United Nations Financial Situation ‘Generally Sound’, Top Management Official Tells Budget Committee
Pronouncing the United Nations financial health at the end of 2014 as “generally sound” and its cash position at the end of April of this year as “sound and positive”, the Organization’s senior management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today that some areas needed to be closely monitored and that Member States must make all efforts to meet their obligations.
In his semi-annual snapshot of the Organization’s financial situation, Yukio Takasu, Under-Secretary-General for Management, focused on assessment issues, unpaid assessed contributions, available cash resources and outstanding payments to Member States as he presented a detailed report on indicators at 31 December 2013 and 2014, and at 30 April 2014 and 2015.
His overview included details on the regular budget, United Nations peacekeeping operations, the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the Capital Master Plan account. (The Secretariat will incorporate this information into a report, which will be released for the Committee’s discussion at its 14 May meeting.)
Summing up the findings, he said unpaid assessments were lower at the end of 2014 than in the previous year in all areas except the regular budget and that cash balances were positive for peacekeeping and the international tribunals, with the regular budget cash reserves covering shortfalls. Despite that sound financial situation, it would be necessary to draw on regular budget cash reserves, both the Working Capital Fund and Special Account, during the last months of 2015. While there was an increase compared to a year ago in the number of Member States paying in full for the 2015 regular budget, unpaid assessments remained at a significant level and continued to be highly concentrated.
For the 2015 regular budget, Member States were obliged to contribute a total of $2.771 billion, an increase of $159 million over 2014. Payments received were $58 million higher in 2015 than in 2014, he said; however, unpaid assessed contributions were $1.57 billion at 30 April 2015, an increase of $175 million over the previous year.
“The financial health of our Organization depends on Member States meeting their financial obligations in full and on time,” he said, urging them to continue to endeavour to do so.
Even though the overall United Nations cash situation was currently positive for all categories at 30 April 2015, the regular cash budget was expected again to “tighten” towards the end of the year, he said. In that regard, he said the Secretariat would continue to monitor flows and ensure the prudent management of resources.
Improvements were also seen in the financial position of the United Nations international tribunals, with outstanding assessments falling to $40 million at the end of 2014, from $54 million a year earlier. Outstanding assessments on 30 April 2015 amounted to $128 million, he said, pointing out that the final outcome for 2015 depended on Member States continuing to honour their obligations to the tribunals.
The bulk of assessed contributions to the Capital Master Plan had been received, with $0.5 million outstanding from the assessed $1.87 billion special account. Thanking the 180 States that had fully paid their assessments, he urged the remaining 12 Member States to follow suit as soon as possible so “we can make clean closure of the book”. He also pointed out that the cash shortfalls since December 2014 had been bridged by the Working Capital Fund on an exceptional basis, and that the Committee had approved a $154.9 million transfer from the General Fund. Once approved transactions and transfers had occurred, the Capital Master Plan account would be fully balanced.
Turning to peacekeeping missions, which operate on a 1 July to 30 June fiscal cycle, he said the total of unpaid assessments at the end of 2014 was $1.28 billion, reflecting a significant decrease of $916 million compared with the outstanding $2.2 billion at the end of the previous year. As of 30 April, new assessments of $2.2 billion had been issued, with unpaid assessments amounting to $2 billion, he said, pointing out that challenges resulted from the differences in financial accounting periods of Member States and the timing of national legislative processes presented challenges because letters of assessment were being issued throughout the year based on the Security Council’s renewal mission mandates.
Although the total cash available for peacekeeping, including the reserve, at the end of 2014 was $4.3 billion, that amount had been segregated in accordance with the Assembly’s decision to maintain separate accounts for each operation, which specified that no mission should be financed by borrowing from other active operations. At the end of 2014, $3.84 billion was in active missions’ accounts, $294 million in closed missions’ accounts and $138 million in the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund. Despite an acceleration of payments to cover troops, police units and contingent-owned equipment, outstanding payments to Member States total $779 million, which was projected to drop to $561 million by the end of the year, he said.
The Committee also considered its agenda items on financing peacekeeping operations and related cross-cutting issues. During discussions, Member States shared their observations and recommendations, with some speakers expressing interest in the near-completed Global Field Support Strategy and others voicing concerns about sexual exploitation and abuse.
