UNIFIL financing – 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: Mrs. Denisa Hutanova (Slovakia)

 I.  Introduction 

1.   At its 2nd plenary meeting, on 17 September 2004, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee, decided to include in the agenda of its fifty-ninth 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 47th, 48th, 53rd and 57th meetings, on 2, 3 and 20 May and 8 June 2005, respectively. Statements and observations made in the course of the Committee’s consideration of the item are reflected in the relevant summary records (A/C.5/59/SR.47, 48, 53 and 57).

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 2003 to 30 June 2004 (A/59/626);

 (b)   Report of the Secretary-General on the budget for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 (A/59/654);

 (c)   Reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (A/59/736 and Add.3).

 II.   Consideration of draft resolution A/C.5/59/L.52

4.   At the 53rd meeting, on 20 May, the representative of Nigeria informed the Committee that no consensus had been reached during the informal consultations on this question.

5.   At the same meeting, the representative of Jamaica, 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.5/59/L.52).

6.   At the 57th meeting, on 8 June, the representative of the United States of America made a statement and requested that a recorded vote be taken in a single vote on the fourth preambular paragraph and on operative paragraphs 3, 4 and 13 of draft resolution A/C.5/59/L.52.

7.   Before the vote, the representative of Panama made an explanation of position (see A/C.5/59/SR.57).

8.   At the same meeting, the Committee adopted the fourth preambular paragraph and operative paragraphs 3, 4 and 13 of draft resolution A/C.5/59/L.52 by a recorded vote of 79 to 3, with 50 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against:

  Australia, Israel, United States of America.

Abstaining:

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay.

9.   Also at the 57th meeting, the representative of the United States made a statement and requested that a recorded vote be taken on draft resolution A/C.5/59/L.52 as a whole.

10.   At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.5/59/L.52 as a whole by a recorded vote of 128 to 2 with 3 abstentions (see para. 12). The voting was as follows: ¹ 

In favour:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against:

 Israel, United States of America.

Abstaining:

  Australia, Honduras, Panama.

11.   After the adoption of the draft resolution, statements were made by the representatives of Australia, the United States, Belgium (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union), Israel, Canada (on behalf of Canada and New Zealand) and Lebanon.

 III.   Recommendation of the Fifth Committee

12.   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 ² and the related reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, ³ 

 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 1583 (2005) of 28 January 2005,

 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 58/307 of 18 June 2004,

 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, 57/325 of 18 June 2003 and 58/307 of 18 June 2004,

 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 2005, including the contributions outstanding in the amount of 60.9 million United States dollars, representing some 2 per cent of the total assessed contributions, notes with concern that only seventy-three 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, 57/325 and 58/307;

 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, 57/325 and 58/307;

 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, ⁴ and requests the Secretary-General to ensure their full implementation;

 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 necessary measures 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, paragraph 14 of its resolution 57/325 and paragraph 13 of its resolution 58/307, 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 Assembly at its sixtieth session;

    Financial performance report for the period from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004

 14.  Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the financial performance of the Force for the period from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004; ⁵ 

    Budget estimates for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 

 15.   Decides to appropriate to the Special Account for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon the amount of 99,228,300 dollars for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006, inclusive of 94,252,900 dollars for the maintenance of the Force, 4,068,400 dollars for the support account for peacekeeping operations and 907,000 dollars for the United Nations Logistics Base;

    Financing of the appropriation

 16.   Also decides to apportion among Member States the amount of 8,269,025 dollars for the period from 1 to 31 July 2005, in accordance with the levels updated in General Assembly resolution 58/256 of 23 December 2003, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2005, as set out in its resolution 58/1 B of 23 December 2003;

 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 447,008 dollars, comprising the estimated staff assessment income of 392,975 dollars approved for the Force, the prorated share of 47,925 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the support account and the prorated share of 6,108 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the United Nations Logistics Base;

 18.  Decides to apportion among Member States the amount of 90,959,275 dollars for the period from 1 August 2005 to 30 June 2006 at a monthly rate of 8,269,025 dollars, in accordance with the levels updated in General Assembly resolution 58/256, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2005 and 2006, as set out in its resolution 58/1 B, subject to a decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of the Force;

 19.  Also 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 18 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of 4,917,092 dollars, comprising the estimated staff assessment income of 4,322,725 dollars approved for the Force, the prorated share of 527,175 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the support account and the prorated share of 67,192 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the United Nations Logistics Base;

 20.  Further 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 paragraphs 16 and 18 above, their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other income in the amount of 8,463,000 dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2004, in accordance with the levels updated in its resolution 58/256, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2004, as set out in its resolution 58/1 B;

 21.  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 amount of 8,463,000 dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2004, in accordance with the scheme set out in paragraph 20 above;

 22.  Also decides that the increase of 541,200 dollars in the estimated staff assessment income in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2004 shall be added to the credits from the amount of 8,463,000 dollars referred to in paragraphs 20 and 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 sixtieth 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”.

Notes

¹The delegations of Costa Rica and Panama subsequently indicated that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution as a whole.

²A/59/626 and A/59/654.

³A/59/736 and Add.3.

⁴A/59/736/Add.3.

⁵A/59/626.

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