213. References for the fifty-first session (agenda item 131):

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141. Financing of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium⁶

The Security Council, by its resolution 1037 (1996) of 15 January 1996, decided to set up the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) for an initial period of 12 months. The mandate of UNTAES was extended by Council resolution 1120 (1997) of 14 July 1997 for an additional period terminating on 15 January 1998.

At its fifty-first session,⁽²²³⁾ the General Assembly decided to appropriate for the maintenance of UNTAES the amount of $140,484,350 gross ($136,087,550 net) for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997, inclusive of the amount of $3,440,050 for the support account for peacekeeping operations, in addition to the amount of $140,484,350 gross ($136,087,550 net) already appropriated for the period from 1 July to 31 December 1996 under the provisions of its resolution 50/242; decided, as an ad hoc arrangement, taking into account the amount of $140,484,350 gross ($136,087,550 net) already apportioned in accordance with its resolution 50/242, to apportion among Member States the additional amount of $140,484,350 gross ($136,087,550 net) for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997, taking into account the scale of assessments for the year 1997; and decided to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 8 of the resolution, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated additional staff assessment income of $4,396,800 approved for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 (resolution 51/153 A).

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²³ the General Assembly approved, on an exceptional basis, the special arrangements for UNTAES with regard to the application of article IV of the Financial Regulations of the United Nations; decided to appropriate to the Special Account for UNTAES the amount of $275,344,900 gross ($266,226,000 net) for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998, inclusive of the amount of $10,276,000 for the support account for peacekeeping operations to be assessed on Member States at a monthly rate of $22,945,408 gross ($22,185,500 net), taking into account the scale of assessments for the years 1997 and 1998, subject to the decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of UNTAES beyond 15 July 1997; decided to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 8 of the resolution, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated staff assessment income of $9,118,900 approved for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998; decided, for Member States that had fulfilled their financial obligations to UNTAES, to set off against the apportionment, as provided for in paragraph 8 of the resolution, their respective share in the unencumbered balance of $18,826,400 gross ($18,800,000 net) for the period ending 30 June 1996; and decided that, for Member States that had not fulfilled their financial obligations to UNTAES, their share of the unencumbered balance of $18,826,400 gross ($18,800,000 net) for the period ending 30 June 1996 should be set off against their outstanding obligations (resolution 51/153 B).

Documents:

(a) Reports of the Secretary-General on the financing of UNTAES (resolutions 51/153 A and B);

(b) Reports of the Advisory Committee.

142. Financing of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force⁶

By its resolution 983 (1995) of 31 March 1995, the Security Council decided that the United Nations Protection Force within the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia should be known as the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP). In a letter dated 1 February 1996 (S/1996/76), the President of the Council informed the Secretary-General of the Council's concurrence in principle with his recommendation that UNPREDEP become an independent mission. By its resolution 1110 (1997) of 28 May 1997, the Council extended the mandate of UNPREDEP for a period terminating on 30 November 1997.

At its fifty-first session,⁽²²⁴⁾

the General Assembly decided to appropriate for the maintenance of UNPREDEP the amount of $4,237,100 gross ($4,132,500 net) already authorized and apportioned under the terms of its resolution 50/243, for the period from 31 May to 30 June 1996; decided to appropriate the amount of $25,373,400 gross ($24,615,600 net) for the maintenance of UNPREDEP for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997, inclusive of the amount of $632,400 for the support account for peacekeeping operations, in addition to the amount of $26,296,200 gross ($25,538,400 net) already appropriated for the period from 1 July to 31 December 1996 under the provisions of its resolution 50/243; decided, as an ad hoc arrangement, taking into account the amount of $26,296,200 gross ($25,538,400 net) already apportioned in accordance with its resolution 50/243, to apportion among Member States the additional amount of $25,373,400 gross ($24,615,600 net) for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 at a monthly rate of $4,228,900 gross ($4,102,600 net), taking into account the scale of assessments for the year 1997; and decided to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 9 of the resolution, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated additional staff assessment income of $757,800 approved for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 (resolution 51/154 A).

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁴ the General Assembly approved, on an exceptional basis, the special arrangements for UNPREDEP with regard to the application of article IV of the Financial Regulations of the United Nations; decided to appropriate to the Special Account for UNPREDEP the amount of $46,506,700 gross ($44,969,500 net) for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998, inclusive of the amount of $1,906,700 for the support account for peacekeeping operations, to be apportioned among Member States at a monthly rate of $4,283,892 gross ($4,142,192 net) for the period from 1 July to 31 October 1997 and at a monthly rate of $3,671,392 gross ($3,550,092 net) thereafter taking into account the scale of assessments for the years 1997 and 1998, subject to the Security Council's extension of the mandate of UNPREDEP beyond 30 November 1997; decided to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 8 of the resolution, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated staff assessment income of $1,537,200 approved for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998; decided that for Member States that had fulfilled their financial obligations to UNPREDEP, to set off against the apportionment, as provided for in paragraph 8 of the resolution, their respective share in the unencumbered balance of $5,259,700 gross ($5,070,300 net) for the period ending 30 June 1996; decided that for Member States that had not fulfilled their financial obligations to UNPREDEP, their share of the unencumbered balance of $5,259,700 gross ($5,070,300 net) for the period ending 30 June 1996 should be set off against their outstanding obligations (resolution 51/154 B).

Documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the financing of UNPREDEP (resolutions 51/154 A and B);

(b) Report of the Advisory Committee.

143. Financing of the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti⁶

The United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) was established by the Security Council on 28 June 1996 (resolution 867 (1993) until 30 November 1996. By its resolution 1086 (1996) of 5 December 1996, the Council extended the mandate of UNSMIH until 31 May 1997, which could be further extended to 31 July 1997 following a review of the Secretary-General's report that was to be provided to the Council by 31 March 1997. The report was issued on 24 March 1997 (S/1997/244).

At its fifty-first session,⁽²²⁵⁾

the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to establish a special account for UNSMIH; decided to appropriate the amount of $28,704,200 gross ($27,506,000 net) for the maintenance of UNSMIH for the period from 1 July to 31 December 1996, inclusive of the amount of $31,447,000 gross and net remaining from the appropriation provided under its resolution 50/90 B for the liquidation of the United Nations Mission in Haiti, with which the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) had concurred, for the period from 1 July to 15 September 1996 and the amount of $5,762,800 gross ($5,420,700 net) authorized by ACABQ under the terms of section IV of Assembly resolution 49/233 A for the period from 16 September to 15 October 1996; decided also, as an ad hoc arrangement, to apportion the amount of $23,957,000 gross ($22,958,500 net) for the period from 1 July to 30 November 1996 among Member States, taking into account the scale of assessments for 1996; decided further to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 7 of the resolution, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated staff assessment income of $998,500 approved for UNSMIH for the period from 1 July to 30 November 1996; decided, as an ad hoc arrangement, to apportion among Member States the amount of $4,747,200 gross ($4,547,500 net) for the period from 1 to 31 December 1996, subject to the decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of UNSMIH beyond 30 November 1996; and decided to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 9 of the resolution, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated staff assessment income of $199,700 approved for UNSMIH for the period from 1 to 31 December 1996 (resolution 51/15 A).

