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7 April 2000

I thought I could perhaps address Serge’s question, because since the letter he referred to came out (A/54/819), I’ve been trying to get guidance on it.  I was told that the General Assembly, in the resolution that it adopted in setting up the International Civilian Support Mission in Haiti (MICAH) (54/193), had requested the Secretary-General to report back in the event that funding for the Mission was insufficient.  And given that only the regular budget resources are available, the Secretary-General decided to report that fact to the Assembly.  It is now up to the Member States to take appropriate action.

Question:  What do you mean by appropriate action, to recall the Mission?

Answer:  The matter is under consideration.  The Secretary-General has written this letter because the Assembly said that if there were insufficient funds he should let the Members know about it, and that is what he has done.  Now, it is up to the Assembly to consider what further action to take.

Question: What was the explanation as to unusual funding of this Mission in the first place, because less than half is coming out of the regular budget.  It seemed to be America’s own idea to come up with this voluntary funding mechanism.

Answer: Part of the funding is to come from the regular budget, and the United States and Canada agreed to fund the rest.  I really don’t know the reason behind the decision.

Question: In the letter of the Secretary-General, there are two things: one is the complaint that you just spoke about; the other is his complaint of the general tendency to establish mandates without the necessary financial resources also being provided.  Can we get an answer about this general tendency on the part of the Member States to create missions without having the money?  Is someone going to address this issue?

Answer: Hopefully.  The President of the General Assembly returned last night from a trip to Namibia, and this is one of the issues that will be before him.

If I may now turn to the work of the Assembly.   It meets at 3 p.m. today to take action on 15 reports of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).  Those reports contain nine draft resolutions and 14 draft decisions.

In one report, the Assembly would ask its Committee on Contributions to submit 12 proposals for a scale of assessments for apportioning the expenses of the Organization for the period 2001-2003.

Three reports pertain to peacekeeping operations.  The Assembly is asked to approve $350 million gross for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) for the period from 1 December 1999 and 30 June 2000, as well as an additional $26.9 million for the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), which preceded UNTAET.  For the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), the Secretary-General would be allowed to enter into commitments of $200 million gross to cover expenses from 6 August 1999 to 30 June 2000.

One draft resolution deals with resource requirements for two conferences to be held in 2001 – the Third United Nations Conference for Least Developed Countries and the High-level Intergovernmental Event for Financing for Development.  In it, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to explore ways of providing resources for the two events.

Other draft resolutions deal with reports of the Joint Inspection Unit and the Office of Internal Oversight Services, guidelines for outsourcing United Nations activities and with enhancing the cost effectiveness of United Nations publications.

The draft decisions pertain to procurement reform; strengthening of external oversight mechanisms; programme planning; death and disability benefits; and the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS).  Four draft decisions deal to items being deferred, on human resources management; the Secretary-General’s report on the activities of the OIOS; gratis personnel provided by Governments and other entities; and proposed regulations governing the status, basic rights and duties of officials other than Secretariat officials and experts on mission.

The Assembly will also appoint Victor V. Vislykh (Russian Federation) to serve on the United Nations Staff Pension Committee through 31 December 2000.

Today is World Health Day.  In a message to mark the occasion, the theme of which is “Safe Blood Starts with Me – Blood Saves Lives”, Assembly President Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab said thee global community shares a common life source: blood -- the life force in all human beings, regardless of colour, race or religion. As world citizens and fellow human beings, we have a responsibility to do whatever we can to contribute to sufficient and safe blood supplies, he said.  There was no known risk factor in donating blood, and he encouraged people everywhere to give generously.  The President said: “The day for each of us may come when we may need blood.  When that happens, we would want to know that blood is available – and that it is safe.  Because there is no protection against unsafe blood, the time to act is now.  Together, we can work to ensure that the blood we give – or the transfusion we receive – is safe.”  That message is available as a press release (GA/SM/161-OBV/139).

The President returned to New York last evening from Namibia.  He travels to Havana on Monday to attend the South Summit of the “Group of 77” developing countries.  On his way back, he will stop over in Atlanta to attend a conference of African Ministers of Health on HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Question: Concerning the draft resolution on the scale of assessments, is there a timeframe as to when the 12 proposals requested are to be submitted?  And has the Assembly ever requested this before?  Is this a new step in reassessing the scale?

Answer:  The Committee on Contributions will be meeting in June and will take up this request.  Moreover, this is not the first time that the Committee has been asked to come up with proposals for determining the scale.  It happens from time to time.

Question:  What will be the main theme of the President’s speech to the Havana Summit, where he will be addressing G-77 member States as President of the Assembly?

Answer:  I haven’t seen the text of the speech as yet.  I’ll look into it and answer your question later.