Concerns over Cash Flow Deficit, Capital Master Plan Associated Costs Aired as Budget Committee Discusses United Nations Financial Situation
Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today voiced their concerns about the cash flow problems of the Organization’s regular budget and the need for effective management of existing resources as they discussed the world body’s financial situation.
Canada’s representative, also speaking on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, said the unpaid assessments for the regular and peacekeeping budgets had increased by 5 per cent over last year. That left countries contributing troops, police and equipment for the Organization’s peacekeeping activities waiting for reimbursement of their incurred costs. “Fiscal discipline by the Organization and commitment by all Member States to meet their obligations […] are two sides of one coin,” she said.
While pleased with the near completion of the overhaul of the Organization’s world Headquarters, several delegates stressed the importance of settling the funding issues of the Capital Master Plan’s associated costs. Malaysia’s representative urged Member States to soon make an objective decision to ensure the Plan’s full completion.
The representative of Bolivia, speaking for the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the Secretariat should closely monitor the regular budget’s cash position, especially regarding the use of the regular budget’s Working Capital Fund and Special Account as a cash bridging mechanism for the Plan for those associated costs. (The associated costs and secondary data centre expenditures of the Plan total $154.8 million.)
She also urged all Member States, especially those with the capacity to settle their arrears, to meet their financial commitments in a timely fashion. The Group was concerned that the available cash level for the regular budget was already low and would worsen by year’s end.
At today’s meeting, Under-Secretary General for Management Yukio Takasu gave a brief update on the Organization’s financial picture after delivering a full set of numbers — on the regular budget, peacekeeping operations, tribunals and the Capital Master Plan — at a Fifth Committee meeting last week. The regular budget’s cash position had eased with the addition of $86.2 million since 2 October, when the regular budget’s cash position stood at $419 million and disbursements were expected to total $800 million by year end. This year’s cash squeeze had worsened due to the increased financing needs of the Plan and emergency funding for the United Nations operations to control the Ebola outbreak.
“It is very important that concerned Member States made their contributions to pay their outstanding regular budget assessments,” said Mr. Takasu, adding that 31 Member States had now paid their assessments in full for all categories.
In other financial business, the Committee also discussed the reports and audited financial statements introduced by Hugh O’Farrell, Chair of the Audit Operations Committee of the Board of Auditors. Mr. O’Farrell introduced nearly two dozen reports that outlined detailed financial information, for the biennium ended 31 December 2013, for United Nations agencies, programmes and funds, as well as the Secretariat.
Pedro Guazo, Director of the Accounts Division of the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on its implementation of the Board’s recommendations. Carlos Ruiz Massieu introduced the accompanying report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).
Turning to the Administration of Justice agenda item, Linda Taylor, Executive Director of the Office of the Administration of Justice, introduced the Secretariat report on the issue while Johnston Barkat, Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Ombudsman, introduced the Secretariat report on the activities of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services. Mr. Massieu introduced the ACABQ’s report on the issue.
Finally, the Committee turned to the agenda item, Programme budget for the biennium 2014-2015, and heard Ann de la Roche, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Office for Partnerships, introduce the Secretary-General’s report on the activities of that office.
Also speaking today were representatives of Singapore (on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)), Senegal, Viet Nam, Japan, China, Cuba, Switzerland (also on behalf of Liechtenstein), United States, Russian Federation and India, as well as the European Union.
The Fifth Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Monday, 20 October, to take up action on a draft resolution on programme planning and discuss the pattern of conferences agenda item.
Improving Financial Situation of United Nations
YUKIO TAKASU, Under-Secretary-General for Management, updated the Committee on the current financial situation of the Organization. Since the previous 2 October cut-off date for reporting figures, the United Nations had received $86.2 million for the regular budget, including $83.2 million from the United States, $1.7 million from Cuba, and $1 million from Serbia. For the peacekeeping operations, it had received $332.8 million from 30 Member States, including $121.7 million from the Russian Federation, $117.2 million from China, $38.1 million from the United Arab Emirates, $11.3 million from Norway, $7.7 million from Austria, and $7.4 million from Portugal. A total of $1.12 million had been received for the International Tribunals, including $1.09 million from the United Arab Emirates.