United Nations officials also introduced reports of the Secretary-General and other bodies on those subjects, containing, among other things, detailed accounts of peacekeeping budget performance in 2013/14 and proposed budgets for 2015/16.
Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas, Assistant Secretary-General and Controller, introduced the Secretary-General’s overview report on peacekeeping operations; Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, introduced the Secretary-General’s fifth annual progress report on implementation of the Global Field Support Strategy; and Carole Wamuyu Wainaina, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, introduced his report on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), presented that body’s corresponding documents. Carman L. Lapointe, Under-Secretary General for Internal Oversight Services, introduced the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) on peacekeeping activities in 2014.
Pedro Guazo, Officer-in-Charge of the Peacekeeping Financing Division’s Office of Programme Planning, presented the Secretary-General’s reports on peacekeeping missions in Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus and Somalia. Mr. Ruiz Massieu weighed in with ACABQ’s related documents.
Delivering statements were representatives of Brazil, Cuba, South Africa (speaking for the “Group of 77” developing countries and China), Japan, Costa Rica, China, Republic of Korea, United States and Ethiopia, as well as the European Union.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Friday, 8 May, to discuss financial arrangements in the 2014/15 fiscal year of the United Nations Multidimensional Stabilization Integration Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
Financial Situation of United Nations
SÉRGIO RODRIGUES DOS SANTOS (Brazil) said his country was in the process of settling its outstanding contributions to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the international tribunals.
JAVIER ENRIQUE SANCHEZ AZCUY (Cuba) asked for clarification on some of the data presented, including the missing $23 million and whether debts owed by Member States included outstanding payments to closed missions.
Financing Peacekeeping Operations: Cross-Cutting Issues
BETTINA TUCCI BARTSIOTAS, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, introduced the Secretary-General’s overview report on the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations which contained the budget performance for the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 and the proposed budget for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 (document A/69/751/Rev.1); his note on the proposed budgetary levels for peacekeeping operations for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 (document A/C.5/69/21); his report on the budget performance for the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, for the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 (documents A/69/585 and A/69/585/Corr.1); and his report for the budget proposal for the Logistics Base from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 (document A/69/733/Rev.1).
She said the overview report provided a comprehensive account of the strategic aspects of peacekeeping, budget performance and requirements for current and future operations. The budget proposals reflected enhanced planning, higher mobility, rapid responses and improvements in force protection, information analysis and the use of new technologies. In 2013/14, $7.52 billion was spent in peacekeeping operations, including all missions, the United Nations Logistics Base and the support account. As the approved peacekeeping budget for 2013/14 was $7.83 billion, the actual expenditures showed an overall budget implementation rate of 96 per cent, resulting in an unencumbered balance of $313 million. With regard to the proposed budget for 2015/16, the resources proposed for peacekeeping operations for that period — including the United Nations Logistics Base and the support account — totalled $8.49 billion, an increase of 0.4 per cent ($29.6 million) over 2014/15.
Highlighting some of the areas of increase requirements for 2015/16, she said that there would be a higher level of deployment to civilian personnel in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and higher operational costs in line with the second year of the establishment of the Mission; planned full deployment of civilian personnel in the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)and increased mine detection and mine clearing services and construction projects; an increased number of locations where support was provided to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNOSA); and proposed deployment of additional aircrafts in UNOSA, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and MINUSCA.
Reductions were primarily due to the drawdown of uniformed personnel in MINUSTAH, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), and United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), as well as lower costs for contingent-owned equipment reimbursements and travel on rotation in MONUSCO.
Noting that the General Assembly had requested the Secretary-General to apply deductions to the reimbursement of troop costs for absent or non-functional major equipment, she said that, so far, retroactive deductions had been made for the first three quarters of 2014 for a total amount of $68.7 million. The current budget proposals did not include provisions for such deductions as projections of any recoveries for 2015/16 were unpredictable at the present stage.