At the same session,²²⁵ the General Assembly decided to appropriate an additional amount of $27,400,800 gross ($26,202,600 net) for the maintenance of UNSMIH for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997; decided, as an ad hoc arrangement, to apportion an additional amount of $27,400,800 gross ($26,202,600 net) for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 among Member States at a monthly rate of $4,566,800 gross ($4,367,100 net), taking into account the scale of assessments for 1997, subject to the decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of UNSMIH beyond 31 May 1997; and decided to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph (b) of the decision, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the additional estimated staff assessment income of $1,198,200 approved for UNSMIH for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 (decision 51/459).

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁵ the General Assembly approved, on an exceptional basis, the special arrangements for UNSMIH with regard to the application of article IV of the Financial Regulations of the United Nations; decided to appropriate the amount of $15,091,000 gross ($14,478,400 net) for the maintenance of UNSMIH for the period from 1 July 1997 to 15 March 1998, inclusive of the amount of $561,000 for the support account for peacekeeping operations, to be apportioned among Member States taking into account the scale of assessments for the years 1997 and 1998, subject to the decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of UNSMIH beyond 31 May 1997; and decided to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 8 of the resolution, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated staff assessment income of $612,600 approved for UNSMIH for the period from 1 July 1997 to 15 March 1998 (resolution 51/15 B).

Documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the financing of UNSMIH (resolutions 51/15 A and B and decision 51/459);

(b) Report of the Advisory Committee.

144. Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations

(a) Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations⁷

This item was included in the agenda of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly, in 1989, pursuant to Assembly decision 43/455, and was also considered at the forty-fifth to forty-ninth and fifty-first sessions (resolutions 44/192, 45/258, 47/218, 48/227, 49/233 A and B, 49/249 A and B and 51/218 and decision 46/480).

Support account for peacekeeping operations

The General Assembly, in its resolution 45/258, approved the establishment, effective 1 January 1990, of the support account for peacekeeping operations. Its purpose was to meet the needs of departments and offices at Headquarters providing direct support to peacekeeping operations. It became operational on 1 May 1990 by the incorporation of resources relating to the overload posts that were funded from the separate budgets of the then existing five peacekeeping operations financed at the time outside the scope of the regular budget: the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIMOG) and the United Nations Observer Group for Central America (ONUCA).

At its resumed fiftieth session in June 1996, the General Assembly approved, on a provisional basis and for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997, the Secretary-General's proposals with regard to the proposed funding mechanism for the support account as amended by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) (A/50/897, paras. 35-37 and annex II); requested the Secretary-General to submit a performance report on the operation of the support account in the context of its annual consideration of his proposals for the support account; and requested the Secretary-General, in preparing his report on the support for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998, to submit a comprehensive proposal on the total requirement for human resources from all sources of funding for the backstopping of peacekeeping operations, including posts financed from the regular budget and trust funds, officers on loan from Member States and other voluntary contributions during the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 (resolution 50/221 B).

Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 50/221 B, the report of the Secretary-General on the support account for peacekeeping operations (A/51/890) was submitted for the consideration of the Assembly during its resumed fifty-first session in May 1997.

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,⁽²²⁶⁾ the General Assembly decided to maintain for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998 the funding mechanism for the support account provisionally approved in paragraph 3 of its resolution 50/221 B; reiterated its requests to the Secretary-General in paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 of its resolution 50/221 B, in preparing his annual proposals for the support account, taking into consideration the temporary nature of the current level of resources, to review and substantiate comprehensively the entire post and non-post requirements for the support account; in preparing his report on the support account for the period from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999, to submit a comprehensive proposal on the total requirement for human resources from all sources of funding for the backstopping of peacekeeping operations, including posts financed from the regular budget and trust funds, officers on loan from Member States and other voluntary contributions during the period, to enable the Assembly to decide on the level of human resources required and to submit proposals that reflected as closely as possible the overall evolution of peacekeeping budgets and any additional relevant observations and recommendations regarding the lessons learned from the previous year of operation of the support account; requested the Secretary-General to submit an in-depth evaluation and subsequent budgetary proposals that reflected as closely as possible the overall evolution of peacekeeping trends, including any relevant restructuring of the various divisions and units involved in backstopping activities, taking into account the lessons learned from previous years' experience of operating the support account and the workload relating to closed and completed missions; also requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly at its fifty-second session the evaluation portion of the above-mentioned report; further requested the Secretary-General to submit a performance report, including information on redeployments between units, covering the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997 and the period from 1 July to 31 December 1997; approved, for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998, the proposals of the Secretary-General with regard to post and non-post resource requirements (A/51/890), as amended by ACABQ (A/51/906 and Corr.1), subject to the provisions of the resolution; approved an appropriation in the amount of $158,500 under general temporary assistance for the sole purpose of processing the backlog of 564 death and disability claims; endorsed the recommendation of ACABQ to create one P-4 post and one General Service post in the Claims and Information Management Section of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (A/51/906 and Corr.1, para. 22) and requested the Secretary-General to utilize the P-2 post proposed for redeployment to the Personnel Management and Support Service (see A/51/890, annex I.A, para. 35) for processing claims in the Claims and Information Management Section; requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly quarterly written reports on the progress made in clearing the backlog; also requested the Secretary-General to submit, no later than 31 August 1997, proposals on resources and structure to strengthen the functions and to ensure the sharing and application of experience gained in peacekeeping operations; approved an appropriation of $1 million for the rental of premises; authorized the Secretary-General to enter into additional commitments not exceeding $808,500 for the rental of premises; requested the Secretary-General to include in the performance report information on the use of resources provided for the rental of premises since 1992; decided that officers in the Office of Operations of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations whose workload had been reduced owing to the ending of some peacekeeping operations should be detailed to assist in eliminating the backlog; decided that posts funded from the support account should be filled and managed in compliance with the Charter of the United Nations, the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, the Staff Rules and Regulations of the United Nations and the relevant resolutions of the Assembly; called upon the Secretary-General to stop immediately the practice of giving personnel on short-term appointments consultant contracts for a short period and then rehiring them on short-term appointments in violation of the spirit of open and transparent recruiting practices; and requested the Secretary-General to assign the functions referred to in paragraphs 16, 17 and 22 of the report of ACABQ (A/51/906 and Corr.1) to personnel occupying approved posts and to report thereon to the Assembly at its fifty-second session, no later than 31 March 1998 (resolution 51/239).

Death and disability benefits

At its fifty-first session,²²⁶ the General Assembly commenced its consideration of the reports of the Secretary-General on death and disability benefits (A/49/906 and Corr.1 and A/50/1009) and the related reports of ACABQ (A/50/684 and A/51/646). At its resumed fiftieth session, the Assembly had requested the Secretary-General to examine the possibility of an insurance scheme to cover all troops, on the basis of a request for proposals from the global insurance market, and to present the results of that action and to respond to issues raised in the report of ACABQ (A/50/684) (resolution 50/223).

The elements of the proposal to establish a global commercial insurance scheme were described in the recent report of the Secretary-General. Upon reviewing the report, the Advisory Committee concluded that, over time, self-insurance would be more cost-effective for the Organization (A/51/646, para. 33).

