In progress at UNHQ

Seventieth Session,
13th Meeting (AM)
GA/AB/4175

Budget Committee Nominates Candidates to Fill Vacancies in Three Subsidiary Bodies of General Assembly

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today recommended personnel appointments to fill upcoming vacancies in the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) and two other bodies that help the 193 delegates manage the United Nations vast human resources and its finances.

Those nominations will be forwarded to the General Assembly for approval during the current seventieth session.  The other bodies considered today were the Committee on Contributions and the Board of Auditors.

Delegates first turned their attention to five slots on the 16-member ACABQ, which plays a crucial role in helping the Fifth Committee examine the Organization’s budget and numerous management initiatives.

The Fifth Committee recommended by acclamation the appointment of Babou Sene (Senegal) and Tesfa Alem Seyoum (Eritrea) from the African States; Ihor V. Humennyi (Ukraine) from the Eastern European States; and Conrod Hunte (Antigua and Barbuda) from the Latin American and Caribbean States; for three-year terms beginning on 1 January 2016.

Eihab Omaish (Jordan) from the Asia-Pacific States was selected by a secret ballot, during which he received the majority of votes, a total of 129, and was then recommended for appointment to the ACABQ.

For the 18-member Committee on Contributions, which advises the Assembly on the distribution of the Organization’s expenses among the Member States, delegates recommended by acclamation the appointment or reappointment of six people for a period of three years beginning 1 January 2016.

They include: Syed Yawar Ali (Pakistan) and Toshiro Ozawa (Japan) from the Asia-Pacific States; Josiel Motumisi Tawana (South Africa) from the African States; Jasminka Dinić (Croatia) and Tőnis Saar (Estonia) from the Eastern European States; and Edward Faris (United States) from Western European and other States.

The Fifth Committee then turned its attention to the appointment of an Auditor General, or an officer holding an equivalent title, from a Member State for a vacancy emerging next year on the Board of Auditors.  Established in 1946 by the Assembly, the Board is comprised of the heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions from three Member States and provides independent external audit services to the Assembly.

The Fifth Committee recommended by acclamation the appointment of the German Supreme Audit Institution to the Board for a six-year term beginning 1 July 2016.For additional details on the appointments, the delegates had before them the Secretary-General’s notes on the appointment of members of the ACABQ (documents A/70/101 and A/C.5/70/5); appointment of members of the Committee on Contributions (documents A/70/102 and A/C.5/70/6); and appointment of a member of the Board of Auditors (documents  A/70/104, A/C.5/70/7).

The Fifth Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 10 November, to discuss the United Nations common system; the Strategic Heritage Plan and United Nations Office in Geneva, part of the construction and property management portion of the Proposed Programme budget, biennium 2016-2017 agenda item, and administrative expenses of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund.

For information media. Not an official record.