VZCZCXYZ0039
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0520 0751916
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161916Z MAR 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8341

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000520 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC KUNR PREL UNGA
SUBJECT: UN: FIFTH COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER 2006 BUDGET FOR 
SPECIAL POLITICAL MISSIONS 
 
 
 ¶1.  On March 20 the Fifth Committee will begin its 
consideration of the budgets for Special Political Missions 
(SPMs) for 2006.  In its resolution 60/248 of December 2005, 
the General Assembly endorsed the recommendation of the ACABQ 
and approved a charge of $100 million against SPMs until the 
end of April 2006.  The temporary provision was made given 
the late submission of the SPM budget in December 2005, which 
prevented the GA's full consideration of the budget proposal. 
Presently, a total of $303 million is sought to finance 29 
SPMs in 2006.  This figure is expected to increase later in 
2006 given that four missions, including the Afghanistan 
mission (UNAMA), are not budgeted for a full year and will 
require additional resources upon revision of their 
respective mandates. 
 
¶2.  As detailed in the report of the Secretary-General 
(A/60/585), the provision for SPMs in the preliminary 
estimate for the 2006-2007 biennium budget was set at 
$355,949,300.  Of this amount, a total of $303,351,600 is 
being sought for 2006.  This includes only partial funding 
for the Group of Experts on the DRC, UNAMA, the Group of 
Experts on Cote d'Ivoire, and the International Independent 
Investigation in Lebanon.  The mandates for these four 
missions expire before the end of 2006 and additional funding 
will be sought for these activities when the Security Council 
extends their mandates.  It is expected that the mandate for 
UNAMA will be considerably expanded in light of the recent 
report of the Secretary-General on the situation in 
Afghanistan. 
 
¶3.  The SG's report highlights efforts being made to achieve 
complementarities and synergies between and among SPMs and 
other UN activities and locations.  Thematic exchanges and 
dialogue are encouraged between SPMs and other relevant 
bodies (on issues such as sanctions, arms trafficking, etc.). 
 Efforts are also made, where possible, to achieve 
administrative and logistical efficiencies through sharing of 
premises and logistical support from peacekeeping missions. 
Comment:  The SG's report does not identify the level of 
savings achieved from this and USUN will seek further 
information in this regard. End comment. 
 
¶4.  During the 2004-2005 biennium, the appropriation for SPMs 
was $391,554,800 and the estimated expenditure was 
$321,642,600, representing an under-expenditure of more than 
$71 million.  A large part of this underexpenditure was due 
to higher than planned vacancy rates;  the underspending is 
attributable to military contingents ($11.3 million), 
international staff ($27.9 million) and air transportation 
($12 million).  The requirement of 3,085 total posts for 2006 
reflects a decrease of 266 posts, inclusive of a reduction of 
142 international posts.  This is largely attributable to the 
expected closure of UNOTIL this spring. 
 
¶5. The ACABQ is expected to support most of the 
Secretary-General's request, with perhaps a few reductions in 
 
SIPDIS 
posts and a five percent reduction in travel and consultancy 
budgets.  The ACABQ is also expected to recommend that 
greater efforts be made to reduce travel requirements 
(through the use of videoconferencing, for example), and that 
future reports on SPMs indicate thematic or regional clusters 
to allow for greater consideration of possible 
complementarities and potential for synergies. 
 
¶6.  As highlighted by the ACABQ, the report provides little 
information to allow for analysis of resource changes.  The 
current request of $303 million represents a sizable increase 
from the previous biennium's level of expenditure, but the 
report offers little conclusive information on the 
mission-specific and overall reasons for the current 
increases, particularly given the overall decrease of staff 
requirements.  USUN intends to seek further clarification in 
this regard. 
 
BOLTON