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁶ the General Assembly decided to adopt a system of self-insurance and to establish uniform and standardized rates for payment of awards in cases of death or disability sustained by troops in the service of United Nations peacekeeping operations, involving a one-time lump-sum award of $50,000 for service-incurred death and a one-time lump-sum award for service-incurred disability, calculated as a percentage of the award for death according to the degree of loss of function, based on the schedule contained in annex 1 of the report of the Secretary-General (A/49/906 and Corr.1); also decided that the uniform and standardized rates should apply to cases of death and disability sustained by troops after 30 June 1997; further decided to continue the present system of budgeting and financing for death and disability compensation and to keep its functioning and use under review, taking into account actual experience in the implementation of the new uniform and standardized rates; requested the Secretary-General to seek assurances from Member States that amounts payable to beneficiaries for incidents referred to in section I, paragraph 1, of the resolution should be not less than the amounts paid or reimbursed to Member States for that purpose under section I, paragraph 1, of the resolution, so as to avoid unequal treatment of contingent troops by Member States; also requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Assembly no later than 31 October 1997 containing detailed implementation proposals, including administrative and payment arrangements and procedures, as well as proposals for administrative resource reductions resulting from the new, simplified system; and further requested the Secretary-General to continue processing all claims for death and disability compensation as expeditiously as possible for their speedy settlement (resolution 51/218 E, sect. II).

Contingent-owned equipment

At its fifty-first session,²²⁶ the General Assembly continued its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on reform of the procedures for determining reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment (A/50/807) and the related reports of ACABQ (A/50/887 and A/51/646).

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁶ the General Assembly decided to request the Secretary-General to issue an appropriate corrigendum to the Contribution Agreement between the United Nations and participating States contributing resources to United Nations peacekeeping operations (A/50/995, annex); to convene the Phase IV Working Group on Reimbursement of Contingent-owned Equipment; and to include in future cost estimates and performance reports of peacekeeping operations information on the factors mentioned in paragraph 49 of the report of the Phase III Working Group on Reimbursement of Contingent-owned Equipment (A/C.5/49/70, annex) (resolution 51/218 E, sect. I).

Management review officers and roving finance officers

At its fifty-first session,²²⁶ the General Assembly commenced its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on management review officers and roving finance officers (A/50/983) and the related report of ACABQ (A/51/646). The report of the Secretary-General was submitted in accordance with the request of the Assembly for further clarification of the concepts outlined in section X of its resolution 49/233 A.

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁶ the General Assembly called upon the Secretary-General to establish procedures whereby the position descriptions of Secretariat personnel responsible for such financial operations in field missions as financial planning, financial management, operational support and review and control would include oversight for those specific missions; called upon the Secretary-General to include the function of "trouble shooter", as outlined in paragraph 10 of his report (A/50/983), in the position description of staff members at Headquarters overseeing the functional area, so as to provide that service as needed by the various field missions; and requested the Secretary-General to include in the budgets of specific peacekeeping operations information on those functions, to be examined by ACABQ and the Assembly on a case-by-case basis (resolution 51/218 E, sect. II).

Mission subsistence allowance

At its fifty-first session,²²⁶ the General Assembly commenced its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on entitlements of staff assigned to peacekeeping missions, including mission subsistence allowance (MSA) (A/50/797), and the oral report of ACABQ (see A/C.5/51/SR.23). The report of the Secretary-General was submitted in accordance with the request of the Assembly for a review of the entitlements of staff assigned to peacekeeping missions, including the purpose of and basis for the establishment of MSA (resolution 49/233 A, sect. VIII).

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁶ the General Assembly requested a number of changes with respect to the administration and implementation of mission subsistence allowance. The Assembly requested the Secretary-General, pending a review of mission subsistence allowance criteria, to administer the allowance on the basis of a seven-day week, rather than a five-day week, and to phase out over a period of six months the supplement to mission subsistence allowance paid to senior level officials; and requested the International Civil Service Commission to develop a proposal, to be submitted to the Assembly at its fifty-second session, for the provision of post allowance and associated entitlements for personnel leaving their families at their home duty station while serving on a mission assignment (resolution 51/218 E, sect. IV).

Rates of reimbursement

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁶ the General Assembly, following its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General (A/48/912) and the related report of ACABQ (A/50/1012), requested the Secretary-General to carry out a new survey of troop-contributing States (resolution 51/218 E, sect. V).

Peacekeeping Reserve Fund

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁶ the General Assembly, following its consideration of the report of the Secretary-General (A/51/778) and the related report of ACABQ (A/51/845), decided to extend the application of resolution 47/217, by which the Assembly established the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund, to all current States Members of the United Nations; decided on the shares in the Fund for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Korea and San Marino and for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; and decided that interests accrued in the Fund should not be credited to Member States holding shares in the Fund prior to the full capitalization of the Fund (resolution 51/218 E, sect. VI).

Voluntary contributions

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁶ the General Assembly welcomed the intention of ACABQ to address issues related to the administration of voluntary contributions to peacekeeping operations in a later report and requested ACABQ to prepare the report before 31 December 1997 (resolution 51/218 E, sect. VII).

United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy

At its resumed fifty-first session in June 1997,²²⁶ the General Assembly, pending its consideration of the reports of the Secretary-General on the financing of the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy (A/50/907 and A/51/905), decided to undertake a detailed review of the reports of the Secretary-General and the related reports of ACABQ on the Logistics Base at its fifty-second session, no later than 15 October 1997; authorized the Secretary-General, in the interim period, from 1 July to 15 October 1997, to commit funds not exceeding the current level of expenditures for the last three months for the maintenance of the Logistics Base; and requested the Secretary-General to finalize, in that context, the proposals on the management of United Nations peacekeeping assets and on the role of the Logistics Base (resolution 51/218 E, sect. VIII).

Documents:

(a) Reports of the Secretary-General;

(b) Reports of the Advisory Committee.

(b) Relocation of Ukraine to the group of Member States set out in paragraph 3 (c) of General Assembly resolution 43/232

At its resumed fiftieth session in April 1996,⁽²²⁷⁾ the General Assembly, inter alia, decided, as an ad hoc arrangement: (a) to note the voluntary decision made by the Government of Greece and to place Greece among the Member States referred to in paragraph 3 (b) of resolution 43/232; and (b) to begin the transition of Ukraine to the group of Member States referred to in paragraph 3 (c) of resolution 43/232, on the understanding that the reduction in the United States dollar amounts to be assessed on Ukraine beginning on 1 July 1996 should be equal to the additional United States dollar amounts assessed on Greece in accordance with paragraph 2 (a) of the resolution (resolution 50/224).

No advance documentation is expected.

145. Report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services¹

The Office for Inspections and Investigations was established effective 1 September 1993 to provide comprehensive audit, inspection and investigation services to the Organization. The Office incorporated the Central Evaluation Unit, the Central Monitoring Unit, the Internal Audit Division and the Management Advisory Services, which had previously been part of the Department of Administration and Management.

