VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1163/01 3631329
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291329Z DEC 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7940

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001163 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC KUNR PREL UNGA
SUBJECT: UNGA-C/5: SECRETARY GENERAL ADDRESSES THE FIFTH 
COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The UN Secretary General came before the 
Fifth Committee on December 7th in order to further present 
his biennium budget, recognizing the need to scrutinize 
finances in the midst of the global economic crisis, while 
emphasizing that cuts should target operational costs and not 
those programs servings the developing world. The SYG also 
emphasized the importance of prioritizing security needs, 
promoting technological infrastructure enhancements, the role 
of the Special Advisor on Africa, and proceeding in a 
responsible way on the appointment of the Under Secretary for 
OIOS. The SYG was met with calls by G-77 members to parcel 
out the Special Political Mission (SPM) budget and avoid 
slashing development initiatives, while the E.U. emphasized 
the need to scrutinize costs. Recent formal meetings in the 
Fifth Committee have considered a host of budgetary and 
management matters including the war tribunals in Rwanda 
(ICTR), and in the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Enterprise 
Research Planning (ERP) Project and three Information and 
Communications Technology (ICT) projects. The U.S. 
intervention on ICT/ERP stressed the importance of this 
matter to the successful implementations of UN operations. 
END SUMMARY 
 
 
SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON ADDRESSES THE FIFTH COMMITTEE 
 
 
¶2. (U) EFFORTS BEING MADE TO MAINTAIN FISCAL DISCIPLINE: 
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addressed the Fifth Committee 
on December 7th for the purpose of further commenting on his 
proposed 2010-2011 biennium budget.  The SYG pointed out at 
the outset "how keenly aware we are that our discussions 
about resources are taking place amid a severe and ongoing 
financial crisis." He asserted that the budget calls for 
"only modest increases, based on rigorous scrutiny of 
priorities."  Ban said it is necessary to strike a balance 
between the regular budget and extra-budgetary resources. He 
added that voluntary contributions must be consistent with 
the policies, aims and activities of the UN, and such 
contributions must not involve additional financial 
liabilities. The Secretary General claimed that, despite 
efforts to maintain strict budget discipline, some increases 
are not under the control of the UN, and pointed to 
re-costing as one such element. He added that re-costing is 
necessary in pursuing mandated activities. The SYG spoke in 
favor of increasing his discretionary authority from $20 
million to $30 million and advocated that the item become an 
established procedure. He emphasized that the use of this 
authorization would only be exercised with prior concurrence 
by the ACABQ. 
 
¶3. (U) SECURITY AND TECHNOLOGY ARE GIVEN CLEAR 
PRIORITIZATION:  The SYG underscored the relationship of 
increasing security needs to rising costs in the budget.  He 
emphasized funds allotted for strengthened security and 
towards creating a more unified security management system. 
Ban stated that recent attacks and the security situation in 
Afghanistan have made it necessary to prioritize emergency 
needs.  Ban focused attention to the UN's technology and 
infrastructure modernization efforts, noting that that they 
"can be the difference between progress and poverty, and even 
a matter of life and death." He stressed that given the 
global economic turndown, only top priority projects were 
included in the budget. Specifically, the SYG mentioned the 
importance of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and 
recommended that the "Pilot First" option, with its slightly 
higher costs, but lower risks, be deployed during the next 
biennium. He expressed support as well for the Enterprise 
Content Management (ECM), Customer Relationship Management 
(CRM), and Disaster Recovery Business Continuity (DCRBC) ICT 
projects, stating that "deployed together, they will 
significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our 
global operations."  Ban pointed to the importance of 
maintaining critical operations in the face of terrorism, 
disease, disaster, and other incidents, and said much more 
needs to be done despite the major efforts taken thus far. 
 
