Budget Committee Approves Resolution to Improve Quality of Conference Services, Examines Cost for Proposed Capital Upgrade Project in Bangkok
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved a draft resolution that aimed to improve the quality of conference services held in its offices around the globe while upholding the equal use of its six official languages in the written world of documents and publications as well as crucial interpretation and translation services.
Without a vote, the Fifth Committee approved a wide-ranging 14-page resolution that touched on its extensive calendar of conferences and meetings; the use of conference services; the integration of the global management initiative in the four main duty stations in New York, Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna; and the “paramount importance of the equality” of the Organization’s six official languages. By the terms of the text, the General Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to redouble his efforts to ensure the highest quality of interpretation and translation services in all six official languages — Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian — while emphasizing that all stakeholders, including the duty stations and offices away from Headquarters, needed to be actively involved in multilingualism.
The text also emphasized that meetings, conferences, special events and exhibits must be consistent with the United Nations purposes and principles.
In other business, the Fifth Committee discussed a proposal for a multi-year, $35.2 million project to upgrade the premises of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok, the largest of the Organization’s five regional commissions. The capital project aimed to increase the ability of the facilities, built before seismic standards were introduced in Thailand, to withstand earthquakes while improving their long-term efficiency and safety.
In introducing the Secretary-General’s report on the subject, Stephen Cutts, Assistant Secretary-General of the Department of Management’s Office of Central Support Services, asked the Assembly to approve the proposed project, as well as related resource requirements, for the biennium 2016-2017 and establish a multi-year construction-in-progress account. Annual progress reports would be submitted to the Assembly. The report outlined the proposed plan and a proposed implementation schedule over six two-year budget cycles ending in 2027. Project costs were estimated to tally $35.2 million at current rates for the period from 2016 to 2027,
South Africa’s delegate, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said capital projects should be budgeted outside the regular budget to ensure their transparency and effective implementation. Despite the misgivings of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), the Group believed the Secretary-General should be allowed to move ahead on the capital project and integrate the observations of the Advisory Committee, the Board of Auditors and guidance from Member States. During the informal consultations, the Group would explore the possibility of shortening the project’s estimated duration, without undermining its quality and scope.
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, ACABQ Chairman, introduced that body’s related report, which recommended against approval of the proposed project. For that reason, the Advisory Committee did not make detailed observations on the request for specific resource requirements requested.
Mr. Massieu said the Advisory Committee believed a range of implementation options should have been presented for the Assembly’s consideration, including an option to conduct the proposed project in a single phase by moving all staff out of the buildings. The Secretary-General’s proposal lacked clarity and specifics on the proposed construction work to address the seismic risk. Any new proposal should address the Committee’s observations, he said.
Associating with the statement made by South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77, Thailand’s delegate said the proposal for the Commission’s renovation would ensure the long-term health and safety of staff, delegates and visitors. It also would bring benefits in other areas, such as the building’s efficiency, energy conservation and the use of space. He urged the Fifth Committee and the Assembly to support the project’s complete implementation.
Also speaking today was the representative of Trinidad and Tobago (on behalf of the Caribbean Community).
The Fifth Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 4 November, to discuss the 2016-2017 proposed programme budget for cluster II of the special political missions.
2016-2017 Programme Budget: Capital Project at ESCAP Premises in Bangkok
STEPHEN CUTTS, Assistant Secretary-General, Office of Central Support Services, Department of Management, introduced the Secretary-General’s report titled “Proposal for the seismic mitigation retrofit and life-cycle replacements project at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific premises in Bangkok” (document A/70/356). The report provided an outline of a plan to undertake the project, the proposed implementation schedule over six two-year budget cycles ending in 2027, and project costs, estimated to tally $35.2 million at current rates for the 2016-2027 period. The Strategic Capital Review, the long-term capital programme recognized by General Assembly resolution 68/247B, did not include any proposals for identified projects. It was stipulated that projects would be set forth in due course, following established procedures for budgetary proposals and the United Nations Financial Regulations and Rules.
