Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today urged the Secretariat to bolster its budget and financial management activities after considering more than a dozen reports issued by the United Nations top auditing watchdog as part of its annual review of the Organization’s finances.
With a unified sense of purpose, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today rallied around the Secretary-General’s proposal for measures against racism and racial discrimination in the United Nations Secretariat, calling for resource and personnel funding for establishing an anti-racism office and supporting the Special Adviser on Addressing Racism in the Workplace, as well as an immediate end to inequitable geographical representation of staff positions, particularly Professional and higher categories, in the Organization.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today backed the ongoing multi-faceted construction and renovation projects at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations Office at Nairobi, lauding efforts toward energy efficiency, cost savings and sustainability. They also emphasized the need for the projects to be kept tightly on schedule.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered ongoing projects to improve working conditions and conference facilities at duty stations in New York and Nairobi while addressing the financial needs of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Unanimous in their support for the United Nations in attracting and retaining highly skilled and qualified personnel around the world, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today reviewed new and proposed changes to the compensation packages and policies aimed at boosting staff productivity, ensuring equitable geographical representation of the employee structure and justifying the confidence reposed in it.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the financial status of the $77.9 billion United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and the $2.16 billion capital master plan, with the latter drawing concerns over rising closeout costs due to an arbitration case with the plan’s construction manager.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) sent the General Assembly 10 nominations for the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions today, also delivering the names of 15 additional candidates for three other bodies and recommending that the Chair of the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil fill an upcoming vacancy in the Board of Auditors.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today laid out their intentions to ensure the United Nations can stage quality conferences — equally accessible to every Member State — at all four headquarters.
Troubled by the Organization’s precarious liquidity situation and its impact on mandate delivery, delegates of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today urged Member States with adequate financial resources to meet their obligations fully, promptly and without conditions.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), in New York today:
