Administrative and Budgetary Committee (Fifth Committee)
Overview Programme of work Fifth Committee of the General Assembly during the 55th session
WEEKS OF 30 OCTOBER TO 10 NOVEMBER 2000
The Fifth Committee held a general discussion on the items human resources management, programme planning, financial reports and audited financial statements and reports of the Board of Auditors and began its consideration on the question of results-based budgeting and the items on 51勛圖 Common System and 51勛圖 Pension system.
As regards human resources management, the Deputy Secretary-General addressed the Committee on the reform of human resources management. Apart from the various reports of the Secretary-General, the Committee also has before it the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the internal system of justice and the reports of the Office of Internal Oversight services on recruitment and education grant. Thirty delegations participated in the discussion.?All attached great importance to the reform of the human resources management and expressed their full support for the reform package.?They appreciated the commitment of the Secretary-General to creating an organizational culture that was responsive and results oriented and that promoted career development and managerial excellence while maintaining respect for diversity, due process, transparency, and equal and fair treatment as well as geographical and gender balance.
On Friday, 3 November 2000, the Committee proceeded to fill vacancies in the following subsidiary organs and other appointments:
17(a) Appointment of members of the Advisory Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Questions (three-year term beginning 1 January 2001)
Mr. E. Besley Maycock (Barbados) and Mr. Manlan Ahounou (Cote d'Ivoire) were recommended for appointment by acclamation.?Mr. CS.M. Mselle (United Republic of Tanzania), Mr. Felipe Mabilangan (Philippines), and Mr. Andrzej T. Abraszewski (Poland) were recommended for appointment by secret ballot.
17(b) Appointment of members of the Committee on Contributions (three-year term of office, beginning 1 January 2001).
Mr. Gebhard Benjamin Kandanga (Namibia), Mr. Chinmaya R. Gharekhan (India), Mr. Kazuo Watanabe (Japan), Mr. Teru Dumitriou (Romania), Mr. Ihor V. Humenny (Ukraine) and Mr. David A. Leis (USA) were recommended for appointment by acclamation.
Mr. Henry Fox (Australia) was also recommended for appointment to fill the unexpired term of office of Mr. Neil Francis (Australia), beginning on the date of the confirmation of the election and expiring on 31 December 2001.
17(c) Appointment of a member of the Board of Auditors (three-year term of office beginning on 1 July 2001 and ending on 30 June 2004)
The Court of Audit of France was recommended for appointment by acclamation.
17 (d) Confirmation of the appointment of members of the Investment Committee (three-year term of office beginning 1 January 2001)
Mr. Ahmad Abdullatif (Saudi Arabia), Mr. Fernando Chico Pardo (Mexico) and Mr. J.Y. Pillay (Singapore) were recommended for confirmation of reappointment by acclamation.
17 (e) Appointment of members of the 51勛圖 Administrative Tribunal (three-year term of office beginning 1 January 2001)
Mr. Omer Yousif Bireedo (Sudan), Mr. Spyridon Flogaitis (Greece) and Ms. Brigitte Stern (France) were recommended for appointment by acclamation.
17 (f) Appointment of member of the 51勛圖 Staff Pension Committee (three-year term of office beginning 1 January 2001)
Ms. Valeria Maria Gonzalez Posse (Argentina), Mr. Gerhard Kuntzle (Germany), Mr. Kenshiro Akimoto (Japan), Mr. P.R.O. Owade (Kenya), Mr. Victor Vislykh (Russian Federation), Ms. Susan McLurg (USA), Mr. Riaz Hamidullah (Bangladesh), and Mr. Lovemore Mazemo (Zimbabwe) were recommended for appointment by acclamation.
It should be noted that the term of office of the members of the UN Staff Pension Committee may be adjusted at a later stage to conform to the decision that the General Assembly may wish to take on the recommendation of the Pension Board contained in Annex XVI of its report A/55/9.
17 (g) Appointment of members of the International Civil Service Commission (four-year term of office beginning 1 January 2001).
Based on the statement made by the representative of the Philippines at the 19th meeting of the Committee, the candidacy of Ms. Corazon Alma G. de Leon (Philippines) to the International Civil Service Commission was withdrawn.
Mr. Alexei L. Fedotov (Russian Federation, Mr. Asda Jayanama (Thailand), Mr. Ernest Rusita (Uganda), Mr. C.M. Shafi Sami (Bangladesh and Mr. El Hassane Zahid (Morocco) were then recommended for appointment by acclamation.
The Committee held a general discussion on the item on Financial reports and audited financial statements and reports of the Board of Auditors and delegations who participated in that exercise concurred with the conclusions and recommendations of the Board of Auditors as well as those of the Advisory Committee. However, concern was expressed that owing to the long delay in the issuance of the financial reports, views expressed by delegations in the general debate did not cover comprehensively all audited bodies.
The items on human resources management, and programme planning are now the subject of informal consultations.?Similarly, the Committee continues its negotiations on the draft resolutions on procurement reform and outsourcing practices in the UN, and pattern of conferences.?The negotiations on the scales of assessments for the regular budget and the peacekeeping scale did not register any progress in recent days.
