UNIFIL – Financing – SecGen report

Financial performance report of the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon for the period from
1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 

Report of the Secretary-General

Contents 

 Annexes

 I.  Introduction 

1.   The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established for an initial period of six months by the Security Council in its resolution 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978. The mandate of the Force has subsequently been extended by the Council in various resolutions, the latest of which was resolution 1391 (2002) of 28 January 2002, by which the Council extended the mandate of UNIFIL until 31 July 2002.

2.   The initial budget for the maintenance of UNIFIL for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 was set out in document A/54/724 and amounted to $139,547,600 gross ($135,721,900 net), inclusive of an amount of $180,000 representing budgeted voluntary contributions in kind. It provided for resource requirements for the maintenance of the Force, comprising 4,513 troops (3,518 infantry and 995 logistics), supported by a civilian establishment of 491 (141 international and 350 local level) posts.

3.   On the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions contained in its report on UNIFIL (A/54/841/Add.2), the General Assembly, in its resolution 54/267 of 15 June 2000, appropriated an amount of $146,833,694 gross ($141,899,841 net) for the maintenance of UNIFIL for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001, inclusive of the amount of $6,967,059 gross ($5,895,590 net) for the support account for peacekeeping operations and the amount of $1,089,216 gross ($969,161 net) for the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi.

4.   It may be recalled that on 17 April 2000, the Secretary-General received formal notification from the Government of Israel that Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon by July 2000 in full accordance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978. The Secretary-General was further informed that in doing so the Government of Israel intended to cooperate fully with the United Nations (see S/2000/322).

5.   Subsequently, the Secretary-General, in his report on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978) (S/2000/460), submitted conclusions and recommendations regarding the plans and requirements for the implementation of those two resolutions and all other relevant resolutions. The President of the Security Council, on 23 May 2000, made a statement on behalf of the Council that was subsequently issued as document S/PRST/2000/18 of the same date.

6.   In his statement, the President of the Security Council stated, inter alia, that the Council (a) welcomed and strongly endorsed the report of the Secretary-General; (b) welcomed the intention of the Secretary-General to take all necessary measures to enable UNIFIL to confirm a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon that had taken place in compliance with resolution 425 (1978) and to take all necessary steps in order to deal with possible eventualities, bearing in mind that the cooperation of all parties would be essential; and (c) endorsed the requirements put forward by the Secretary-General.

7.   Based on the requirements put forward by the Secretary-General as described in paragraphs 31 to 35 of his report (S/2000/460), the troop strength would rise from the level of 4,513 to approximately 5,600 and subsequently to approximately 7,935. The expansion of the Force would require some immediate strengthening of the international civilian and local level staffing establishment of UNIFIL along with additional equipment and logistical support.

8.   The first revised budget of UNIFIL for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 contained in the report of the Secretary-General on the financing of UNIFIL (A/55/482), amounted to $225,535,700 gross ($221,326,300 net), exclusive of the amount of $6,021,721 gross ($5,284,652 net) for the support account for peacekeeping operations and the United Nations Logistics Base, and represented an increase of $86,758,400 gross over resources appropriated by the General Assembly for the Force in its resolution 54/267. This first revised budget provided for an anticipated phased deployment of the additional 3,387 military personnel up to a total of 7,900 personnel, supported by a temporary increase in the civilian staffing establishment by 81 posts (34 international posts and 47 local posts).

9.   In its resolution 55/180 of 19 December 2000, the General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions contained in its report on UNIFIL (A/55/516), appropriated an additional amount of $86,758,400 gross ($86,301,300 net) for the provisional expansion of the Force for the financial period 2000-2001.

10.   However, shortly after the revised financing action taken by the General Assembly in resolution 55/180, it was confirmed that the budgeted deployment of two battalions early in 2001 would not take place. Moreover, in paragraph 24 of the report of the Secretary-General on UNIFIL for the period from 18 July 2000 to 18 January 2001 (S/2001/66), it was stated that in view of the situation in the region, as a possible first stage of the suggested reconfiguration of the Force, Force strength would return to the level prior to its augmentation in 2000, that is, to about 4,500, by 31 July 2001. By its resolution 1337 (2001) of 30 January 2001, the Security Council endorsed the general approach for the reconfiguration of UNIFIL, as outlined in the aforementioned report of the Secretary-General. Furthermore, the Council requested that the Secretary-General take the necessary measures to implement the reconfiguration of the Force, including taking into account the upcoming rotations of the battalions in consultation with the Government of Lebanon and the troop-contributing countries.