The current Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) buildings were designed in the early 1970s and the Conference Centre in the early 1990s, Mr. Cutts said. Since seismic standards were introduced in Thailand in 1997, no seismic risk control and management measures were in place during their design and construction. The project’s primary aim was to handle that risk via a seismic mitigation retrofit to ensure the health and safety of staff, delegates and visitors at the Commission premises over the long-term. The project also gave the opportunity to address other issues, such as building performance, energy conservation, the efficient use of space and the life-cycle replacement of building systems, in a cost-effective way. ESCAP’s Executive Secretary would be the project owner and the Central Support Services Section within the Commission’s Division of Administration would oversee a proposed dedicated project management team. The Office of Central Support Services in New York would provide technical guidance and advice.
A risk management consultancy firm was proposed to support the Commission and identify and mitigate any risks, he said. The work to retrofit the Secretariat building was expected to take six months to renovate each floor. The proposed process would empty four floors of the Secretariat building at a time and move staff into swing space. The construction zone would be limited to two floors at a time, with one buffer floor above, and one buffer floor below the construction zone. With that approach, about 5,000 square metres of swing space would be needed for the renovation’s duration, of which 4,000 square metres, or 80 per cent, would have to be secured off-site. The Commission proposed to approach the Host Country and simultaneously engage a real estate company to identify 4,000 square meters of suitable office space in Bangkok. The project design phase was proposed for the biennium 2016-2017, followed by the renovation, which would start in 2018 and be phased over the next five biennia, until 2027. The Assembly was requested to approved the proposed project, as well as related resource requirements for the biennium 2016-2017 and establish a multi-year construction-in-progress account. Annual progress reports would be submitted to the Assembly.
CARLOS RUIZ MASSIEU, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), introduced that body’s related report (document A/70/7/Add.3), recommending against approval of the proposed project. ACABQ therefore did not make detailed observations on the specific resource requirements requested. It was of the view that a range of implementation options should have been presented for the Assembly’s consideration, including an option to conduct the proposed project in a single phase by moving all staff out of the buildings. The Advisory Committee recommended the establishment of an independent and impartial advisory board to strengthen governance of the proposed project. Any new proposal should address the Committee’s observations.
According to the ACABQ report, the Secretary-General’s proposal lacked clarity and specificity on the proposed construction works to address the seismic risk. From the current proposal, it was not clear that the scope of the proposed project was aimed primarily at addressing the seismic threat. Furthermore, given the primary aim of protecting the ESCAP building against seismic threats, the Secretary-General’s report should have included an option to address the seismic risk, if considered urgent, on its own, and not in combination with renovation, life-cycle replacement or other works, taking into account that those latter works would be considered in the context of the strategic capital review. ACABQ also noted the exceptional length of the proposed project and was not convinced that the current proposal represented the most cost-effective or efficient method of implementation. The proposal should also have included a cost-benefit analysis of the implementation options, including the option of carrying out the major construction projects outside regular United Nations working hours only.
LYLE DAVIDSON (South Africa), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the late issuance of documents related to the agenda item affected the Committee’s ability to give it the effective consideration it deserved. The Group urged all relevant stakeholders to ensure reports were submitted in a timely manner. As the project cost was estimated at $35 million across different budget biennia, capital projects should be budgeted outside the regular budget envelope to ensure transparent, accountable and effective implementation. The Group also supported implementing this project under special multi-year account arrangements and urged the Secretary-General to ensure oversight mechanisms were in place to mitigate risks and challenges. It encouraged the project team to take into account the lessons learned and best practices gained from other capital projects, particularly the United Nations offices in Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Arusha. All errors, omissions and deficiencies identified in the Capital Master Plan must not be repeated with the ESCAP project. It looked forward to learning how the Board of Auditor’s paper on implementation of capital projects was being applied to the ESCAP project.
While agreeing with a number of points and recommendations made by the Advisory Committee, the Group was concerned about the Advisory Committee’s conclusion to not approve the proposal. The Secretary-General should be allowed to move towards implementation as it accounted for the observations of the Advisory Committee, the Board of Auditors and guidance from Member States. The Group would present specific proposals in this regard. The Group noted several elements of the project, including its proposed scope and cost estimates and the implementation schedule. It looked forward to detailed discussions during the informal consultations, including exploring the possibility of shortening the project’s estimated duration, without undermining its quality and scope.