Turning to the Secretary-General’s reports for the United Nations Logistics Base, she said that the actual expenditure for 2013/14 amounted to $68.5 million representing an overall budget implementation rate of 100 per cent. The proposed 2015/16 budget amounted to $71.7 million, an overall increase of 1.9 per cent over the 2014/15 period. The increase of $1.4 million was attributable to the proposed establishment of 26 new positions, mainly in support of MINUSMA and MINUSCA; the planned refurbishment of various buildings; and the need to replace ageing vehicles.
ATUL KHARE, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, introduced the Secretary-General’s fifth annual progress report on implementation of the Global Field Support Strategy (document A/69/651), and Annexes I and II to the Secretary-General’s overview report on peacekeeping operations (document A/69/751/Rev.1), introduced by Ms. Bartsiotas.
Since the Strategy’s launch in 2010, he said, a constant stream of new demands on United Nations peacekeeping had continued to highlight the importance of rapid, effective and efficient mission support. For example, 12 new field missions had been launched, including entities such as the Joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations mission in Syria and the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). Major crises had struck in Haiti, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Central African Republic and South Sudan, and had led to significant mission reconfigurations. The number of authorized personnel had increased 14 per cent between 2009/10 and 2014/15, and security conditions for peacekeepers had deteriorated. “Today, many of our peacekeepers contend with the reality that they are actively and deliberately targeted by hostile armed elements,” he said.
While progress had not been even, today’s field support operations were broadly more cost-efficient, leaner and faster than they were five years ago, he said. For example, start-up budget planning and delivery had improved. Field support was leaner, following the abolishment of 3,000 posts. Field support was more cost effective, with the total cost per peacekeeper having declined by 17 per cent when adjusted for inflation. Vacancy and turnover rates had fallen, with the vacancy rate among civilian staff having fallen from 20 per cent to 15 per cent between January 2010 and December 2014. A stronger field service delivery model was in place, and client satisfaction was measured more systematically. In August 2014, 61 per cent of personnel were satisfied with the Department of Field Support’s services, whereas only 21 per cent expressed dissatisfaction.
Turning to some of the ongoing initiatives that were brought about by the Strategy, he said that, in the area of supply chain management, the Department of Field Support had identified four concrete projects that would allow it to pilot a series of tangible short-term improvements. With regard to the use of the Standard Funding Model, which was used by both the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and MINUSMA, the Department was asking the General Assembly for authorization to use that methodology for future mission start-ups.
The Secretary-General proposed to expand shared services to cover all field missions supported by the Department of Field Support; he asked the Committee for its endorsement of that approach. The Department’s proposal in that regard had two elements. First, it requested authorization to develop a stand-alone budget for the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, rather than nesting its costs within individual mission budget. Second, it proposed to service the remainder of field missions through one additional administrative transactional service centre. Each of the initiatives he had described derived from the momentum towards rapidity, effectiveness and efficiency that the Strategy had exemplified over the last five years, he said, adding that the Strategy had gone far in achieving its aims and unifying the mission support community behind a shared vision of the future.
CAROLE WAMUYU WAINAINA, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (document A/69/779). It gave information on new allegations of such abuse in 2014, which totalled 79, compared to 96 in 2013. “While there has been a decrease in the number of allegations, even one allegation is one too many,” she said, noting that it could inflict damage on the victims, the communities in which they lived and the Organization’s reputation and ability to deliver on its mandate. Efforts must, therefore, continue to enhance the Organization’s response to sexual violence and abuse.
In 2014, she said, an interdepartmental and inter-agency working group considered the recommendations of a 2013 team of experts that had visited the four peacekeeping missions with the highest proportion of allegations. The recommendations of the working group, which covered areas of prevention, enforcement and remedial action, were discussed at a high-level meeting of senior leadership, chaired by the Secretary-General, in January 2015. Summarizing the Secretary-General’s proposals emanating from the high-level meeting, she said that, in the area of prevention, several activities were planned to improve community outreach, training and vetting. An e-learning programme on sexual exploitation and abuse was under development by the Department of Field Support. In order to ensure that former United Nations personnel who were found to have engaged in sexual exploitation or abuse did not re-enter the Organization, efforts would be made to find solutions to challenges that currently hampered the exchange of information between United Nations system organizations.