11.   In view of these developments, the Secretary-General took the initiative immediately to reduce the budget of $233,592,094 gross, approved by the General Assembly in its resolution 55/180, by $26,437,900, to $207,154,194 gross, as contained in his second revised budget for the 12-month period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 (A/55/482/Add.1).

12.   In its resolution 55/180 B of 14 June 2001, the General Assembly approved the reduction proposed by the Secretary-General.

13.   In light of the above, the total appropriation granted by the General Assembly in its resolutions 54/267, 55/180 A and 55/180 B for the maintenance and provisional expansion of UNIFIL for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 amounted to $207,154,194 gross ($201,981,841 net). This amount has been assessed on Member States.

 II.   Implementation of the budget

14.   Information on the operation of UNIFIL during the period under review is contained in the reports of the Secretary-General to the Security Council dated 20 July 2000 (S/2000/718), 31 October 2000 (S/2000/1049), 22 January 2001 (S/2001/66), 30 April 2001 (S/2001/423) and 20 July 2001 (S/2001/714).

15.   During the period under review, the United Nations peacekeeping presence in southern Lebanon underwent significant transformation. Upon the withdrawal of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) from southern Lebanon, so as to address the changed operational situation, an urgent expansion programme was planned and initiated in early May 2000 to augment troop strength from an authorized level of 4,513 at that time to approximately 5,600 by the end of June 2000, and later to approximately 7,935, together with related support requirements (see S/2000/460, paras. 31-35). However, actual augmentation of the Force was not attained as originally planned, owing to the decision subsequently taken by the Security Council in its resolution 1337 (2001) to return Force strength to the level prior to its augmentation in 2000, that is, to about 4,500 by 31 July 2001, as mentioned in paragraph 11 above.

16.   As stated earlier, the UNIFIL budget was twice revised during the financial period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001, i.e., there were three budgets for the Force in one 12-month financial year. It is essential to highlight fundamental aspects of the three so that the practical difficulties faced in implementing the budget may be fully appreciated. The initial budget was formulated for the maintenance of the Force on the basis of a troop-strength of 4,513 military personnel with a civilian component of 491 staff. The first revised budget was prepared based on the modified operational plan to support an expanded mission of up to 7,900 military personnel (an increase of 75 per cent) and a civilian staffing of 572 staff (an increase of 16.5 per cent). In accordance with the same operational plan, the realignment of troop positions required 28 new positions to be established, 50 of the existing 144 positions to be maintained and 25 of 50 old positions to be expanded. Therefore, additional resources for premises and accommodations, and, in particular, prefabricated buildings, were provided. Additional transport, air support, communications equipment, observation equipment, defence stores a nd other types of equipment related to the safety and security of the troops and necessary for the performance of operational tasks was also proposed in the first revised budget.

17.   The second revised budget was prepared, during the process of implementing the first revised budget, to reflect reduced requirements to support only an average 5,805 military personnel (36 per cent less than the previously planned 7,900 troops) along with a civilian staffing of 541 posts. Consequently, the Secretary-General reduced the apportionment for military and related costs, and civilian personnel. When the budget was revised for the second time under severe time constraints, it was difficult to identify precisely reductions in the funding requirements for contingent-owned equipment, self-sustainment, vehicles, equipment, supplies and services and air and surface freight for the remainder of the financial period. Therefore, the reduction in the budget was mainly made in the number of military and civilian personnel who were on board and the related costs. Inevitably, such fundamental planning changes had a significant impact on the budget implementation process.