Those payments brought the number of Member States which had paid their assessments in full for all categories to 31, up from 29, he said. Thirty-five Member States had now paid their assessments in full for peacekeeping operations while 99 Member States had paid all their assessment for the International Tribunals. He referred to the report of the Secretary-General on improving the financial situation (document A/69/520), which reviewed the situation as it stood on 2 October and provided an update to his previous report on the subject.
As discussed at last week’s Committee meeting, Mr. Takasu said available cash in the regular budget was at a low level and the situation would worsen in the final months of this year. That cash flow tightening would become more severe with the use of the regular budget’s Working Capital Fund and Special Account for financing the Capital Master Plan associated costs and the funding of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). “It is very important that concerned Member States made their contributions to pay their outstanding regular budget assessments,” he added.
DAYANA RIOS (Bolivia), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the Group was concerned that the available cash level for the regular budget was already low and would worsen by year’s end. The Group urged all Member States, especially those with the capacity to settle their arrears, to meet their financial commitments in a timely fashion. In that regard, it strongly rejected all unilateral coercive measures contrary to international law, which sometimes impeded budget payments from members of the Group.
Referring to the negative cash situation of the Capital Master Plan, she said Assembly resolution A/68/247 B had authorized the Secretary-General to use the Working Capital Fund and Special Account as a bridging mechanism to address the project’s possible cash flow challenges. That decision was made on an exceptional basis and the result of the Group’s “immense flexibility”. The Group would closely follow up on the implementation of the mandate, included in the resolution’s operative paragraph 14, Section VII, which mandated that the bridging mechanism be replenished during the main part of the sixty-ninth session of the Assembly. Concerning outstanding payments to Member States that provided troops, formed-police units and contingent-owned equipment to peacekeeping operations, the Group recognized the Secretary-General’s efforts to reduce these payments and firmly urged that additional efforts be carried out to ensure Member States were quickly reimbursed in full.
KAREN TAN (Singapore), speaking for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and associating herself with the Group of 77 and China, said that she was encouraged that the overall financial indicators for 2014 were sound and commended the 29 Member States who had met their financial obligations to the Organization in full. However, she expressed concern at the significant unpaid assessments remaining, particularly for the regular budget. She stressed that Member States were bound under the Charter to fulfil their financial obligations, which should be done on time, in full and without conditions. Failure to do so would compromise the financial standing and effectiveness of the Organization.
The United Nations also needed to exercise greater fiscal discipline and use initiatives such as Umoja and the implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) to build a strong, effective and results-oriented Organization, she said. Furthermore, she encouraged the Secretariat to improve the transparency of its work and to provide clear and timely information to Member States. As the world’s only multilateral organization with global membership and universal legitimacy, it was best placed to deal with the many challenges Member States collectively faced, but it must have the necessary resources to fulfil its mandates.
MARILOU DEBLOIS-LABBÉ (Canada), speaking also for Australia and New Zealand, expressed concern that only 125 Member States had fully paid their regular budget assessments as of 2 October 2014, compared with 134 at the same time last year. The total cash currently available was insufficient to cover disbursements through the end of the year. Unpaid assessments for the regular and peacekeeping budgets had increased by 5 per cent over last year. That left troop-, police- and equipment-contributing countries waiting for reimbursement of their incurred costs. She urged all Member States to fulfil their Charter obligations in that regard and urged those eligible to use the mechanism for addressing fiscal arrears by submitting multi-year payment plans.
The resources provided by Member States must be managed effectively to ensure that the demands of the full range of global peace, security and development challenges could be met, she continued. “Fiscal discipline by the Organization and commitment by all Member States to meet their obligations […] are two sides of one coin,” she said. Working together to ensure that both imperatives were met was essential to the Organization’s ability to function effectively and meet the challenges confronting it now and in the future.
