Upon the recommendation of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the General Assembly tonight approved a budget of $5.4 billion for the 2016-2017 biennium as it concluded the main part of its seventieth session.
The Secretary-General thanked the General Assembly late last night for adopting by consensus the 2016-2017 programme budget for the United Nations, which he said reflects the difficult global financial reality of shrinking funds while demands on the Organization continue to grow.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew from New York to Paris on Thursday evening, 3 December, to resume participation in the twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP).
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the General Assembly following the adoption of the programme budget for the 2016-2017 biennium, in New York today:
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) wrapped up the main part of its seventieth session tonight, recommending the General Assembly adopt a $5.4 billion budget for the United Nations for the 2016-2017 biennium.
The Security Council today welcomed the 17 December signing of the Libyan Political Agreement to form a Government of National Accord, and called on its new Presidency Council to form that Government within 30 days and finalize interim security arrangements required for stabilizing the country.
On 14 December 2015, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo held an exchange of views on the midterm report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2015/797) with the representatives to the United Nations of Angola (on behalf of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region), Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.
In a press statement the Security Council expressed its strong commitment to supporting free and fair elections in Haiti, and called on all political forces to work through the electoral process to ensure that the will of the people was reflected in the outcome of the election.
Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, on 21 December:
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Christopher Coleman of the United States as his Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
