EU Presidency Statement - Financial reports and reports of the Board of Auditors

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, the associated countries, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein) declare that they align themselves with this statement.

Let me first of all thank Mr. Alain Gillette for introducing the Board of Auditors' reports.

Mr. Chairman,

The European Union commends the report of the Board of Auditors on the audited financial statements of the voluntary funds administered by the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees for the year 2002 and the report of the ACABQ.

The European Union shares the BOA's concerns, which have drawn attention to a number of serious shortcomings in the management of financial resources, staff and programme.

The European Union considers essential that the shortcomings be swiftly and thoroughly addressed by the UNHCR, and that all of the recommendations be soon implemented. We note that this is the intention and that UNHCR has provided a very preliminary response, but would request an early report on implementation at the resumed session in March.

In particular, the European Union has noted a number of critical deficiencies in staff management in the BoA's report and, sharing the comments of the ACABQ, expects the planned reforms to be introduced for a more transparent and stronger control of the staffing table. Moreover, the grant system used to finance administrative costs may provide a needed flexibility to the UNHCR, but there must be transparency in the process, and we will appreciate further details on this matter, on the staffing requirements for the next biennium, and the rationale for the grant system.

The European Union also stresses the Auditors' recommendation addressed to UNHCR to comply with the United Nations system accounting standards and thus to reform its accounting policy and financial system in order to achieve an accurate accounting of expenditures.

Switching to the Second report of the BoA on the implementation of its recommendations on the accounts of the U.N. for biennium ended 31/12/01, the E.U. is pleased that all of the 16 bodies listed in the Auditors' report have taken action to implement the recommendations thereby contained. However, it is our impression that the Note by the Secretary-General on the implementation of recommendations approved by the Assembly still doesn't contain a clear statement of progress in this process.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

| Top |

• EU Presidency Statement - Financial Reports and Reports of the Board of Auditors  (18/10/2004)
• EU Presidency Statement - Art. 19 of UN Charter (8/10/2003)
• EU Presidency Statement - UN Administrative and Financial Functioning  (8/10/2003)
• EU Presidency Statement - Joint Inspection Unit (7/10/2003)
• EU Presidency Statement - Organization of work of the Fifth Committee (30/9/2003)