UN CAPITAL MASTER PLAN (CMP): IMPACT OF CMP ON

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001888 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA SUBJECT: UN CAPITAL MASTER PLAN (CMP): IMPACT OF CMP ON MEETINGS AT HEADQUARTERS ¶1. SUMMARY: In paragraph 9 of resolution 60/282, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to offer proposals at its sixty-first session, through the Committee on Conferences (CoC),on the possible modification of meeting schedules for the period of the implementation of the capital master plan (CMP). The CoC reviewed the Secretary-General's proposals at its session in September 2006. The Fifth Committee will take up the report (A/61/300) and the CoC recommendations in the coming weeks. USUN intends to support the CoC's recommendations unless otherwise instructed. END SUMMARY. ¶2. The Secretary-General's report notes that headquarters activities will remain principally at the present site during implementation of the CMP, however, the Headquarters complex will be a construction zone. The report states that the most successful way to manage throughout construction is to continue to set meeting schedules with marginal changes in meeting times and/or arrangements. While there will be restrictions with regard to rescheduling or moving meetings, and although there is some nuisance intrinsic in meeting during renovation, core activities would not be disturbed if designed in advance and planned prudently. ¶3. The Secretariat foresees that the program of meetings typically included in the calendar of conferences and meetings can be accommodated and that no change of venue will be needed for intergovernmental organs and bodies that usually convene at Headquarters during the duration of the implementation of the CMP. The report also states that there will not be adequate conference amenities to accommodate activities exceeding core activities, including parallel consultations and proceedings that would require supplementary space. Therefore, these events should be avoided, reduced, or held elsewhere. ¶4. The CoC, realizing the sensitivity and widely diverging views regarding any aspect of the CMP, agreed to non-controversial language that requested calendar bodies to take into consideration the limitations and inflexibility of conference facilities throughout the renovation period, noted that noise will be present on nights and weekends during the construction period, and called for meeting requesters and organizers to liaise closely with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM). Additionally, the CoC requested that the Secretary-General report regularly to the CoC on matters pertaining to the Calendar during this period and to ensure that implementation of the CMP will not compromise the quality of conference services provided to member states. BOLTON