FRANCESCO PRESUTTI, a representative of the European Union Delegation, encouraged Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full and as soon as possible, as the level of cash available for the regular budget was currently low and the situation was expected to tighten even further towards the end of the year. Concrete steps must be taken to spend more wisely, deliver in new ways and ensure the Organization functioned within its agreed budget. The Union’s members contributed nearly 35 per cent of the United Nations regular budget, exceeding by far their gross national income share, and approximately 37 per cent of the United Nations peacekeeping budgets. Only a more equitable sharing of financial responsibilities among Member States according to their actual capacity to pay could secure a sustainable financing architecture for the United Nations system.
FODE SECK (Senegal), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, recognized the increase in the number of Member States that had paid their assessed contributions in full and expressed Senegal’s own commitment to honour its obligations to the regular budget, the Capital Master Plan, International Tribunals and peacekeeping operations. It was vital for the Secretariat to seek innovative methods to clearly improve the effectiveness of its activities. To that end, adequate management standards must be adopted and efforts must continue to reduce operational costs and streamline posts. He called for the establishment of a separate account for the special political missions, and urged Member States to pay their obligations under the regular and peacekeeping budgets on time and in full because arrears adversely impacted reimbursement to troop-contributing countries, forcing developing countries in particular to spend their own resources to train contingencies and renew equipment.
NGUYEN VIET LAM (Viet Nam), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, said that it was of utmost importance that the financial situation of the Organization remained strong. It was concerning that many Member States had outstanding payments. His country was among the 176 States that had paid in full its contributions for the Capital Master Plan as of 2 October.
SHIGETOSHI NAGAO (Japan) said that his country, despite having a different budget cycle than the United Nations, had paid in full all its assessments for the Organization’s regular budget, peacekeeping operations, International Tribunals and the Capital Master Plan. His Government did so despite enormous domestic financial difficulties and recent exchange rate fluctuations. The Secretariat should closely monitor the cash position of the regular budget, especially in relation to the Capital Master Plan cash-bridging mechanism, and the situation of the Working Capital Fund and Special Account for financing the Plan, while continuing to use the resources contributed by Member States efficiently and effectively.
HUSSEIN HANIFF (Malaysia), aligning himself with the Group of 77 and China, and with ASEAN, expressed concern that unpaid contributions totalled $1.39 billion in April this year. The $2.6 billion in outstanding contributions to the peacekeeping budget were also of concern; his country would shoulder its responsibility in that regard, signifying its serious commitment to international peace and security. Pleased to see the completion of the Capital Master Plan, and contributions towards it almost as full as mandated, his Government took note of prevailing financial needs for its completion. Associated cost issues must be addressed. Member States must make an objective decision soon to ensure the Plan’s full completion. Financing the United Nations was the responsibility of its Member States; they must fulfil their obligations in good faith.
GUO ZHIQI (China), endorsing the Group of 77’s statement, said that although the United Nations financial situation remained stable, it had deteriorated compared with the same period last year. She called on Member States to pay their assessed contributions on time and without conditions. China’s assessed contributions to the regular and peacekeeping budget had been on a “sharp rise,” and now exceeded $600 million annually. Yet despite years of rapid growth, the Chinese economy was now in a stage of “structural adjustment”, with strong downward pressure, and a levelling off of Government revenue. The country had taken measures to control spending and increase resource efficiency, and had already paid in full its 2014 contributions of $134 million and its assessments for the two International Tribunals. By 13 October, China had paid its peacekeeping operations assessment of $236 million. He asked the Secretariat to include that information in its updated report.