18.   In summary, the chronology of events for UNIFIL budget implementation in the 2000/2001 financial period started in May 2000 while expansion of the Force was considered. As soon as the augmentation of the Force was conceived, the operational plan was modified for the first time to prepare additional accommodation for the additional troops followed by procurement of essential military equipment. Some of the urgent requirements were met within the 1999/2000 budget and others were funded by realigning funds from the initial budget for the period under review. Shortly after the first revised budget was approved by the General Assembly in December 2000, it became evident that the Force would not be expanded in accordance with the first stage of the Secretary-General’s reconfiguration plan to return Force strength by 31 July 2001 to the level of about 4,500 prior to its augmentation in 2000, which was endorsed by the Security Council in its resolution 1337 (2001). Accordingly, procurement of large numbers of prefabricated accommodations, vehicles, communications, observation and other types of equipment and supplies and services was cancelled, as detailed in annex II of the present report. Consequently, lower funding requirements for transporting equipment and supplies were also reported. In light of the foregoing, against the final General Assembly appropriation of $207,154,194 gross ($201,981,841 net), based on the second revised budget, expenditures for the financial year totalled $183,811,094 gross ($179,058,941 net), resulting in a saving of $23,343,100 gross ($22,922,900 net), which accounts for 11.3 per cent of the total appropriation of $207,154,194 gross.

19.   During the period under review, an amount of $472,179 was expended by the Force on measures to provide security of the staff, as shown in table 1 below.

    Table 1
Expenditures for staff security

(United States dollars)

 ^a   The expenditure was made on family evacuation travel. Owing to the sudden deterioration of the security situation in Israel in October 2000, all dependants of UNIFIL staff, including non-essential staff, were evacuated from that country. The staff and families were brought back in November 2000 after the situation stabilized.

 ^b   Accounts for, inter alia, one personal computer, one fax machine and one printer used dedicatedly by the Zone Warden for security coordination in Nahariya, Israel.

  III.  Financial performance report for the period from
1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001

20.   As indicated in table 2 below, expenditures for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 amounted to $183,811,094 gross ($179,058,941 net), inclusive of $77,782,000 in unliquidated obligations, compared with the appropriation of $207,154,194 gross ($201,981,841 net). Annex I to the present report contains financial performance information for the reporting period by budget line item, with supplementary information on significant variances presented in annex II. Annex IV contains a chart showing apportionment and expenditures by main budget groups.

   Table 2
Apportionment and expenditure
(Thousands of United States dollars)

 ^a   Includes an amount of $13,406,600 in unliquidated obligations.

21.   Information on the deployment of military contingent and civilian personnel during the reporting period is presented in table 3 below and detailed in annexes II and III to the present report.

   Table 3
Authorized staffing, incumbency and vacancy rates for military and civilian personnel for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 

 ^a   Based on the deployment schedule of military and civilian personnel in conjunction with the Secretary-General’s second revised budget (A/55/482/Add.1).

 IV.  Actions to be taken by the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session

22.   The actions to be taken by the General Assembly in connection with the financing of UNIFIL are as follows:

 (a)   To decide on the treatment of the unencumbered balance of $23,343,100 gross ($22,922,900 net) for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001; 

  (b)   To decide on the treatment of other income for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001 amounting to $12,482,000 from interest income ($5,778,000), other/miscellaneous income ($953,000), prior period adjustment ($503,000) and savings on or cancellation of prior period obligations ($5,248,000). 

    Supplementary information on significant variances

   Military personnel 

    Apportionment: $117,535,300; expenditure: $112,944,000; variance: $4,591,300

1.   The unutilized balance of $4,591,300 under this heading was attributable to savings realized under military contingents ($3,795,100) and other requirements pertaining to military personnel ($796,200).

   Military contingents

    Apportionment: $99,559,200; expenditure: $95,764,100; variance: $3,795,100 

2.   The net unutilized balance of $3,795,100 under this heading resulted primarily from lower actual average troop strength than budgeted during the period under review. The unutilized balance is offset in part by additional requirements under (a) rations, as a result of higher requirements than budgeted for dry and frozen food items as well as higher prices for dairy products than originally estimated, and (b) mission subsistence allowance for military contingents, owing to the higher level of logistical and operational movements made by the military contingent members during the expansion of the Force in the early part of the reporting period.