At its resumed forty-eighth session, the General Assembly decided to establish, under the authority of the Secretary-General, an Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which would assume the functions prescribed for the Office for Inspections and Investigations in the note by the Secretary-General (A/48/640), as amended by resolution 48/218 B and subject to the modalities defined therein, with a view to strengthening the executive capabilities of the Secretary-General. The purpose of OIOS is to assist the Secretary-General in fulfilling his internal oversight responsibilities in respect of the resources and staff of the Organization by means of: (a) monitoring; (b) internal audit; (c) inspection and evaluation; and (d) investigation of reports of violations of United Nations regulations, rules and pertinent administrative issuances and transmittal to the Secretary-General of the results of such investigations, together with appropriate recommendations to guide him, in deciding on jurisdictional or disciplinary action to be taken. The Assembly indicated that the Office should submit to the Secretary-General, for transmittal to the Assembly as submitted by the Office, together with any separate comments he might deem appropriate, reports providing insight into the effective utilization and management of resources and the protection of assets as well as an analytical and summary report on its activities for the year; and that the Board of Auditors and the Joint Inspection Unit should be provided with copies of all final reports produced by the Office as well as the comments of the Secretary-General on them, and that those bodies should provide the Assembly with their comments as appropriate; and decided to include in the provisional agenda of its fiftieth session an item entitled "Report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services" (resolution 48/218 B).

The General Assembly continued its consideration of this question at its forty-ninth session, under the item entitled "Financing of the United Nations Protection Force" (resolution 49/228), and at its fiftieth session under the items "Report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services" (resolution 50/239) and "Programme budget for the biennium 1996-1997" (resolution 50/214).

At its fifty-first session,⁽²²⁸⁾ the General Assembly decided to continue consideration of the annual report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services during its resumed fifty-first session; and reaffirmed its decision in paragraph 2 of its resolution 50/239 that the reports of OIOS should be considered under the relevant agenda items (decision 51/458).

At the same session, under the item entitled "Financing of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991", the General Assembly decided to revert to the consideration of the financing of the International Tribunal for 1997 at the first part of its resumed fifty-first session on the basis of the revised budget proposals to be submitted by the Secretary-General and the report of OIOS, which was requeste extended by the Security Council in its resolutions 911 (1994), 950 (1994), 972 (1995) utilization of resources, to be submitted to the Assembly (resolution 51/214).

Also at the fifty-first session, under the item entitled "Financing of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994", the General Assembly decided to revert to the consideration of the financing of the International Tribunal for 1997 at the first part of its resumed fifty-first session on the basis of the revised budgetary estimates to be proposed by the Secretary-General and the report of OIOS to be submitted to the Assembly, which was requested with a view to identifying problems and recommending measures to enhance the efficient utilization of resources (resolution 51/215).

At the same session, under the item entitled "Programme budget for the biennium 1996-1997", the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report, through OIOS, no later than 1 March 1997, on the use of consultants and associated contractual procedures in the United Nations during the calendar year 1996 (resolution 51/221 B).

At its resumed fifty-first session, in June 1997, under the item entitled "Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations", the General Assembly, inter alia, requested the Secretary-General to entrust OIOS with the investigation of the situation mentioned in paragraphs 16 and 17 or resolution 51/235, concerning the insufficient use of expertise in procurement planning in eight peacekeeping missions, and to report thereon through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions to the Assembly at its fifty-second session; welcomed the reports of OIOS (A/51/432, annex, sect. II.C; A/50/945, annex; A/50/1004; and A/51/802, annex); noted that the Secretary-General concurred with the recommendations of the Office, and requested him to ensure their full implementation; and endorsed the recommendations contained in the report of OIOS on Headquarters catering operations, and requested the Secretary-General to take action to achieve consistency in policy and practice with regard to catering operations at United Nations Headquarters and Geneva (resolution 51/231).

Also at its resumed fifty-first session, in June 1997, under the same item, the General Assembly, inter alia, requested the Secretary-General to entrust OIOS with the conduct of an audit similar to the management audit of United Nations global cargo and motor vehicle insurance programmes, which would cover all United Nations insurance programmes, including the question of insurance contracts based on international bidding; decided to revert, at its fifty-second session, to the consideration of the report of OIOS on the review of outsourcing practices at the United Nations in the light of the forthcoming report of the Joint Inspection Unit on outsourcing in the United Nations system; and requested the Secretary-General to ensure prompt implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of OIOS on the audit of the United Nations Postal Administration (decision 51/468).

Documents:

Notes by the Secretary-General transmitting reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services:

(i) Annual report of OIOS (resolution 48/218 B);

(ii) Audit of the use of consultants in 1996 (resolution 51/221 B);

(iii) Audit of the implementation of procurement reform (resolution 48/218 B);

(iv) Audit of the regional commissions (ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA) (resolution 48/218 B);

(v) Review of the programme and administrative practices of the secretariat of the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC) (resolution 48/218 B), A/51/933;

(vi) Review of the programme and administrative practices of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch (resolution 48/218 B);

(vii) Follow-up on the audit and investigation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (resolutions 48/218 B, 50/213 C and 51/215);

(viii) Investigation of aviation contracting (resolution 48/218 B);

(ix) Evaluation of United Nations responsibility for termination pay to the locally employed civilians in UNFICYP (resolution 51/235);

(x) Audit of United Nations insurance programmes (decision 51/468 B);

(xi) Review of procurement planning in peacekeeping missions (resolution 51/231).

146. Convention on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property

At its forty-sixth session, in 1991, the General Assembly, noting that the International Law Commission had completed the second reading of the draft articles on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property, and recognizing the desirability of the conclusion of a convention on the subject, decided to establish an open-ended Working Group of the Sixth Committee to examine issues of substance arising out of the draft articles, in order to facilitate a successful conclusion of a convention through the promotion of general agreement, as well as the question of the convening of an international conference, to be held in 1994 or subsequently, to conclude a convention on the subject (resolution 46/55).

The General Assembly continued its consideration of the item at its forty-seventh and forty-eighth sessions (decisions 47/414 and 48/413).

At its forty-ninth session,⁽²²⁹⁾ the General Assembly: (a) accepted the recommendation of the International Law Commission that an international conference of plenipotentiaries be convened to consider the articles on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property and to conclude a convention on the subject; (b) invited States to submit to the Secretary-General their comments on the conclusions of the chairman of the informal consultations held pursuant to its decision 48/413, and on the reports of the Working Group established under its resolution 46/55 and reconvened pursuant to its decision 47/414; and (c) decided to resume consideration, at its fifty-second session, of the issues of substance, in the light of the above-mentioned reports and the comments submitted by States thereon, and to determine, at its fifty-second session or fifty-third session, the arrangements for the conference, including the date and place, due consideration being given to ensuring the widest possible agreement at the conference (resolution 49/61).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 49/61).

147. United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law

The United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law was established by the General Assembly at its twentieth session, in 1965 (resolution 2099 (XX)). Its continuation was subsequently authorized by the Assembly at its annual sessions until its twenty-sixth session, and thereafter biennially (resolutions 2204 (XXI), 2313 (XXII), 2464 (XXIII), 2550 (XXIV), 2698 (XXV), 2838 (XXVI), 3106 (XXVIII), 3502 (XXX), 32/146, 34/144, 36/108, 38/129, 40/66, 42/148, 44/28 and 46/50).

In the performance of the functions entrusted to him by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General is assisted by the Advisory Committee on the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law, the members of which are appointed by the Assembly.