NONTAWAT CHANDRTRI (Thailand), associating with the Group of 77, said that, since 1949, Bangkok had played host to the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, which later became ESCAP. ESCAP was the largest of the United Nations five regional Commissions, serving 53 Member States and 9 Associate Members in the Asia-Pacific region with more than 600 staff. As the development agenda placed people at its centre, safety at work had also been a priority of Thailand. In 1997, the Government introduced the Building Control Act providing standards of resistance against seismic risks, which was revised in 2007. The 1970s-designed Secretariat and Service buildings and the 1990s-designed Conference Centre did not comply with the current seismic resistance standard.
The preliminary studies and inspections carried out in 2011 and 2012 found vulnerable points in the structures of the buildings, he said. The proposal for the seismic mitigation retrofit and life-cycle replacement project at ESCAP, with due consideration of the most cost-effective approach, would ensure the long-term health and safety of staff, delegates and visitors, as well as bring benefits in other areas, such as building performance, energy conservation and space usage efficiencies. The Fifth Committee and the Assembly should support the complete implementation of the project. He also supported other projects under strategic capital review, such as the construction of new office facilities at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa.
Pattern of Conferences: Action on Draft Resolution
Committee Chair Durga Prasad Bhattarai (Nepal) introduced a draft resolution titled “Pattern of Conferences” (document A/C.5/70/L.4). The 14-page text covers the Organization’s extensive calendar of conferences and meetings; the use of conference services; the integration of the global management initiative in the four main duty stations; and issues related to the Organization’s production of documents and publications and translation and interpretation services in the six official United Nations languages.
By its terms, the General Assembly would reaffirm the need to correct the duplication and redundancies in conference servicing activities and that priority in the use of conference rooms must be given to Member States. The Assembly would emphasize that meetings, conferences, special events and exhibits had to be consistent with the United Nations purposes and principles, and ask the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to improve conference servicing at the four main duty stations, as well as consult with Member States on initiatives that impacted the use of conference services and facilities.
On the integrated global management initiative, the Assembly would repeat a request to the Secretary-General to provide information about the financial savings of the initiative in the next pattern of conferences report. Emphasizing the paramount importance of the equality of the six official languages, the Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to redouble his efforts to ensure full parity among the Organization’s official languages. It would emphasize that multilingualism involved the active involvement of all stakeholders, including all United Nations duty stations and offices away from Headquarters, and ask the Secretary-General to redouble efforts to ensure the highest quality of interpretation and translation services in all official languages.
The Committee approved the draft without a vote.
Revised Estimates for 2016-2017 Programme Budget for 2030 Agenda
LYLE DAVIDSON (South Africa), speaking for the Group of 77, recalled the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially its paragraph 46, which underlined the important role and comparative advantage of an adequately resourced, relevant, coherent, efficient and effective United Nations system in supporting the Agenda, as well as its paragraph 62, which emphasized the role of the Addis Ababa Action Plan in supporting and complementing the 2030 Agenda’s means of implementation. Given that 1 January 2016 was the start date for the 2030 Agenda, the Group was concerned about the delay in the issuance of the revised estimates for the 2030 Agenda and for financing for development. The Group expected that the Secretariat had, over the course of the year, analysed, planned and budgeted how the United Nations system could support the ambitious Agenda and mainstream it across all pillars of the Organization. The Group, therefore, strongly urged the Secretary-General to present the revised estimates to the Assembly as a matter of priority.
EDEN CHARLES (Trinidad and Tobago), speaking for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), recalled that the Addis Ababa Action Plan gave special recognition of the unique development challenges facing the small island developing States. The 2030 Agenda’s principle of “leaving no one behind” marked the evolution of the United Nations as a dynamic organization capable of effectively responding to the needs and challenges of its diverse membership, including the small island developing States. The Community joined the Group of 77 in strongly urging the Secretary-General to promptly present the revised estimates for the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Plan to the Assembly, stressing that further delay of their presentation would place considerable pressure on the United Nations membership, who ought to be given sufficient time to consider the items judiciously.