In the area of enforcement of the prohibition against sexual exploitation and abuse, efforts would focus on improving community-based complaint reception mechanisms, creating an immediate response team to deploy upon receipt of an allegation, setting a six-month benchmark to conclude investigations; and strengthening managerial, leadership and individual accountability. To strengthen accountability of uniformed personnel, the Secretary-General intended to pursue measures that would include withholding service medals; continuing to consider repatriating the entire contingent or formed unit in cases of widespread violations; and non-payment of the exceptional premium to individual contingent and police personnel under investigation for sexual exploitation and abuse.
Among other actions, the Secretary-General intended to suspend payments to troop- or police-contributing countries in connection with an individual suspected of sexual exploitation or abuse on the basis of credible evidence. Regarding remedial action in response to sexual exploitation and abuse, he intended to revisit the proposal to establish a trust fund to support victim services. In addition to the proposed measures emanating from the high-level meeting, the report provided an update of actions in 2014 to address abuse. The Secretary-General was committed to the policy of zero tolerance and to pursuing the actions set out in the report aimed at strengthening protection measures.
CARMAN L. LAPOINTE, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, introducing the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) on the activities for peace operations for the period from 1 January to 31 December 2014 (document A/69/308 Part II), said the document provided an overview of the work of three Divisions: Internal Audit, Investigations, and Inspection and Evaluation. The Office issued 191 oversight reports related to peace operations in 2014 and 495 recommendations, 46 of which were classified as critical to the Organization. The Internal Audit Division continued to make greater use of thematic audits to identify systemic strengths and weaknesses across peace operations. In the Investigations Divisions, the focus was on finalizing the restructuring of the Division, including the staffing of investigator positions at field offices. The Inspection and Evaluation Division pursued a work plan based on the comprehensive risk-based work plan initiated the previous year.
The issue of sexual exploitation and abuse remained an area of significant concern, which continued to mar the reputation of peacekeeping efforts. Unfortunately, it was less the levels of reported incidents and more the likelihood of underreporting that was most worrisome, she said. On staffing matters, efforts to address vacancy rates throughout the Office continued, through enhancement of recruitment strategies and increased use of rosters for staff selection. The OIOS vacancy rate at the end of April was 15 per cent overall and 20 per cent for peacekeeping. The rate would continue improving upon completion of the on-boarding procedure for candidates, particularly in the Investigations Division.
CARLOS RUIZ MASSIEU, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), introduced the Committee’s report on its observations and recommendations cross-cutting issues relating to peacekeeping operations (document A/69/839), which also included observations and recommendations on a separate report submitted by the Secretary-General on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (document A/69/779). He also introduced the ACABQ’s report on the fifth progress report on the implementation of the global field support strategy (document A/69/874) and its report on the budget performance for the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 and proposed budget for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 of the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy (document A/69/839/Add.9).
The ACABQ’s report on cross-cutting issues focused on four themes addressing the administrative and budgetary management of peacekeeping, with updates on several other issues included in section F along with a full list of the recommendations covered by the previous report, in annex II. The ACABQ considered that to better provide information on the strategic direction of peacekeeping, the Secretary-General’s future annual overview reports should focus on new developments, policy changes and management challenges facing United Nations peacekeeping, clearly highlighting those that required decisions from the Assembly, he said. Regarding planning, budgeting and financial management of United Nations peacekeeping, ACABQ recommended that a written update on the nature and extent of budgetary redeployments in peacekeeping every six months should be submitted to the ACABQ.
Noting the Secretary-General’s $8.5 million peacekeeping budget proposal for 2015/16, he said the ACABQ had reservations concerning the cost-sharing proposals for applications developed by the Office of Information and Communications Technology and deployed to the field and the supply chain management initiative. Given the initiative’s preliminary nature and the lack of concrete detail on its development, the full proposed requirements of $4 million should be removed from individual mission budget proposals.
Concerning management and reported efficiency gains, the ACABQ maintained its reservations over the usefulness of the cost per capita for uniformed United Nations personnel as an indicator of peacekeeping efficiency, he said. The ACABQ made several observations and recommendations on resources allocated for information and communications technology. In particular, it expressed concern over the gravity of some of the findings of the Board of Auditors’ recent audit of such technology in peacekeeping, and said the Secretary-General should be asked to submit a detailed implementation plan to address those findings. On air operations, the ACABQ considered that its own observations and the Board of Auditors’ findings provided the Organization with an important opportunity to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of its air operations.
