13 December 2007

On 11 December 2007, Ambassador Mark Wallace of the US made a statement at an informal meeting of the Fifth Committee, suggesting that as the proposed budget for 2008/2009 is incomplete, it might be better not to approve the budget at this time. Instead, interim funding could be made available for the first few months in 2008.

At the beginning of the current session of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), Member States across the board expressed concern about the Secretariat's piecemeal presentation of the 2008/2009 budget. This concern was echoed by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, the ACABQ. The Secretary General still has to present a number of outstanding reports to Member States which will result in considerable additional expenditures, for instance for the new Enterprise Resource Planning System. The United States is suggesting that as no complete budget is available at this time, maybe Member States should only make sufficient funds available for the UN to continue its work until a final and complete budget can be approved at the resumed session of the Fifth Committee in March.

Keenly aware that his suggestion to postpone approvement of the budget could be likened to earlier efforts of the US to tie approval of budgets to timely achievements on various reform proposals, Ambassador Wallace stated that "no caps" or conditionalities are intended this time. His statement, however, does stress that the US is unhappy about the fact that no "off-sets" (cost-saving results) have thus far resulted from the review of Mandates or by streamlining efforts.

Apart from concerns about the piecemeal presentation of the budget, the United States believes that the budget increase far exceeds the growth in budgets of governments or other international organizations. The proposed budget before the Fifth Committee right now only represents an increase of half a percent, but with the add-ons still to be submitted, this increase could be anywhere in the range of 15-25%. [1]

With only a few days remaining before the proposed budget for 2008/2009 was expected to be approved, the suggested postponement is adding considerable stress to the already overworked Fifth Committee delegates, who typically have to scramble at the end of each session to tie up loose ends. Many ask themselves why the US is raising a possible postponement of the budget now, because it was already obvious in October that the costs for the add-ons could result in an increase as high as 25%. One Fifth Committee insider wonders whether the suggested postponement is meant to ensure that the Secretary General does provide the outstanding reports on time for the resumed session. Other observers have suggested that the considerable costs related to Administration of Justice - the new system of internal justice at the UN which is under discussion - may be a reason for the US to question the budget. Furthermore, the US may be worried that continued funding for the Procurement Task Force is at risk.[2] Whatever the reason, the suggestion to postpone the budget approval is regarded by some as a threat that in the end could be just as counterproductive as the 2005 budget cap, because it is likely to increase mistrust among Member States.[3]

Notes
[1] See the discussions at the presentation of the budget in the Center's Fifth Committee Report for the week of 22-26 October 2007. On 25 October, the US did not seem to have a problem with the 0.5% increase.
[2] See the Center's analysis on The Future of the Procurement Task Force
[3] There was a 'cap' in the 2006/2007 budget: in case certain reform proposals had not been implemented by a certain time, further funding would be withheld. In the end, the G77 - which has a majority in the General Assembly - demanded a vote to remove this cap.