Speakers welcomed new initiatives in translation services and the recruitment and training of language professionals, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budget) today discussed ways to manage United Nations conferences and official document production more efficiently.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budget) today considered the Secretariat’s request for a subvention of $10.4 million to keep the international component of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia running smoothly in 2018.
A project approved last year to make the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) headquarters more resistant to earthquake damage and address periodic maintenance requirements was on track to be completed by 2023, with minor revisions to the overall cost plan, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) heard today.
Staff members were the United Nations main asset, but greater efforts must be made to bring more women into the Organization’s ranks and to tackle long-standing concerns over geographical underrepresentation, speakers said today as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) turned its attention to human resources management issues.
While welcoming the overall sound financial health of the United Nations, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) meeting today expressed concern about the potential of the employee benefits liabilities decimating the regular budget over time should it remain unfunded.
With the capital master plan in its final phase after nearly 15 years and an investment of $2.31 billion, the United Nations must take stock of lessons learned and best practices from the ambitious Headquarters renovation effort to guide the implementation plans of other capital projects and avoid losses, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) heard today.
Amid reforms to end fragmentation of the United Nations system, it was crucial to maintain sufficient funding for the Secretary‑General’s representatives working to make the Organization’s operational activities more efficient and effective at the country level, delegates said today as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) examined the proposed 2018‑2019 cost‑sharing arrangement and financing of the Resident Coordinator system.
Voicing alarm that the United Nations financial situation could turn dire as 2017 winds down, speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) called today on those Member States that had yet to pay their assessed contributions to the Organization to do so without delay.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today heard United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres formally present an initial budget proposal of just over $5.4 billion, before recosting, for the 2018‑2019 budget cycle beginning on 1 January 2018.
The Organization’s financial indicators for 2017 for peacekeeping operations and the tribunals remained generally sound and positive, although the regular budget cash was currently exhausted and reserves were at low levels, the United Nations senior management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today.
