Fifth Committee Approves Text Calling for Prompt Demolition of Temporary North Lawn Building at New York Headquarters
Delegates Also Examine Estimated Final Expenditure, Income for 2014-2015
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved a draft resolution calling for the prompt demolition of a temporary conference building on the United Nations main campus in New York. The Committee also examined the presentation of the estimated final outlays for the 2014-2015 budget cycle, while reviewing the effects of exchange rates, inflation and intergovernmental decisions on the next biennium budget.
The text, agreed on by consensus, would have the General Assembly request the Secretary-General to ensure that the North Lawn building be demolished completely without further delay, and present his proposal to refurbish the Dag Hammarskjöld Library and South Annex Buildings as projects separate from the ongoing Headquarters renovation project, known as the Capital Master Plan.
On the budget performance for 2014-2015, Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas, Assistant Secretary-General and Controller, noted that the final estimated expenditure for the two years totalled $5.808 billion, about $23.6 million below the approved revised appropriation of $5.831 billion. The changes were due to the exercise known as re-costing, which takes into account currency exchange rates, inflation and other unexpected costs to make final adjustments to the budget. The stronger United States dollar and favourable inflationary rates both contributed to the savings, she said.
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), an Assembly subsidiary body overseeing the Secretariat’s budget proposals, noted that the Secretary-General failed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the experience of forward purchasing in his report on 2014-2015 budget performance. Regarding staff travel, he said that the Advisory Committee would have expected a greater reduction in expenditure than what had been reported in light of reduced average ticket prices and potential cost savings related to the application of the revised travel policy.
South Africa’s delegate, speaking for the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, stressed that the current budget methodology, which included re-costing as a fundamental bedrock, constituted savings of $58.1 million in the 2014-2015 biennium. He reiterated the importance of re-costing to allow the Organization to cope with highly volatile external macroeconomic factors. Having devoted long sessions to the issue of re-costing in the first resumed part of the Assembly’s sixty-ninth session, the Group wanted to put an end to that discussion, which had been prolonged by sceptics.
Japan’s delegate sought more details on why the projected expenditure increased for both post and non-post resource requirements, how the Secretariat had implemented the relevant resolutions on air travel, and why the savings and efficiencies achieved on air travel were not as much as expected.
On the 2016-2017 programme budget, the Fifth Committee examined the Secretary-General’s request for a subvention of slightly more than $6 million to fund the activities of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Advisory Committee recommended an allocation of no more than $2.4 million under a bridging financial mechanism, called “commitment authority”, to supplement the Special Court’s voluntary financial resources in 2016.
Sierra Leone’s delegate stressed that securing sustainable means of funding for the Special Court remained a top priority for his country, imploring the Fifth Committee to favourably consider the Secretary-General’s request for a two-year funding of $6 million.
The Secretariat reported that the adoption of 57 resolutions and decisions by the Human Rights Council resulted in additional resource requirements totalling $11.4 million. The representatives of Iran and Syria, whose human rights situation had become the subject of those texts, voiced reservations about allocating additional funding.
Turkey’s delegate, also speaking on behalf of Mexico, Morocco, Norway and Switzerland, said that, while human rights were one of the three pillars of the work of the United Nations, they received only a fraction of the regular budget resources allocated to the other two pillars and relied on voluntary contributions. Regular budget resources requested by the Secretary-General for the Organization’s human rights activities for 2016-2017 totalled $198 million before re-costing, a 5 per cent decrease from the revised appropriation for 2014-2015.
On the contingency fund, the representative of South Africa, speaking again for the Group of 77, said that it was not always possible to fit new initiatives within the biennial cycle of the regular budget, and that the contingency fund was an essential instrument for addressing additional resource requirements.
The Fifth Committee also heard how the exchange rates and inflation would affect the 2016-2017 budgets for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
The reports of the Secretary-General and ACABQ for consideration at today’s meeting were introduced, respectively, by Ms. Bartsiotas and Mr. Ruiz Massieu.
The Fifth Committee will meet again at a time and date to be determined.
