UN: FIFTH COMMITTEE CLOSING STATEMENTS REFLECT

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000656 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PREL UNGA SUBJECT: UN: FIFTH COMMITTEE CLOSING STATEMENTS REFLECT CONTENTIOUS NEGOTIATIONS OVER PKO BUDGET ¶1. BEGIN SUMMARY: Concluding several weeks of intense negotiations in New York, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) recommended to the General Assembly a record setting $7.8 billion peacekeeping budget for the coming year. In closing remarks, representatives from the G-77 as a group were critical of Western Members treating peacekeeping missions as a package and applying across-the-board cuts asserting that this approach neglected needs of individual missions. Brazil, one of the principle negotiators for the G-77, when so far as to assert that this approach "brought the functioning of missions to the verge of collapse." The US delegate would have preferred to go beyond reductions recommended by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) but stated the decisions reached reflected a responsible balance, one in which all Member States could take considerable satisfaction. The Japanese delegation reminded the committee of the record setting peacekeeping budget amidst the global and economic financial crises and addressed organizational issues facing the Fifth Committee. END SUMMARY. ¶2. G-77: Sudan, speaking on behalf of the G-77, said the group attached great importance to peacekeeping operations and was keen on providing missions with required resources. He asserted that the trend towards across-the-board cut-offs or general reductions did not take into consideration the needs of each mission. He stated discussion of peacekeeping as a package might save some resources, but it would definitely not serve the objective of peacekeeping; the experience should not be repeated. ¶3. BRAZIL: The representative of Brazil expressed concern over the negotiation process of the Fifth Committee this year asserting that this way of business, in particular the trend to treat missions as a package, brought the functioning of missions to the verge of collapse. He highlighted the inconsistency in adopting ambitious mandates on one hand but denying resources to carry them out on the other. He claimed that the populations affected and the Organization itself would suffer the consequences of that irrational behavior. He asserted that one could not lose sight of the fact that those most affected by the crisis were in war torn countries. Not providing the needed resources exposed missions to additional risks, and might be harmful to the very populations the Organization was set to protect. He said the argument that the financial crisis affected the situation was not convincing. In that light, he also stated member states should not decrease peacekeeping funding when national defense budgets are still so high. ¶4. AFRICAN GROUP: The representative from Angola, speaking on behalf of the African Group, regretted the linking of peacekeeping budgets. Of particular concern had been the attempts to affect across-the board cuts without taking into account the specific challenges and mandates of each mission. Recalling that the Committee concluded its work 20 days behind schedule, he claimed that linking peacekeeping budgets only served to delay the process and conclusion of work. ¶5. BANGLADESH: The representative of Bangladesh said he was disappointed at the delay in the adoption of peacekeeping budgets and at the manner in which negotiations had taken place. His delegation had consistently underlined the critical importance of providing adequate resources to peacekeeping operations. Unfortunately, however, arbitrary cuts across the board had been sought, irrespective of the needs of individual missions that operated in hostile environments. He noted the numerous informal informal consultations that had been held on weekends and late nights and hoped to avoid similar situations in the future. Finally, he called for all Member States to pay their dues in full and on time. ¶6. NICARAGUA: The delegation from Nicaragua said that the growing number of mandates was in contradiction to the growing will of some Member States to indiscriminately reduce the cost of PKO's that they themselves had established in another body. Nicaragua also said the way of working was far from being able to bring about an effective conclusion of the session and led towards a crisis that the Organization could not afford to repeat. ¶7. UNITED STATES: The US delegate indicated USG would have preferred to go beyond reductions recommended by ACABQ, but the decisions reached reflected a responsible balance, one in which all Member States could take considerable satisfaction. He welcomed action to strengthen the investigation functions of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). He fully supported the Secretary General's "Hubs and Spokes" approach, and although the Committee did not support the proposal in full, he welcomed the establishment of a "Pilot Project" center for investigations in Nairobi, Vienna and New York. Full statement can be found at www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/press releases/20090513 100 ¶8. EU: Speaking on behalf of the EU, the representative from the Czech Republic regretted that some important issues had been deferred to the next Assembly session, namely cross-cutting issues which were a relevant part of peacekeeping management, safety and security and closed PKO's. The delegate also stated the Committee would have been more productive and could have concluded earlier if all the important documents had been provided on time and in all six official languages. ¶9. JAPAN: The Japanese delegation reminded the committee of the record $7.8 billion peace keeping budget even in a time of economic challenge. He emphasized the importance of strengthening oversight, management and financial control. Addressing Fifth Committee organizational issues, he noted that seven new items were hastily introduced in the last week of the May session, with four having ACABQ reports distributed only one day in advance. He urged for stricter adherence to the six week document issuance policies (GA Res. 47/202). He also recommended that the 2nd resumed session be rescheduled for the latter half of May and through the end of June and to limit the first resumed session to two weeks in March. The Japanese delegate also noted the inability in the past two years to pass resolutions on cross-cutting issues and the lengthy negotiations of the Support Account. He proposed that items should not be discussed in the same year and that the committee should consider discussing each item individually on alternating years. RICE