Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06USUNNEWYORK1879
2006-09-29 19:36:00
UNCLASSIFIED
USUN New York
Cable title:  

UN BUDGET: DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT FUNDING

Tags:  AORC KUNR UNGA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0013
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1879 2721936
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291936Z SEP 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0301
UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001879 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA
SUBJECT: UN BUDGET: DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT FUNDING

REF: USUN 1792

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001879

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA
SUBJECT: UN BUDGET: DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT FUNDING

REF: USUN 1792


1. ACTION REQUEST: USUN requests guidance on this issue for
upcoming discussions in the Fifth Committee.


2. SUMMARY: In paragraph 14 of General Assembly resolution
60/246, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to
provide recommendations on how additional resources in the
area of $5 million could be added to the Development Account.
The current report (A/61/282) is submitted in response to
this request and reminds the GA that the Development Account
is to be funded through savings achieved through
efficiencies. The Secretary-General notes that such gains
are difficult to identify and are usually retained by program
managers in any case. Therefore, additions to the
Development Account must be viewed in light of competing
priorities that exist for funding from the overall UN budget.
END SUMMARY.


3. The Development Account was established by General
Assembly resolution 52/12 B, in the program budget for the
biennium 1998-99, to be funded from savings in administrative
and overhead costs (such as through streamlining and
productivity improvements). Gains from such improvements
would then be transferred into the Development Account. No
savings have been identified since the initial appropriation
and the budget has remained at $13,065,000 for a number of
biennia, until the General Assembly decided that the
Development Account should be recosted for the biennium
2006-2007.


4. The report states that although the proper procedure is
to credit the Development Account with surpluses from
efficiency gains, because there is no reliable method of
determining the cost of outputs and services, no precise
amount of savings can be identified. Therefore, presently
the Secretary-General is not in a position to make
recommendations on how $5 million could be added to the
Development Account.


5. The report states that the General Assembly may wish to
decide whether the recosting of the Development Account
should be continued beyond the current biennium. Also, the
General Assembly may want, taking into account competing
priorities, to revert to consideration of the use of budget
surpluses at the end of the present financial period as a way
of increasing the funding level of the Development Account.


6. COMMENT: There is widespread agreement among Member States
that any savings during the mandate review exercise in
development related categories should be reinvested into
development related activities. While the USG does not agree
with this rigid concept (reftel),this idea could provide the
GA with an additional option to increase the amount of
funding for the Development Account. The USG and Japan (GOJ)
have both supported the discontinuance of the Regular Program
of Technical Cooperation (RPTC). In particular, the GOJ has
advocated for the reallocation of savings from the
discontinuance of the RPTC to the Development Account,
although they have recently indicated that they may be moving
away from this position due to developments in the mandate
review exercise. END COMMENT.



BOLTON