Administrative and budgetary issues

The ambitious, multi-year overhaul of the historic United Nations Headquarters — known as the Capital Master Plan — was on track for completion by the end of 2014 within a variance of no more than 4 per cent of the original approved budget of $1.88 billion, the Plan’s top official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today.

Stressing the need for the Secretary-General to make every effort to ensure that technical and logistical support is provided for elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in full and on time, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today asked the General Assembly to appropriate $69.56 million to the Special Account for the United Nations Mission in that country.

Touting the United Nations ambitious projects in information and communications technology development and enterprise resource planning as the “engine and enabler” of the Organization’s reform and strengthening, the Deputy Secretary-General urged delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today to supply the necessary funds to implement them.

A senior official in the Department of Management unveiled before the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon the first phase of efforts to create a comprehensive emergency management framework, part of the major push to make the Organization’s New York Headquarters better able to cope with man-made threats and natural hazards.

The Organization’s ongoing efforts to shift to international accounting standards has been set back by delays in the implementation of its enterprise resources planning system, known as Umoja, Secretariat officials told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today moved to fill upcoming vacancies on the Board of Auditors, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, and four other bodies that help it manage the Organization’s vast human resources and keep its financial house in order.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the Secretariat’s request for more than 26 new posts and $8 million in new resources to maintain the overhaul of the Organization’s system of administering justice begun more than two years ago. If approved by the General Assembly, the additional resources would kick in on the first of January along with the upcoming 2012-2013 budget cycle.

As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today wrapped up its debate on the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2012-2013, several delegates criticized the budget for short-changing the Organization’s development agenda, at the expense of developing countries.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today heard Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon formally unveil an initial budget proposal of $5.197 billion for the 2012-2013 biennium that begins on the first of January.

The International Civil Service Commission’s attempts over the past year to streamline and improve the conditions of service for thousands of United Nations staff worldwide drew the ire of staff union representatives, as well as one of the Organization’s biggest financial contributors during today’s meeting of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).