Mr. SANCHEZ AZCUY (CUBA), associating with the Group of 77 and China, expressed concern with the United Nations financial situation. As the world’s most universal intergovernmental organization, the United Nations needed a stable financial situation to carry out its mandates and Member States must make their payments on time. It was significant that one Member State accounted for most of the unpaid money and also benefited from the distorted methodology used to assess Member State payments. The accumulation of late payments had a negative effect on the Organization’s ability to carry out its mandates. The financial crisis of recent years had made it difficult for many developing countries to make their payments. Coercive, unilateral measures in place violated international law and impacted some countries’ ability to maintain their payments. Despite that, Cuba maintained its commitment to multilateralism. The United States economic and financial embargo had made it more difficult for Cuba to make its payments to the United Nations and made it impossible for Cuba to use United States dollars for its international financial transactions. Cuba’s transactions were subjected to exchange rate fluctuations. In addition, transfers to international organizations had been frozen. He called for an end to the embargo.
Board of Auditors’ Reports and Audited Financial Statements
HUGH O’FARRELL, Chair, Audit Operations Committee, Board of Auditors, introduced the main findings of the Board of Auditor’s Concise Summary and the reports of the audits carried out on financial statements for the period ending 31 December 2013 of various United Nations system bodies.
These financial reports and audited financial statements included: the United Nations (document A/69/5(Vol.I)), International Trade Centre (document A/69/5(Vol.III)), United Nations University (document A/69/5 (Vol.IV)), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (documents A/69/5/Add.1 & Corr.1), United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)(document A/69/5/Add.2), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (document A/69/5/Add.3), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) (document A/69/5/Add.4), United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)(document A/69/5/Add.5), Voluntary funds administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (document A/69/5/Add.6), Fund of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (document A/69/5/Add.7), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (document A/69/5/Add.8), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)(document A/69/5/Add.9), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (document A/69/5/Add.10), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)(documents A/69/5/Add.11 & Corr.1), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) (document A/69/5/Add.12), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (document A/69/5/Add.13), International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (document A/69/5/Add.14) and International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (document A/69/5/Add.15).
Mr. O’Farrell said there were no qualified opinions for the 19 entities, plus the United Nations peacekeeping operations, that were audited in the period. All nine entities that had implemented IPSAS in 2012 again received unqualified audit opinions for the financial year that ended 31 December. All 10 entities reporting biennially under the United Nations System Accounting Standards (UNSAS) received unqualified audit opinions.
He said the use of IPSAS had improved financial management processes, reporting and skills, capacity and staff financial literacy across all entities. There was varied progress in carrying out robust enterprise risk management approaches among the United Nations entities. There had been positive progress at the United Nations as the Management Committee had identified six top strategic risks facing the Organization. The Board was increasingly reporting on weaknesses in budget formulation, execution and reporting by the entities. For example, that was a recurring theme in the Board’s annual reports on peacekeeping operations. The Board also reported on a range of issues related to implementing partners.
The Board had undertaken work on fraud awareness in four entities during the 2012-2013 biennium: UNOPS, UNHCR, UNRWA and the United Nations, he said. It had highlighted concerns about the likely underreporting of fraud and the need of integrated strategic fraud strategies and more robust assessments of fraud risks, particularly external fraud risks. In the United Nations particularly, the Board highlighted the need to address the current fragmentation of existing policies, procedures and guidance in relation to fraud. That also was a concern of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). The Board was concerned that the United Nations did not have a well-developed protocol or framework for staff to follow when a serious external fraud occurred, despite the assurance provided in the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the Board’s recommendations (document A/69/353). The Board encouraged the consideration of a system-wide counter-fraud unit to tackle fraud risks, especially risks that straddled organization boundaries, on behalf of the system as a whole.
He noted that the Organization was in the midst of several major business transformation activities. Umoja, the new enterprise resource planning system, particularly was at a critical juncture as management faced issues stemming from Umoja’s roll-out in peacekeeping and special political missions. Additionally, the remaining roll-out of the system had to be more realistically planned.
PEDRO GUAZO, Director, Accounts Division, Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts, Department of Management, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors contained in its reports on the United Nations for the biennium ended 31 December 2013 and on the Capital Master Plan for the year ended 31 December 2013 (document A/69/353), as well as his report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors contained in its reports on the United Nations funds and programmes for the biennium ended 31 December 2013 (document A/69/353/Add.1).