    Other requirements pertaining to military personnel

    Apportionment: $17,976,100; expenditure: $17,179,900; variance: $796,200 

3.   The unutilized balance of $796,200 was attributable to reduced requirements under contingent-owned equipment ($500,000) and self-sustainment ($296,200) as a result of non-deployment of two self-sustained battalions in accordance with the Secretary-General’s reconfiguration plan of the Force approved by the Security Council.

   Civilian personnel

    Apportionment: $27,213,800; expenditure: $25,321,100; variance: $1,892,700 

4.   The unutilized balance under this heading was due to the average vacancy rate of 12 per cent for international staff (as compared with the budgeted vacancy rate of 8 per cent) as well as the average vacancy rate of 5 per cent for local staff (full incumbency had been assumed in the budget) during the period under review. This unutilized balance was offset in part by additional requirements under travel relating to unbudgeted travel within and outside the mission area in connection with the expansion of the Force. The additional requirement under travel was also a result of travel costs related to short courses and training charged to this budget line, with the corresponding budgetary provision under training programmes.

5.   During the period under review, three UNIFIL personnel were on short-term loan to the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

    Operational requirements

    Apportionment: $50,244,900; expenditure: $33,855,300; variance: $16,389,600

6.   The unutilized balance under this heading resulted from reduced requirements under premises/accommodations ($4,223,600), transport operations ($5,153,200), air operations ($656,000), communications ($1,109,800), other equipment ($1,855,300), supplies and services ($2,485,900) and air and surface freight ($905,800).

   Premises/accommodation

    Apportionment: $8,602,700; expenditure: $4,379,100; variance: $4,223,600 

7.   The unutilized balance was largely due to the non-purchase of 377 prefabricated accommodation/ablution units out of 615 budgeted. The operational plan for the expansion of the Force was to establish 28 military positions, expand 25 existing positions and close some 94 positions. As a result of the suspension of the expansion programme, only 15 new positions were erected and enlargement of the old positions was withheld. Unutilized balances were also reported under construction projects, maintenance services and supplies as well as consumption of utilities for the same reason.

   Transport operations

    Apportionment: $19,907,600; expenditure: $14,754,400; variance: $5,153,200 

8.   The unutilized balance under this heading was mainly due to the purchase of fewer vehicles. The cost estimate provided for the purchase of 213 different types of new vehicles in support of an expanded force of 7,900 troops. Subsequently, the expansion programme was suspended, requiring a much smaller UNIFIL vehicle fleet. As a result, a total of 138 vehicles were purchased during the reporting period. Furthermore, the reduction in the vehicle establishment resulted in an unutilized balance under transport workshop equipment, spare parts, repairs and maintenance, and vehicle insurance, as well as under petrol, oil and lubricants.

   Air operations 

    Apportionment: $2,182,500; expenditure: $1,526,500; variance: $656,000 

9.   The unutilized balance of $656,000 under this heading resulted mainly from the lower than planned number of hours flown for helicopter operations and almost no use of fixed-wing transport aircraft services owing to the suspension of the expansion programme of the Force. The cost estimate for the expansion was made for the deployment of two additional helicopters into the UNIFIL operational area as well as the refuelling of six fixed-wing transport aircraft each flying the six-hour return trip Brindisi-Beirut-Brindisi to transport equipment on an as-required basis. Since the augmentation of the Force did not take place as originally planned, UNIFIL no longer required the hiring of two additional helicopters for the entire 12-month period and the fixed-wing transport aircraft services during the reporting period.

   Communications 

    Apportionment: $4,711,300; expenditure: $3,601,500; variance: $1,109,800 

10.   For the same reason stated above, the unutilized balance of $1,109,800 under this heading resulted largely from cancelling the acquisition of a large amount of communications equipment, especially military pattern communications equipment, such as mobile and portable radios, AC/DC converters, rural telephone links, AN/PRC-77 battery chargers and a high frequency radio system, as well as from cancelling the purchase of communication workshop equipment and spare parts and repair maintenance for communication equipment. The unutilized balance was also due to lower than expected charges for satellite communication and rental of telephone lines.

