task force to study that matter and provide an interim report on documentation concerning peacekeeping financing during the second resumed session of the Fifth in 2009 and to subsequently provide a more comprehensive report to the sixty-fourth session through the Committee on Conferences.  She supported those efforts and encouraged the Department to continue to implement measures with a view to achieving further efficiencies.

On the integrated global management initiative, she said that, while noting the steps taken towards streamlining operations, her delegation believed it was still imperative for Member States to continue to encourage the Department to make continued efforts towards enhancing efficiency.  With the progressive steps taken on the integrated global management system, the harmonization of information technology regarding meetings management and documentation processing increased as the four duty stations continued to share best practices.  Any step towards increasing efficiency, while reducing the cost of meetings, was a step in the right direction.  Her delegation recognized that the provision of conference services was an integral element of an effective Organization.  With the Department’s 2008-2009 budget of over $629 million, Member States must also encourage the Department to remain vigilant in its efforts to enhance efficiency, so that its resources were executed as cost-effectively as possible.

YASSAR DIAB ( Syria) supported the statement of the Group of 77 and China and noted that the pattern of conferences was fundamental to the work of delegations in that it concerned documents and simultaneous interpretation.

Untimely submission of documents seriously impacted the work of the Fifth Committee.  It could be addressed by adhering to the “six-weeks” rule, which was not being complied with.  He trusted that the task force that had been called for would achieve tangible results with regard to delays in issuing documents.  Documents must be issued timely and in the six official languages simultaneously.

He further stressed the importance of interpretation during meetings of regional and other groups, as those groups carried out important work to move forward the Organization’s agenda.  He hoped that the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management would increase the percentage of those meetings provided with interpretation.

He stressed that implementation of the Capital Master Plan should not adversely affect the provision of conference services in all six official languages.  He called for improvement in the quality and efficiency of conference services and for the harmonization of measures taken to that end at all duty stations.  Once working practices were changed, it would be important to implement all relevant General Assembly resolutions.  Interpretation and translation in all official languages, must reflect the highest standards and best terminology.  Interpretation and translation services must coordinate efforts to standardize terminology.

He was concerned at the demographic changes outlined by the Secretary-General and urged the Department to take all necessary measures to deal with the expected shortfall in language services.  He supported international exams to remedy insufficiencies in the language services and the necessary support to Office of Human Resources Management to conduct them.  He further supported the use of retirees and the proposed increase in their earnings, so that they might be available for short-term contracts, and stressed the importance of training new specialists to be ready to assume their responsibilities in sufficient numbers to meet the Organization’s requirements.  He also welcomed the Secretariat’s outreach efforts to universities and language training institutions.

Lastly, he expressed deep concern at use of United Nations premises by Member States for activities that did not respect the Organization.  That was of great importance, as it created the impression that it was possible to use United Nations premises to harm certain Member States.  That was indefensible.

DMITRY CHUMAKOV ( Russian Federation) noted the important role of the Committee on Conferences and said that he was pleased to note some useful initiatives of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management.  The success of the global management at all duty stations lay in a balanced division of labour between the Headquarters and duty stations.  The coordinating role of the Department was to promote the most effective utilization of United Nations facilities.  He also urged particular caution in reforming the language services.  Nobody had any doubt of their unique nature.  Also, nobody doubted that the main goal of their reform was to enhance the quality of interpretation and translation in all official languages.  To a large extent, the quality depended on creating equally favourable conditions of work and equal provision of personnel and financial resources, as stipulated in resolution 61/266 on multilingualism.  In that connection, he drew the Committee’s attention to the problem of depletion of the rosters to fill vacancies in the interpretation and translation services and the need for speedy holding of appropriate examinations.  He did not think that would place an unmanageable burden on the Office of Human Resources Management, for the bulk of the work and responsibilities in connection with the exams lay with the language services themselves.

Continuing, he commended the twice-yearly information meetings that helped delegations get to the bottom of existing problems and provided the Secretariat with feedback from the users.  However, it was essential that, following such meetings, the Department took specific measures to resolve the problems raised by Member States and see that complaints were duly recorded and taken into account when evaluating the quality of work of the Department.  The Russian Federation had serious concerns regarding the poor quality of interpretation from Russian into English, which was particularly regrettable when produced on the basis of a text provided by the delegation.  That attested not only to insufficient knowledge of Russian, but also insufficient preparation for the meetings.  The duty of interpreters included familiarizing themselves with the subject matter and terminology of the meeting, but, as he had found out, with the current planning, interpreters did not have an opportunity to read the reports.  He believed that the subject should be considered separately.

He supported the Department initiative to revitalize contacts with academic institutions teaching language skills in the countries whose population spoke United Nations languages, he said.  That initiative, on a rational resource basis, should become part of a well-thought-out strategy on filling language vacancies.  He also noted efforts to improve the quality of contractual translation and wanted to know about the results of the steps taken in that regard.  As for the allocation of resources for language services, he was concerned over lack of transparency, consistency, parity, general criteria and appropriate planning when seeking temporary assistance.  He supported the recommendations of OIOS for the Department, aimed at remedying that situation.

