GA/AB/3397

FIFTH COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS ASSEMBLY EXEMPT SIX COUNTRIES FROM SANCTIONS FOR UNPAID ASSESSMENTS

Urging all Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without imposing conditions, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning recommended that Burundi, Comoros, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Sao Tome and Principe and Tajikistan should be permitted to vote in the General Assembly until 30 June 2001.

That action was taken as the Committee approved, without a vote and as orally amended, a draft resolution on the scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations (document A/C.5/55/L.7/Rev.1), which was introduced by the Rapporteur of the Committee. By other terms of that text, Kyrgyzstan would be permitted to vote from 1 January 2001 until 30 June 2001, should it fall at that time in arrears under Article 19.

[By Article 19, a Member State in arrears in the amount equal to, or exceeding, contributions due for the preceding two years shall have no vote in the General Assembly, unless the Assembly decides its failure to pay is a consequence of factors beyond its control.]

In order to ensure the sound financing of the Organization, the Committee recommended the General Assembly ask the Secretary-General to review the implications of the timing of calculation of arrears for the purpose of Article 19, and to report to it on this at its first resumed fifty-fifth session.

Also by the terms of the draft it recommends the Assembly, subject to certain qualifications, decide at its fifty-sixth session to compare arrears with the amount actually assessed and payable for the preceding two full years for the purpose of the application of Article 19.

The Assembly would ask the Committee on Contributions to consider incentives, sanctions, and further measures to encourage timely, full and unconditional payment of assessed contributions, taking into account the experience of other United Nations agencies and multilateral and regional organizations. The Committee on Contributions would also be asked to give more detailed information on its recommendations.

Speaking in explanation of position, following the approval of the draft, were the representatives of France (on behalf of the European Union and associated

Fifth Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/AB/3397 16th Meeting (AM) 25 October 2000

countries), Cuba, Comoros, Australia (also speaking on behalf of Canada and New Zealand), India, Libya, Japan, Syria, Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines.

Also this morning, the Committee decided to invite the President of the Federation of International Civil Servants' Associations (FICSA) to make oral statements in connection with its agenda items on human resources management and United Nations common system.

The Committee will resume its work at 10 a.m. on Monday, 30 October, when it is scheduled to begin consideration of the human resources management issues.

Fifth Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/AB/3397 16th Meeting (AM) 25 October 2000

Action on Draft Resolution on Requests for Exemptions under Article 19 of Charter

EDUARDO RAMOS (Portugal), Committee Rapporteur, introduced the draft resolution. He called the Committee�s attention to paragraph 6 of the draft. Operative paragraph 6 of the draft should read, �Decides, subject to the outcome of negotiations in the General Assembly on the report of the Secretary-General, and the recommendations of the Committee on Contributions thereon, as requested in paragraph 5 above, at the main part of its fifty-sixth session and subject to further decision on its implementation by the General Assembly, to compare arrears with the amount actually assessed and payable for the preceding two full years for the purpose of the application of Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations.� In informal consultations yesterday, the Committee arrived at the text by consensus. He recommended that the Committee approve the draft without a vote.

The draft resolution was then approved without a vote.

Explanations of Position

The representative of France, speaking on behalf of the European Union in explanation of position, said that the Union associated itself with the consensus on the draft resolution. The resolution granted exemption to six countries under Article 19 of the Charter and to a country that might be affected. The draft also provided that the Assembly would, at its fifty-sixth session, focus again on measures to encourage that payments be made on time and in full. The Union agreed on modifications to calculations for application of Article 19. In light of new information that had been provided, the Union associated itself with the draft resolution which granted exemption beyond the recommendations of the Committee on Contributions. The views of the Committee on Contributions remained essential, however, for guiding the Committee in making decisions in that regard.

The representative of Cuba congratulated the coordinator for his efforts to find a solution to benefit the Member States who fell under Article 19. Cuba also recognized the efforts of a number of delegations in seeking to find a resolution which would be favourable. Cuba believed that the application of Article 19 affected all Members States, and therefore was an issue of particular interest. It was a major achievement to have settled the issue. Cuba would have preferred, however, that the two issues, namely granting exemptions and the strengthening application of Article 19, had been dealt with separately. For the sake of flexibility, Cuba had joined in the consensus. The burden of strengthening the application of the Charter should fall on everyone, in particular those responsible for the financial situation of the Organization.

