Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06USUNNEWYORK924
2006-05-05 14:15:00
UNCLASSIFIED
USUN New York
Cable title:  

UN OVERSIGHT: FIFTH COMMITTEE ADOPTS JIU RESOLUTION

Tags:  AORC KUNR UNGA 
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VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0924/01 1251415
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051415Z MAY 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8931
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2118
UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000924 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA
SUBJECT: UN OVERSIGHT: FIFTH COMMITTEE ADOPTS JIU RESOLUTION

REF: A. 2005 SECSTATE 185998


B. EMAILS BETWEEN HWARD-KSHAH

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000924

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA
SUBJECT: UN OVERSIGHT: FIFTH COMMITTEE ADOPTS JIU RESOLUTION

REF: A. 2005 SECSTATE 185998


B. EMAILS BETWEEN HWARD-KSHAH


1. SUMMARY: On April 11, 2006, the Fifth Committee adopted a
resolution on the Joint Inspection Unit's (JIU) annual report
for 2004 and program of work for 2005 and 2006. The
Committee also considered a note by the President of the
General Assembly (PGA) on revised procedures for appointing
JIU inspectors, but due to opposition from Russia and the
G77, did not take action on the note. The resolution was the
subject of long and sometimes contentious discussions, in
particular with regard to the JIU's report on oversight and
the proposed new election procedures. The General Assembly
is expected to adopt the Fifth Committee's recommendation
(A/60/748) during the week of May 8th. END SUMMARY.


2. The General Assembly, as indicated in resolution 59/267,
will conduct a review of efforts to reform the Unit at its
sixty-first session. The current resolution, despite lack of
agreement on the PGA's suggestion for improving the election
process for JIU inspectors, made some interim progress on
furthering reform. The resolution requested the JIU to
submit its program of work earlier in the calendar year and
requested the JIU to strengthen and quantify implementation
of its recommendations.


3. Oversight lacunae report: The Committee's program of work
for 2005 indicated that it would produce a report reviewing
the oversight mechanisms of the UN system. USDel, per reftel
A and ref B, submitted language requesting the JIU to stop
its work on this report, in light of the language in the
Outcome Document requesting an external evaluation of the
UN's oversight and governance framework. This language met
with great resistance by the G77 and led to a number of
contentious discussions on the JIU's independence and the
Outcome Document. The G77 also submitted a number of
paragraphs regarding the need for the JIU to have budgetary
independence, the role of the CPC in reviewing the Unit's
budget and reaffirming the importance of the JIU.


4. Due to a lack of time in the main session, the Committee
ended up deferring this item until the first resumed session.
When discussions resumed, the oversight lacunae report was
in the final stages of being completed. USDel agreed to
withdraw the U.S. proposal if other delegations would also
withdraw their proposals related to the oversight lacunae
report. The G77 agreed to withdraw its other problematic
paragraphs (noted above),however it wanted to maintain
language that looked forward to GA consideration of the
oversight lacunae report. The Committee eventually agreed to
language that simply reaffirmed language from resolution
50/233 requesting the SG to "take the necessary measures to
ensure that the thematic reports of the Unit are listed under
the appropriate substantive agenda items of the work
programmes of the General Assembly."


5. Election procedures: As requested in resolution 59/267,
the President of the General Assembly submitted a suggestion
for making the procedures for electing JIU inspectors more
efficient. The PGA's note outlined a procedure that would
shorten the current election cycle for JIU inspectors from
over two years to one calendar year, working within the
confines of the JIU statute, as requested. The PGA's
approach would likely have only minimal impact on the quality
of inspectors, but was a step towards improving the
efficiency of the election process. As in the past, Russia
opposed even this modest step, objecting to the Secretariat
having any say over what inspectors are deemed qualified and
to the shortened election cycle, stating that under the PGA's
proposal, if an inspector was deemed unqualified, Member
States would not have enough time to find a new candidate.
The G77 was in agreement with the Russian position and in the
end the Committee could only agree to revert to the issue at
the sixty-first session.


6. Program of work and implementation of JIU recommendations:
During discussions in the main session, the U.S. and other
Western delegations indicated a desire to see the JIU's
program of work earlier in the year, rather than at the end
of the year when all of its work had essentially been
concluded. Based on these comments, the JIU took the
initiative to submit a conference room paper during the
resumed session with an advance version of the Unit's 2006
program of work. The Committee agreed to language that
requested that the Unit's program of work (or an advance
version) always be submitted to the General Assembly at its
first resumed session. The resolution also included language
that requests the JIU to work with participating
organizations to strengthen the follow-up of the
implementation of its recommendations and to include more
information on the cost savings, productivity and efficiency
gains associated with implementation of its recommendations
in its annual report.



BOLTON