He added that the implementation of the Capital Master Plan should not have a negative impact on the quality of conference services or equal treatment of all language services.  In that connection, he also said he was perplexed over some of the initiatives undertaken by the Secretary-General immediately before the Capital Master Plan, including the installation of additional fire doors and the “Cool UN” initiative, for which no mandates had been provided by intergovernmental bodies.  The resolution must record Member States’ attitude to that issue.

AHMED FAROOQ ( Pakistan) supported the position of the Group of 77 and expressed appreciation for the useful work of the Committee on Conferences.  The draft resolution submitted by that body could be a good basis for the work of the Fifth Committee.  Efficient conference management was vital for the Organization.  Issues like the reform of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, utilization of conference servicing resources, documentation, publications, interpretation and translation formed key elements of that endeavour.  Apart from those issues, the Committee would also consider the impact of the Capital Master Plan on conference services.  The aim of the reform of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management was the provision of high-quality conference services and documents in the most efficient manner at all duty stations.  The harmonization of capacity at all duty stations and proactive management of documents were steps in the right direction.  While cognizant of the progress achieved in the implementation of the global information technology project, he would like to request that future reports of the Secretary-General include information on financial savings achieved through the project.  He also wanted to underline the importance of ensuring compatibility of technologies installed at all duty stations.

Turning to the utilization of conference services, he noted that overall factors had remained at 83 per cent, but there had been a downward trend at some duty stations.  In particular, there had been a steady decline in New York, from 83 per cent in 2005 to 79 per cent in 2007, when the usage had even gone below the benchmark.  He also underlined the importance of reducing the wastage of conference service resources by being punctual in the conduct of meetings.  Each hour of fully serviced conference time cost thousands of dollars.  At the same time, the Fifth Committee at times had to meet for long hours to complete its work.  Adequate budgetary resources had to be ensured to facilitate the consideration of important issues by the Committee.  He also reiterated his commitment to ensuring equitable treatment of all duty stations and all the languages of the United Nations.

Concerned at the forecast of a high vacancy rate in language services, he said that his delegation appreciated the efforts of the Department to fill that gap.  As for the meetings of regional and other major groupings, there was a positive trend with 84 per cent of such meetings provided with translation in 2007.  However, there was wide scope of improvement in that field, as figures were still far below the level of May 2001 to April 2002, when 98 per cent of meetings of regional groups were provided with services.

Turning to the perennial problem of late issuance of documentation, he said that it adversely affected consideration of items by Member States.  It particularly impaired consideration of reports by smaller delegations.  Compliance with the rules on timely issuance had shown no improvement, having stayed the same since 2006, at 65 per cent.  Even that was far below the desired level.  He also noted with concern that only 37 per cent of reports in Geneva were issued on time.  What were the reasons behind that?  In that context, transparency and accountability were of great importance, especially the feedback from relevant intergovernmental bodies.  Lastly, the General Assembly had agreed on a strategy on the renovation of premises, and work on the Capital Master Plan had started.  The bodies holding meetings during the construction work had to be cognizant of the scarcity of space.  He urged all those requesting meetings to liaise with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management to facilitate better conference management during the project.

JORGE CUMBERBATCH MIGUEN ( Cuba) supported the statement of the Group of 77.  He reiterated that the problem of delayed issuance of documents must be dealt with once and for all.  The problems considered by the Organization could not be resolved without the necessary information.  He further welcomed the use of conference services provided to regional and other groups and hoped that progress made in that area would be consolidated through a regular procedure.

He expressed deep concern about use of United Nations facilities by certain States to malign others.  It was in contravention of the rules of procedure and undermined confidence in the Secretariat officials who permitted it.  The non-aligned countries had expressed such concern many times.

Also, his delegation was following challenges relating to interpretation and translation.  He welcomed outreach efforts, particularly in regard to the Spanish language, and hoped those efforts would be extended to universities throughout the Spanish-speaking world, noting that all modern nuances of the Spanish language must be represented.

JAVAD SAFAEI ( Iran) aligned himself with the statement of the Group of 77, saying the main objective of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management was to ensure optimal services with equal respect and treatment to all Member States.  Of utmost importance to his delegation, he said, was the point raised by the Chair of the Coordination Bureau of the Non-aligned Movement regarding the use of United Nations premises to malign certain Member States.  That was not in keeping with the Charter.  The Department seemed insufficiently sensitive to the spirit of intergovernmental cooperation.  The problem required the attention of the Fifth Committee and the General Assembly.  Guidelines were needed to prevent the perception that Member States or non-governmental organizations could launch politically motivated activities against other Member States on the Organization’s premises.

