VZCZCXYZ0024
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0905/01 2962013
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 232013Z OCT 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2859
INFO RUEHXX/GENEVA IO MISSIONS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000905 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC UN UNGA UNGA
SUBJECT: UN: PROPOSED LETTER FROM KEY GENEVA GROUP MEMBERS 
TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON BUDGET/REFORMS 
 
 
¶1. Following the conclusion of the Geneva Group CLM on 
October 2, 2007, Stephen Pattison (Director, International 
Security, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, United Kingdom) 
and Ambassador Mark Wallace consulted, in their capacity as 
co-chairs as to what deliverable could be produced from the 
day's meeting.  They agreed to draft a letter to the 
Secretary-General that would be signed by key Geneva Group 
 
SIPDIS 
members (e.g. US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, etc.) at the 
Director's level urging his cooperation in restraining the 
growth of the budget and achieving reforms.  Alternatively, 
consideration should be given to having the Foreign Ministers 
or Permanent Representatives of the key Geneva Group members, 
who would be more familiar to the SYG, sign the letter. 
Please find below the text, as agreed by the U.S. and UK 
Missions to the UN at the expert level. The UK Mission expert 
has advised that London, without seeing the draft, had 
indicated an initial preference to focus on the budget. The 
US and UK Missions experts agree that it would be useful to 
consider making more forward leaning proposals on how to deal 
with the 2008/2009 budget. 
 
¶2. ACTION REQUEST: Once the UK and US Directors agree on 
draft letter, they should seek to obtain agreement from other 
key Geneva Group Directors. Mission is available to assist as 
the Department deems appropriate. 
 
¶3. Dear Mr. Secretary-General: 
The undersigned UN directors from Member States of the United 
Nations want to emphasize their appreciation to you for your 
commitment to an effective and efficient UN.  In this 
respect, we welcome your commitment not only to efficient 
resource and program management but also to the 
implementation of the administrative and management reforms 
already adopted by the General Assembly and to the 
continuation of the reform process. 
 
During the 62nd General Assembly, Member States are called 
upon to adopt a 2008/2009 biennium budget of $4.395 billion. 
This is the largest ever budget proposed, and does not 
include recosting or the significant costs of a number of 
reform-related activities which are scheduled for 
consideration during this session. Preliminary estimates 
indicate that upon inclusion of these additional elements the 
budget could easily reach $4.8 billion - an increase of 15 
percent above the final budget for 2006/2007 and of 25 
percent on the initial budget agreed for that biennium. 
 
Our collective task in the weeks and months ahead will be to 
determine the appropriate level of resources needed to 
support the activities of this Organization. We share your 
commitment to ensure that programs on which people around the 
world depend are adequately financed. However, we are 
increasingly concerned about the escalating costs of the 
Organization. The undersigned Member States pay xxx% of the 
regular budget. We all have a responsibility to ensure that 
the decisions taken by the Organization in regard to the 
budget are fiscally responsible and take into account the 
reality that the resources available are not unlimited. 
 
In the light of this, we ask that during these budget 
discussions, you encourage your staff to provide every 
assistance to Member States, including: 
 
- giving clear explanations for proposals for additional 
resources, including new posts; 
- showing flexibility wherever possible for redeployment 
across the Organization particularly where high vacancy rates 
  exist in an office requesting more posts; 
- showing themselves open to better administrative and 
financial practices in the Secretariat. 
 
We also request that in the future when you submit proposals 
that would increase the budget, you at the same time propose 
measures to offset in whole or in part such increases. Such 
measures might include proposals to eliminate related 
obsolete or redundant mandates, or to consolidate mandates in 
the same area. Other measures might include proposals to 
absorb certain costs associated with the proposal within 
existing resources, as our Governments are often required to 
do to enhance the efficiency of the concerned entities. 
 
More generally, in view of the inevitable pressures to 
increase the budget, our governments wish to underscore the 
importance for the Organization of having an objective 
assessment of key outputs and activities. We urge you to 
assert your leadership in this area to ensure that Member 
States are provided with such objective assessments in order 
to assist them in determining which outputs and activities 
are considered obsolete, of marginal usefulness, or 
ineffective. (Alternatively, we may wish simply to urge the 
SYG "to provide" such objective assessments, to avoid any 
unintended suggestion that he is not demonstrating 
 
 
 
leadership.) 
 
We also continue to believe that administrative and 
management reforms are vital to achieving the objectives of 
the Organization, especially during times when Member States 
are asked to increase their contributions to the 
Organization. During the last two years, following the World 
Outcome Summit, we have collectively made progress in 
reforming the Organization in significant ways, but much 
remains to de done to ensure that these reforms are fully 
implemented and that the reform process continues, 
especially in the areas of transparency, accountability and 
oversight. 
 
For example, in September 2005, world leaders determined to 
ensure the highest ethical standards of conduct within the 
Organization by establishing a new Ethics Office to develop 
and administer a system wide ethics policy, including 
protection of whistle blowers. Yet, as you have provided in 
your recent report on the Ethics Office, the question of the 
scope of that jurisdiction is to be revisited by the General 
Assembly. We welcome and appreciate your commitment to 
obtaining the necessary confirmation from the General 
Assembly of the system wide jurisdiction of this new Office, 
and will work with you to achieve that objective. In another 
important area of ethics and transparency, you have led the 
way by making public your Financial Disclosure Form and 
encouraged your senior officials to follow your lead. Yet, 
your officials have declined to follow you, frustrating 
another important reform. Mr. Secretary-General, we urge you 
to assert your leadership to ensure that your senior 
officials follow your lead or to seek necessary action 
towards that end in the General Assembly. (As with previous 
para, we may wish simply to urge the SYG take action to 
ensure that senior officials follow the SYG's lead.) 
 
There have also been important reforms in the area of 
oversight, most notably with respect to OIOS and the creation 
of the IAAC. Yet, there remain for action by the General 
Assembly a number of important reforms. For example, the 
General Assembly has before it a crucial reform relating to 
the operational independence of the OIOS. As you are aware, 
the funding structure for OIOS limits its ability to 
determine where resources will be deployed, which restricts 
the ability of OIOS to accomplish its mandate within the 
Organization, including its Funds and Programs. Our 
governments welcome your support on this issue, including 
your proposal for consolidating most of OIOS's funding 
resources into a single "gross" budget. We urge you to assert 
your leadership to assist in obtaining early action on this 
matter. (As with previous 2 paras, we may wish simply to urge 
the SYG to assist in obtaining early action on the matter.) 
 
There are, of course, other reforms before the General 
Assembly that would have a direct impact on efficient 
resource and program management including, inter alia, 
procurement, risk management and internal controls, results 
based management and an accountability framework. 
 
Mr. Secretary-General, we share your commitment to this 
Organization. In order to better achieve the objectives and 
goals of the Organization, we urge you to assert your 
leadership to assist Member States in controlling the 
escalating budget of the Organization and ensuring that the 
resources provided by Member States are efficiently and 
effectively utilized. 
 
Sincerely, 
WOLFF