Regarding special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, the ACABQ noted that the number of allegations received in 2014 for peacekeeping and special political missions was the lowest recorded since the introduction of such measures in 2003, he said. However, it remained concerned about the persistence of cases relating to the most egregious forms of exploitation and abuse, as well as the high proportion of allegations arising from a small number of peacekeeping missions. The ACABQ expected that the Secretary-General’s next report on the matter would contain further information on measures put forward to address those concerns, particularly those measures requiring action by the Assembly.
Turning to implementation of the Strategy, he said the Secretary-General should be asked to provide in his next (and last) performance report comprehensive information on progress towards achieving the end-state vision of the Strategy under each pillar, as well as on the targets that were not achieved and plans for their implementation in the post-Strategy period. As most of the ongoing reform initiatives were applicable Secretariat-wide, a holistic approach and close coordination were needed. He then discussed the ACABQ’s observations and recommendations on the Strategy’s individual pillars. The ACABQ recommended reducing the proposed budget for the Brindisi Logistics Base for 2015/16 by $3.29 million. He also discussed ACABQ’s observations and recommendations on the Base Support Service, as well as the numerous proposals for the Service for Geospatial, Information and Telecommunications Technologies.
KAREN LINGENFELDER (South Africa), speaking for the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that when considering cross-cutting issues, the Committee should take into account the high-level panel’s comprehensive assessment of peacekeeping operations and their managerial, administrative and financial challenges. The Group once again proposed that those matters be addressed with a practical approach bearing in mind that a more comprehensive analysis might be needed when the panel’s outcome report was presented during the seventieth Assembly session. The Secretary-General’s proposal for a global service delivery model and a detailed report on the implementation of the information and communications technology strategy would be placed on the agenda of the next session. Therefore, the current session should focus on issues not largely impacted by those initiatives next year. That way, the Committee could agree on a much-needed resolution on cross-cutting issues that was short and to the point.
She said that the Group remained deeply concerned by a growing trend of arbitrary budget reductions, guided by financial imperatives, the need for additional resources in other peacekeeping missions or an arbitrary overall target for peacekeeping expenditures, “in blatant disregard of the specific needs of missions”. Some “efficiency measures” were pursued at the expense of operational capacities, and the safety and security of peacekeepers. New challenges should not be a justification for openly breaching decisions of the Assembly and the basic budgetary principles and procedures. The Group concurred with the ACABQ that the cross-cutting report had become lengthy, having lost focus and precision.
Further clarification was needed on the transparency of the budgetary practice, given the Assembly’s decisions that prohibited cross borrowing between active missions, she said. It was also hard to understand the continued lack of improvement in the representation of troop- and police-contributing countries, particularly at senior levels, in the Secretariat, despite repeated calls by the Assembly to ensure adequate representation in all relevant departments, especially the Department of Peacekeeping Operation and the Department of Field Support. The Group expressed regret that OIOS was conducting evaluations beyond its mandate, and requested that “Evaluation of the implementation and results of protection of civilians mandates in United Nations peacekeeping operations” in document A/68/787 be disregarded.
Noting that peacekeeping mandates had become more complex, wide-ranging and multidimensional, she said it would be a terrible setback if the pressure to reduce costs in a context of new and emerging challenges to international peace and security resulted in a return to military solutions that disregarded the need for parallel and effective peacebuilding efforts. The civilian component had been significantly reduced as a result of a “civilian staffing review”. That should not be interpreted as a means to applying further cost cuts. The Group noted the critical role of the Quick Impact Projects and, therefore, was distressed with petty discussions aimed at reducing the already small provisions for such activities. The Group was concerned by recent media reports of sexual abuse of children by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.
Turning to financing of the Brindisi Logistic Base, she said the Group noted the information on the Base’s performance for the period through 30 June 2014 and the proposed financial requirement for 2015/16, and would carefully examine the Secretary-General’s proposals, including those related to information and communications technology, human resources and the question of Valencia.
