Concluding its second resumed session, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today sent 25 draft resolutions and one decision to the General Assembly, asking the world body to authorize the allocation of $7.86 billion to finance 15 peacekeeping missions for the year beginning 1 July 2016.
Delegates called for a more detailed picture of funding needed by the Secretariat to help implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) considered the Secretary-General’s report on the subject.
With 37 Member States having paid all their assessments so far this year, speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today emphasized the need for all countries to fulfil their financial obligations to the United Nations — and warned of the impact on peacekeeping if they failed to do so.
The Fifth Committee (Budgetary and Administrative) heard today how the United Nations had sought to manage the costs of its far-flung peacekeeping missions, for which a budget of $8.25 billion has been proposed for 2016/17, down fractionally from the 2015/16 period.
Recent developments on the ground necessitated additional budgetary resources for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) heard today, as it took up resources proposals for a pair of active peacekeeping operations, as well as the final budget performance of several closed missions.
The financial health of the United Nations remained “generally sound and positive”, the Organization’s senior management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today, adding that some areas still needed to be closely monitored and that Member States must make all efforts to meet their obligations.
Budget requirements for United Nations peacekeeping operations, which would top $8.3 billion for the 2016/17 fiscal period, would figure prominently in upcoming negotiations, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today opened the second part of its resumed seventieth session.
Taking action without a vote as it concluded the first part of its resumed seventieth session this afternoon, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) approved five texts relating to Staff Regulations and Rules, special subjects in the 2016-2017 biennium programme budget, the accountability system, the Joint Inspection Unit, and questions deferred for future consideration.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved a draft resolution on a new facility for the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, Arusha branch, by which the General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to ensure that the project was completed within approved resources and the revised timeline.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) discussed today the proposed 2016 budget for the Office of the Special Adviser for Burundi, amid delegates’ concerns that aspects of it lacked “clarity and justification” over how to fully involve regional and subregional actors that were integral to achieving peace in the East African country, among other essential areas.
