Fifth Committee Recommends Appointing Top Audit Official of China to United Nations Board of Auditors, Approves Nominees for Four Other Subsidiary Bodies

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today recommended to the General Assembly the appointment of the top audit official of China to the three‑member United Nations Board of Auditors, which examines the accounts of United Nations entities, while also forwarding to the Assembly approved nominations of members of some subsidiary bodies.

The Auditor‑General of the National Audit Office of China, who obtained the most votes in a secret ballot, will take office on 30 June 2020, when the term of Rajiv Mehrishi, Comptroller and Auditor‑General of India, expires.

The Fifth Committee also approved nominations of members to the 16‑member Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), the 18‑member Committee on Contributions, the nine‑member United Nations Investments Committee, and the five‑member Independent Audit Advisory Committee.

The Fifth Committee will meet again at 10 a.m., Monday, 9 November to take up financial reports and reports of the Board of Auditors as well as a request for a subvention to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research resulting from the recommendations of the Board of Trustees of the Institute on the work of the Institute’s 2020 programme.

Appointments to Fill Vacancies in Subsidiary Organs, Other Appointments

The Committee considered 23 vacancies in three subsidiary bodies and the Independent Audit Advisory Committee, a subsidiary body of the General Assembly that serves in an expert advisory capacity and assists the Assembly in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities.  It had before it the Secretary‑General’s notes on the appointment of members of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) (documents A/74/101/Rev.1 and A/C.5/74/4 ); Committee on Contributions (documents A/74/102/Rev.1 and A/C.5/74/5); Investments Committee (documents A/74/103 and A/C.5/74/6); Board of Auditors (documents A/74/104 and A/C.5/74/7); and the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (documents A/74/105 and A/C.5/74/8).

Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ)

Delegates first turned their attention to six three‑year slots on the 16‑member Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (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 appointments of Patrick A. Chuasoto (Philippines); Takeshi Matsunaga (Japan) and Ye Xuenong (China), all from the Group of the Asia‑Pacific States, as well as Olivio Fermín (Dominican Republic) from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, for a three‑year term beginning on 1 January 2020.

Delegates then proceeded to a secret ballot to recommend two of three nominated candidates from the Group of Western European and other States.  Udo Klaus Fenchel (Germany) obtained 127 votes, Marcel Jullier (Switzerland) 137 votes and Yosef Levi Sfari (Israel) 102 votes.  The Fifth Committee recommended Mr. Fenchel and Mr. Jullier.

Committee on Contributions

For the 18‑member Committee on Contributions, which advises the Assembly on the distribution of the Organization’s expenses among Member States, delegates recommended by acclamation the appointment or reappointment of five people for three‑year terms starting 1 January 2019.  They are Cheikh Tidiane Dème (Senegal), Gordon Eckersley (Australia), Bernardo Greiver del Hoyo (Uruguay), Ugo Sessi (Italy), and Alejandro Torres Lépori (Argentina).

Investments Committee

For the nine‑member United Nations Investments Committee, which advises the Secretary‑General on investment strategy and reviews the investments of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, the Fifth Committee recommended by acclamation to the General Assembly the reappointment of Simon Jiang (China), Achim Kassow (Germany), Michael S. Klein (United States) and Luciane Ribeiro (Brazil) as regular members of the Investments Committee for a three‑year term beginning on 1 January 2020 and the reappointment of Madhav Dhar (India) as a regular member and as Chair of the Investments Committee for a one‑year term of office beginning on 1 January 2020.  The Fifth Committee also recommended by acclamation the appointment of Tay Lim Hock (Singapore), Abel Moffat Sithole (South Africa), Katina Stefanova (Bulgaria) and Macky Tall (Canada) as ad hoc members for a one‑year term beginning on 1 January 2020.

Independent Audit Advisory Committee

For the five‑member Independent Audit Advisory Committee, a subsidiary body of the General Assembly that serves in an expert advisory capacity and assists the Assembly in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the Fifth Committee recommended by acclamation the appointment or reappointment of Dorothy Bradley (Belize) and Anton V. Kosyanenko (Russian Federation) for a three‑year term beginning on 1 January 2020.

Board of Auditors

Turning to the three‑member United Nations Board of Auditors, which audits the accounts of the United Nations organization and its funds and programmes and reports its findings and recommendations to the Assembly, the Fifth Committee proceeded to a secret ballot to recommend a member to fill a vacancy that will arise on 30 June 2020.  In the first round of voting, the Auditor‑General of the National Audit Office of China received 86 votes, the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection of the Republic of Korea 58 votes and the Chairman of the Commission on Audit of the Philippines 47 votes.  In the second round of voting, the Auditor‑General of the National Audit Office of China received 115 votes versus 78 votes for the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection of the Republic of Korea.  The Fifth Committee recommended the Auditor‑General of the National Audit Office of China.