KINGSTOWN, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 16 May — Opening the Caribbean Regional Seminar on Decolonization today, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said all stakeholders had a collective responsibility to advance progress towards decolonization, with cooperation underpinning success.
Speakers expressed concern over the inconsistent recording of expenditures as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the 2015/16 budget performance and 2017/18 budget proposal of the United Nations Logistics Base in Brindisi, Italy.
The General Assembly today appointed two members to its Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions following the recommendation of its Fifth Committee (Budgetary and Administrative).
Concerned by the high level of overdue payments for peacekeeping operations, speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today called on Member States to meet their financial obligations to the United Nations promptly so it could completely fulfil its mandate to maintain international peace and security.
Delegations voiced support today for the Secretary-General’s efforts to reform peacekeeping, but warned that cost-cutting must not undermine the ability of missions to effectively carry out their mandates, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) took up the Organization’s proposed 2017/18 peacekeeping budget and budget performance for 2015/16.
Eradicating sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping missions would require a collective and holistic approach that left no room for impunity, delegates said today as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) took up the Secretary-General’s blueprint for tackling the issue across the Organization.
Speakers today emphasized the need to give the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and the United Nations Support Office in Somalia the resources they needed to fulfil their mandates, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) continued its consideration of the financing of peacekeeping missions.
Acting without a vote today, the Committee on Information closed its thirty-ninth session by approving a two-part draft resolution, the second of which emphasized the need to promote multilingualism, bridge the digital divide between developed and developing countries, and maintain the use of traditional media, among other topics.
Acting by consensus, the General Assembly adopted a resolution today laying out organizational arrangements for a high-level meeting to review progress made on implementation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
The financial situation of the United Nations was “generally sound and positive”, the Organization’s senior management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today, stressing the importance of Member States making timely payments in order to meet their obligations.