¶4. (U) AFRICA AND DEVELOPMENT: SPECIAL ADVISOR ON AFRICA: The 
SYG highlighted his appointment of Cheick Diarra to serve 
both as head of OHRLLS and as the Special Adviser on Africa, 
as a step that is necessary to build stronger links between 
the offices and to strengthen the services provided by the 
Secretariat to countries with special needs. The Secretary 
General affirmed that funding the development account 
"remains a challenging process" and argued that "the 
continuing expansion of mandates given to the Secretariat has 
limited the level of resources that can be reallocated." Ban 
affirmed his commitment to improve efficiency in the interest 
of increasing available funds for development. 
 
¶5. (U) UPCOMING OIOS APPOINTMENT: Ban raised the matter of 
the forthcoming appointment of the Under Secretary-General 
for the Office of Internal Oversight Services, and reminded 
 
 
that a balance must be maintained between starting the 
process early and ensuring that precedents and consistency 
are maintained. He noted that the a call for nominations 
between four and six months prior to the vacancy will allow 
the work of the office to be undisrupted, whereas a call nine 
to twelve months prior might place the incumbent in a 
sensitive position. 
 
 
REACTION TO THE SECRETARY GENERAL'S REMARKS MIXED 
 
 
¶6. (U) SECURITY, PIECE-MEAL BUDGETING, AND DEVELOPMENT: Sudan 
(G-77) said that "efforts to constrain the growth to two 
percent could have a disastrous effect on the ability to 
maintain programs in the developing world." It called for 
strengthening development and creating a viable funding 
mechanism for this purpose. Sweden (E.U.) raised concerns 
over the piece-meal presentation of the budget. It said that 
the budget calls for greater spending than that which is 
affordable given the budgetary and fiscal crisis.  The G-77 
also does not believe voluntary contributions should be used 
in an effort to prioritize the interests of individual member 
states. It called for decisions of the General Assembly to be 
taken as seriously as those of the Security Council. Mexico 
emphasized security as a high priority, but qualified that 
these efforts must be viewed in the complete context of the 
budget, and deferred if necessary. Egypt also agreed that 
safety and security should be a priority. 
 
¶7. (U) CONCERN OVER SPM FUNDING: The G-77 raised a concern 
that the Special Political Missions are distorting the budget 
by creating an appearance that most budget items have 
remained constant, while in reality the increasing SPM 
portion is crowding out other budgetary priorities. The G-77 
pointed out the importance of the timely implementation of 
all mandates. Egypt proposed that SPM's be considered in a 
separate account in order "to have a correct assessment of 
growth of the budget." Several other countries also raised 
concerns over the SPM's, Syria claiming that they are engaged 
in similar work as PKO's and thus both budgets should be 
merged into a single shared portfolio. 
 
¶8. (U) SYG RESPONDS TO COMMENTS: The Secretary General spoke 
to the G-77 concerns, claiming that the "importance of 
delivering more to the developing world cannot be 
over-emphasized." The SYG said the budget does not aim to cut 
programs that serve those in the developing world, and 
affirmed that the current budget scrutiny is aimed squarely 
at reductions in operating costs. On the allegation of 
piece-meal budgeting, the SYG asserted he had presented the 
budget in as comprehensive a manner as possible. And on the 
SPM's, Ban noted there are particular situations that require 
multiple missions, but ideally it might be best to have only 
one mission per country for the purpose of stream-lining 
activities. 
 
 
FINANCING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS FOR RWANDA - 
FORMER YUGOSLAVIA 
 