FRANCESCO PRESUTTI, representative of the European Union Delegation, said the Secretary-General’s overview report provided a valuable basis for addressing the evolving peacekeeping challenges. The Committee should build on its positive momentum and work cooperatively to achieve a more fruitful outcome this year, through pragmatic approaches, such as focusing on areas of agreement. Noting the Secretary-General’s $8.49 billion peacekeeping budget proposal for 2015/16 was another historic high, he called for strict budgetary discipline to ensure resources were really needed and used as effectively and efficiently as possible. To that end, the Union would be scrutinizing closely mission budgets, as well as the support functions. Closer scrutiny of the civilian component of peacekeeping continued to be essential. He looked forward to further results of the Secretariat’s ongoing reviews of civilian staffing in missions. It was also vital to closely scrutinize the proposed levels of operational costs. There was still a margin of improvement in the areas of air transportation, training and travel costs, fuel, consultants, construction planning, rations delivery and asset management. There was value in updating the standard equipment ratio manuals to reflect developments in technology, as well as the life cycle of the mission and to protect staff safety and security, in setting up the multiyear plans, especially on construction, and in renewing the Office of Partnership for Strategic Peacekeeping.
He welcomed the Secretariat’s continuing efforts to identify sustainable efficiency measures, which should be distinct from reductions due to mandate changes. Effective budgetary procedures were crucial for sustainable, predictable and affordable budgets. He recalled the Union’s concern at the inability of current budgetary practices to reflect sooner Security Council decisions to reduce the authorized strength for uniformed mission personnel. Reiterating the Group’s full support for the Strategy, he stressed the importance of taking stock of progress made and looking into the mainstreaming and consolidation of its components. While the Union welcomed the progress in the operations of the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, it considered that the Centre’s performance should be further strengthened and improved. On sexual exploitation and abuse, he said one substantiated case was one too many. The Union, therefore, remained concerned about the number of allegations reported, and looked forward to hearing more on investigation of such allegations and preventive actions.
SHO ONO (Japan) expressed disappointment over the absence in the past two years of a resolution on cross-cutting issues. Members States should enhance cooperation towards adopting a resolution on that by consensus this year. In order to reach such an agreement in a timely way, the Committee should hold initial discussions on principles instead of submitting hundreds of paragraphs and holding negotiations on more focused areas with streamlined texts. On the Secretary-General’s overview report, he suggested tackling issues by prioritizing them and focusing on the ACABQ’s new recommendations. On civilian personnel requirements, he appreciated continuing developments on the comprehensive civilian staffing review for several missions in the past year. To ensure the right-sizing of the missions, the Secretariat should duly address the findings of those reviews, such as the need to conduct regular reviews on staffing requirements and to promote nationalization of staff. On operation costs, he stressed that the Standard Cost and Ratio manual should be used efficiently to avoid overbudgeting. Japan noted with concern that budgetary redeployments between expenditure groups and classes were carried out as a matter of routine without an evaluation. He concurred with the Board of Auditors’ and ACABQ’s recommendations on budgetary redeployment and asked the Secretariat to project the budget more accurately and implement it with the sense of the ceiling in each group and class.
On the accuracy of peacekeeping budget projects, Japan supported the ACABQ’s view on the application of the latest exchange rate in order to avoid overbudgeting and expected the Secretariat to adjust the proposed levels accordingly and inform the Committee during informal consultations, he said. Turning to the Strategy, he welcomed reported tangible savings of nearly $425 million generated over the last four budgetary cycles, which should be examined in detail. His delegation had many questions on the issues of a second shared service centre and the separation of the budget of the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, which he expected the Secretariat to answer during informal consultations. On sexual exploitation and abuse, Japan was taking various initiatives, including collaborating with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Last year, Japan gave voluntary contribution to the United Nations “e-learning programme on prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse for all categories of field personnel” and hoped the initiative would soon be rolled out to all relevant personnel.
