While pleased with the Board of Auditor’s precise review of the overall healthy financial statements of 18 United nations entities, several delegates today in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) were troubled by what they viewed as some of these same entities’ lax attitude in carrying out the auditing watchdog’s recommendations.
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.
Member States in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today supported the Secretariat’s ongoing efforts to complete a $40.2 million construction project by 2023 that will make the headquarters of the Organization’s regional commission in Bangkok a safer and more efficient working space for more than 600 employees.
The existence of two different pay scales in Geneva undermines the United Nations common system aimed at maintaining the same employment conditions across different duty stations, speakers warned today as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) began examining the role of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) in setting such standards.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today voiced their concerns over the worsening cash flow problems enveloping the Organization’s regular budget and stressed the need to give the world body a sounder financial foundation. Some Member States criticized other States for not paying their assessments on time and in full without conditions, which has forced the Secretariat to take emergency measures to pay staff and keep the New York City Headquarters operating.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today began reviewing the proposed programme budget for special political missions, good offices and other political initiatives during 2020, with delegates seeking clarification and justification for some resource requirements.
The United Nations senior management official told members of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today that the Organization is confronting its worst liquidity crisis in recent years as she laid out the Organization’s key financial indicators for 2019.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today began discussing the proposed programme budget for 2020 totalling $2.87 billion, which represents no real-term growth from 2019 but reflects the strategic priorities and reforms of the United Nations.
Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) opened their seventy‑fourth session with the election of Andreas D. Mavroyiannis of Cyprus as their chairman as they urged each other to collaborate to handle a heavy workload that includes preparing the Organization’s first annual budget.
Concluding the second part of its resumed session, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today sent 22 draft resolutions and 1 draft decision to the General Assembly, asking it to authorize an annual United Nations peacekeeping budget of $6.51 billion and have the Secretary-General explore options to improve the Organization’s cash position.
