UNIFIL financing – Fifth Cttee meeting – SecGen report

Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East: United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

Report of the Fifth Committee

Rapporteur: Mr. Fouad Rajeh (Saudi Arabia)

I. Introduction

1. At its 2nd plenary meeting, on 19 September 2003, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the General Committee, decided to include in the agenda of its fifty-eighth session the item entitled “Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East: United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon” and to allocate it to the Fifth Committee.

2. The Fifth Committee considered the item at its 40th, 41st, 50th and 51st meetings, on 3, 4 and 27 May and 3 June 2004. Statements and observations made in the course of the Committee’s consideration of the item are reflected in the relevant summary records (A/C.5/58/SR.40, 41, 50 and 51).

3. For its consideration of the item, the Committee had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the performance of the budget of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon for the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003 (A/58/637);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on the budget for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon for the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 (A/58/659);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on the overview of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations: budget performance for the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003 and budget for the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 (A/58/705);

(d) Related reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (A/58/759 and Add.6).

II. Consideration of draft resolution A/C.5/58/L.81

4. At the 50th meeting, on 27 May, the representative of Argentina, coordinator of informal consultations on the sub-item, informed the Committee that no consensus had been reached during the informal consultations on this question.

5. At the same meeting, the representative of Qatar, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon” (A/C.5/58/L.81).

6. At the 51st meeting, on 3 June, the Secretary of the Committee pointed out a correction to be made to operative paragraph 10 of the draft resolution, replacing the words “so that the General Assembly may” by the words “in order to”.

7. At the same meeting, the representative of the United States of America made a statement and requested that a single recorded vote be taken on the fourth preambular paragraph and on operative paragraphs 3, 4 and 13 of draft resolution A/C.5/58/L.81.

8. At the same meeting, the Committee adopted the fourth preambular paragraph and operative paragraphs 3, 4 and 13 of draft resolution A/C.5/58/L.81 by a recorded vote of 80 to 2, with 51 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Gambia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against:

Israel, United States of America.

Abstaining:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay.

9. Also at the 51st meeting, the representative of the United States of America made another statement and requested that a recorded vote be taken on draft resolution A/C.5/58/L.81 as a whole.

10. At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.5/58/L.81, as a whole by a recorded vote of 137 to 2, with 1 abstention (see para. 13). The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against:

Israel, United States of America.

Abstention:

Cameroon

11. After the adoption of the draft resolution, statements were made by the representatives of Australia (on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand), Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Ireland.

12. Statements in exercise of the right of reply were made by the representatives of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

III. Recommendation of the Fifth Committee

13. The Fifth Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolution:

Financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

The General Assembly,

Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General on the financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon,   A/58/637, A/58/659, A/58/705. the related reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions   A/58/759 and Add.6. and the report of the Board of Auditors,   Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 5 (A/58/5),

vol. II.

Recalling Security Council resolution 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978 regarding the establishment of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the subsequent resolutions by which the Council extended the mandate of the Force, the latest of which was resolution 1525 (2004) of 30 January 2004,

Recalling also its resolution S-8/2 of 21 April 1978 on the financing of the Force and its subsequent resolutions thereon, the latest of which was resolution 57/325 of 18 June 2003,

Reaffirming its resolutions 51/233 of 13 June 1997, 52/237 of 26 June 1998, 53/227 of 8 June 1999, 54/267 of 15 June 2000, 55/180 A of 19 December 2000, 55/180 B of 14 June 2001, 56/214 A of 21 December 2001, 56/214 B of 27 June 2002 and 57/325 of 18 June 2003,

Reaffirming also the general principles underlying the financing of United Nations peacekeeping operations, as stated in General Assembly resolutions 1874 (S-IV) of 27 June 1963, 3101 (XXVIII) of 11 December 1973 and 55/235 of 23 December 2000,

Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributions have been made to the Force,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide the Force with the necessary financial resources to enable it to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevant resolutions of the Security Council,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon as at 15 April 2004, including the contributions outstanding in the amount of 77 million United States dollars, representing some 2 per cent of the total assessed contributions, notes with concern that only twenty-eight Member States have paid their assessed contributions in full, and urges all other Member States, in particular those in arrears, to ensure payment of their outstanding assessed contributions;

2. Expresses its appreciation to those Member States that have paid their assessed contributions in full, and urges all other Member States to make every possible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contributions to the Force in full;

3. Expresses its deep concern that Israel did not comply with General Assembly resolutions 51/233, 52/237, 53/227, 54/267, 55/180 A, 55/180 B, 56/214 A, 56/214 B and 57/325;

4. Stresses once again that Israel should strictly abide by General Assembly resolutions 51/233, 52/237, 53/227, 54/267, 55/180 A, 55/180 B, 56/214 A, 56/214 B and 57/325;

5. Expresses concern at the financial situation with regard to peacekeeping activities, in particular as regards the reimbursements to troop contributors that bear additional burdens owing to overdue payments by Member States of their assessments;

6. Also expresses concern at the delay experienced by the Secretary-General in deploying and providing adequate resources to some recent peacekeeping missions, in particular those in Africa;

7. Emphasizes that all future and existing peacekeeping missions shall be given equal and non-discriminatory treatment in respect of financial and administrative arrangements;