The Executive Heads had concurred with most of the Board’s recommendations and had made every effort to ensure compliance with the General Assembly’s request to implement the Board’s recommendations, he said. Of the 40 recommendations to the United Nations for the biennium 2010-2011, eight were closed by the Board. Of the remaining 32, a total of 20, or 63 per cent, were fully implemented, up from the previous biennium’s 60 per cent rate; 11, or 34 per cent, were being implemented and one had been overtaken by events. As for recommendations to the 19 entities the Board audited for the biennium 2012-2013, it considered the full implementation rate of 56 per cent as evidence of strong management commitment.
CARLOS RUIZ MASSIEU, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), introduced that body’s report on financial reports and audited financial statements and reports of the Board of Auditors for the period ended 31 December 2013 (document A/69/386).
He said that the Advisory Committee concurred with the Board’s view on the need to develop mechanisms to share vital information concerning implementing partners. It considered that the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) might be a suitable forum for discussing a possible system-wide mechanism in that regard. ACABQ also stressed the importance of heads of entities dedicating adequate attention to address deficiencies in staff skills in such areas as human resource management, asset management and procurement. The Board should provide a deeper analysis on the anti-fraud approaches of UNHCR, UNOPS and the United Nations Secretariat in future audit reports that would also include the anti-fraud controls undertaken by other United Nations entities.
Noting that the Board continued to provide updates on the need to put adequate internal oversight arrangements in place at UNHCR and UNITAR, he said that ACABQ recommended that this matter be concluded urgently. Regarding the retention rates and reserve levels at UNICEF and the requirement for a formal cooperation agreement with the Japan Foundation at United Nations University (UNU), the Advisory Committee concurred with the Board’s recommendations. As for the Secretariat, the Board had been emphasizing the need for more clarity on the “target operating model” for the transformation projects, or the “service delivery model”. The General Assembly should ask the Secretary-General to submit a report containing his proposals on that matter as soon as possible.
Ms. RIOS (Bolivia), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, noted that 9 of the 19 entities were reporting on an annual basis upon their completing the full implementation of IPSAS in 2012, and 10 on a biennial basis still reporting under UNSAS. The Group concurred with the Board on the need for enhanced oversight, accountability and governance for globally dispersed operations. It concurred with ACABQ on the need for more comprehensive disclosure of specific issues examined and that the Board of Auditors should enumerate the entities considered, identify a standard set of parameters applied, and where common themes were present, provide further analysis in its concise summary report to facilitate cross-entity comparisons. It supported development of appropriate guidance on the level of reserves across the various United Nations entities. The Group supported the development of mechanisms to share information on implementing partners.
The Group was deeply concerned, she said, with comments and recommendations made by the Board on the budget process in document A/68/5 (VOL.1), and concurred with the Advisory Committee in its observation that the Board made recommendations without distinction of actions that were within the scope of the Secretariat and those that required intergovernmental decisions. The Group did not support any of the recommendations that would imply changes to the current budget procedures, processes, rules and format. Any budget changes must be reviewed and approved by the Fifth Committee and the Committee for Programme and Coordination. The Group urged the Board to direct all future recommendations solely to the Administration and to focus them exclusively in areas within the Secretariat’s purview.
Ms. SCHWEIZER (Switzerland), also speaking on behalf of Liechtenstein, welcomed the Secretary-General’s progress in enterprise risk-management, and called upon the United Nations administration to “mainstream” this approach. He supported the Board’s recommendation for clearly defined modalities and implementation time frames for results-based management whose implementation had been stalled for years. He agreed with the Board’s recommendations for revising the Secretariat’s budget preparation process, encouraged the Secretary-General to implement those recommendations, and said that management processes must undergo changes to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by Umoja. Without a proactive approach by the Secretariat, there was a risk that Umoja’s implementation could serve to consolidate the inefficiencies of the United Nations current management system. She underscored the Board’s recommendation that a more coordinated approach be adopted to combat fraud across the United Nations system. Finally, she pointed out that the United Nations workforce management had been driven by immediate needs to fill vacancies rather than strategic medium- and long-term needs assessments.