SHEN YANJIE ( China) associated himself with the position of the Group of 77 and said that the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management had made important strides, which his delegation appreciated.  On the utilization of conference services, he noted that the Department had undertaken reform measures to improve integrated management and promote efficiency and quality of conference services, with positive results.  The report of the Secretary-General also mentioned some of the external factors out of the Department’s control, which had great implications for the effective use of its resources.  The Department was now paying priority attention to the study of those factors, and he welcomed the efforts in that regard.

On language staff, the Secretary-General had stated that retirement of many staff members had resulted in a demographic transition in the language services, he continued.  To solve those problems, the Secretariat had held national competitive exams to fill the vacancies, and, where resources were available, had introduced training programmes for new recruits.  The Secretariat had also established cooperation with academic institutions.  He welcomed those measures.  He also noted that language staff now attached great importance to mastering new terms and usages and that freelancers were also actively trained in an effort to provide quality services for meetings.

During the Capital Master Plan implementation, the staff of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management would be scattered across different locations and conference services might be affected, he said.  He noted, in that regard, that the Department was now actively studying ways to ensure equal working conditions for the staff in all six languages, equal status of the six languages and the quality of conference services during construction.  He appreciated all those efforts.

Under-Secretary-General SHAABAN, responding to the questions, reiterated what he had said during his introduction regarding the impact of the Capital Master Plan on provision of services.  There would be some impact, due to the fact that staff would be scattered over five locations.  It might not be possible, for example, to get staff in place in five minutes, should the Security Council require it.  The Department would do its best to minimize such incidents, but they were bound to occur.

Regarding underutilization of conference services, he said that that was the responsibility of Member States and those ensuring the timely start and end to meetings.

Concerning provision of services to regional and other groups, he noted that during the sixty-second session, seven thematic debates were held.  Three had evening sessions, and two or three had round tables.  The General Assembly itself had approved those thematic debates, which made it difficult to provide services to the regional and other groups.

Regarding the question of equal outreach to language training institutions in all Spanish-speaking countries, raised by Cuba, he noted that he had not heard of a proposal for consideration of an institution from the Cuba Mission.  It was impossible to reach out to all institutions for all official languages.  There was a working group in place to determine whether institutions met the criteria for consideration by providing the necessary kind of instruction.

On use of United Nations premises, he noted that on 19 April 1996, the Secretary-General had issued an administrative instruction (SGAI 41) which set forth rules for use of the premises, he said.  Any request to the Department must give nature of the meeting, its programme, sponsors, and number of participants.  The Department had turned down requests where a Member State’s name was included in the title.  When the requirements were met, approval was granted.  Whatever took place inside the room was beyond the control of the Department.

Regarding voting in Fourth Committee, he said that, on the day in question, the General Assembly had just adopted an updating of the voting system.  As there had not been time to make the necessary changes before the Fourth Committee was to vote, it had been asked to register its votes in the General Assembly.

He then commented on France’s readiness to support the draft resolution as presented, saying that he hoped the Committee would add to it two or three of the suggestions he had made during his introduction regarding the use of retirees.

Mr. CUMBERBATCH ( Cuba) said that, although told that there were administrative provisions for the provision of conference space, it had been the violations of those provisions that his delegation had drawn attention to, both in its national capacity and as the representative of the Non-Aligned Movement, at the request of many members.  Obviously, States promoting the use of United Nations facilities claimed that they were acting under the United Nations umbrella.  Perhaps the effects of that on the United Nations reputation should be considered.  Those activities had increased in nature, as had the aggressive nature of the participants, contrary to the provisions that he was perfectly familiar with.  Someone in the Secretariat was allowing that to take place.  That would continue unless measures were taken.

Regarding languages, he addressed the contacts with universities.  Professional associations should be contacted, particularly language academies.  The United Nations should support institutions that preserved correct Spanish.

Mr. SAFAEI ( Iran) thanked Mr. Shaaban for his response and said that what he had explained was how to apply for the use of United Nations premises.  It was quite evident that Member States or non-governmental organizations had to fill the forms.  In the same vein, to enter any building in the city, one needed a pass.  The United Nations was a unique intergovernmental organization, and he wondered if, when issuing such a pass for the use of United Nations, the participants were adequately briefed as to where they were going.  Either there were no guidelines to tell those people what they can and cannot do, or such guidelines were in place, but participants were not briefed as to what was allowed or not allowed.

Responding further, Under-Secretary-General SHAABAN said he would not repeat the four requirements for holding meetings on the premises.  Regarding issuance of passes, that was not up to the Department.  Any mission requesting passes was issued them by security.

Those requesting use of the premises had to comply with the requirements of the SGAI.  Requests had been turned down when a country’s name appeared in the title of the event.  Once in the room, the monitor outside only read “closed meeting”.  The Department had no control over what took place inside.

The implication that there was collusion by Department staff had no foundation, as he alone approved use of the premises, he said.

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For information media • not an official record