At its forty-ninth session, in 1994, the General Assembly decided that the financial period for peacekeeping operations should be from 1 July to 30 June (resolution 49/233 A, sect. I).
At its fiftieth session, under the item entitled "Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations: financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations", the General Assembly decided to amend financial regulations 2.1 and 11.4 to reflect the change in the financial period (decision 50/472).
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to indicate an expected time frame for the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors as well as the priorities for their implementation, including the office holders to be held accountable, and to report to the Assembly at its sixtieth session on measures undertaken to implement those recommendations; further requested the Secretary-General to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors, including those relating to the issue of the management of rations in peacekeeping operations as a whole and the management of air operations, and the related recommendations of the Advisory Committee in a prompt and timely manner; and requested the Secretary-General,the implementing the recommendations referred to in paragraph 81 of the report of the Board of Auditors (A/59/5, vol. II, chap. II), to take into account that that related solely to the recommendations of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations as adopted by the General Assembly which had not been fully implemented to date (resolution 59/264 B).
Support account for peacekeeping operations
At its forty-fifth session, in 1991, the General Assembly established the support account for peacekeeping operations, effective 1 January 1990 (resolution 45/258). It became operational on 1 May 1990 through the incorporation of resources relating to the overload posts that were funded from the separate budgets of the five peacekeeping operations that were financed at the time outside the scope of the regular budget.
The Secretary-General proposed to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session that the support account funding methodology be changed so that the Assembly would appropriate the Headquarters backstopping requirements for the 12-month period ending 30 June of the following year and Member States would be assessed on the same scale as that used for peacekeeping assessments (A/50/876). In its related report (A/50/897), the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions recommended approval of the Secretary-General's proposal and stated that the requirements would be prorated among the individual peacekeeping operations rather than appropriated and assessed separately. In its resolution 50/221 B of 7 June 1996, the Assembly approved on a provisional basis, for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997, the new support account funding arrangements.
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly decided to provide general temporary assistance to implement and monitor the environmental protection programmes in the field and requested the Secretary-General to rejustify this position by providing additional information on the necessity of the backstopping capacity at Headquarters and on the ongoing cooperative arrangements with the United Nations Environment Programme in the area of environmental protection; requested the Secretary-General to entrust the Office of Internal Oversight Services to conduct an audit of standard costs applied to headquarters overheads and to submit its findings to the General Assembly at the second part of its resumed sixtieth session; decided that all future requests for additional headquarters capacity linked to new or expanded peacekeeping or peace support missions must be accompanied by an analysis of spare capacity created by any downsizing or liquidation of other missions; also decided that following the end of mandate of missions, mission-specific posts in the Office of Operations of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations should be disestablished or redeployed and reflected accordingly in the next support account proposal; approved the support account requirements in the amount of $146,935,200 (see A/C.5/59/28, Add.1, Add.1/Corr.1 & A/C.5/59/32) for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006, including 761 continuing and 70 new temporary posts and their related post and non-post requirements; and decided on the financing of requirements for the support account for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 (resolution 59/301).
At the same session, the Fifth Committee, having considered the statement of programme budget implications submitted by the Secretary-General (A/C.5/59/32), decided to inform the General Assembly that, should it adopt draft resolution A/C.5/59/L.53, an additional appropriation of $466,600 would be required for the support account for peacekeeping operations for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 for the Office of Internal Oversight Services (decision 59/562).
United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to include detailed information on the financial and legal implications as well as on the expected benefits that may arise from the expansion of the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi in the budget submission for 2006/07; requested the Secretary-General to undertake a further analysis of how the Logistics Base could best be utilized to provide efficient and economical communications and information technology services, as well as other services, for United Nations peacekeeping and Headquarters clients; and decided on the financing of the requirements for the Logistics Base for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 (resolution 59/299). The Assembly, in its resolution 59/296 (XX, para 1, also requested the Secretary-General to oprovide the General Assembly with a cost benefit analysis on the issue of the transfer of vehicles with high mileage to the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, to other missions and to upcoming missions, taking into account the cost of freight and report thereon to the Assembly at its sixtieth session (resolution 59/296).
Rates of reimbursement to governments of troop contributing states.
