Noting Serious Challenges to Current Funding Arrangement, Delegates in Fifth Committee Support Proposed $3.07 Million Subvention for Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone
Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today threw their support behind the Secretariat’s request for a $3.07 million intervention to keep the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone running smoothly in 2025, while raising concern over the current funding arrangement.
The representative of Egypt, speaking on behalf of the African Group, noted the Residual Court remains financed with United Nations subvention funds and voluntary funds from the international community. “The current funding arrangement is posing serious challenges to the continued sustainability of the Court, threatening the effective implementation of its mandate,” he said.
The Residual Court, set up by an agreement between the UN and Sierra Leone’s Government in August 2010 to continue the legal obligations of the Special Court for Sierra Leone after its closure in 2013, carries out many important functions. They include: supervising the enforcement of sentences; reviewing convictions and acquittals; conducting contempt of court proceedings; providing witness and victim protection and support; maintaining, preserving and managing its archives; and preventing double jeopardy by monitoring national proceedings.
In addition, the tribunal has the power to prosecute the last remaining fugitive, if he is still alive and his case is not referred to a competent national jurisdiction. “It is a critical and an important support to the country’s criminal justice system,” Egypt’s speaker added.
Echoing these sentiments, the representative of Uganda, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said the unpredictability and insufficient flow of voluntary contributions presents serious challenges to the Residual Court’s sustainability. “The Group reiterates the need for a long-term sustainable funding mechanism,” he said, commending the Residual Court for its efficiency measures, including the use of virtual or online meetings and the sharing of administrative arrangement and staffing structure, among others.
The representative of Sierra Leone said the Residual Court must carry out judicial and non-judicial functions, including a witness protection programme that actively monitors and provides support to 72 witnesses in Sierra Leone and those located outside the country. Despite several fundraising bilateral meetings, the “funding situation of the Residual Court remains dire” with minimal prospects for future voluntary contributions, he said. His delegation called again for a consistent financing arrangement that will preserve the legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which is an important element of the Residual Court and contributes to the development of the international criminal justice system.
Secretariat Delivers Its Reports
Christophe Monier, Director of the Office of Programme Planning, Finance and Budget of the Department of Management, Strategy, Policy and Compliance, presented the Secretary-General’s report on use of the commitment authority and request for a subvention to the Residual Court (document A/79/386). He said the Residual Court’s funding situation remains a serious concern for the United Nations, the Sierra Leone Government, the Residual Court’s principals and its Oversight Committee, he said. Section VI of the report provides detailed information on the ongoing fundraising efforts to seek voluntary funding. Despite these efforts, pledges and contributions received for 2024 totaled $173,200, with $14,300 from other miscellaneous income as of 31 October 2024. To date, there have been no further pledges or contributions for the 2024 financial year and a pledge of $10,000 was received for 2025. As a result, he said, the Secretary-General is asking the General Assembly to approve a subvention of $3.07 million for 2025 as a temporary measure to address the current financial situation as he continues searching for additional voluntary contributions.
Abdallah Bachar Bong, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), presented that body’s related report (document A/79/7/Add.18). Noting the limited results yielded by fundraising efforts in 2024, the Advisory Committee emphasizes again the need for greater Secretariat efforts to broaden the Residual Court’s donor base and develop more innovative fundraising approaches. Turning to resource requirements, he noted the consistent pattern of under-expenditures related to activities from 2019 to 2023, compared to the respective budgets approved by the Residual Court’s Oversight Committee. The Advisory Committee believes proposed resources for 2025 should have been reduced, in line with the Residual Court’s decreasing workload.
He recommended a comprehensive review of the Court’s support-related requirements in 2025 to increase efficiency. Options could include potentially relocating the Residual Court and its digital archives to more cost-efficient locations, including Arusha. Reemphasizing that the subvention from the UN regular budget is a bridging financing mechanism to supplement insufficient voluntary contributions, he said the Advisory Committee recommends a subvention not more than $2.82 million for 2025.
Delegates Recommend Candidate to Fill Vacancy in UN Staff Pension Committee
Delegates then filled the remaining vacancy on the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Committee by sending the Assembly, by acclamation, the name of Guillermo Rodolico (Argentina) for a four-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2025. The Committee had sent the Assembly the names of four other candidates at its 8 November meeting. Before considering their recommendation, delegates considered the Secretary-General’s notes on “Appointment of members and alternate members of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee” (documents A/79/105 and A/C.5/79/10/Add.1).
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