The representative of the Comoros thanked the Committee for the results it had achieved after several weeks of debate.

The representative of Australia, speaking on behalf of Canada and New Zealand, said that he had joined the consensus. He regretted that the process had been so extended and time-consuming. While he normally advocated the granting of exemptions only to those countries recommended by the Committee on Contributions, additional information which that Committee did not have access to had been presented. This additional information suggested that there was a case for granting additional exemptions. He welcomed the request for additional reports as mentioned in paragraphs 5 and 7 of the draft. Further work was necessary on measures to encourage timely, full and unconditional payment, and on ways and means in which the Committee on Contributions and the Fifth Committee considered requests for exemption.

The representative of India said that he was delighted with the result which would allow the countries involved to vote. He thanked the coordinator for his determination and hard work. He highly valued the advice of the Committee on Contributions on the subject of application of Article 19, but also recognized the preeminent role of the Assembly on taking decisions on the matter. He was pleased that had been reflected in the resolution.

The representative of Libya expressed his appreciation to the coordinator and the Committee�s secretariat for the strenuous efforts they had made. He saluted the flexibility shown by the European Union and Brazil in particular, which had enabled the Committee to arrive at a positive result. He underscored the importance of the Committee on Contributions presenting objective justifications for its recommendations. He also stressed the importance of all Member States paying their contributions, as this would enable the United Nations to overcome the financial difficulties it was facing.

The representative of Japan said that his delegation appreciated the efforts made to find a solution. Japan had joined the consensus of the draft, but hoped that in the future the recommendations of the Committee on Contributions would be respected to the maximum extent. Also, the concerned countries had given their detailed explanations in the meetings of the Committee on Contributions.

The representative of Syria congratulated the seven countries which had received the exemption, allowing them to vote in the General Assembly. He also appreciated efforts to bridge the gap in views during the informal consultations. The draft just approved would once again confirm the authority of the General Assembly in granting exemptions under Article 19 of the Charter. It may also encourage States to pay their financial arrears in time and in full. His delegation fully understood that the topic would be a subject of discussion in the General Assembly in the future. However, he wanted to make clear that the link between strengthening the application of Article 19 and granting exemptions was not suitable in the same text.

The representative of Brazil shared the concern about the link in the two subjects. Requests for exemptions should be always considered on their merits. The same applied to the subject of strengthening the application of Article 19. He expected that forthcoming reports on the matter would be helpful.

The representative of Mexico said that his country supported all initiatives to strengthen the application of Article 19. That was the only part of the Charter that helped to ensure sound financing of the Organization, which was a collective responsibility. In his opinion, the subject of exemptions under Article 19 and that of strengthening its application should be dealt with separately. Article 19 did, in a way, help to ensure that States paid what they owed to the United Nations. Decisions on them should be taken on a well-informed basis. It was also important to make sure that exemptions did not weaken the Organization. During the resumed session, it would be appropriate to start exploring alternative mechanisms to ensure that exemptions were not excessive, as

well as machinery to strengthen the application of Article 19 and ensure the sound financing of the United Nations.

The representative of the Philippines said that her delegation was pleased to join the consensus on the draft, which would allow the countries in question to vote in the General Assembly. Her delegation had supported their requests for exemption from the start, and she hoped the General Assembly would act promptly on the draft.

GERT ROSENTHAL (Guatemala), Fifth Committee Chairman, thanked the delegates for their understanding and flexibility in approving the draft resolution. Indeed, the flexibility displayed by the Committee reflected its great sense of responsibility and its determination to make progress in its work.

Other Matters

He then informed the Committee that the President of the Federation of the International Civil Servants' Associations (FICSA), Bernard Grandjean, had asked if he could address the Committee on human resources management reform and the United Nations common system.

It was then decided that Mr. Grandjean would be permitted to address the Committee on those issues.

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