   Other equipment 

    Apportionment: $5,784,100; expenditure: $3,928,800; variance: $1,855,300 

11.   The net unutilized balance of $1,855,300 under this heading resulted from savings with respect to office furniture ($28,200), data processing equipment ($248,200), observation equipment ($732,500), a petrol tank plus metering equipment ($52,000), medical and dental equipment ($132,900), accommodation equipment ($260,500), miscellaneous equipment ($331,600) and spare parts, repairs and maintenance for other equipment ($109,000), which were slightly offset by an additional requirement of $39,600 for the non-budgeted purchase of eight refrigerated containers.

12.   The cost estimate under this heading provided for the acquisition of various types of other equipment in support of an expanded force of 7,900 troops. Subsequently, the expansion programme was suspended based on the Secretary-General’s reconfiguration plan of the Force approved by the Security Council. Therefore, other equipment purchased during the reporting period was only in support of an actual average troop strength of 5,571 for the 12-month period.

   Supplies and services

    Apportionment: $7,668,400; expenditure: $5,182,500; variance: $2,485,900 

13.   Similarly, the unutilized balance under this heading was mainly attributable to the suspension of the expansion programme of the Force, which resulted in lower actual average troop strength and fewer military positions established than budgeted during the reporting period. Total savings of $2,527,800, mainly realized under contractual services, security services, medical treatment and services, claims and adjustments, stationery and office supplies, medical supplies, sanitation and cleaning materials, uniform items, flags and decals, field defence stores and general stores, were slightly offset by the additional requirement of $41,900 for non-budgeted data-processing services. 

    Air and surface freight

    Apportionment: $1,388,300; expenditure: $482,500; variance: $905,800 

14.   The unutilized balance of $905,800 under this heading resulted mainly from much lower requirements for transportation of contingent-owned equipment and containers that were handled through Beirut port owing to the termination of the expansion programme of the Force.

   Other programmes 

    Apportionment: $123,000; expenditure: $73,700; variance: $49,300

   Training programmes 

    Apportionment: $123,000; expenditure: $73,700; variance: $49,300

15.   The training programmes undertaken during the financial period were aimed at addressing the following needs:

 (a)   The ability to harness maximum benefits from modern information technology in performing day-to-day activities in the Force. In this regard, priority was given to the training of staff in the communication and information technology area in accordance with the strategic plan developed by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, which takes into account the increasing complexity and scope of activities and the increasing information needs of peacekeeping missions. UNIFIL staff sent as many staff members as possible to the centrally organized training programmes at Brindisi. In addition, the staff participated in training on CISCO systems in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Windows 2000 training in Beirut. As a result, the Force is already reaping benefits, e.g. UNIFIL maintains a fibre-optic network of approximately 500 workstations with a very high data transfer rate of one gigabyte per second. Similarly, 50 per cent of the UNIFIL staff in the finance area received training on the Sun System, which is the standard financial transaction processing system for peacekeeping missions;

 (b)   The need for supervisory skills to enhance understanding of the workflow, delegation of responsibilities, group dynamics, problem solving, etc. UNIFIL conducted two sessions of supervisory management training in Tyre, southern Lebanon, facilitated by the International Management and Training Institute (IMTI). Feedback from the participants reflected significant development in terms of greater understanding of management systems in planning, organizing and implementing work. A total of 65 UNIFIL staff members participated in this training programme;

 (c)   Client orientation in providing services to the operational components. The primary role of the civilian administration in UNIFIL is to provide administrative and logistic support to the military contingents. To ensure that the civilian staff comprehends the importance of the service by treating the military component as clients, UNIFIL organized eight sessions on client service training facilitated by IMTI. Two of the sessions were charged to the 2000/2001 budget for the training of 25 staff members and the programme continued over the next financial year.

16.   During the reporting period, a total of 230 UNIFIL personnel attended various training programmes as shown in the following table.

17.   The unutilized balance of $49,300 under this heading was mainly due to the fact that UNIFIL staff members sustained a very high degree of operational and administrative commitments as a result of the expansion of the Force initiated in May/June 2000 after the withdrawal of Israeli Defence Forces followed by the ongoing downsizing. Therefore, relatively fewer training programmes could be arranged than originally planned by the UNIFIL administration.

   Staff assessment 

    Apportionment: $5,172,300; expenditure: $4,752,100; variance: $420,200 

18.   The unutilized balance was mainly due to higher than projected vacancy rates for both international and local staff during the period under review.