ROLANDO CASTRO CÓRDOBA (Costa Rica) noted that the Secretary-General’s report highlighted the decrease in complaints on sexual exploitation and abuse. However, it was alarming that many allegations had involved the most atrocious forms of abuse that had targeted, in many cases, minors and had been concentrated in the same four missions. There were many examples of sexual violence used in armed conflict, as well as recent examples of extremist groups targeting women and children. Despite United Nations efforts to prevent and punish those acts in the context of armed conflict and among peacekeepers, cases existed and must be addressed. Urging all responsible departments and countries contributing police or troops to make greater efforts to eradicate those abuses and to end impunity for perpetrators, he stressed that the United Nations had an obligation to respect the human rights of all and that provisions for support to protect women and children must be included in peacekeeping budgets. For many communities, the United Nations represented the “last bastion of hope” and the Organization must uphold its human rights principles, he said, noting that the issue was a priority for his delegation.
GUO XUEJUN (China) said the Committee’s discussions should be coordinated with the review of peacekeeping missions, including on cross-cutting issues. While his delegation stood against any unjustified budget cuts, he was concerned about the size of the peacekeeping budget and anticipated that the Secretariat would take steps that would lead to the improved use of resources. While there were cash balances for several operations, amounts due to troop- and police-contributing countries had increased. Those payment arrears sent a bad message and were unfair to both the troops and the long-term development of peacekeeping operations, he said, noting that lessons should be drawn from examples of mission deployment and staff compensation.
JAESIN KO (Republic of Korea), noting that the overall level of peacekeeping budgets had increased significantly over recent years, welcomed the proposed budget of $8.49 billion, but expressed doubt on its sustainability under the restraint of resources and ongoing economic difficulties of major contributing countries. “As such, it is time to collect our creative and pragmatic solutions on enhancing the efficiency of peacekeeping operations without any negative impacts on the implementation of the mandate,” he said. His delegation intended to tackle several issues, including examining lessons learned in establishing the Strategy and in evaluating performance of the current Region Service Centre in Entebbe before creating a second centre. Concerned about the incremental budgeting approach, he reiterated the importance of periodic reviews on civilian staffing and expressed interest in examining the relevance of predicting common economic indicators such as oil prices and currency exchange rates. He hoped the Committee be able to adopt an effective text on cross-cutting issues this session through the collective cooperation of Member States.
BRIAN CONROY (United States) said peacekeeping operations had witnessed significant reforms over the past decade and it was important to build on that progress and strengthen capacities to deliver on mandates. Recognizing the benefits already realized through the Strategy, including expedited service delivery and a reduction in environmental impact, he underlined that peacekeepers often operated in remote and difficult conditions and support must be characterized by efficient and effective solutions. His delegation intended to carefully review the Secretary-General’s proposal for a second service centre to ensure that peacekeeping needs were best served. Taking note of the reduction in the overall number of sexual exploitation and abuse allegations over the past year, he said that while it was a promising development, concerns remained about underreporting. While Member States and the Secretariat were strengthening the response to such abuses, more needed to be done by all stakeholders, including through enhanced Member State accountability. Turning to cross-cutting issues, he supported the ACABQ’s view that the annual overview report should provide strategic recommendations, including on the use of resources.
Mr. SANCHEZ AZCUY (Cuba), associating with the Group of 77 and China, expressed concern that OIOS had exceeded its mandate by conducting evaluations of the implementation and results of protection of civilian mandates in United Nations peacekeeping operations. The Committee should not engage in issues of a political nature, as that might compromise the neutrality of the United Nations. The Assembly had not agreed on the definition of responsibility to respect, which would rest with national authorities. OIOS resources could have been better used elsewhere, including on covering the question of vacancy rate, and on closing pending cases.
Financing of Peacekeeping Operations
PEDRO GUAZO, Officer-in-Charge, Office of Programme Planning, Peacekeeping Financing Division, introduced a number of reports of the Secretary-General on peacekeeping operations on budget performance for the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 and proposed budget for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.
On UNISFA (documents A/69/611, A/69/611/Corr.1. and A/69/740), he said the 2015/16 proposed budget amounted to $279.9 million, a 12.2 per cent decrease compared to the previous fiscal period. That reduction resulted from the delayed deployment of military observers and contingent personnel in 2015/16. Requirements for operation expenditure anticipated the planned completion of all major activities relating to camp establishment and asset acquisition during 2014/15. Current civilian personnel requirements accounted for a drop in national and volunteer positions and a rise in international posts.