 
¶9. (U) BUDGETS PRESENTED AS TRIBUNALS BEGIN WINDING DOWN: The 
Fifth Committee met in formal session to consider the budgets 
for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and 
the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 
(ICTY). The Secretariat laid out a $244 million budget for 
the ICTR. Assistant Secretary-General and Controller,  Jun 
Yamazaki, explained that 25 accused individuals were engaged 
in ongoing trials, while trials for six other accused have 
not yet begun. It is suspected that most of the ICTR's work 
will be complete by 2010, while roughly five cases can be 
expected to spill into 2011.  Efforts are still ongoing to 
locate 11 fugitives, only three of whose crimes are at a 
high-enough level to merit consideration by the Tribunal as 
opposed to national jurisdictions. The budget for the ICTR 
reflects a 20 percent decrease from the previous budget, with 
a reduction of authorized staff from 693 to 628. With respect 
to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former 
Yugoslavia (ICTY), Yamazaki outlined the $301 million budget. 
The ICTY is set to complete its seven first-instance trials 
by the end of 2010, but will face challenges from multiple 
accused persons, and increased appeals. Two fugitives remain 
at-large and the budget does not account for their trials 
should they be caught. The proposed ICTY budget is a 20% cut 
over that of 2008-2009, and includes maintaining only 546 of 
732 authorized staff positions. The ACABQ recommended that 
the proposed budget be adopted. 
 
¶10. (U) U.S. AND OTHER DELEGATIONS EXPRESS SUPPORT WHILE 
CALLING FOR EFFICIENCY: The U.S. noted its role as a leading 
political and financial supporter of the ICTY and ICTR and 
expressed support for efforts to transfer Tribunal activities 
 
 
to the proposed residual mechanism. It urged members only to 
provide resources in the 2010-2011 budget to cover current 
costs. Sweden (E.U.) and Canada (CANZ) both requested that 
the tribunals complete their mandates as promptly and 
efficiently as possible and noted that the E.U. "reiterates 
the need for the Tribunals to ensure that they continue to 
down-size where possible." Sweden also pointed out the 
importance of mandatory contributions being paid in full and 
on time. Angola (African Group) bemoaned the constant high 
vacancy rates for the ICTR, and encouraged finding ways to 
retain competent and experienced staff.  Angola commended the 
Rwandan Government for changing the laws to allow cases to be 
transferred to Rwandan courts, a key component of the 
completion strategy. It expressed the need for expediency, 
commenting that "the timely arrest and trails of fugitives 
remains central to ensuring that the tribunal meets the 
timeframes which were from the beginning set up by the 
Security Council."  South Africa raised concerns about 
potential rising costs attached to the trials of any 
remaining fugitives that might be caught in the future. 
Russia, evoking the global financial crisis, urged the 
tribunals to achieve savings in their completion efforts, and 
suggested that some cases might be considered in parallel. 
 
 
ICT/ERP: U.S. AND OTHERS SUGGEST WAY FORWARD 
 
 
¶11. (U) ICT/ERP: The Fifth Committee held a formal meeting to 
review an update on the implementation of the Enterprise 
Content Management (ECM) and the customer relationship 
management (CRM) systems (A/64/477) and to discuss other 
matters related to Information and Communications Technology 
(ICT). The Secretariat's report focused on synergies between 
ECM/CRM with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project, 
and presented an approach to disaster recovery and business 
continuity for Information and Communications Technology 
(ICT). The committee also had before it the first report on 
the implementation of the ERP, which suggested that the full 
implementation of ERP could deliver up to $224 million in 
annual capacity improvements and cost recovery. 
 
¶12. (U) UNDERSECRETARY KANE CALLS FOR PHASED ROLL-OUT OF ERP, 
ACABQ CALLS FOR COST-CUTTING: Under-Secretary for Management, 
Angela Kane, recommended that the ERP be rolled out in a 
phased, "Pilot First", manner, as this would entail lower 
risks and have the least immediate operational impact. Kane 
said much more needs to be done, including the development of 
mitigation strategies at the department level and ensuring 
accountability of duty stations through regular testing of 
business continuity plans. The ACABQ recommended the 
acceptance of the Secretary General's ERP proposal, but 
suggested that efforts be made to reduce the overall costs of 
the project and for these actions to be carefully documented. 
 The ACABQ also expressed concerns that the benefits of ERP, 
may not actually suggest a net decrease in posts or savings, 
but rather a potential to redirect resources towards 
higher-priority tasks. 
 