CHERITH NORMAN CHALET (United States) said expert oversight of the United Nations’ operations and finances was crucial to ensuring that the Organization met Member States’ expectations. The steps taken by Member States and the Secretariat to address the findings and recommendations by the Board were even more important. The findings related to fraud by implementing partners was concerning. Member States’ financial constraints and increasing demands for the United Nations services had created a situation in which “becoming more efficient and cost-effective is no longer optional”. There was a need for a specific plan to address fraud by those partners. The report also noted that the regular budget process was time-consuming and costly. It produced large volumes of information, much of which was very useful. But very few had time to fully read and absorb the information in time to make informed decisions. A key observation by the Board suggested that results were not fully considered when allocating resources through adoption of the budget. The budget process should be re-examined.
SERGEY KHALIZOV (Russian Federation) said his delegation had studied the recommendations of the Board and recognized its work in many areas, including providing greater transparency and compliance with procedures. He noted that the Board had made unmodified opinions for all of the entities. But with the implementation of IPSAS, the volume of the Board’s work would have to grow. He hoped the audits would continue to be of top quality. Regarding the United Nations financial statements, he urged attention to the budgeting of the Organization. The Assembly’s leadership role in defining the resources of the Organization should remain in its exclusive purview.
MANJUNATH DENKANIKOTTA CHENNEERAPPA (India), aligning with the Group of 77 and China, commended the Board for its observations and its very important role in the Organization’s management. He commended the Board’s work and appreciated the report of the Advisory Committee. India said it was positive that the Board had not identified any major failures in control. But India was concerned with the trend of the growth in voluntary funding. That trend, along with fiscal pressures faced by countries, showed the need for the strong management of existing resources. It was futile to artificially freeze the budget. Surprisingly, many important activities in peacekeeping operations were funded voluntary. The Organization’s core mandates should be funded by the regular budget. In addition, it was necessary that the Board’s recommendations be carried out quickly.
Administration of Justice
LINDA TAYLOR, Executive Director, Office of the Administration of Justice, introducing the Secretary-General’s report on Administration of justice at the United Nations (document A/69/227), said that the report, divided into six sections, contained statistics and information on the functioning of the formal system of administering justice in 2013, as well as observations on the operation of that system, drawn from those statistics and the experience of the Office of Administration of Justice and other relevant stakeholders, and also provided a consolidated response to the Assembly’s requests in resolution 68/254.
In addition to observations on the formal system’s operation since its inception and in 2013, findings from Section II also indicated, among other things, that the number of cases coming into the formal system seemed to be stabilizing, with the majority continuing to relate to appointment-related decisions, she said. Noting the continued rise in the number of self-represented staff members, it was recommended that that systemic issue be examined as part of the interim independent assessment. Section II also provided statistics and information on the activities of various entities involved in the formal system and identified, in that context, the need to extend positions of three ad litem judges for the United Nations Dispute Tribunal (UNDT), if it were to continue to manage its caseload.
Section III laid out detailed responses to specific requests by the General Assembly, she continued, among them a revised proposal on an interim independent assessment of the system of administration; efforts to institutionalize good management practices; the status of revised terms of reference for the Office of the Ombudsman and Mediation Services; and monthly opt-out rates and staff contributions under the voluntary supplemental funding mechanism for the Office of Staff Legal Assistance (OSLA). The Secretary-General set out his conclusions and recommendations for action in the final section. In closing, she drew attention to the report of the Internal Justice Council (document A/69/205), which included that body’s views on the implementation and functioning of the system of administration of justice as well as the views of the judges of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (UNAT) and UNDT.