Turning to UNOCI (documents A/69/621, A/69/743, and A/69/743/Corr.1), he said the proposed budget of $418.2 million represented a 15.3 per cent decrease from the previous year, primarily due to a reduction in military contingents and United Nations police officers, including $14.9 million in cuts for civilian personnel, trimming 53 international posts, 83 national posts and 24 United Nations volunteer positions. A $19.8 million operational costs reduction came from decreases in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes and a smaller air fleet.
On the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) (document A/69/587), he said the proposed $54.4 million budget for 2015/16 was a 6.3 per cent decrease from the previous year, attributable mainly to a change in the post-adjustment multiplier and the nationalization of four field service posts.
The Advisory Committee approved a commitment authority of $8 million on 1 May for the period 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 to the United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia (UNSOA) (documents A/69/592, A/69/728). The Mission spent $1.1 million from the commitment authority, with the amount now requested for appropriation and assessment. The proposed 2015/16 budget of $525.4 million represented an overall increase of 7.2 per cent over the previous fiscal year. Increased requirements were attributable to an increase in the number of locations to which the Office provided support and rises in required contingent-owned equipment, major equipment and the proposed deployment of two additional aircraft to be shared with UNSOM and MINUSCA.
Mr. RUIZ MASSIEU introduced the Advisory Committee’s reports on budget performance for the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 and proposed budget for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 for UNISFA (document A/69/839/Add.16), UNOCI (document A/69/839/Add.13), UNFICYP A/69/839/Add.7 and A/69/839/Add.7/Corr.1) and UNSOA (document A/69/839/Add.14).
The Advisory Committee did not concur with the Secretary-General’s proposal to charge the missions for the entirety of costs related to the development of applications by the Office of Information and Communications Technology and the supply chain management. It recommended that the proposed resource requirements in the individual missions be reduced accordingly. The ACABQ recommended that for those missions that contributed posts to the Regional Service Centre at Entebbe, the vacancy rate of 17 per cent be applied to national General Service posts and the vacancy rate of 50 per cent to National Professional Officer posts. On official travel, the ACABQ had identified several issues for trips planned for 2015/16, such as multiple trips to the same or close-by destinations and the need for more frequent use of videoconferencing and teleconferencing.
For UNISFA (A/69/839/Add.16), the Advisory Committee recommended reducing the proposed budget by $1.54 million, and abolishing two P-3 Reporting Officer posts, which had been vacant for longer than two years.
For UNOCI (A/69/839/Add.13), it recommended that the proposed budget be reduced by $5.48 million and that a new Staff Counsellor post be funded under general temporary assistance.
For UNFICYP (A/69/839/Add.7 and Corr.1), it recommended that the proposed budget be slashed by $156,600 and the Secretary-General provide an updated version of his analysis including a timetable for a phased acquisition of vehicles in the next budget proposal.
For UNSOA (A/69/839/Add.14), it recommended a reduction of $8.04 million to the proposed budget, and objected to the establishment of a Human Resources Officer (Field Service) post, given the proposed additional capacity for 2015/16 (one P-5 and one national General Service) in the Human Resources Section of UNSOA.
AMAN HASSEN (Ethiopia) said since its deployment to the Abyei area in 2011, UNISFA had helped the safe return of inhabitants, ensured civilian protection and supported border monitoring. He noted UNISFA’s expenditure of $255.4 million, representing a 77.6 per cent resource utilization rate, for the reporting period, down from 99.97 per cent in the previous period. Efforts should be made to improve that situation. The 2015/16 proposed budget represented a 12.2 per cent reduction from the previous year, with cuts in construction and acquisition of facilities and infrastructure equipment. Despite the Assembly’s request that the Secretary-General made every effort to ensure all construction projects were completed in a timely manner, little progress had been made in that regard. As such, deducting $21.9 million, or 48.3 per cent, from facilities and infrastructure would put in danger the safety and security of mission personnel. It was difficult to accept the Secretary-General’s view that there would be a reduced demand for alteration, renovation and the acquisition of prefabricated facilities in the 2015/16 period. Given the logistical challenges and the low rate of construction activities, he said the proposal should be revisited, taking into consideration the reality in the area of operation.