8. Also emphasizes that all peacekeeping missions shall be provided with adequate resources for the effective and efficient discharge of their respective mandates;

9. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to make the fullest possible use of facilities and equipment at the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, in order to minimize the costs of procurement for the Force;

10. Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,   A/58/759/Add.6. requests the Secretary-General to ensure their full implementation, and, with regard to the recommendation contained in paragraph 16 concerning the Secretary-General’s proposal   See A/58/659. to convert forty-five individual service agreements into forty-five national posts, requests the Secretary-General to provide further information in order to take a decision on this question at its fifty-ninth session;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary action to ensure that the Force is administered with a maximum of efficiency and economy;

12. Also requests the Secretary-General, in order to reduce the cost of employing General Service staff, to continue efforts to recruit local staff for the Force against General Service posts, commensurate with the requirements of the Force;

13. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to take the measures necessary to ensure the full implementation of paragraph 8 of its resolution 51/233, paragraph 5 of its resolution 52/237, paragraph 11 of its resolution 53/227, paragraph 14 of its resolution 54/267, paragraph 14 of its resolution 55/180 A, paragraph 15 of its resolution 55/180 B, paragraph 13 of its resolution 56/214 A, paragraph 13 of its resolution 56/214 B and paragraph 14 of its resolution 57/325, stresses once again that Israel shall pay the amount of 1,117,005 dollars resulting from the incident at Qana on 18 April 1996, and requests the Secretary-General to report on this matter to the General Assembly at its resumed fifty-ninth session;

Financial performance report for the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003

14. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the financial performance of the Force for the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003;   A/58/637. 

Budget estimates for the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005

15. Decides to appropriate to the Special Account for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon the amount of 97,804,100 dollars for the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005, inclusive of 92,960,300 dollars for the maintenance of the Force, 3,960,000 dollars for the support account for peacekeeping operations and 883,800 dollars for the United Nations Logistics Base;

Financing of the appropriation

16. Also decides to apportion among Member States the amount of 97,804,100 dollars at a monthly rate of 8,150,341 dollars, in accordance with the levels set out in resolution 55/235, as adjusted by the General Assembly in its resolution 55/236 of 23 December 2000 and updated in its resolution 58/256 of 23 December 2003, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2004 and 2005, as set out in its resolution 58/1 B of 23 December 2003, subject to the decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of the Force;

17. Further decides that, in accordance with the provisions of its resolution 973 (X) of 15 December 1955, there shall be set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 16 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of 5,313,100 dollars, comprising the estimated staff assessment income of 4,685,400 dollars approved for the Force, the prorated share of 577,900 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the support account and the prorated share of 49,800 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the United Nations Logistics Base;

18. Decides that for Member States that have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Force, there shall be set off against their apportionment, as provided for in paragraph 16 above, their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other income in the total amount of 15,788,700 dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2003, in accordance with the levels set out in resolution 55/235, as adjusted by the General Assembly in its resolutions 55/236 and 57/290 A of 20 December 2002, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2003, as set out in its resolutions 55/5 B of 23 December 2000 and 57/4 B of 20 December 2002;

19. Also decides that, for Member States that have not fulfilled their financial obligations to the Force, there shall be set off against their outstanding obligations their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other income in the total amount of 15,788,700 dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2003, in accordance with the scheme set out in paragraph 18 above;

20. Further decides that the increase of 878,900 dollars in the estimated staff assessment income in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2003 shall be added to the credits from the amount referred to in paragraphs 18 and 19 above, and that the respective shares of Member States therein shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of those paragraphs, as appropriate;

21. Decides that for Member States that have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Force, there shall be set off against their apportionment, as provided for in paragraph 16 above, their respective share of the retained surplus in the total amount of 63,312,709 dollars, representing the net accumulated surplus in the account of the Force from 1978 to 1993,   See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 5 (A/58/5), vol. II, chap. V, notes 4 (c) and 7 to the financial statements. in accordance with the composition of groups set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of General Assembly resolution 43/232 of 1 March 1989, as adjusted by the Assembly in its resolutions 44/192 B of 21 December 1989, 45/244 of 21 December 1990, 46/194 of 20 December 1991, 47/218 A of 23 December 1992 and 51/218 B and C of 18 December 1996, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 1993 as set out in its resolution 46/221 A of 20 December 1991, as adjusted by the Assembly in its decision 47/456 of 23 December 1992 and its resolution 48/223 A of 23 December 1993;

22. Also decides that, for Member States that have not fulfilled their financial obligations to the Force, there shall be set off against their outstanding obligations their respective share of the retained surplus in the total amount of 63,312,709 dollars, in accordance with the scheme set out in paragraph 21 above;

23. Emphasizes that no peacekeeping mission shall be financed by borrowing funds from other active peacekeeping missions;

24. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to take additional measures to ensure the safety and security of all personnel under the auspices of the United Nations participating in the Force;

25. Invites voluntary contributions to the Force in cash and in the form of services and supplies acceptable to the Secretary-General, to be administered, as appropriate, in accordance with the procedure and practices established by the General Assembly;

26. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-ninth session, under the item entitled “Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East”, the sub-item entitled “United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon”.