Proposed Programme Budget for Biennium 2016-2017: Special Court for Sierra Leone, Human Rights Council Texts, Contingency Fund
BETTINA TUCCI BARTSIOTAS, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, introduced the Secretary-General’s reports on “Request for a subvention to the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone” (document A/70/565); “Revised estimates resulting from resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth and thirtieth sessions and twenty-third special session” (document A/70/562); and “Contingency fund: consolidated statement of programme budget implications and revised estimates” (documents A/C.5/70/19 & Corr.1).
Regarding the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Secretary-General requested that the General Assembly approve a subvention of slightly more than $6 million for the funding of the Special Court’s activities. Any further voluntary contributions received would reduce the utilization of the subvention and would be reflected in the second performance report on the 2016-2017 programme budget.
The adoption of 57 resolutions and decisions by the Human Rights Council resulted in additional resource proposals of $11.4 million, she said. On the contingency fund, she recalled that the Assembly had decided to set the fund at $41.7 million or 0.75 per cent of the preliminary estimate for biennium 2016-2017. Potential new charges to the contingency fund presented in the report totalled $34.1 million and reflected information available as of 8 December. Recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) after the report was published further reduced the potential charges to $18.5 million, mainly because of a proposed commitment authority to fund the implementation of decisions related to the new Sustainable Development Goals. The balance of $23.2 million would remain in the contingency fund.
CARLOS RUIZ MASSIEU, Chair of ACABQ, introduced that body’s related reports (documents A/70/7/Add.30, A/70/7/Add.28 and A/70/7/Add.34). Concerning the first document A/70/7/Add.30, on a request for a subvention to the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, he said that, pursuant to Article 3 of the 2010 Agreement that established the Special Court, the body’s expenses would be borne by voluntary contributions from the international community. However, in his letter dated 14 October 2015, the Secretary-General noted that the prevailing financial situation of the Special Court was such that it would be unable to continue its work beyond March 2016. The Secretary-General indicated that the subvention proposal would be a temporary measure and that he would seek and propose more comprehensive solutions to the Security Council and the Assembly.
In view of the projected shortfall for 2016, the uncertain nature of outstanding pledges and commitments and the urgent need for resources, the Advisory Committee recommended that the Assembly authorize the Secretary-General to enter into commitments of no more than $2.4 million to supplement the Special Court’s voluntary financial resources in 2016 as a “bridging financial mechanism”, and asked the Secretary-General to report on the use of the commitment authority and on the results of his consultations with stakeholders during the main part of the Assembly’s seventy-first session.
On the revised estimates resulting from resolutions and decisions by the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth and thirtieth sessions and twenty-third special session (document A/70/7/Add.28), he said ACABQ recommended approval of the proposed resources except for the establishment of one P-3 level post for a Web Content Management Officer, in view of the existing capacity. ACABQ also commented on the need for reliable information on the standard unit costs of interpretation and processing of documents at each duty station in order to properly assess proposals for resource requirements.
Regarding the Advisory Committee’s report on the Contingency fund: consolidated statement of programme budget implications and revised estimates (document A/70/7/Add.34), he said that, at the time of ACABQ’s consideration of the advance version of the Secretary-General’s report, a number of revised estimates and programme budget implications had been pending relating to resource requirements. As the final version of that report was now available, the Advisory Committee trusted that the Secretary-General would provide an update to the Assembly of the list of charges to the contingency fund to reflect ACABQ’s remaining recommendations. The fund was an essential budgetary instrument for addressing additional resource requirements and the provisions of relevant General Assembly resolutions, namely 41/213 and 42/211, must be adhered to. In the event of any constraints faced, the Secretary-General should bring those matters to the attention of the Assembly in a timely manner.
LYLE DAVIDSON (South Africa), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, attached great importance to the smooth functioning of mandated judicial institutions, including the Special Court. The Group welcomed the Secretary-General’s proposal for a subvention of $6 million for 2016 for the Special Court for 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2017. The Group was also a staunch supporter of the human rights pillar of the United Nations, particularly the Human Rights Council. In that context, he reaffirmed the Group’s view that the mandates approved by the Human Rights Council should be adequately resourced, so as to provide for their full and timely implementation. Recalling that the body’s decisions and resolutions in 2015 would result in additional requirements of $30.6 million, he said that, in the course of deliberations on the agenda item, the Group would seek a detailed clarification on the matter as well as on the Secretary-General’s proposal for the establishment of three new posts at the P-3 level to support the Human Rights Council’s mandated activities.
With regard to the contingency fund, he emphasized that it was the responsibility of the Secretary-General to ensure that the proposed programme budget presented the fullest possible picture of the Organization’s requirement for any given biennium. Noting that it was not always possible to fit new initiatives within the biennial cycle of the regular budget, and that additional resources should therefore be considered, he emphasized that the contingency fund was an essential instrument for addressing additional resource requirements.
Y. HALIT ÇEVIK (Turkey), also speaking on behalf of Mexico, Morocco, Norway and Switzerland, said that, while human rights were one of the three pillars of the work of the United Nations, they received only a fraction of the regular budget resources allocated to the other two pillars and relied on voluntary contributions. In a joint letter to the Secretary-General dated 15 July 2014, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey, on behalf of 55 States, had expressed concerns about the chronic lack of resources of the United Nations human rights pillar. Regular budget resources requested by the Secretary-General for the Organization’s human rights activities for 2016-2017 totalled $198 million before re-costing, a 5 per cent decrease from the revised appropriation for 2014-2015. “These resources are by far insufficient to cover the needs of the Organization, in particular the Office of the High Commission in the area of human rights,” he said, requesting that the Secretary-General provide detailed information about the full costs of mandated activities.
AMADU KOROMA (Sierra Leone), associating himself with the Group of 77, reviewed the functions of the Special Court, including judicial and non-judicial functions. Those included, among others, the provisions of protection and support for victims and witnesses, the supervision of enforcement of sentences, responses to requests by national authorities with respect to claims for compensation, among others. The Special Court could not deliver on its present mandate without the required resources. In that regard, the Government of Sierra Leone had been working in collaboration with other partners to address funding gaps of the Special Court. Despite concerted efforts, only a few positive responses had been received so far. “If this Court fails to deliver on its mandate due to lack of adequate funding, this may constitute serious negative consequences”, he said. The victims of conflict, the courageous witnesses who testified before the Special Court as well as the people of his country would lose faith not only in the international justice system but also in the national justice system. In that context, he said, securing sustainable means of funding for the Special Court remained a top priority for his country. In the interim, he implored the Fifth Committee to consider the request by the Secretary-General for a two-year funding for the Special Court in the amount of $6 million.
ABBAS YAZDANI (Iran) said that the requested funding contained in paragraphs 58 to 60 of the Secretary-General’s report on revised estimates resulting from resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council was an “irresponsible waste” of the United Nations limited financial resources and only satisfied political interests of the sponsors of the mandate. Few were aware that country-specific mandates of the Human Rights Council were politically motivated and ran counter to the basic building principles of the body itself. The scarce financial resources should be allocated more reasonably to the areas that would truly and tangibly improve the promotion and protection of human rights.
AMMAR AWAD (Syria) said his Government was committed to the realization of human rights under the United Nations Charter, international law and international humanitarian law. His delegation joined consensus on the matter, but had reservation about allocating funding to the situation in Syria.
Effect of Changes in Exchange Rates and Inflation on International Tribunals
Ms. BARTSIOTAS introduced the Secretary-General’s reports on “Revised estimates: effect of changes in rates of exchange and inflation” (document A/70/603) and “Revised estimates for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals: effect of changes in rates of exchange and inflation” (document A/70/606). As a result of the updated projections that took into account the effect of exchange rates and inflation and ACABQ recommendations, the requirements for the proposed programme budget for biennium 2016-2017 would amount to $5.447 billion. The final estimate would come to $1.8 million for the Rwanda Tribunal, $95.7 million for the Former Yugoslavia Tribunal, and $133.5 million for their Residual Mechanism.
Mr. RUIZ MASSIEU then presented ACABQ’s related report titled “Revised estimates: effects of changes in rates of exchange and inflation” (document A/70/7/Add.35). According to that report, the Advisory Committee trusted that the Secretary-General would provide updated re-costing calculations using the most recent vacancy rates available for all categories of staff in line with the standard regular budget re-costing methodology. The Advisory Committee had no objection to the revised estimates of the Secretary-General arising from the re-costing of the effect of changes in rates of exchange and inflation, as reflected in his reports A/70/603 and A/70/606.
