Administrative and Budgetary Committee (Fifth Committee)
Overview Programme of work Fifth Committee of the General Assembly during the 55th session
The General Assembly has allocated 45 agenda items for consideration by the Fifth Committee during its fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly.?In accordance with its biennial programme of work, the Fifth Committee is to give priority consideration to issues relating to human resources management in particular the report of the Secretary-General on the human resources management reform.?The agenda of the Fifth Committee for the 55th session?will be loaded with items that will require intensive and difficult negotiations. In the order of importance, these?are:?Item 122:?Scale of assessments for the apportionment of expenses of the UN; item 169:?Scale of assessments for the appointment of expenses of UN peacekeeping operations;?Various reports of the Secretary-General under item 116:?Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the UN, such as the proposed medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005, the proposed programme budget outline for the biennium 2002-2003, the capital master plan, and the budgetary financial impact of the recommendations contained in Brahimi report (A/55/305), among others.?
As in the past, the Committee will consider the outline of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002-2003 which had been submitted by the Secretary-General in document A/55/186.For the consideration of that issue, the Committee will have before it the report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the work of its 40th session and the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative Budgetary Questions on the proposed?programme budget outline for the biennium 2002-2003. The Committee for Programme and Coordination,?at its resumed 40th session,?regretted?that the preliminary estimate proposed by the Secretary-General for 2002-2003, expressed in 2000-2001 prices amounts to $2,475.4 million did not include the provisions for special political missions as mandated by GA resolution 53/206, as well as the budgetary and financial implications of the recommendations contained in the "Brahimi report."?In that connection, the Fifth Committee will?be tasked to consider this issue thoroughly and will?have before it?a separate comprehensive report of the Secretary-General on the budgetary and financial implications of the recommendations of the panel of experts on the financing of peacekeeping operations.?
As to the report on the?proposed medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005, although this matter was?intensively?examined by the Committee for Programme and Coordination at its 40th session and had made its conclusions and recommendations to the General Assembly on most of the programmes, the Fifth Committee will be tasked to examine carefully the?programme on Human Rights at its 55th session.?
The Committee will consider, in accordance with GA resolution 54/237D, the recommendations of the Committee on Contributions on the 12 proposals for a scale of assessments for the period 2001-2003. as well as some of the elements of the scale methodology.In addition, the General Assembly allocated an additional item to the Fifth Committee namely, item 169:?Scale of assessment for the apportionment of expenses of the United Nations peacekeeping operations.?
Items relating to the financing of peacekeeping operations are listed on the agenda of the Fifth Committee, but in accordance with GA resolution 49/233, all peacekeeping related matters are considered at a resumed session in the spring of the following year.? However, the Fifth Committee will take up, during the main part of the 55th session, the?Financing of the two criminal tribunals in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (Items?127 and 128); the financing of United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (item 132);?the financing of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (item 133);?the financing of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (item 134),?The financing of the UN peacekeeping forces in the Middle East, in particular the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (item 138(b)); and the financing of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (item 167).?The General Assembly, at its 9th plenary meeting has allocated to the Fifth Committee an additional item i.e., the Financing of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (item 176).
Other items/issues to be considered?are:
Procurement reform (under item 116), reports of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (item 126), Pattern of Conferences, (item 121) the United Nations Common System, (item 124) the United Nations Pension system, (item 125); Management irregularities causing financial losses to the Organization,(item 116)?Security arrangements, (item 116), Facilities management,(item 116)?Results-based budgeting,(item 116) ; reports of the Joint Inspection Unit (item?116) and?Financial reports and audited financial statements and reports of the Board of Auditors(item 115).?
At its organizational session, held on?Tuesday, 19th September, the Committee elected, by acclamation the two Vice Chairmen,?namely,?Mr. Hae Yun Park (Republic of Korea)?and Mrs. Jasminka Dinic (Croatia), Mr. Collen Vixen Kelipale(Botswana), and a Rapporteur, Mr. Eduardo Manuel de Fonseca Fernandes Ramos (Portugal) . The Committee also approved its programme of work for the main part of the 55th session contained in document A/C.5/55/L.2, on the understanding that it maybe adjusted weekly, as the need arises, taking into account the priorities set by Member States.?
The substantive work of the Committee will begin on?Wednesday, 27 September 2000.?As indicated in the programme of work contained in document A/C.5/55/L.2, the Fifth Committee,?in keeping with the decision of the General Committee, is scheduled?to conclude its work for the main part of the 55th session on Friday, 1?December 2000.