At its fiftieth session,⁽²³⁰⁾ the General Assembly appointed the following 25 Member States as members of the Advisory Committee for a period of four years beginning on 1 January 1996: Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Russian Federation, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America and Uruguay (resolution 50/43).

At the same session, the General Assembly authorized the Secretary-General to carry out in 1996 and 1997 the activities specified in his report, including the provision of: (a) a number of fellowships in 1996 and 1997, to be awarded at the request of Governments of developing countries; (b) a minimum of one scholarship in both 1996 and 1997 under the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea, subject to the availability of new voluntary contributions made specifically to the fellowship fund; and (c) subject to the overall resources for the Programme, assistance in the form of a travel grant for one participant from each developing country, who would be invited to possible regional courses to be organized in 1996 and 1997; requested the Secretary-General to invite Member States and interested organizations, as well as individuals, to make voluntary contributions towards the financing of the Programme or otherwise to assist in its implementation and possible expansion; and also requested the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly at its fifty-second session on the implementation of the Programme during 1996 and 1997 and, following consultations with the Advisory Committee, to submit recommendations regarding the execution of the Programme in subsequent years (resolution 50/43).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 50/43).

148. United Nations Decade of International Law

(a) United Nations Decade of International Law

(b) Action to be taken in 1999 dedicated to the centennial of the first International Peace Conference and to the closing of the United Nations Decade of International Law

This item was included in the agenda of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly, in 1989, at the request of Zimbabwe as the then chairman of the Coordinating Bureau of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. At that session, the Assembly declared the period 1990-1999 as the United Nations Decade of International Law; considered that the main purposes of the Decade should be, inter alia: (a) to promote acceptance of and respect for the principles of international law; (b) to promote means and methods for the peaceful settlement of disputes between States, including resort to and full respect for the International Court of Justice; (c) to encourage the progressive development of international law and its codification; and (d) to encourage the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law (resolution 44/23).

The General Assembly considered the question at its forty-fifth to fiftieth sessions (resolutions 45/40, 46/53, 47/32, 48/30, 49/50 and 50/44). At its forty-fifth, forty-seventh and forty-ninth sessions, the Assembly adopted the programmes for the activities to be commenced during the first term (1990-1992), the second term (1993-1994) and the third term (1995-1996) of the Decade (resolutions 45/40, 47/32 and 49/50).

At its fifty-first session,⁽²³¹⁾ the General Assembly adopted the programme for the activities for the final term (1997-1999) of the Decade, annexed to resolution 51/57; it also, inter alia, recalled, with appreciation to the Secretary-General, the successful organization of the United Nations Congress on Public International Law, held from 13 to 17 March 1995, and welcomed the publication of the proceedings of the Congress;⁽²³²⁾ welcomed the establishment of the International tribunal for the law of the Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as a new means of settlement of disputes; encouraged the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat to continue in its efforts to bring up to date the publication of the United Nations Juridical Yearbook; invited all States and international organizations and institutions referred to in the programme to undertake the relevant activities outlined therein; and appealed to States, international organizations and non-governmental organizations working in the field of international law and to the private sector to make financial contributions or contributions in kind for the purpose of facilitating the implementation of the programme (resolution 51/157).

At the same session, the General Assembly, in its resolution entitled "Electronic treaty database", inter alia, welcomed the statement of objective of developing a comprehensive electronic database containing all depositary and registration information and disseminating electronically treaties and treaty law-related information from the database, including through on-line access; requested the Secretary-General to continue to give priority to the implementation of the computerization programme in the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat; called upon the Secretary-General to ensure that all necessary support is provided to expedite the publication of the printed version of the United Nations Treaty Series through the prompt provision of the necessary equipment and translation services; endorsed the proposed Internet dissemination of the United Nations Treaty Series in addition to the current access to the Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General; and invited the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, other international organizations and Member States with depositary functions for multilateral treaties to use their best endeavours to provide Internet access to treaties and treaty law-related information as soon as practicable (resolution 51/158).

Also at the same session, the General Assembly, in its resolution entitled "Action to be taken in 1999 dedicated to the centennial of the first International Peace Conference and to the closing of the United Nations Decade of International Law", inter alia, considered it desirable to draft a programme of action dedicated to the centennial of the first International Peace Conference and to the closing of the United Nations Decade of International Law in 1999; invited the Governments of the Russian Federation and the Netherlands to arrange, as a matter of urgency, a preliminary discussion with other interested Member States on the substantive content of action to be taken in 1999 and to seek the cooperation of the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, relevant intergovernmental organizations, as well as other relevant organizations; and called upon the competent United Nations organs, programmes and specialized agencies to study the possibilities of providing assistance to that end (resolution 51/159).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 51/158).

149. Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its forty-ninth session

The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly at its second session, in 1947, with a view to giving effect to Article 13, paragraph 1 a, of the Charter. The object of the Commission is to promote the progressive development of international law and its codification. The Commission concerns itself primarily with public international law, but it is not precluded from entering the field of private international law (resolution 174 (II)).

The statute of the Commission, annexed to resolution 174 (II), was subsequently amended (resolutions 485 (V), 984 (X), 985 (X) and 36/39). The Commission consists of 34 members elected for a term of five years. The last election took place at the fifty-first session (decision 51/309).

At its fifty-first session,⁽²³³⁾ the General Assembly, inter alia, urged Governments to submit their comments on the draft articles on State responsibility adopted on first reading by the Commission; encouraged Governments to provide their views on the draft articles prepared by the Working Group on International Liability for Injurious Consequences Arising out of Acts not Prohibited by International Law; requested the Secretary-General to make appropriate arrangements to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the International Law Commission through a colloquium on the progressive development and codification of international law, to be held during the consideration in the Sixth Committee of the report of the Commission on the work of its forty-ninth session; and recommended that the debate on the report of the Commission at the fifty-second session of the Assembly commence on 27 October 1997 (resolution 51/160).

Documents:

(a) Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its forty-ninth session, Supplement No. 10 (A/52/10);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 51/160).

150. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its thirtieth session

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law was established by the General Assembly at its twenty-first session, in 1966, to promote the progressive harmonization and unification of the law of international trade (resolution 2205 (XXI)). It began its work in 1968. The Commission originally consisted of 29 Member States representing the various geographic regions and the principal legal systems of the world. At its twenty-eighth session, the Assembly increased the membership of the Commission from 29 to 36 (resolution 3108 (XXVIII)). At its fifty-second session, the Assembly will have to elect 19 members of the Commission (see item 16 (c) above).