JOHNSTON BARKAT, United Nations Ombudsman, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on Activities of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services (document A/69/126). According to the report, the ombudsmen and mediators were able to provide assistance in more than 2,000 cases in 2013, with over 1,600 coming from Secretariat staff. While the total number had remained fairly flat over the past few years, the number of mediation cases increased from 36 in 2012 to 73 in 2013. The focus was not on who was right or who was wrong, but on how individuals and teams could find respectful and mutually satisfactory resolutions. About 80 per cent of the cases emanated from outside New York. The most prominent types of concerns were job and career issues (28 per cent) and evaluative relationships (23 per cent). The Office had increased its emphasis on building “conflict competence” in the Organization — skills to better manage conflict.
The report also provided an update on some cross-cutting and systemic issues, such as the relationship between locally recruited and international staff in peacekeeping missions and issues relating to performance management and the conduct of investigations, he said. The Office continued to look for ways to better serve staff in field operations where its capacity was limited. About 70 per cent of staff in peacekeeping operations was based in Africa and other critical staff worked in the special political missions in the Middle East. The Office was planning two on-site visits to support staff in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
Mr. MASSIEU introduced ACABQ’s related report (A/69/519). While reiterating its previous recommendations on the interim independent assessment of the administration of justice, the Advisory Committee reiterated its previous recommendations and also asked for an exam of the structure and funding mechanisms of other international, national and regional systems. It also recommended that the panel of experts consult with Member States and external entities such as other international and regional organizations on national labour dispute mechanisms. He recommended the panel hire a Secretary at the P-5 level, not D-1 as proposed by the Secretary-General.
Regarding the voluntary supplemental funding mechanism for the Office of Staff Legal Assistance, the Advisory Committee recommended that the Secretary-General continue to track staff contribution data, including on staff opting out of the mechanism, he said. Other recommendations touched on informal dispute resolution improvements, the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services, and how to render accountable for financial losses in cases where individuals violated the Organization’s rules and procedures. He voiced no objection to the proposed extension of three ad litem judges for the Dispute Tribunal, and recommended against the requested P-3 Legal Officer post for the Registry of the United Nationals Appeal Tribunal, which combined with the other recommendations would result in a reduction of $167,100 under section 1 and $57,600 under section 29D of the 2014-2015 programme budget.
Ms. RIOS (Bolivia), speaking again for the Group of 77 and China, said the reform approved by General Assembly resolutions 61/261, 62/228, 63/253 and 65/251 had established a system for administering justice that was independent, transparent, professional, adequately resourced and decentralized, and was consistent with international law and the principles of the rule of law and due process. It ensured respect for the rights and obligations of staff members and the accountability of managers and staff members alike.
Noting achievements in disposing of the backlog and addressing new cases, she said that any reduction in the International Tribunals’ judicial capacity would significantly increase the time required to adjudicate cases. Noting further that informal dispute resolutions were essential to the system, she expressed regret that the Office of the Ombudsman and mediation services had yet to respond to the Assembly’s requests regarding promulgation of their revised terms of references. She also voiced concerns that the increase of applications in the system was an indicator of bad management and poor staff-management relations. In that context, lessons learned for managers should produce concrete results.
Mr. PRESUTTI, a representative for the European Union Delegation, commended progress made since 2009 towards full implementation of the new system of administration of justice at the United Nations. Five years in, a decision should be made on a proposal from the Secretary-General for conducting an interim independent assessment of the system, which was an opportunity to analyse whether the objectives set by the Assembly were being achieved in an efficient, cost-effective manner, and how the system might be further improved. He welcomed the Secretary-General’s revised proposal and expressed support for the Advisory Committee’s observations and recommendations in that regard. He also stressed the importance of thoroughly analysing the working methods of the International Tribunals under the statutes and rules of procedure, taking into account all relevant Assembly resolutions. Pointing out that there was a direct correlation between poor or ineffective performance management and the high caseload the system was handling, he said that improving performance management must be a major focus for the Secretary-General.
