Sommaire: May 7, 2003: Statement by Mr. Dimitrios Zevelakis, Counselor, Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN, on behalf of the European Union, on the Reports of the Board of Auditors - Item 110, at the 2nd Resumed Session of the Fifth Committee of the 57th UNGA (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union and the acceding countries Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The associated countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey as well as the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway associate themselves with this statement.
We would like to thank the Board of Auditors for its report concerning the United Nations peacekeeping operations, covering the period from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002 (A/57/5 Vol. II). We would also like to thank the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions for its comments (contained in document A/57/772) and the Secretariat for its report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors for the same period (A/57/416/Add.2).
The EU concurs with the Board's recommendations, while fully sharing the opinion of the ACABQ concerning the quality of its report and its streamlined format. The European Union welcomes the positive and constructive attitude from the administration in response to the Board's recommendations.
Concerning the findings of the report, we would like, first of all, to welcome the decrease, by approximately 47%, of the total outstanding assessed contributions of Member States for the financial period under review in comparison to 2000/2001. This is an encouraging trend.
However, as the Board also notes in par. 5 of its report, the failure of a number of Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time continues to affect the ability of the Organization to meet its financial obligations fully, necessitating borrowing from and among peacekeeping funds and delaying payments due to troop contributing countries. The European Union cannot but share the Board of Auditors' concern in this regard and feels compelled to reiterate its often stated
call on all Member States to fulfill their financial obligations to the United Nations fully, punctually and unconditionally.
We would also like to express our satisfaction concerning the fact that the financial statements of the United Nations peacekeeping operations were generally consistent with the United Nations system accounting standards.
The EU notes the excess level of the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund as of 30 June 2002, which is higher than authorized by the General Assembly, and agrees with the Board of Auditors that the administration should review its level. The European Union looks forward to further discussion of this issue during the present session.
We also note with concern that two major trust funds, with considerable balances, are inactive and we would like to know what steps the administration is taking regarding the management of these funds. In this regard, we agree with the ACABQ that effective interaction with donor Member States should be established concerning the disposition of their assets.
The European Union welcomes the steps taken by the administration to improve the system of reimbursement for contingent-owned equipment and fully supports the Board's recommendation that the administration pursue ways in which to apply and optimize the benefits obtained from pre-deployment visits. In this respect, the European Union would support pre-deployment visits becoming mandatory.
Air operations account for a large portion of the cost of peacekeeping operations. It is, therefore, unacceptable that non-UN personnel and cargo continue to be transported by the United Nations without appropriate reimbursement being sought. We urge the administration to address this immediately. Regarding the contract for the provision of airfield services at MONUC, the EU notes with concern the previous deficiencies and welcomes the efforts the Secretary-General has taken to date (A/57/756)
to correct these. The European Union looks forward to receiving further information about the contract during the present session.
Air safety is of primary importance. It is highly unsatisfactory that approximately 44% of the recommendations made by the Technical Cooperation Bureau of the International Civil Aviation Organization have not been implemented. In our view, they must be fully implemented and a time-frame for this purpose must be established.
The European Union shares the concerns expressed by the Board that in several instances contracts were extended and renewed without supplier performance reports being completed. We would urge the administration to implement fully the Board's recommendations on procurement activities.
The EU notes with interest the recommendation of the Board on the development of a formal fraud-prevention policy as well as the response of the administration that it will review the matter with a view to taking appropriate action. The recommendation of the Board on the promulgation of a code of ethics and the signing of a declaration of independence as well as the view of the Procurement Division thereon are also duly noted.
Finally, the EU shares the opinion of the Board that progress achieved with regard to the implementation of results-based budgeting must continue, so that missions develop precise objectives, defined by measurable performance indicators and outputs.
I thank you Mr. Chairman.
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