Overview
Programme of work Fifth Committee
of the General Assembly during
the 55th session
The General Assembly has allocated 45 agenda items for consideration
by the Fifth Committee during its fifty-fifth session of the General
Assembly. In accordance with its biennial programme of work,
the Fifth Committee is to give priority consideration to issues
relating to human resources management in particular the report
of the Secretary-General on the human resources management reform. The
agenda of the Fifth Committee for the 55th session will be
loaded with items that will require intensive and difficult negotiations.
In the order of importance, these are: Item 122:
Scale of assessments for the apportionment of expenses of the UN;
item 169: Scale of assessments for the appointment of
expenses of UN peacekeeping operations; Various reports of
the Secretary-General under item 116: Review of the efficiency
of the administrative and financial functioning of the UN, such
as the proposed medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005, the proposed
programme budget outline for the biennium 2002-2003, the capital
master plan, and the budgetary financial impact of the recommendations
contained in Brahimi report (A/55/305), among others.
As in the past, the Committee will
consider the outline of the proposed programme budget for the biennium
2002-2003 which had been submitted by the Secretary-General in document
A/55/186.For the consideration of that issue, the Committee will
have before it the report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination
on the work of its 40th session and the report of the Advisory Committee
on Administrative Budgetary Questions on the proposed programme
budget outline for the biennium
2002-2003. The Committee for Programme and Coordination, at
its resumed 40th session, regretted that the preliminary
estimate proposed by the Secretary-General for 2002-2003, expressed
in 2000-2001 prices amounts to $2,475.4 million did not include
the provisions for special political missions as mandated by GA
resolution 53/206, as well as the budgetary and financial implications
of the recommendations contained in the “Brahimi report.”
In that connection, the Fifth Committee will be tasked to
consider this issue thoroughly and will have before it
a separate comprehensive report of the Secretary-General on the
budgetary and financial implications of the recommendations of the
panel of experts on the financing of peacekeeping operations.
As to the report on the proposed
medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005, although this matter
was intensively examined by the Committee for Programme
and Coordination at its 40th session and had made its conclusions
and recommendations to the General Assembly on most of the programmes,
the Fifth Committee will be tasked to examine carefully the
programme on Human Rights at its 55th session.
The Committee will consider, in accordance
with GA resolution 54/237D, the recommendations of the Committee
on Contributions on the 12 proposals for a scale of assessments
for the period 2001-2003. as well as some of the elements of the
scale methodology.In addition, the General Assembly allocated an
additional item to the Fifth Committee namely, item 169: Scale
of assessment for the apportionment of expenses of the United Nations
peacekeeping operations.
Items relating to the financing of
peacekeeping operations are listed on the agenda of the Fifth Committee,
but in accordance with GA resolution 49/233, all peacekeeping related
matters are considered at a resumed session in the spring of the
following year.
However, the Fifth Committee will take up, during the main part
of the 55th session, the Financing of the two criminal tribunals
in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (Items 127 and 128); the financing
of United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (item 132); the
financing of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (item 133); the financing of the United Nations Transitional
Administration in East Timor (item 134), The financing of
the UN peacekeeping forces in the Middle East, in particular the
UN Interim Force in Lebanon (item 138(b)); and the financing of
the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (item 167). The General Assembly, at its 9th
plenary meeting has allocated to the Fifth Committee an additional
item i.e., the Financing of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
(item 176).
Other items/issues to be considered
are:
Procurement reform(under item 116),
reports of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office
of Internal Oversight Services (item 126), Pattern of Conferences,
(item 121) the United Nations Common System, (item 124) the United
Nations Pension system, (item 125); Management irregularities causing
financial losses to the Organization,(item 116) Security arrangements,
(item 116), Facilities management,(item 116) Results-based
budgeting,(item 116) ; reports of the Joint Inspection Unit (item
116) and Financial reports and audited financial statements
and reports of the Board of Auditors(item 115).
At its organizational session, held
on Tuesday, 19th September, the Committee elected, by acclamation
the two Vice Chairmen, namely, Mr. Hae Yun Park (Republic
of Korea) and Mrs. Jasminka Dinic (Croatia), Mr. Collen
Vixen Kelipale(Botswana), and a Rapporteur, Mr. Eduardo
Manuel de Fonseca Fernandes Ramos (Portugal) . The Committee
also approved its programme of work for the main part of the 55th
session contained in document A/C.5/55/L.2, on the understanding
that it maybe adjusted weekly, as the need arises, taking into account
the priorities set by Member States.
The substantive work of the Committee
will begin on Wednesday, 27 September 2000. As indicated
in the programme of work contained in document A/C.5/55/L.2, the
Fifth Committee, in keeping with the decision of the General
Committee, is scheduled to conclude its work for the main
part of the 55th session on Friday, 1 December 2000
