UNGA/C-5: D/SYG MIGIRO ADDRESSES FIFTH COMMITTEE

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001097

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC PREL UNGA
SUBJECT: UNGA/C-5: D/SYG MIGIRO ADDRESSES FIFTH COMMITTEE
ORGANIZATIONAL SESSION



1. (U) Summary. The Committee on Administration and Budget of
the United Nations General Assembly (Fifth Committee) met for
its organizational session on October 5. Deputy
Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro addressed the Committee.

SIPDIS
She conveyed Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's priorities for
completion of Performance Compacts, strengthening internal
management bodies, and proposed improvements in various
reform areas. Interventions from delegations, including the
U.S., followed. The Committee approved the program of work
for this session. Under Secretary-General for Management
Alicia Barcena conducted a briefing on the reform and
management of the UN. End Summary.


2. (U) Deputy Secretary-General Migiro addressed the 5th
committee at its opening meeting for the 62nd UNGA on October

5. The U.S. Delegation welcomed her presentation, as we have
encouraged the D/SYG to be more engaged in management reform
issues in the past. During her remarks, D/SYG Migiro
expressed the Secretary General's firm commitment to an
administration "focused on results - efficient, directed,
pragmatic, and accountable...representing excellence,
integrity and pride in serving the global good." She
acknowledged the Member States' call for strengthened
accountability in the UN, and discussed the Secretary
General's efforts in management of complex peacekeeping
operations, firming up the UN's conflict prevention capacity.
D/SYG Migiro also discussed the process of dialogue
associated with completion of Performance Compacts with
Secretariat senior managers. She expressed SYG Ban's and her

SIPDIS
commitment to strengthening internal management bodies such
as the Management Performance Board and the Management
Committee as a means of reinforcing the accountability
framework.


3. (U) D/SYG Migiro enumerated several items for which SYG
Ban is calling for urgent action. The first is the proposed
programme budget for 2008-2009 and a number of add-ons to
fund reform schemes. She also told the Committee about
several forthcoming reports outlining efforts to improve
internal controls, accountability, and procurement reform.
She asked Member States to take action on reforms relating to
the management of UN human resources and global
resource-management technology.


4. (U) Various delegations intervened, including Portugal, on
behalf of the European Union, Pakistan, on behalf of the
Group of 77 and China, the Dominican Republic on behalf of
the Rio Group, Tanzania on behalf of the African Group, the
United States, Honduras, Bangladesh, and Canada. The EU and
G-77/China expressed concern about the delayed issuance of
reports. The EU stated the main task of the Committee is the
2008-2009 budget, along with other priorities of funding
peacekeeping missions and broader issues of management
reform. The G-77 called for transparency in budget
deliberations, opposing small-group configuration and
imposition of any conditionality in the budget negotiations.
The Rio Group emphasized their priorities of adequately
funding the development accounts and equitable contributions
by Member States under the Scale of Assessments.


5. (U) Ambassador Mark Wallace intervened on behalf of the
U.S. Delegation, laying out U.S. priorities to aim for zero
growth in the budget and a real and effective mandate review.
In the area of management reform, the U.S. Delegation called
for a system-wide code of ethics, the operational
independence of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services,
and adherence to a formal internal control framework and
reform of the procurement process based on the Secretariat's
forthcoming reports. In the human resources management
arena, the U.S. Delegation urged overhaul of the existing
system for administering justice for UN personnel and
mechanisms for recruiting and retaining competent personnel -
regularizing contracts, conditions of service, training, and
staff mobility. The U.S. Delegation also emphasized the
importance for the UN to realistically assess outputs and
activities. The full U.S. statement is included below in
paragraph 8.


6. (U) Following interventions from Committee Members, the
Committee approved the program of work (A/C.5/62/1,
A/C.5/60/L.1) by consensus.


7. (U) Under-Secretary General for Management Alicia Barcena
also briefed the Fifth Committee on management reform issues.
Of note were budgetary add-ons, details on the new
Administration of Justice system (AOJ),and proposed
acceleration of the Capital Master Plan (CMP). Budget
add-ons include $23.5 million in funding for a decentralized
system for the AOJ to meet the current decentralized nature
of work of the UN. The three pillars of the AOJ entail an
enhanced Ombudsman function and mediation, a new management
evaluation capacity, and a two-tier system of formal
independent judicial review. Budget add-on is also requested


for initial funding of $25 million for Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) to implement an integrated global information
system. Following an audit on the delays and potential cost
overruns of the CMP, the revised strategy is a compressed
schedule that moves all Secretariat staff to a swing space at
the same time, bringing implementation timelines down from
seven years to five, and keep costs within the $1.88 billion
approved budget.


8. (U) U.S. Statement -

Mr. Chairman, the United States joins other members in
conveying our congratulations and warm welcome to you are our
new incoming Fifth Committee chairman. We also congratulate
and welcome the other new members of the Bureau for the 62nd
Session.

We are about to embark on a Fifth Committee session that will
take this Committee through challenging discussions and at
times tough decisions concerning the work of the United
Nations for the next two years. Our collective task in the
weeks and months ahead will be to determine the appropriate
level of resources needed to support the activities performed
by this Organization for the benefit of people around the
world. We must ensure that the programs on which millions
depend are adequately financed. At the same time, given the
substantial increase proposed for the biennium 2008-2009
budget, we must ensure that our decisions are fiscally
responsible and that the resources provided by Member States
are used in an effective and efficient manner for the good of
those who benefit from UN programs. Even putting aside for a
moment the resources that likely will be required to
implement major reforms that we already have or will be
adopting, this proposed biennium budget totals well over $4
billion. It is imperative that we manage the UN's resources
wisely. Good management is in everyone's best interest,
obviously. Poor management serves no one. Member States
should reasonably expect the Organization to use the
resources we provide as efficiently as possible in carrying
out mandates.

As a sign of good management, we should aim for zero growth
in the budget at all times, and especially in times of
limited resources. We must realistically seek to control
growth in the budget while ensuring there are sufficient
funds to meet the mandates authorized by Member States. In
the last 100 years no institution has survived effectively
without introspectively seeking to prioritize expenditures
and reprogramming budgets to cut back on certain redundant or
less robust programs and redirecting resources to new
challenges and priorities. In fact the future of this
institution depends on such sound management and governance.

The United States continues to believe that the value of this
Organization and the work that it performs depend on our
ongoing efforts to make the UN a more efficient, effective,
transparent and accountable institution. During the past two
years, we have collectively achieved some progress. But we
must accomplish more.

As we consider the significant financial requirements needed
to sustain the work of this Organization, we also should be
discussing the modification or elimination of current
mandates that are duplicative, redundant, or no longer
relevant. That process, called for by world leaders during
the September 2005 Summit, has not happened and there is not
a viable current path for real mandate review. The purpose of
that review was to strengthen the program of work of the
Organization and to ensure that the resources provided by
Member States are allocated efficiently and effectively to
maximize their benefit. While we continue to believe that
mandate review is important, we should not proceed unless we
have identified a process that can achieve real and tangible
results. Merely continuing consultations among Member States
on mandate review during the 62nd Session without a viable
framework for producing a significant impact on the work of
the Organization as anticipated by world leaders is not the
answer.

In September 2005, world leaders sought to ensure ethical
conduct, more extensive financial disclosure for United
Nations officials, and enhanced protection for those who
reveal wrongdoing within the Organization. We urge
Secretary-General Ban to ensure that these and other reforms

SIPDIS
outlined in the World Summit Outcome Document are fully
implemented, especially finalizing a system-wide code of
ethics and applying the authority of the Ethics Office and
the policies it oversees throughout the Organization,
including the Funds and Programs. In addition, we strongly
urge all senior UN officials to follow the examples of the
Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General by making

SIPDIS
public their financial disclosure statements. In fact, the
credibility of those organizations is at stake - they must


adopt these same high standards of institutional and personal
ethics, transparency and accountability.

In the are of oversight, we now have an Independent Audit
Advisory Committee, whose members will be selected in early
November. That Committee will advise the General Assembly on
the scope, results and effectiveness of existing internal
oversight mechanisms and offer recommendations on how such
oversight functions can be strengthened. We must guarantee
the operational independence of the UN Office of Internal
Oversight Services (OIOS) so that OIOS has sufficient
resources to perform its core functions - audit, monitoring
and evaluation, inspection, and investigations - free from
any real or perceived influence by the very bodies or
officials it is intended to oversee.

We also believe that it is essential that the UN adopt and
adhere to a formal internal control framework to strengthen
accountability and transparency and to ensure that financial
accountability framework and achieve results-bsed management.
In this regard, we strongly encourage the Secretariat to
expedite completion of the relevant reports on these issues
so that this Committee can take a number of long-overdue
decisions concerning how best to manage risk in the
Organization.

We cannot maximize the use of available resources in the
absence of further improvements in UN procurement. In
resolution 61/264, the General Assembly concluded,
"procurement reform is an ongoing process and should focus,
inter alia, on ensuring the efficiency, transparency and
cost-effectiveness of United Nations procurement as well as
strengthened internal controls." We note that Member States
took important first steps by providing additional resources
for staff training and calling for an Independent Bid Protest
System. These were welcome developments. However, further
changes are needed to ensure the rapid delivery of critical
services and supplies in a cost-effective manner. The
Secretary-General's forthcoming reports should help to guide

SIPDIS
our collective efforts to improve the management and
organizational structure of UN procurement, and to clarify
the relationship between headquarters and peacekeeping
procurement.

Much still remains to be accomplished if we are to fulfill
the vision of world leaders by making this Organization more
efficient, accountable and transparent. Another area that
demands our close attention is putting into place a complete
overhaul of the existing system for administering justice for
UN personnel. We made substantial progress on this matter
during the 61st General Assembly session. However, many
difficult details remain outstanding. Given that resolving
the details is a very large and complicated undertaking that
will have implications for the Organization and its staff for
decades to come, we must proceed cautiously and judiciously.

We also cannot neglect improvements still required in human
resources management. Important decisions must be made to
regularize contracts and conditions of service, as well as
training and staff mobility. Otherwise, this Organization
will continue to face difficulties recruiting and retaining
competent and well-qualified personnel who are capable of
sustaining the UN's work.

Finally, I again underscore the ongoing importance for the
Organization of having a realistic assessment of key outputs
and activities. This analysis should be aimed at determining
which outputs and activities are considered obsolete, of
marginal usefulness, or ineffective. It remains imperative
that the Organization's limited resources be used efficiently
and effectively and that they be targeted on high-priority
programs that produce results.

We have an ambitious agenda ahead of us. We look forward to
working constructively with you, Mr. Chairman, with other
members of the Bureau, with the Secretariat, and most
importantly, with our fellow Committee members, to reach
consensus on a 2008-2009 biennium budget and to improve the
overall functioning and effectiveness of the Organization.
Khalilzad