Ms. SCHWEIZER (Switzerland), also speaking on behalf of Liechtenstein, noted that because most cases heard at the International Tribunals related to appointments and separation of service, improvements to the administration of justice should go hand in hand with improvements in human resource management and the performance management system. She commended the Office of the Ombudsman and Mediations Services for their efforts to encourage amicable resolutions. She supported the extension of three ad litem judges to reduce the high caseload, and looked forward to the Internal Justice Council’s proposals to reduce delays in the disposal of cases.
Though the implementation of the staff-funded mechanism to supplement the Office of Staff Legal Assistance was a major achievement, she regretted that a significant per cent of United Nations staff had opted out of the fund, even though salary deductions would be no more than 0.05 per cent. She welcomed the revised proposal by the Secretary-General which should result in concrete recommendations for correcting identified flaws in the new administration of justice system. Given the Committee’s “staggering workload”, and because the administration of justice system did not require the same attention as when it was set up five years ago, she suggested reducing the submission of reports on the administration of justice and the related Committee resolution to once every two years.
ERIKO YAJIMA (Japan) reiterated her country’s support for the use of informal conflict resolution, and the effectiveness of the Management Evaluation Unit for resolving cases before they proceeded to the tribunals. Her country looked forward to details on the progress of the voluntary supplemental funding mechanism for the Office of Staff Legal Assistance. It was important to understand the trends of a new mechanism during the experimental period in order to seek out better methods for improving the system. She backed ACABQ’s view that an interim assessment of the administration of justice system was needed in order to evaluate the functioning of the system to date and to ensure it met its objectives as a mechanism to effectively resolve labour disputes. Japan was willing to further engage in discussions on how to implement such an assessment.
Ms. CHALET (United States) expressing approval of the Management Evaluation Unit that had contributed to the early resolution of disputes, said challenges nevertheless remained. Since many harassment and discrimination complaints arose out of performance management issues, reform of the justice system would be most successful if undertaken concurrent with strengthening the United Nations performance management processes. She questioned how ongoing feedback to staff would be effectuated since midpoint reviews were not being fully implemented. Though supporting the Secretary-General’s proposal for interim independent assessment of the Administration of Justice, to guard against judicial overreach he expected the analysis to include the Tribunals’ interpretation of their authorities. Moral damages and stays pending appeal in excess of jurisdiction should be considered in that assessment or sooner. Including in the context of administration of justice, the United States wanted to insure that whistle-blowers who had been the subject of retaliations would have adequate avenues to seek protection and remedies, and that retaliators would be held accountable for their actions.
Mr. KHALIZOV (Russian Federation) said that ACABQ’s report had been made available only a few hours before the start of today’s session. His delegation did not have enough time to consult with its capital on the matter. The practice of delayed issuances of reports was inadmissible. Decisive measures were needed to remedy the situation and for the timely delivery of documents in all official languages.
United Nations Office for Partnerships
ANN DE LA ROCHE, Officer in Charge, United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP), introduced the Secretary-General’s report on that Office (document A/69/218). She said that UNOP was created in 2006 to strengthen system-wide coherence in the establishment of operational relationships with global partners of the United Nations, and to oversee the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP). UNFIP was established in 1998 as the interface for the partnership between the United Nations system and the United Nations Foundation — the public charity responsible for administering Ted Turner’s $1 billion contribution; the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), established in 2005, which supported democratization throughout the world focusing on democratic institutions, promoting human rights, and ensuring the participation of all groups in democratic processes; and Partnership Advisory and Outreach Services, which provided assistance to a variety of entities, including academic institutions, companies, foundations, Government agencies and civil society organizations.
At the end of 2013, the cumulative allocations provided by the United Nations Foundation through UNFIP to United Nations projects reached $1.3 billion, she said. Of this amount, $0.45 billion represented core Turner funds and $0.85 billion was generated from co-financing partners. A total of 544 United Nations projects and programmes were supported as of the end of 2013 and had been implemented by 43 United Nations entities in 124 countries. In the new round of UNDEF funding in 2013, the Office supported 46 projects from among more than 2,000 proposals. Its outreach activities included providing support to the Permanent Memorial project and African First Ladies Health Summit.