¶13. (U) DELEGATIONS SUPPORT ERP, URGING ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
EFFICIENCYS: Sudan (G-77/China) sought additional information 
on the implementation plans. Sweden (E.U.) stated its support 
for the ERP, adding that they will look for ways to limit 
costs. Australia (CANZ) expressed support for the ERP, but 
hopes to see appropriate benchmarks and justifications for 
resources, emphasizing the importance of accountability and 
oversight. The Republic of Korea also supports the ERP, but 
hopes to see more tangible efficiency gains. ROK stated that 
the key to ERP includes extensive business process 
re-engineering and active involvement of stakeholders in all 
stages of system development.  Japan promised to carefully 
examine the costs and benefits of the ERP and asked for a 
detailed assessment of efficiency gains. Japan warned that 
without the active support of all staff and stakeholders, the 
ERP will turn out to be a waste of money. Switzerland 
supported the ERP and promised to scrutinize its costs along 
with other ICT projects and 
 tied the ERP to other improvements including on procurement 
and cost accounting. 
 
¶14. (U) U.S. AFFIRMS ACABQ'S ENDORSEMENT OF ERP PLAN :  Bruce 
Rashkow delivered the U.S. intervention, raising concern that 
"despite investments over the years in new technology 
platforms and software upgrades, the current system is 
fragmented, reactive and seldom delivers what is promised." 
The U.S. concurred with the ACABQ's recommendation to approve 
the Secretary General's "Pilot First" approach to the ERP and 
urged members to make "every effort to do so as cost 
effectively as possible." The U.S. stated its position that 
the ERP will "harmonize business practices and facilitate the 
organization's compliance with mandated implementation of 
International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)." 
The U.S. affirmed that a "dependable information management 
 
 
system" is necessary for full success and sustainability of 
U.N. operations around the world. 
 
 
OTHER BUSINESS OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE 
 
¶15. (U) CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AT ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR 
AFRICA: The Fifth Committee met in formal session to take up 
the matter of the construction projects at the Economic 
Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa and the United Nations 
Office in Nairobi.  A report by the Director of the UN 
Program Planning and Budget Division noted that the 
procurement process had been halted in March due to 
"procurement irregularities," but a new bid review process is 
currently underway, with the intention of an award being 
granted in February, 2010.  Delays in Addis Ababa was caused 
by questions pertaining to taxes on imported materials, but 
it has now been established that the purchase of goods and 
services will be tax-free.  The G-77 criticized both projects 
for lacking proper accounting and internal controls and 
called on the Secretary General to closely monitor the 
progress. 
 
¶16. (U) NEW STAFF RULES REMAIN PROVISIONAL: The Fifth 
Committee approved a draft resolution, recommending that new 
staff rules described in a report published by the Secretary 
General remain provision until the GA has had a chance to 
further consider its new contractual regime at its 65th 
session. The G-77 expressed disappointment at having to 
postpone the issues, but said it had little choice to 
postpone given the Secretariat's inability to provide answers 
on the topic. The E.U. also expressed disappointment and 
concern over the lack of available information. 
 
¶17. (U) CAPITAL MASTER PLAN DRAFT APPROVED: The Fifth 
Committee approved a draft resolution on the Capital Master 
Plan, endorsing the ACABQ recommendations that the General 
Assembly approve the SYG's proposal to appropriate the 
remaining $1.87 billion budget approved by Member States in 
¶2007.  The draft also asks the Secretary-General to absorb 
costs for data migration. Looking to maintain further 
reductions, it does not approve the overall associated costs 
and notes concern that many of the costs did not even relate 
to the CMP. 
 
¶18. (U) GEORGIA MISSION'S FUNDING REDUCED AS IT COMPLETES: 
The Fifth Committee recently met to consider the final 
liquidation budge of the recently-terminated United Nations 
Observer Mission (UNOMIG). The Committee acted without a vote 
in deciding to reduce the Mission's initial 2008-2009 
appropriation as the mission completes. 
RICE