At its fifty-first session,⁽²³⁴⁾ the General Assembly commended the Commission for the finalization of the Notes on organizing Arbitral Proceedings; expressed its appreciation for the progress made in its work on the subjects of receivables financing and cross-border insolvency; welcomed the decision of the Commission to request the Secretariat to review issues on which legislative guidance on build-operate-transfer arrangements might be useful, and to commence the preparation of a legislative guide on build-operate-transfer projects; reaffirmed the mandate of the Commission, as the core legal body within the United Nations system in the field of international trade law, to coordinate legal activities in that field and, in that connection, called upon all bodies of the United Nations system and invited other international organizations to bear in mind the mandate of the Commission and the need to avoid duplication of effort and to promote efficiency, consistency and coherence in the unification and harmonization of international trade law, and recommended that the Commission, through its secretariat, continue to maintain close cooperation with the other international organs and organizations which are active in the field of international trade law and other related areas; also reaffirmed the importance, in particular for developing countries, of the work of the Commission concerned with training and technical assistance in the field of international trade law; expressed the desirability for increased efforts by the Commission, in sponsoring seminars and symposia, to provide such training and technical assistance, and expressed its appreciation to the Governments whose contributions made it possible for seminars and briefing missions to take place, and appealed to Governments, the relevant United Nations organs, organizations and institutions and individuals to make voluntary contributions to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law trust fund for symposia and, where appropriate, to the financing of special projects, and otherwise to assist the secretariat of the Commission in financing and organizing seminars and symposia, in particular in developing countries, and in the award of fellowships to candidates from developing countries; appealed to Governments, the relevant United Nations organs, organizations and institutions and individuals to make voluntary contributions to the trust fund for travel assistance to developing countries that are members of the Commission, at their request and in consultation with the Secretary-General; decided to include the trust funds for symposia and travel assistance in the list of funds and programmes that are dealt with at the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities; requested the Secretary-General to ensure the effective implementation of the programmes of the Commission; and stressed the importance of bringing into effect the conventions emanating from the work of the Commission for the global unification and harmonization of international trade law, and to that end urged States that had not yet done so to consider signing, ratifying or acceding to those conventions (resolution 51/161).

At the same session, the General Assembly expressed its appreciation to the Commission for completing and adopting the Model Law on Electronic Commerce, annexed to resolution 51/162, and for preparing the Guide to Enactment of the Model Law; recommended that all States give favourable consideration to the Model Law when they enact or revise their laws; and recommended also that all efforts be made to ensure that the Model Law, together with the Guide, become generally known and available (resolution 51/162).

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151. Report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country

The Committee on Relations with the Host Country was established by the General Assembly at its twenty-sixth session, in 1971 (resolution 2819 (XXVI)). At present, the Committee is composed of the following 15 Member States: Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, France, Honduras, Iraq, Mali, Russian Federation, Senegal, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America.

At its fifty-first session,⁽²³⁵⁾ the General Assembly, inter alia, endorsed the recommendations and conclusions of the Committee contained in paragraph 65 of its report; considered that the maintenance of appropriate conditions for the normal work of the delegations and missions accredited to the United Nations was in the interests of the United Nations and all Member States; expressed its appreciation for the efforts made by the host country, and hoped that concerns raised at the meetings of the Committee would continue to be resolved in a spirit of cooperation and in accordance with international law; noted with appreciation the efforts of the Committee which had contributed to a decrease in the amount of diplomatic indebtedness; called upon the host country to review measures and procedures relating to the parking of diplomatic vehicles; and requested the Secretary-General to remain actively engaged in all aspects of the relations of the United Nations with the host country (resolution 51/163).

Document: Report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country, Supplement No. 26 (A/52/26).

152. Establishment of an international criminal court

At its forty-ninth session, in 1994, the General Assembly, noting that the International Law Commission had adopted a draft statute for an international criminal court and recommended that an international conference of plenipotentiaries be convened to conclude a convention on the establishment of such a court, established an ad hoc committee to review the draft statute and consider arrangements for the convening of the conference (resolution 49/53).

At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly established the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court to discuss further the major substantive and administrative issues arising out of the draft statute and to draft texts, with a view to preparing a widely acceptable consolidated text of a convention for an international criminal court as a next step towards consideration by the conference of plenipotentiaries (resolution 50/46).

At its fifty-first session,⁽²³⁶⁾ the General Assembly, inter alia, reaffirmed the mandate of the Preparatory Committee and directed it to proceed in accordance with paragraph 368 of its report; decided that it would meet from 11 to 21 February, 4 to 15 August and 1 to 12 December 1997, and from 16 March to 3 April 1998, in order to complete the drafting of a widely acceptable consolidated text of a convention, to be submitted to the diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries; decided further that a diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries should be held in 1998, with a view to finalizing and adopting a convention; requested the Secretary-General to establish a special fund for the participation of the least developed countries in the work of the Preparatory Committee and in the diplomatic conference; and decided to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second session the item entitled "Establishment of an international criminal court" in order to have the necessary arrangements made for the diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries to be held in 1998, unless the Assembly decides otherwise in view of relevant circumstances (resolution 51/207).

The Preparatory Committee met from 11 to 21 February and will meet again from 4 to 15 August and 1 to 12 December 1997, and from 16 March to 3 April 1998.

No advance documentation is expected.

153. Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization

The item entitled "Need to consider suggestions regarding the review of the Charter of the United Nations" was included in the agenda of the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly, in 1969, at the request of Colombia (A/7659).

At its twenty-ninth session, the General Assembly decided to establish an Ad Hoc Committee on the Charter of the United Nations to consider, inter alia, any specific proposals that Governments might make with a view to enhancing the ability of the United Nations to achieve its purposes as well as other suggestions for the more effective functioning of the United Nations that might not require amendments to the Charter (resolution 3349 (XXIX)).

Meanwhile, another item, entitled "Strengthening of the role of the United Nations with regard to the maintenance and consolidation of international peace and security, the development of cooperation among all nations and the promotion of the rules of international law in relations between States", was included in the agenda of the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly at the request of Romania (A/8792).

At its thirtieth session, the General Assembly considered the report of the Ad Hoc Committee together with the item on the strengthening of the role of the United Nations. At that session, the Assembly decided to reconvene the Ad Hoc Committee as the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization to examine suggestions and proposals regarding the Charter and the strengthening of the role of the United Nations with regard to the maintenance and consolidation of international peace and security, the development of cooperation among all nations and the promotion of the rules of international law (resolution 3499 (XXX)).

Since its thirtieth session, the General Assembly has reconvened the Special Committee every year and considered its successive reports (resolutions 31/28, 32/45, 33/94, 34/147, 35/164, 36/123, 37/114, 38/141, 39/88, 40/78, 41/83, 42/157, 43/170, 44/37, 45/44, 46/58, 47/38, 48/36, 49/58 and 50/52).

At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly decided that the Committee should henceforth be open to all States members of the United Nations and that it would continue to operate on the basis of the practice of consensus (resolution 50/52).

At its fifty-first session,⁽²³⁷⁾ the General Assembly, inter alia, underlined the importance of consultations under Article 50 of the Charter of the United Nations, as early as possible, with third States which are or may be confronted with special economic problems arising from the carrying out of preventive or enforcement measures imposed by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter and of early and regular assessments, as appropriate, of their impact on such States; invited the Security Council to consider the establishment of further mechanisms or procedures, as appropriate, for such consultations with regard to a solution of those problems; welcomed the further measures taken by the Council aimed at increasing the effectiveness and transparency of the sanctions committees, and strongly recommended that the Council continue its efforts further to enhance the functioning of those committees, to streamline their working procedures and to facilitate access to them by representatives of States referred to above; requested the Secretary-General to ensure that the competent units within the Secretariat that he designated develop the capacity and modalities for providing better information and early assessments for the Security Council and its organs, at their request, about actual or potential effects of sanctions on third States which invoke Article 50 of the Charter; also requested the Secretary-General to continue efforts with a view to developing a possible methodology for assessing the adverse consequences actually incurred by affected third States, and to utilize for that purpose all the expertise available throughout the United Nations system, including that of the international financial and trade institutions; further requested the Secretary-General to continue to collate and coordinate information about international assistance available to affected third States and to initiate action to explore innovative and practical measures of assistance to such States, inter alia, through cooperation with relevant institutions and organizations inside and outside the United Nations system; invited such organizations to continue to address more specifically and directly, where appropriate, special economic problems of affected third States; requested the Special Committee, at its session in 1997, to continue to consider on a priority basis the question of the implementation of the provisions of the Charter related to assistance to affected third States; and requested the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the resolution to the Assembly at its fifty-second session (resolution 51/208).