Second Performance Report on Programme Budget for Biennium 2014-2015
Ms. BARTSIOTAS, introducing the Secretary-General’s report on the United Nations budget performance for biennium 2014-2015 (document A/70/557), said that the final estimated expenditure for the two years amounted to $5.808 billion, $23.6 million below the approved revised appropriation of $5.831 billion. The continued strengthening of the United States dollar against other currencies reduced expenditure by $41.1 million, and favourable inflationary rates for posts and non-post objects of expenditure led to a saving of about $11.1 million. The report sought approval of $34.6 million in additional requirements, including $16.6 million for fund unforeseen and extraordinary expenses, $5.8 million for the implementation of flexible workspace in the Secretariat and $12.1 million for the approved subvention to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). An increase of about $27.5 million was projected for salaries and common staff costs primarily due to higher-than-budgeted standard costs and lower vacancy rates. The increase was offset by $39.1 million decrease under non-post object of expenditure. A $5.6 million increase was projected under staff assessment.
Mr. RUIZ MASSIEU, presenting ACABQ’s related report (document A/70/619), noted that the Secretary-General’s report was presented with insufficient information to enable a better understanding of the factors underlying the reported resource changes and trusted that the Secretary-General would address those concerns fully in future reports. The forward purchasing of foreign currencies from 2013 to 2015 had improved budget predictability. However, the Advisory Committee was of the view that the information provided in the report fell short of the Assembly’s request to the Secretary-General to provide a comprehensive assessment of the experience of forward purchasing. Regarding staff travel, the Advisory Committee would have expected a greater reduction in expenditure than what had been reported in light of reduced average ticket prices and potential cost savings related to the application of the revised travel policy. Finally, ACABQ trusted that in future performance reports the Secretary-General would provide more details on unliquidated obligations.
Mr. DAVIDSON (South Africa), speaking again for the Group of 77, stressed that the current budget methodology, which included re-costing as a fundamental bedrock, constituted savings of $58.1 million in the 2014-2015 biennium. He reiterated the importance of re-costing in allowing the Organization to cope with highly volatile external macroeconomic factors. Having devoted long sessions to the issue of re-costing in the first resumed part of the Assembly’s sixty-ninth session, the Group “would like to put this discussion behind us”. It was important to recall that the Assembly had agreed to provide the Organization with some tools to lessen the effect of currency exchange rates in the form of forward purchasing, in order to address budget predictability. The Group was of the view that the Organization’s experience with forward purchasing had been positive. It looked forward to further information on how such measures could be enhanced as a legitimate means of seeking positive efficiencies that did not negatively impact mandate delivery while providing budget predictability. Finally, he rejected any attempt to undermine the compromise achieved more than 20 years ago on budget procedures in all their aspects, including decision-making.
HIROSHI ONUMA (Japan) sought a more detailed explanation from the Secretariat about the projected increases in expenditure for both post and non-post resource requirements, including the categories of general operating expenses and improvement of premises. His delegation also wanted to know how the Secretariat had implemented the relevant resolutions on air travel, and why the savings and efficiencies achieved were not as much as expected. The Secretary-General must not allow any last-minute, unnecessary spending by any departments or offices.
Capital Master Plan: Action on Draft Resolution
Acting without a vote, the Committee approved draft resolution A/C.5/70/L.9, titled “Capital master plan,” by which the General Assembly would approve the Board of Auditors’ 2014 report on the Plan and accept its recommendations. The Assembly would request the Secretary-General to ensure that the temporary North Lawn building be demolished without further delay and to report thereon in his next report on the subject. The Secretary-General would be asked to submit to the Assembly for its consideration and approval future proposals relating to the renovation of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library and South Annex Buildings as separate projects outside of the scope of the Plan.
The Secretary-General would also be requested to ensure the timely conclusion of the procurement process and the completion of the security-related work at 42nd and 48th Streets before the end of 2016. Further, the Assembly would express regret that data on utility consumption were not made available to benchmark the benefits achieved by the Plan, and thus ask the Secretary-General to provide in his fourteenth annual progress report data on current utility consumption, including consumption patterns prior to the Plan.