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly decided to approve the proposal of the Secretary-General that the next Working Group on Contingent-owned Equipment, which will meet in 2008, should carry out a comprehensive review of the contingent-owned equipment system for a period of not less than 14 working days; urged the Secretary-General to explore the possibility of holding the Working Group meeting earlier than 2008, if feasible; decided that the next Working Group would consider, without prejudice to the comprehensive review of the contingent-owned equipment system, in recommending any revision of rates of reimbursement for contingent-owned equipment and self-sustainment, the fact that there was no revision of such rates for the period from 2004 to 2008 owing to the lack of consensus on an increase in the rates and on the methodology of the 2004 Working Group; reiterated its request contained in paragraph 8 of its resolution 55/274 and requested the Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive report thereon, addressing all elements, at its sixtieth session; decided to review the daily allowance for troops at its resumed sixtieth session, based on the information to be provided in the context of the comprehensive report referred to above; and decided to set up a channel of communication between the Secretariat and the Member States on the contingent-owned equipment system, strictly for the exchange of information and for seeking clarification and not for reaching decisions that are within the mandate of the Working Group and relevant intergovernmental bodies (resolution 59/298).
Closed peacekeeping missions
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly decided to revert to the issue of the updated financial position of closed peacekeeping missions as at 30 June 2005 in the main part of its sixtieth session (decision 59/563).
At its main part of the sixtieth session, in December 2006, the General Assembly decided to revert to the issue of the updated financial position of closed peacekeeping missions as at 30 June to the second part of the resumed sixtieth session (decision 60/551)
(a) Financing of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly decided to postpone the return of the net cash balance of $7,182,000 available as at 30 June 2004 in the Special Account for the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina; also decided that updated information on the financial position of the Mission should be included in the report to be considered by the Assembly at its sixtieth session on the updated position of closed peacekeeping missions; and further decided to delete from its agenda the item entitled "Financing of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina" (resolution 59/302).
(b) Financing of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly decided that updated information on the financial position of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola should be included in the report to be considered by the Assembly at its sixtieth session on the updated financial position of closed peacekeeping missions, and also decided that the item entitled "Financing of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission and the United Nations Observation Mission in Angola" should be eliminated from the agenda (decision 59/564).
Cross cutting issues:
Overview
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General: to submit an annual overview report on the financing of peacekeeping missions; to provide relevant information in the individual budget submissions of peacekeeping operations for the financial period 2006/07 on the efficiencies resulting from the implementation of the applicable provisions of the resolution; to entrust the Office of Internal Oversight Services with conducting a business process review of the preparation of peacekeeping budget proposals and to submit to the Assembly its findings, including recommendations to streamline the process; and, as a matter of priority, to entrust the Office of Internal Oversight Services with a comprehensive management audit to review the practices of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and to identify risks and exposures to duplication, fraud and abuse of authority and to report thereon at its sixtieth session; authorized the Secretary-General to reappoint under the 100 series of the Staff Rules those mission staff whose service under 300-series contracts had reached the four-year limit by 30 June 2006, provided that their functions had been reviewed and found necessary and their performance had been confirmed as fully satisfactory and to report thereon at the second part of its resumed sixtieth session; requested the Secretary-General: to ensure that the Office of Internal Oversight Services continues to audit the mission subsistence allowance rates; to submit to it at its sixtieth session a comprehensive report based on a thorough analysis of the aspects referred to in section XIV, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the resolution; to ensure that the heads of the peacekeeping operations take effective measures to ensure inventory control, replenishment of stocks and reasonable write-off procedures for the disposal of assets no longer required or useful; to take fully into account the return on investment for information and communication technology and to report on its impact on the resource requirements for the support account for peacekeeping operations; to implement the Galileo system in all peacekeeping operations in order to unify peacekeeping operations inventory; to improve the formulation of resource requirements for air operations in budget submissions to make them more reflective of actual operations; to undertake an analysis of the impact of the new costing structure relating to air operations; to provide a cost-benefit analysis on the issue of the transfer of vehicles with high mileage to the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, to other missions and to upcoming missions and to report thereon at its sixtieth session; to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the delivery of food rations by air assets, without prejudice to the delivery of food to the troops, and to implement the most viable and cost-effective option in each peacekeeping operation; and to undertake a cost-benefit analysis on the use of an independent inspection mechanism to verify the fulfilment by contractors and vendors of all contract specifications regarding quality, hygiene and delivery plans (resolution 59/296).
Peacekeeping Reserve Fund
At its resumed fifty-ninth session, in June 2005, the General Assembly decided that the excess balance in the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund of $13,790,000 in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2004 should be applied to meet the financing of the support account for peacekeeping operations for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 (resolution 59/297).
Joint Inspection Unit report: Implementation of results based budgeting in peacekeeping operations.
At its resumed fifth seventh session, in June 2003, the General Assembly requested the Joint inspection Unit to sbumit to the General Assembly at its resumed sixtieth session an evaluation of the implementation of results based budgeting in peacekeeping operations (resolution 57/290).