At the same session, the General Assembly, inter alia, requested the Special Committee at its session in 1997: (a) to accord appropriate time for the consideration of all proposals concerning the question of the maintenance of international peace and security in all its aspects and to consider other proposals relating to the question already submitted or which might be submitted to the Committee at its session in 1997, (b) to continue to consider on a priority basis the question of the implementation of the provisions of the Charter related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions, (c) to continue its work on the question of the peaceful settlement of disputes between States and its consideration of proposals relating to the question, and (d) to continue to consider proposals concerning the Trusteeship Council; requested the Secretary-General to expedite the preparation and publication of the Supplements to the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council and the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and to submit a progress report on the matter to the Assembly before its fifty-second session; and invited the Special Committee at its session in 1997 to continue to identify new subjects for consideration in its future work with a view to contributing to the revitalization of the work of the United Nations, to discuss how to offer its assistance to the working groups of the General Assembly in that field, and to consider ways and means of improving coordination between the Special Committee and other working groups dealing with the reform of the Organization, including the role of the Chairperson of the Special Committee for that purpose; and requested the Special Committee to submit a report on its work to the Assembly at the fifty-second session (resolution 51/209).

The Committee met at United Nations Headquarters from 27 January to 7 February 1997.

Documents:

(a) Report of the Special Committee, Supplement No. 33 (A/52/33);

(b) Reports of the Secretary-General (resolutions 51/208 and 51/209).

154. Measures to eliminate international terrorism

This item was included in the agenda of the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly, in 1972, further to an initiative of the Secretary-General (A/8791 and Add.1 and Add.1/Corr.1). At that session, the Assembly decided to establish the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism, consisting of 35 members.

The Ad Hoc Committee met at United Nations Headquarters in 1973, 1977 and 1979 and reported to the General Assembly at its twenty-eighth, thirty-second and thirty-fourth session.

Between 1979 and 1995, the General Assembly adopted eight resolutions and one decision under this item, namely, resolutions 34/145, 36/109, 40/61, 42/159, 44/29 and 46/51, decision 48/411, and resolutions 49/60 and 50/53.

At its fifty-first session,⁽²³⁸⁾ the General Assembly, inter alia, reaffirmed the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, annexed to Assembly resolution 49/60; approved the Declaration to Supplement the 1994 Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, the text of which it annexed to its resolution; decided to establish an ad hoc committee with the successive tasks of elaborating a convention for the suppression of terrorist bombings, elaborating a convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism and addressing means of further developing a comprehensive legal framework of conventions dealing with international terrorism; decided that the Ad Hoc Committee would meet from 24 February to 7 March 1997 to undertake the first of those tasks, and recommended that work continue during the fifty-second session of the Assembly from 22 September to 3 October 1997 in the framework of a working group of the Sixth Committee; requested the Ad Hoc Committee to report to the Assembly at its fifty-second session on progress made with regard to the first of its tasks; and recommended that the Ad Hoc Committee be convened in 1998 to continue its work (resolution 51/210).

The Ad Hoc Committee met at United Nations Headquarters from 24 February to 7 March 1997.

Documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 50/53);

(b) Report of the Ad Hoc Committee Established by General Assembly resolution 51/210 of 17 December 1996, Supplement No. 37 (A/52/37).

