UN - GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS BUDGET FOR HYBRID

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000003 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC KPKO PREL SU UNGA SUBJECT: UN - GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS BUDGET FOR HYBRID OPERATION IN DARFUR (UNAMID) REF: USUN 001098 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (U) After five weeks of often acrimonious, politicized debate, the Fifth (Administrative and Budgetary) Committee, on December 21, 2007, adopted the first budget for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) for the period July 07/June 08 in the amount of $1.276 billion - reducing the SYG's proposed budget (A/62/380) of $1,477 billion by $201 million. The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) (A/62/540) had recommended a reduction of $150 million. As adopted by the GA in plenary session, the resolution will be issued as A/RES/62/232. ¶2. (U) In extensive Q and A on the proposed budget - some 300 questions posed by delegations were answered in writing by the Secretariat - and during negotiations on the initial 95-paragraph draft resolution, Egypt, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan and others focused on the non-competitive, single-source contract awarded to the US firm, PAE, a Lockheed Martin Company, as well as a number of other "extraordinary measures" taken by the Secretariat to prepare for the deployment of the Operation within the timeframe established by the Security Council in resolution 1769 adopted on July 31, 2007. As reported in his letter to the GA President on October 2, 2007 (A/62/379),the SYG noted that it would be necessary for the Secretariat to exercise flexibility in the application of administrative policies and procedures in order to comply with resolution 1769. ¶3. (SBU) In the face of often antagonistic questioning by the Egyptian delegate, UN Controller Sach firmly defended the SYG's decision to award the contract to PAE as being authorized by the Financial Regulations and Rules of the Organization and the only way to prepare for the deployment of the Operation in accordance with the schedule mandated by the Security Council. Egypt blatantly politicized the committee's consideration of the proposed budget by attempting to somehow leverage its opposition to the contract awarded to PAE and other "extraordinary measures" taken by the Secretariat, into acceptance of a second Egyptian battalion in UNAMID. At the time of this writing, Egypt's efforts in this regard continued to be unsuccessful. ¶4. (U) USDel, working closely with Canada, also on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, and the UK, on behalf of the EU, succeeded in reaching agreement on a relatively balanced 49-paragraph text. Wolcott