155. Human resources management⁶

At its fifty-first session,⁽²³⁹⁾ the General Assembly reiterated its full support for the Secretary-General as the chief administrative officer of the Organization; noted the steps taken to implement a number of elements of the strategy for the management of the human resources of the Organization; regretted the unsuccessful efforts to develop a management environment and culture in the Organization that enabled staff members to contribute their maximum potential, effectiveness and efficiency; called upon the Secretary-General to pursue the full implementation of his strategy (see A/C.5/49/5) as soon as possible; noted, in that connection, the phasing-in of performance management, including the introduction in 1996 of a new performance appraisal system; recognized the role of the Office of Human Resources Management as the primary representative of the Secretary-General in establishing human resources policies and guidelines; requested the Secretary-General to enhance managerial accountability with respect to human resources management decisions; deplored the high number of exceptions to the established procedures for the recruitment, placement and promotion of staff; requested the Secretary-General to announce all vacancies so as to give equal opportunity to all qualified staff and to encourage mobility; requested the Secretary-General to ensure in his proposed programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999 provision to the Office of Human Resources Management of the level of resources commensurate with the mandate set out above; decided that the period of continuous release of staff representatives should not exceed four years, and to limit such release to elected staff representatives only; requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly a report on the practice of Member States relative to the financing of national staff representation and on the proportion of staff representation; took note of the preliminary work in human resources planning, especially in the projection of recruitment needs at the entry level from 1997 to 2001, and requested that those activities be continued and expanded; requested the Secretary-General to use, to the fullest extent possible, existing mechanisms, such as agreed termination or granting leave without pay, to create opportunities for upward mobility for existing staff and for recruiting new staff; reaffirmed that no post should be considered the exclusive preserve of any Member State or group of States, including at the highest level; recognized that the system of desirable ranges was the mechanism for the recruitment of staff in posts subject to geographical distribution; requested the Secretary-General to take every available measure to ensure, at the senior and policy-making levels of the Secretariat, the equitable representation of Member States, in particular of developing countries and Member States with inadequate representation at those levels, and to include relevant information thereon in future reports on the composition of the Secretariat, and also to exercise flexibility in the application of desirable ranges in individual recruitment cases; requested the Secretary-General, while ensuring that the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity served as the primary criteria in the recruitment of staff, to ensure that the search for and the selection of candidates would be conducted in accordance with the guiding principles of achieving equitable geographical distribution and providing equal opportunity for men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in the work of the Secretariat; requested the Secretary-General to restrict the practice of making temporary appointments against regular budget or extrabudgetary posts of one year or more to temporary needs, for example, replacement of staff on field mission assignment and authorized leave, to take effective measures to prevent the placement of staff members against higher-level unencumbered posts for periods longer than three months, to issue vacancy announcements within a three-month period and to instruct programme managers to inform the Office of Human Resources Management of all vacancies immediately and of all foreseen vacancies six months before the posts became vacant; noted that the posts subject to the desirable range formula were limited to 2,700 posts; requested the Secretary-General to continue to hold national competitive examinations for posts at the P-2 and P-3 levels as a useful tool for selecting the best qualified candidates from inadequately represented Member States, and requested him also not to decrease the proportion of entrance-level posts at the P-1 to P-3 levels for budgetary purposes; requested the Secretary-General to offer probationary appointments to all staff members who had passed a competitive recruitment examination and to consider all such staff members for conversion to permanent appointment after completion of the probationary service; requested the Secretary-General to complete the realignment with the national competitive examination of the competitive examination for promotion to the Professional category of staff members from other categories, and to make proposals on the introduction of a probationary period for successful candidates in the competitive examinations for promotion to the Professional category of staff members from other categories; requested the Secretary-General to report on the question of geographical imbalance resulting from promotions, through the competitive examination for promotion to the Professional category of staff members from other categories, to posts subject to geographical distribution; urged the Secretary-General to take all necessary measures, including instructions to department heads, as needed to place all successful candidates from the national competitive examinations within one year, subject to the availability of posts; requested the Secretary-General to extend to consultants and to personnel provided on a non-reimbursable basis the current practice of barring interns from applying for or being appointed to posts in the Secretariat for a period of six months after the end of their internships, and decided that persons on short-term appointments filling regular budget posts or extrabudgetary posts of one year or more would not be permitted to apply for or be appointed to their current post within six months of the end of their current service; requested the Secretary-General to ensure that persons serving in peacekeeping or other field missions became eligible for consideration for internal vacancies in the Secretariat after having served for at least 12 months, and requested him to resume normal recruitment activities at all levels as soon as possible; urged the Secretary-General fully to implement and monitor the strategic plan of action for the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (1995-2000) (A/49/587 and Corr.1, sect. IV), and requested him to continue his work to create a gender-sensitive work environment; requested the Secretary-General to develop a family leave programme for United Nations staff, and to report thereon to the Assembly as soon as possible; requested the Secretary-General to make proposals with regard to the structure and source of funding for the Focal Point for Women, with a view to ensuring the provision of an adequate level of resources commensurate with its mandate, and to take appropriate measures, as soon as possible, to allow the mandate of the Focal Point for Women to be fulfilled; encouraged the Secretary-General to appoint more women at the D-1 level and above; urged the Secretary-General to increase the number of women employed in the Secretariat from developing countries; strongly encouraged Member States to support the efforts of the United Nations and the specialized agencies to increase the percentage of women in Professional posts, especially at the D-1 level and above, by identifying and regularly presenting more women candidates; requested the Secretary-General to meet the goals and objectives set by the Assembly in various resolutions by establishing, as a matter of priority, a comprehensive career development and promotion system; requested him to report to the Assembly on the feasibility of holding the national competitive examinations in the six official languages, without prejudice to the mandatory knowledge of English and French as working languages, and also requested him to make proposals aimed at ensuring that nationals of Member States whose mother tongue was not an official or working language of the United Nations were not placed at a disadvantage when taking those examinations; requested the Secretary-General to pursue the development and implementation of the managed reassignment programmes for entry-level and other staff; noted that only modest progress had been made towards achieving greater staff mobility for internationally recruited staff, and reiterated the importance of making substantive progress towards that objective; noted with concern the fact that delays in completion of performance appraisal reports had an adverse effect on staff members being considered by the appointment and promotion bodies, and requested the Secretary-General to take steps to ensure that the managers preparing those reports were held accountable for any such delays; requested that, to the extent possible for a fair evaluation of staff members, the recruitment and promotion procedure not be postponed to the detriment of staff members for want of performance appraisal reports; noted with appreciation the strengthened training programmes, inter alia, people management training, upgrading of substantive skills, information technology, communications and training in all six official languages on an equal basis, and requested the Secretary-General to continue to invest in the Organization's future capacity by sustaining and expanding those programmes in order to meet organizational needs and individual career development aspirations; expressed its concern about the practice of using consultants to carry out functions assigned to established posts, and requested the Secretary-General to refrain from that practice; noted with concern the observations of the Board of Auditors that a number of findings warranted further investigation with a view to taking appropriate action against personnel responsible for such malpractice, and requested the Secretary-General to take appropriate action and to report to the Assembly at its fifty-second session; requested the Secretary-General and the executive heads of the United Nations organizations and programmes to ensure selection of consultants on a more competitive basis; requested the Secretary-General to prepare, no later than the end of 1997, comprehensive policy guidelines on the terms of reference (including objectives, targets and output delivery dates), selection, hiring and renewal of consultants and ensuring transparency and objectivity in the selection process, and to submit those guidelines to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions for review before their consideration by the Assembly at its fifty-second session; endorsed the recommendation of the Advisory Committee that the Secretariat resume the past practice of submitting, on a biennial basis and in conjunction with the report requested by the Committee on the hiring of retired staff, a report on the hiring and use of consultants (resolution 51/226).

Documents: Reports of the Secretary-General (resolution 51/226).

Respect for the privileges and immunities of officials of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and related organizations

This question was considered by the General Assembly during its thirty-fifth session, in 1980, under the agenda item entitled "Personnel questions" (resolution 35/212), and was subsequently considered at the thirty-sixth to forty-fifth and forty-seventh to fiftieth sessions (resolutions 36/232, 37/236, 38/230, 39/244, 40/258 C, 41/205, 42/219, 43/225, 44/186, 45/240 and 47/28 and decisions 48/462, 49/238 and 50/484).

At its fifty-first session,²³⁹ the General Assembly took note of the report of the Secretary-General on respectfor the privileges and immunities of officials of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and related organizations and of the statement made to the Fifth Committee by the United Nations Security Coordinator; and requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly at its fifty-second session a report on respect for the privileges and immunities of officials of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and related organizations as well as their security and safety (resolution 51/227).

Document: Report of the Secretary-General (resolution 51/227).

Amendments to the Staff Rules

At the same session, the General Assembly took note of the amendments to the 100 and 200 series of the Staff Rules, without prejudice to the consideration of the item entitled "Human resources management" at the first part of its resumed fifty-first session (decision 51/455).

156. Financing of the Military Observer Group of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala⁵

The Security Council, by its resolution 1094 (1997) of 20 January 1997, authorized the attachment to the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA) of a group of 155 military observers and requisite medical personnel for a three-month period.

In accordance with paragraph 5 of resolution 51/198 B of 27 March 1997, MINUGUA was renamed the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala.

At its resumed fifty-first session in April 1997,⁽²⁴⁰⁾ the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to establish a special account for the Observer Group; decided to appropriate the amount of $4 million gross ($3,956,300 net) for the period from 15 February to 31 May 1997, inclusive of the amount of $3 million gross ($2,949,300 net) already authorized by ACABQ under the terms of section IV of Assembly resolution 49/233 A; decided also, as an ad hoc arrangement, to apportion the amount of $4 million gross ($3,956,300 net) for the period from 15 February to 31 May 1997 among Member States, taking into account the scale of assessments for 1997; decided further to set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 7 of the resolution, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated staff assessment income of $43,700 approved for the period from 15 February to 31 May 1997; and decided to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second session an item entitled "Financing of the Military Observer Group of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala" (resolution 51/228).

Documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the financing of the Military Observer Group of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (resolution 51/228);

(b) Report of the Advisory Committee.

235. References for the fifty-first session (agenda item 149):

243. a In accordance with General Assembly resolution 47/233 of 17 August 1993, the Special Political Committee and the Fourth Committee became the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee).