Questions Relating to the Proposed Programme Budget for the Biennium 2002-2003

A/RES/56/253View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 123 Proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002-2003, published in 2001.

What else is in this group?

22 documents · 1982–2018

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2018).

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2018	A/RES/72/261	Questions relating to the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2018-2019	5,126	–
2016	A/RES/70/247	Questions relating to the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2016-2017	4,910	–
2014	A/RES/68/246	Questions relating to the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2014-2015	2,150	–
2012	A/RES/66/246	Questions relating to the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2012-2013	5,787	–
2010	A/RES/64/243	Questions relating to the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2010-2011	6,861	–

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Section 1	Overall policymaking, direction and coordination	11

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Section 1	Overall policymaking, direction and coordination	11	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

10 reports · 2002–2004

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2004	A/AC.198/2004/4	Modernization and integrated management of United Nations libraries and in-depth review of library activities report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/56/253
2003	A/58/403	Proportion of general service staff to professional staff in the regional commissions report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/56/253
2002	A/57/471	Additional expenditures deriving from inflation and currency fluctuations report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/56/253
2002	A/57/478	Interim report on results-based budgeting for the biennium 2002-2003 report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/56/253
2002	A/57/464	Presentation of estimates of staff assessment report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/56/253

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 subjects

Financial Regulations Programme Evaluation Programme Planning Staffing

What’s in this document?

200 operative paragraphs

I

Reaffirms that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibilities for administrative and budgetary matters;

Reaffirms also rule 153 of its rules of procedure;

Reaffirms further the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation⁵ and the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations;

⁵ST/SGB/2000/8.

Recalls section III, paragraph 13, of its resolution 55/222 of 23 December 2000, and requests the Secretary-General to submit, in a consolidated form, the long overdue and delayed revisions to the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations approved by the General Assembly;

Requests the Secretary-General to take steps to ensure proper compliance with all regulations and rules of the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation, as well as the relevant resolutions that establish the budgetary procedures, as part of the preparation of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2004–2005, reporting thereon to the Committee for Programme and Coordination at its forty-second session;

Decides that no changes to the budget methodology, to established budgetary procedures and practices or to the financial regulations may be implemented without prior review and approval by the General Assembly, in accordance with established budgetary procedures;

Reaffirms the role of the General Assembly in carrying out a thorough analysis and approval of posts and financial resources, as well as of human resources policies, with a view to ensuring the full implementation of all mandated programmes and activities and the implementation of policies in this regard;

Welcomes the timely submission of the proposed programme budget and the continued efforts made by the Secretary-General to improve the format of the proposed programme budget;

Notes with satisfaction the clarity of the presentation of the proposed programme budget, including through the provision of organization charts, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, in the presentation of such charts in the future, complete information on proposals for additional posts, conversions and reclassifications is reflected;

Decides that the staffing table for each year of the biennium 2002–2003 shall be as contained in annex II to the present resolution;

Notes with concern the late submission of section 11B, International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/WTO), of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002-2003;

Commends the efforts and initiatives of the Secretary-General aimed at reforming the United Nations;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, in the implementation of approved reform proposals, there is no adverse impact on the fulfilment of legislative mandates;

Also requests the Secretary-General to review the format currently used for the presentation of estimates, gross and net, of staff assessment, with a view to enhancing comparability with other organizations of the United Nations system, and to report on options in this regard to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

Further requests the Secretary-General, in preparing the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2004–2005, to ensure full compliance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 55/231 of 23 December 2000 and with the relevant approved recommendations made by the Committee for Programme and Coordination in paragraphs 35 to 40 of its report,3 as well as those of the Advisory Committee in paragraphs 10 to 18 of its report,⁶ bearing in mind the intergovernmental, multilateral and international character of the United Nations;

⁶Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 7 (A/56/7).

Requests the Secretary-General to make proposals for the incorporation in the proposed revisions to the medium-term plan for the period 2002–2005,⁷ of a medium-term plan chapter to cover the activities of section 1 of the budget to be considered by the Committee for Programme and Coordination at its forty-second session;

⁷Ibid., Fifty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 6 (A/55/6/Rev.1).

Reiterates that indicators of achievement should be used, where appropriate, to measure the performance of the Secretariat and not of Member States;

Emphasizes that the resources proposed by the Secretary-General should be commensurate with all mandated programmes and activities in order to ensure their full, efficient and effective implementation;

Renews its appeal to Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the United Nations by, inter alia, meeting their financial obligations on time, in full and without conditions, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations;

II

Reaffirms that the medium-term plan, as approved by the General Assembly, shall continue to constitute the principal policy directive of the United Nations;

Reiterates that the priorities for the biennium 2002–2003 are the following:

Maintenance of international peace and security;

Promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development, in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions and recent United Nations conferences;

Development of Africa;

Promotion of human rights;

Effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts;

Promotion of justice and international law;

Disarmament;

Drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations;

Endorses the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on the programme narrative of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–2003 contained in the report of the Committee on the work of its forty-first session,3 subject to the provisions of the present resolution;

Emphasizes that programmes and activities mandated by the General Assembly must be respected and implemented fully in the most effective and efficient manner;

Reaffirms that changes in mandated programmes and activities are the prerogative of the General Assembly;

Notes with concern that some sections of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002-2003 are not consistent with the medium-term plan for the period 2002–2005, and requests the Secretary-General to prepare the next biennial proposed programme budget in full conformity with the medium-term plan for the period 2002–2005, as adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 55/234, in particular with regard to the expected accomplishments and indicators of achievement and, taking into account mandates specific to the biennium;

Reiterates that the allocation of resources should reflect fully the priorities established in the medium-term plan, and notes the importance of adopting efficient and effective management practices within the United Nations system, in particular by promoting cooperation, learning and comparison of experience between United Nations duty stations, so that optimal practices are widely adopted, as appropriate;

Requests the Secretary-General to pursue the necessary management improvement measures as indicated in paragraph 26 above, and to report thereon to the Committee for Programme and Coordination at its forty-second session;

Recalls paragraph 28 of General Assembly resolution 54/249, in which it requested the Secretary-General to provide a better explanation in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–2003 on the use of standard costs and unit rates, notes with regret the absence of such explanations and requests the Secretary-General to address this matter in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2004–2005;

Emphasizes that cost accounting and the system of costing outputs are an important part of an effective and transparent decision-making process, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on this subject;

Reaffirms the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation,4 and requests the Secretary-General to implement regulation 5.6 of the regulations and rules and to report to the General Assembly on his effort, and also reaffirms that the application of rule 105.6 (a) should continue to reflect the understanding that approval of the medium-term plan and the programme budget constitute the reaffirmation of the mandate reflected therein;

Notes with concern the high cost of information technology-related equipment at some duty stations away from Headquarters;

Recalls its resolution 56/239 of 24 December 2001, in which it requested the Secretary-General to resubmit to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session his proposed information technology strategy to improve efficiency, clarify responsibilities in the Secretariat, improve decision-making and identify information technology priorities;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure a more consistent presentation of proposed expenditure on information technology-related services and equipment for the biennium 2004–2005, detailing the maintenance and unit costs for equipment and making a full distinction between internal and external costs;

Also requests the Secretary-General to conduct a review of library services covering the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, the libraries of the United Nations Offices at Geneva and at Vienna, libraries in the regional commissions, departmental libraries, libraries at information centres and depositary libraries, with a view to defining the purpose of United Nations library services and identifying primary clients or users and the relationships and roles of the libraries, including the best way to achieve their mandates through the relevant intergovernmental bodies, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

Further requests the Secretary-General to implement as soon as possible new and more efficient ways of providing library services;

Decides to make changes, as contained in annex I to the present resolution, to the programme narratives in the final published version of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–2003, as reflected in the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination at its forty-first session and the provisions of the present resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to study the possibility of introducing a practice whereby user departments within the United Nations Secretariat are responsible from their own budgets for the consumption and payment of those central services currently borne centrally under section 27, Common support services, of the regular budget, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

III

Endorses the conclusions and recommendations of the Advisory Committee contained in its reports on the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–2003,2 subject to the provisions of the present resolution;

Reaffirms paragraph 6 of its resolution 55/233, whereby the General Assembly decided, inter alia, that additional requirements in the amount of 93.7 million United States dollars (before recosting) included in the proposed programme budget for the financing of special political missions should be financed in conformity with the provisions of resolution 41/213;

Reaffirms its support for maintaining the international character of the Organization and for the principles of efficiency, competence and integrity enshrined in Article 101 of the Charter of the United Nations;

Also reaffirms the role of the General Assembly with regard to the structure of the Secretariat, including the creation, conversion, suppression and redeployment of posts, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the General Assembly with comprehensive information on all decisions involving established and temporary high-level posts, including equivalent positions financed from the regular budget and from extrabudgetary resources;

Emphasizes that there shall be no arbitrary ceiling on the budget of the United Nations, and that resources proposed by the Secretary-General, in the context of the proposed programme budget, should be commensurate with all mandated programmes and activities, in order to ensure their full, effective and efficient implementation;

Requests the Secretary-General, in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2004–2005, to submit estimates of the total amount of resources, from all sources of financing, that he should have at his disposal to be able to implement fully the mandated programmes and activities efficiently and effectively;

Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session an updated study on a comprehensive solution to the problem of additional expenditures deriving from inflation and currency fluctuations, taking into account its resolution 41/213;

Reaffirms its role in carrying out a thorough analysis and approval of human and financial resources, with a view to ensuring the full, efficient and effective implementation of all mandated programmes and activities and the implementation of policies in this regard;

Emphasizes the need for Member States to provide adequate resources for the full, efficient and effective implementation of all mandated programmes and activities;

Reiterates the need for the Secretary-General to ensure that resources are utilized strictly for the purposes approved by the General Assembly;

Notes the substantial reliance on extrabudgetary resources in some sections of the proposed programme budget, in view of the mandated programmes and activities, of some programmes, and reiterates that core functions of the United Nations, as a principle, should be financed through apportionment among Member States;

Notes with concern the current and projected potential decreasing trend in extrabudgetary resources and that this decrease in some sections of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–2003 could have an adverse impact on the effective implementation of programmes and activities, especially those programmes that are still heavily funded primarily through such resources;

Notes that the bulk of extrabudgetary funds are tied to specific operations and utilized on the basis of donor wishes, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that this does not affect the nature of the programme or the orientation of its mandates;

Requests the Secretary-General to select consultants and experts, as well as staff charged against general temporary assistance, on as wide a geographical basis as possible, in accordance with the principles of the Charter and the provisions of General Assembly resolution 53/221 of 7April 1999;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, in future programme budget proposals, requests for consultants and experts groups are clearly and separately identified in the programme narratives;

Reaffirms that the vacancy rate is a tool for budgetary calculations and should not be used to achieve budgetary savings;

Also reaffirms that deliberate management decisions should not be taken to keep a certain number of posts vacant, as this action makes the budget process less transparent and management of human and financial resources less efficient;

Decides that a vacancy rate of 6.5 per cent for Professional staff and 3.1 per cent for General Service staff shall be used as a basis for the calculation of the budget for the biennium 2002–2003;

Notes that, should the realized vacancy rates be lower than those budgeted, the General Assembly would provide additional resources, if required, in the first and/or second performance report, so as to preclude the need for any constraint on recruitment of staff;

Requests the Secretary-General to recruit staff expeditiously through proper planning and by streamlining personnel practices and procedures, in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 55/238 of 23 December 2000, in order to avoid any adverse impact of a high vacancy rate on the effective and efficient implementation and delivery of mandated programmes and activities;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that posts are not deliberately left vacant to provide a cushion for absorbing the costs of special missions and other activities authorized “within available resources”;

Reaffirms paragraphs 62 and 63 of the annex to its resolution 51/241 of 31 July 1997;

Regrets that the Secretary-General did not undertake a comprehensive review of the post structure of the Secretariat and did not make proposals in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–2003 to address the top-heavy nature of the Organization;

Decides not to approve the upward reclassifications of the posts requested by the Secretary-General in the proposed budget for the biennium 2002–2003;

Notes with concern that the comprehensive review of the post structure of the Secretariat requested in its resolution 54/249 to address the top-heavy post structure of the Organization was not submitted, and reiterates that the comprehensive review be submitted to it at its fifty-seventh session;

Also notes with concern the number of reclassifications and new posts at senior levels proposed by the Secretary-General, which could lead to a further distortion in the pyramid staff structure of an Organization that is already top-heavy;

Further notes with concern the inadequacies of existing mechanisms for proposing and filling the reclassified posts, and requests the Secretary-General to establish a new mechanism centralizing within the auspices of the Office of Human Resources Management all proposals for reclassification, provided that all such proposals meet the following criteria:

Proposals are of an exceptional nature;

There is justification in terms of a change in the nature or scope of the work;

There are full details outlining the increase in the responsibility;

Such proposals are accompanied by justifiable and verifiable workload statistics;

Any request involving the grading of a post must be justified solely in relation to the post itself and without reference to the incumbent or potential incumbent;

The potential incumbent of the post being proposed for reclassification has encumbered that post for at least three years;

Emphasizes that the reclassification of posts should not be used as a promotion tool and that reclassified posts, as approved by the General Assembly, should be filled only in full conformity with the established procedures for recruitment and placement;

Notes with concern cases in which incumbents of posts are being paid at a level other than the one provided for in the budget, and requests the Secretary-General to provide a comprehensive report on this matter to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to comply strictly with the approved travel policies, standards, and regulations and rules, particularly with respect to ensuring that travel is undertaken by the most direct and economical route;

Notes the current use of videoconferencing as a means of communication within the United Nations, and requests the Secretary-General to study comprehensively this issue and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

Requests the Secretary-General to further enhance cooperation between relevant headquarters departments and regional commissions in order to ensure the quality of output and services to Member States and address the duplication and overlap of services, where they exist, and to improve the efficiency of programme support activities, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

Decides to reduce the resources proposed by the Secretary-General for allocation for specific operational requirements, as follows:

Travel of staff, by 2.8 million dollars;

Contractual services, by 6.4 million dollars;

General operating expenses, by 19.7 million dollars;

Supplies and materials, by 1.4 million dollars;

Furniture and equipment, by 7.2 million dollars;

Consultants and experts, with exception of resources allocated under section 9 for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and under sections 1 to 20 for the regional commissions, by 2 million dollars;

Information technology, with exception of resources for the Economic Commission for Africa allocated under section 16, by 10 million dollars;

IV

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure a more balanced proportion of staff costs devoted to programme support in comparison with those devoted to the programme of work itself in all the regional commissions, in particular in the Economic Commission for Africa;

Notes with concern the high proportion of General Service posts compared to Professional posts in the regional commissions, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on efforts undertaken, as appropriate;

Notes paragraph VI.14 of the report of the Advisory Committee,5 and requests the Secretary-General, as a general principle, to keep under review the ratio between General Service staff and Professional staff, taking into account the impact on the Organization of the investments in new technologies and bearing in mind the differentiated mandates and programmes of work of the various duty stations;

Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation,4 to review the publications and information materials of the United Nation to ensure that:

They do not duplicate other United Nations publications;

They have an identified target group;

They are targeted to the appropriate audience;

They have a significant impact on that audience;

Recommendations are made on methods to strengthen the publication activities;

The direct and indirect costs of producing, translating and disseminating the materials are identified;

and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure equal treatment for the six official languages in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library in both the traditional means of publication and in the electronic media, including the Internet;

Further requests the Secretary-General to consider the importance of specialists available at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library to provide services in cataloguing and collection maintenance in all six official languages, to facilitate the use of reference works and documents by delegations and to upgrade the Library’s holdings of reference works and books in all relevant categories in all six official languages;

Requests the Secretary-General to accelerate his efforts to fill all posts currently vacant in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library and to ensure the prompt and efficient processing of materials in all six official languages;

Part IOverall policy-making, direction and coordination

Section 1Overall policy-making, direction and coordination

Notes with concern the potential for duplication in some functions between sections of the Office of External Relations and the Department of Public Information, both of which have functions that include outreach, promotion and maintenance of the relations of the United Nations with important actors in civil society and non-governmental organizations;

Decides to establish the position of Ombudsman at the level of Assistant Secretary-General in the Office of the Secretary-General, to be supported by a legal officer at the P-4 level, in place of the D-2 and the P-4 posts originally proposed under section 27A, Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, and requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the adequate level of the post in the future;

Section 2General Assembly affairs and conference services

Notes with concern that productivity standards for interpreters have not been reviewed since 1974 and that workload standards and processes for translation have not changed substantially, as well as the complaints about the quality of the interpretation and translation;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that conference services are managed in an integrated manner throughout all duty stations in the Organization;

Emphasizes that all duty stations shall be given equal treatment in respect of conference services and, in this regard, requests the Secretary-General to provide adequate resources for the effective and efficient discharge of their mandates;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session, or no later than its fifty-seventh session, through the relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies, specific proposals for the conversion of some of the temporary assistant posts requested in section 2 into established posts wherever that would measurably lead to higher efficiency and better quality of services;

Also requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on working methods, functions and productivity standards, and on the quality and quantity of those functions of the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, and on the backstopping functions within the Secretariat, bearing in mind the need to make proposals for the efficient use of resources and to consider the best way to fulfil its mandates;

Notes the information contained in paragraph I.76 of the report of the Advisory Committee5 that the billing arrangement used by the United Nations Office at Nairobi for conference services was working fairly well, and requests the Secretary-General to take further measures to address instances of irregular cash flow;

Requests the Secretary-General to include in the budget performance reports comprehensive information (in tabular form) on the use of temporary assistance in the United Nations language services at duty stations under the responsibility of the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, with the breakdown for languages, number of staff (local and non-local), number of workdays and expenditures (on local and non-local staff);

Decides to reduce the allocation of resources proposed for travel costs under subprogramme 2 in New York by 20,000 dollars;

Part IIPolitical affairs

Section 3Political affairs

Notes with concern the potential for duplication of some activities under subprogramme 4 with the Department of Public Information;

Decides to reduce the allocation of resources proposed for travel of representatives under policy-making organs by 10,000 dollars;

Section 4Disarmament

Decides to establish two new posts in the Professional category (1 P-5 and 1 P-4) and one new General Service (Other level) post;

Part IIIInternational justice and law

Section 7International Court of Justice

Recalls its resolution 55/257 of 14 June 2001;

Requests the Secretary-General to invite the International Court of Justice to review its management functions, with a view to introducing a system of results-based budgeting, modernizing work-flow processes and enhancing the use of information technology for, inter alia, remote translation and the introduction of a performance appraisal system for staff;

Section 8Legal affairs

Requests the Secretary-General to pursue increased timeliness and availability of international law codification documents and legal instruments in all six official languages of the United Nations;

Part IVInternational cooperation for development

Section 9Economic and social affairs

Requests the Secretary-General to consider, in consultation with relevant intergovernmental bodies, with respect to the delivery of advisory services to Member States, avoiding duplication and achieving optimum and effective use of resources, and to report thereon to the relevant intergovernmental bodies at the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly;

Decides to establish seven new P-2 posts as recommended by the Advisory Committee as well as two further P-2 posts as submitted in the proposed programme budget;

Section 10Africa: New Agenda for Development

Reaffirms once again the decision contained in paragraph 95 of its resolution 54/249 to assign priority to the development of Africa, and reiterates its previous request to the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to mobilize additional resources for the implementation of the programme of action contained in the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s;

Notes with appreciation African-led and African-owned development plans, such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development;

Section 11A Trade and development

Emphasizes that management restructuring should produce clearly defined gains in productivity and/or economies;

Section 12Environment

Notes that the activities undertaken by the United Nations Environment Programme continue to depend heavily on extrabudgetary resources for their implementation, requests the Secretary-General to make every effort to ensure stability and predictability in funding the activities of the United Nations Environment Programme, and, in this regard, reiterates paragraph 110 of its resolution 54/249;

Section 13Human settlements

100

Notes that the activities undertaken by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) continue to depend heavily on extrabudgetary resources for their implementation, requests the Secretary-General to make every effort to ensure stability and predictability in funding the activities of the Centre, and, in this regard, reiterates paragraph 114 of its resolution 54/249;

101

Emphasizes the need for the Centre to be provided with adequate human and financial resources to enable it to implement effectively the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium,⁸ adopted by the General Assembly at its twenty-fifth special session;

⁸Resolution S-25/2, annex.

102

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General contained in paragraph 111 of its resolution 54/249, in accordance with paragraph 229 of the Habitat Agenda⁹ and in consultation with the Commission on Human Settlements, to continue to ensure more effective functioning of the Centre by, inter alia, providing sufficient human and financial resources within the regular budget of the United Nations;

⁹Report of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul, 3–14 June 1996 (United Nations Publication, Sales No. E.97.IV.6), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.

Section 14Crime prevention and criminal justice

103

Requests the Secretary-General to make proposals to strengthen the Terrorism Prevention Branch at the United Nations Office at Vienna to enable it to carry out its mandate as approved by the General Assembly, and to report thereon to the General Assembly for its consideration;

Section 15International drug control

104

Notes with deep concern the reports of serious management irregularities in the United Nations drug-control activities, as documented in recent reports of the Board of Auditors and the Office of Internal Oversight Services;

105

Requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary actions to correct immediately the management problems;

Part VRegional cooperation for development

Section 16Economic and social development in Africa

106

Notes with concern the high vacancy rate in the Economic Commission for Africa, and in this regard reiterates paragraph 50 of its resolution 54/249;

107

Regrets that the request contained in paragraph 123 of its resolution 54/249 to achieve a vacancy rate of no more than 5 per cent within the biennium 2000–2001 was not met and, in this regard, requests the Secretary-General to take immediate steps to decrease substantially the persistently high vacancy rate which negatively affects programme delivery in the Commission;

108

Recalls paragraph 123 of its resolution 54/249, in which it requested the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures, as a matter of priority, to achieve a vacancy rate of no more than 5 per cent;

109

Expresses its deep concern that the Economic Commission for Africa is still suffering from a significantly high vacancy rate at the Professional level, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all posts budgeted for the biennium 2002–2003 are filled;

110

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to redeploy to the subregional development centres any savings realized during the biennium as a result of reform measures and efficiency gains from within the Economic Commission for Africa;

111

Also reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to provide the African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders with the core Professional staff required to enable it to function effectively towards the fulfilment of its mandates;

112

Expresses concern about the inadequate connectivity between the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Africa and the five subregional development centres and between the Commission and the rest of the United Nations system, and, in this regard, decides to exempt the Commission from the proposed reductions in information technology referred to in paragraph 70 (g) of the present resolution;

113

Emphasizes the need to improve the capacity of the Economic Commission for Africa to disseminate information effectively through the use of electronic methods, and, in this regard, shares the opinion of the Advisory Committee contained in paragraph V.20 of its report5 that the programme of modernization of operations of the Commission is important and that the provision of resources therefor should not be dependent upon the possibility of absorption within the Commission’s appropriations, and requests the Secretary-General to report in the context of the budget performance report on the additional expenditure that might be incurred;

114

Requests the Secretary-General to report on progress in implementing new communications technologies and resulting efficiencies in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2004–2005;

115

Recognizes that the Economic Commission for Africa will have a major role to play in the implementation of the new African initiatives, such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development;

Section 17Economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific

116

Requests the Secretary-General to pursue his efforts to maximize the use of the Conference Centre, including its external use, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

Section 18Economic development in Europe

117

Notes with concern the lack of detail in the proposed programme budget of unit costs for the replacement or acquisition of information technology-related equipment;

118

Notes the increase in proposed resources for external support for strengthening the information technology platform;

Section 19Economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean

119

Commends the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean for the implementation of the reform programme for the Commission;

120

Expresses its deep concern at the decreasing trend in extrabudgetary resources and at its impact on the level of technical cooperation activities;

121

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session concrete proposals to address the impact of declining extrabudgetary resources for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean;

122

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all the necessary means are provided for the full implementation of all subprogrammes and their respective activities;

123

Notes with concern that consultants and experts are also used for verifying the views of the Secretariat;

Section 20Economic and social development in Western Asia

124

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure fully the issuance of all documents and publications of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in Arabic, which is most relevant to the requirements of the Member States of the region, as well as in the other working languages of the Commission, to meet the requirements of readers outside the region, as appropriate, and to report thereon to the General Assembly by its fifty-seventh session;

Part VIHuman rights and humanitarian affairs

Section 22Human rights

125

Notes with concern that section 22 of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–2003 was prepared prior to the adoption of the medium-term plan by the General Assembly and that it was not reformulated in its submission in accordance with the medium-term plan approved by the Assembly;

126

Notes that resources proposed for activities related to the right to development, research and analysis are not clearly differentiated in subprogramme 1, and requests the Secretary-General to submit concrete proposals to address this issue in the context of the revisions of the medium-term plan to be considered by the Committee for Programme and Coordination;

127

Notes also that there are twenty-two subcommissions, committees and other groups involved in the programme of work of human rights, and requests the Secretary-General to make proposals through the relevant intergovernmental bodies with a view to rationalizing and streamlining the human rights machinery, as well as the establishment of rapporteurs and the number of meetings, reports and publications, in order to avoid duplication and promote efficiency and effectiveness, and to report thereon in the context of the next programme budget;

128

Requests the Secretary-General to entrust to the Office of Internal Oversight Services a comprehensive management review of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, including its working methods and functions, bearing in mind the need to make proposals for the efficient and effective use of resources as well as its organizational structure, and to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on the actions taken thereon;

129

Notes that the bulk of extrabudgetary funds are tied to specific operations and are utilized on the basis of donor wishes, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the practice of tied funds does not affect the policies of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights or the Commission on Human Rights and its subsidiary bodies as impartial international instruments for the advancement of human rights;

130

Decides to establish one new P-3 post and one new General Service (Other level) post for the functions in the Office;

131

Decides also to reduce the proposed allocation of resources for furniture and equipment under programme support by 40,200 dollars;

132

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that funding for the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa will be formally made an integral part of the regular budget for human rights in future bienniums;

Section 23Protection of and assistance to refugees

133

Deeply regrets that some amounts previously funded under posts, other staff costs, general operating expenses and supplies and materials have been presented in a less transparent manner under the provision of grants and contributions;

134

Requests the Secretary-General to reinstate resource requirements by object of expenditure with provisions other than grants and contributions, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session;

135

Also requests the Secretary-General to review the funding of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from the regular budget in a transparent manner;

136

Further requests the Secretary-General to present resource requirements by object of expenditure with provisions other than grants and contributions in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2004–2005;

Section 24Palestine refugees

137

Welcomes the efforts of a number of donors during the past year to the programme;

138

Notes with concern the direct impact of the decrease in extrabudgetary resources on the quality of services provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East;

139

Decides to restore to the regular budget five additional international posts (one P-5 and four P-4) currently financed from the Agency’s extrabudgetary resources, in line with General Assembly resolution 3331 B (XXIX) of 17 December 1974;

Section 25Humanitarian assistance

140

Decides to establish three P-4 posts for the functions of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs;

Part VIIPublic information

Section 26Public information

141

Decides to establish a P-3 post in the News and Media Division for a Portuguese-language radio producer;

142

Also decides to establish a P-3 post at the United Nations Information Centre at Dar es Salaam;

143

Requests the Secretary-General to make available web site language assistance in the Information Technology Section of the Department of Public Information, in Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish, and to make proposals as he deems appropriate so that all official languages are equally serviced;

144

Emphasizes the need for the United Nations to have a coordinated public information strategy in order to bring the activities of different parts of the Secretariat together in an integrated way;

145

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session concrete proposals on strengthening the Department of Public Information within the existing capacity in order to support and enhance the United Nations web site in all the official languages of the Organization;

146

Emphasizes that the public information resources of the Organization must be targeted properly to ensure that the United Nations delivers a consistent message, through a variety of outlets, to the largest possible worldwide audience;

147

Recognizes the critical role of the Official Document System as a primary tool for accessing all forms of United Nations documentation and the United Nations web site as the public gateway to the activities of the Organization;

148

Requests the Secretary-General to improve the justification provided for the resources requested for the United Nations information centres in the context of the next proposed programme budget;

149

Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on the financial implications of redressing the imbalance among the six official languages of the United Nations on the United Nations web site;

150

Further requests the Secretary-General to conduct a comprehensive review of the management and operations of the Department of Public Information, taking into account the medium-term plan, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session, addressing, among other things:

Ways to carry out these activities in the most effective and efficient manner;

Focusing of the activities of the Department to reflect better the substantive priorities and relevant mandates of the Organization;

The need for greater coordination of public information activities among departments of the Secretariat to avoid duplication of efforts and to strengthen complementarity, where appropriate;

Assessment of the impact of United Nations information centres, taking into account their mandates;

The option and benefit of funding the United Nations information centres on a cost-shared basis with other United Nations entities that benefit from the services of the information centres in each location;

151

Notes with concern the fact that the post of the Director of the Office of the United Nations Information Centre for Central Africa is still vacant despite several appeals by Member States of the subregion to ensure that a person is appointed to fill it;

152

Decides to resume publication of the United Nations Chronicle in all official languages, as proposed by the Secretary-General, and allocates 700,000 dollars for this purpose, and welcomes the intention of using a co-publishing mechanism in publishing the Chronicle;

Part VIIICommon support services

Section 27Management and central support services

153

Requests the Secretary-General to conduct an evaluation through the Office of Internal Oversight Services of the implementation of all provisions of resolutions 55/231 on results-based budgeting and 55/258 of 14 June 2001 on human resources management by the Department of Management, including the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management, and to report thereon to the General Assembly;

Section 27A Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management

154

Expresses concern about the large number of posts and amount of resources that are devoted to management activities and programme support in the Department of Management and all the other departments;

155

Stresses the need for the Integrated Management Information System to be enabled to manage and execute its administrative tasks, as foreseen when it was first proposed to the General Assembly;¹⁰

¹⁰See A/C.5/43/24, para. 54.

156

Requests the Secretary-General, with the assistance of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, to review administrative tasks, procedures and policies with a view to eliminating duplication, and unnecessary and complex bureaucratic procedures and practices within all departments and entities of the Secretariat, and to ensure that the Organization is managed in an integrated manner in order to eliminate duplication;

157

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the necessary equipment is available for the work of the Main Committees of the General Assembly so as to make the Secretariat more efficient, effective and modern;

Section 27D Office of Central Support Services

158

Decides to reduce general operating expenditures as explained in paragraph A.27D.16 of the proposed programme budget¹¹10 by 100,000 dollars and to eliminate the maintenance and support of Dictaphones in the Organization, as it is incompatible with the goals of an “e-Organization”;

¹¹1 10 See A/56/6 (Sect. 27D). For the final text, see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No 6.

159

Also decides not to approve the increase of 2,116,800 dollars for furniture and equipment in the Information Technology Services Division;

160

Invites the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to expand free access to the Official Document System, taking into account the technical capacity of the Office on the Internet in the six official languages of the United Nations, without affecting the quality of the service provided;

Section 27G Administration, Nairobi

161

Welcomes the commitment of the Secretary-General to increase gradually the regular budget component of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, with a view to easing the administrative costs levied on the substantive programmes of the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on his plan for the upcoming bienniums;

162

Also welcomes the establishment of a permanent interpretation service at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, and notes with satisfaction that the conference services facility at the United Nations Office at Nairobi is becoming organizationally, functionally and in terms of the budget an integral part of the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services and that the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–2003 for the Division of Conference Services is programmed in the context of section 2;

163

Reaffirms paragraph 178 of its resolution 54/249, in which it requested the Secretary-General to bring the financial arrangements of the United Nations Office at Nairobi into line with those of similar United Nations administrative offices;

164

Notes the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the need to determine more accurately the level of services that the United Nations Office at Nairobi is required to provide to the organizations at Nairobi and the rates for reimbursing the cost of those services, and requests the Secretary-General to expedite the completion of the agreements between the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and the United Nations Office at Nairobi to this effect;

Part XJointly financed administrative activities and special expenses

Section 29Jointly financed administrative activities

165

Stresses the need to ensure that the independence of the Joint Inspection Unit, as the only system-wide external oversight body, is not compromised through the budgetary process;

166

Reiterates its decision 54/454 of 23 December 1999;

167

Reaffirms the statute of the Unit, in particular article 20, paragraph 1;

Income section 2 General income

168

Requests the Secretary-General to continue with the current arrangement regarding rental charges for the Office of the Group of 77 and China located at United Nations Headquarters.

Annex I

Changes to the programme narratives of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2002–20031 as reflected in the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination in its report on the work of its forty-first session,3 and additional modifications

General Assembly affairs and conference services

In paragraph 2.7, at the end of the last sentence, replace “on an as-available basis from within the existing capacity of the Department” with “in accordance with paragraph 4 of section I of General Assembly resolution 55/222 of 23 December 2000.”

In paragraph 2.8, at the end of the fourth sentence, insert “, without prejudice to the mandates of the General Assembly.”

In paragraph 2.19 (d), at the end of the subparagraph, replace “within available resources” with “, in accordance with the rules of procedure of the General Assembly and the relevant United Nations resolutions on decolonization”.

In paragraph 2.46 (a), after “Translation and writing of summary records.” add “Translation and publishing of the Repertoire of Practice of the Security Council in the six official languages;”

In paragraph 2.48, at the end of the fourth sentence, insert “, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 54/248 and 55/222.”

Political affairs

In paragraph 3.3, after “while fully respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Member States”, in accordance with paragraph 1.3 of the medium-term plan for 2002–2005,6 add the following:

“and the principles of non-intervention in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State and of consent.”

In table 3.12:

At the end of the text under Expected accomplishments, add “, in accordance with the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council.”

Under Indicators of achievement, replace the existing text of subparagraph (i) with “Provision of electoral assistance to Member States in response to their request.”

In paragraph 3.26:

Replace “a fair and free” with “an”

At the end of the paragraph add “, in accordance with relevant resolutions and decisions.”

In paragraph 3.27:

In subparagraph (a) (i) a., delete “the principle of periodic and genuine”, and add at the end “, in accordance with relevant resolutions and decisions.”

In subparagraph (d) (ii), replace “authorities at the regional, national or local level” with “national electoral institutions”

In paragraph 3.38, after the first sentence, in accordance with paragraph 1.26 of the medium-term plan, add the following sentence:

“Assistance will be provided to the Committee in promoting a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine in accordance with all relevant United Nations resolutions, as well as the full and effective implementation of the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.”

Disarmament

Replace paragraph 4.1, with the following:

“General and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control remains the ultimate goal of all efforts exerted in the field of disarmament. The main responsibilities for disarmament lie with Member States, and the United Nations, in accordance with its Charter, has a central role and primary responsibility in supporting Member States in this sphere. The Department for Disarmament Affairs, headed by an Under-Secretary-General, is responsible for the implementation of the programme.”

Replace paragraph 4.2 with the following:

“The mandate for the programme derives from the priorities established in General Assembly resolutions and decisions in the field of disarmament, including the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament (resolution S-10/2). While weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, continue to be the primary concern, the Organization would also continue its work in the field of conventional disarmament.”

In paragraph 4.4, in the first sentence, replace the phrase “as well as to expert groups on disarmament studies” with “as well as review conferences, other meetings of States parties to multilateral agreements on disarmament and related matters and expert groups assisting the Secretary-General in undertaking disarmament studies.”

After paragraph 4.4, insert a new paragraph 4.5 to read as follows:

“Training and advisory services will continue to be provided through the United Nations disarmament fellowships, training and advisory services programme and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research for Member States, in particular developing countries, to enhance their expertise with a view to participating more effectively in international deliberating and negotiating forums. The Department will also assist Member States in increasing understanding among them of the relationship between disarmament and development.

and renumber the subsequent paragraphs.

In former paragraph 4.6, delete “and landmine issues.”

In former paragraph 4.14:

In the second sentence, after “international disarmament agenda”, delete “in order to make them conform to the new international political and security environment”

Replace the third and fourth sentences with the following:

“The Conference on Disarmament will be finalizing its work programme, which will include resuming negotiations on a number of disarmament issues and continuing the promotion of global disarmament, in accordance with its agenda.”

In table 4.7:

Under Indicators of achievement:

In paragraph (a), after “effectiveness of”, add “the services provided by the Secretariat to facilitate”

Replace paragraph (c) with the following:

“An increase in the number of applicants for the United Nations disarmament fellowship, training and advisory services programme, wider representation of Member States in the programme and greater support for the disarmament fellowship programme from Member States.”

In table 4.9:

Under Expected accomplishments:

In paragraph (a), replace the text after “disarmament issues” with the following: “and on matters related to weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, by Member States,”

In paragraph (b), replace “including the issue of missiles” with “on specific issues related to weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons.”

Under Indicators of achievement, subparagraph (a) (i) should read:

“(a) (i) A record of appreciation for assistance provided, including substantive and organizational support, for the implementation of agreements in the field of weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons. This would include sessions of the Preparatory Committee for the 2005 Review Conference and ad hoc meetings;”

In former paragraph 4.25:

In subparagraph (a) (iv), delete “and the panel of governmental experts on missiles (2 sessions, 40 meetings, 2000)”

In subparagraph (a) (v), after “2 sessions”, add “, 40 meetings, 2002” within the parentheses

In all instances where the phrase “weapons of mass destruction” appears, if it has not already been done, add “, in particular nuclear weapons”

Peacekeeping operations

In paragraph 5.3:

Replace the first sentence with the entire text of paragraph 3.1 of the medium-term plan for the period 2002–2005, as follows:

“The overall purpose of the programme is the maintenance of peace and security through the deployment of peacekeeping operations in accordance with the principles and provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. The legislative authority for the programme derives from the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. The mandates of the programme are provided in resolutions of the Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on the comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects on the administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of United Nations peacekeeping operations and on assistance in mine clearance. In respect of peacekeeping operations, legislative authority derives from decisions and resolutions of the Security Council related to particular operations.”

In the seventh sentence, replace “on a broad geographic basis” with “and on as wide a geographical basis as possible”

After the seventh sentence, add the following sentence:

“However, this will not affect the troop-contributing countries in taking their sovereign decisions on the composition of their units deployed to peacekeeping operations within the mission’s specific guidelines, as agreed upon by troop-contributing countries.”

In paragraph 5.8, at the end of the penultimate sentence, replace “peace operations” with “peacekeeping operations.”

In paragraph 5.24, after “Security Council mandates”, delete “and that other parties … their role”

In paragraph 5.25 (c), after “and provision of support to meetings with Member States,” replace the remainder of the subparagraph with the following:

“by other Organizations within the United Nations system, as well as with other regional organizations and actors, in accordance with legislative mandates.”

In table 5.11, under Indicators of achievement in paragraph (b), add two additional indicators, as follows:

“(i) Reduction in the duration of the liquidation process;

“(ii) Timeliness of the processing and settling of claims of troop-contributing countries by the Claims and Information Management Section of the Finance Management and Support Service.”

In paragraph 5.32, after “required military and civilian police components”, add “that meet the relevant prerequisites of the peacekeeping missions”, and delete the words “to peacekeeping missions”

In paragraph 5.33, in subparagraphs (b), (c) and (d), replace “peace operations” with “peacekeeping operation(s)”

Peaceful uses of outer space

In table 6.3:

Under Expected accomplishments, paragraph (c) should read:

“(c) Increased access and use of space technologies by developing countries in their efforts to promote economic, social and cultural development.”

Under Indicators of achievement:

Reletter paragraph (c) as (c) (i), which should read:

“(c) (i) An increase in the number of projects and activities carried out by developing countries to promote economic, social and cultural development through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, with access to and use of space technologies.”

Insert the following text as paragraph (c) (ii):

“(c) (ii) An increase in and further enhancement of training opportunities for developing countries, including fellowships provided to individuals from developing countries to participate in workshops, expert meetings and training courses on various topics of space science and technology and its application.”

Legal affairs

In table 8.8:

Replace the entire text under Expected accomplishments with the following:

“Provision of quality legal advice to the principal and subsidiary organs of the United Nations, leading to an increased understanding of international law, including the United Nations legal regime.”

Replace the entire text under Indicators of achievement with the following:

“(a) Quality, timeliness and accuracy of advice.

“(b) Number of instruments finalized.

“(c) Number and impact of opinions rendered on violations of international legal instruments for the conduct of United Nations operations.”

In table 8.10:

Replace the entire text under Expected accomplishments with the following:

“(a) Greater protection of the Organization’s legal rights and minimization of its legal liabilities, through the provision of quality legal advice to the principal and subsidiary organs of the United Nations, leading to an increased understanding of the Organization’s legal rights and obligations.

“(b) Provision of legal advice and support aimed at enabling offices, departments and subsidiary organs to maximize their compliance with regulations, rules and administrative issuances consistent with the Organization’s policies and purposes.”

Replace the entire text under Indicators of achievement with the following:

“(a) Quality, accuracy and timeliness of legal advice and support.

“(b) Number and impact of legal opinions and other legal advice such that the United Nations offices are in a better position to interpret and apply provisions of the United Nations legal regime to specific cases and to comply with such provisions.”

In table 8.12:

Under Indicators of achievement, replace paragraphs (a) and (b) with the following:

“(a) Increase in the number of new legal instruments emanating from the process of codification, adherence by States to existing instruments; and satisfaction expressed by Member States with the quality, volume and timeliness of documentation prepared by the Codification Division;

“(b) The quality of publications and seminars dealing with issues of international law and an increase in the number of visitors to the Division’s web site.”

In table 8.14:

Replace the entire text under Expected accomplishments with the following:

“(a) Greater respect for and acceptance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the related Agreements and a higher degree of uniformity and consistency in their application.

“(b) Increased opportunities for States to derive benefits from the oceans and seas in conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

Replace the entire text under Indicators of achievement with the following:

“(a) An increase in the number of legal instruments developed by States and international organizations in the field of the law of the sea and ocean affairs.

“(b) The degree of satisfaction on the part of Member States, reflected in:

“(i) Acknowledgement by Member States that the products and services provided through the subprogramme assisted their maritime programmes;

“(ii) Increased participation of Member States in bodies and processes relating to oceans and the law of the sea.”

In table 8.16:

Replace the entire text under Expected accomplishments with:

“(a) Modernization of trade practices.

“(b) Reduction of legal uncertainties and obstacles posed by inadequate and disparate laws.

“(c) More efficient trade negotiations.

“(d) Simplification of the administration of transaction and lower transaction costs.

“(e) Reduction of disputes in international trade.”

Replace the entire text under Indicators of achievement with the following:

“(a) A higher number of transactions or a higher volume of international trade carried out under the regime of UNCITRAL legislative and non-legislative texts.

“(b) An increase in the number of legislative decisions based on UNCITRAL texts.

“(c) An increase in the number of merchants using or relying on harmonized international trade law in conducting trade.”

In table 8.18:

Replace the entire text under Expected accomplishments with the following:

“(a) Improved access to international treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, including their status, and to treaties registered with the Secretariat.

“(b) Respect for the international treaty framework and the advancement of the international rule of law.”

Replace the entire text under Indicators of achievement with the following:

“(a) Timely processing, registration and publication of international treaties deposited with the Secretary-General in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter, and of actions relating to treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, including the United Nations Treaty Series, multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, the monthly Statement of Treaties and International Agreements and the United Nations Treaty Series Cumulative Index; and the timely availability of such information through electronic services.

“(b) Increased application of information obtained through services provided under this subprogramme, including electronic services.

“(c) Greater satisfaction of users with the services provided by the Treaty Section, including electronic services.”

Economic and social affairs

In table 9.9:

Under Expected accomplishments, add new paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) as follows:

“(e) Establishment of an expanded framework for information exchange and communication with Governments and civil society.

“(f) Increased efficiency and effectiveness of the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality.

“(g) An increased number of ratifications of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Optional Protocol thereto, increased compliance by States parties with reporting obligations under the Convention and improved coordination between the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in contributing to the development and strengthening of human rights mechanisms to ensure the enjoyment by women of their human rights.”

Under Indicators of achievement, add new paragraphs (e) and (f) as follows:

“(e) The number of ratifications of the Convention and the Optional Protocol thereto, the number of States parties submitting their reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on time and the number of reports examined by the Committee.

“(f) The development of tools and methodologies and the promotion of good practices with respect to system-wide gender mainstreaming by the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality of the United Nations System Chief Executive Board for Coordination, including enhancement of the capabilities of the regional economic commissions to work as focal points for inter-agency coordination on gender issues within the United Nations system.”

In paragraph 9.62 (a) (iii) b.:

After “Reports on:” add: “existing studies, information and documentation on abuse against older persons;”

In table 9.13:

Under Expected accomplishments, reletter paragraph (c) as (c) (i) and insert a new subparagraph (c) (ii), reading as follows:

“(ii) Improved coordination of the implementation of the World Solar Programme.”

Under Indicators of achievement, paragraph (c), after the phrase “sustainable development”, insert the phrase “, including the World Solar Programme”

In paragraph 9.69 (a) (vi), in the last sentence, after the word, “development”, add “, including solar energy”

In table 9.21, under Expected accomplishments, replace paragraph (e) with the following text:

“Improved access by Governments and international bodies to analytical tools, options and adequate methodologies regarding the linkages between political and economic issues and policies, such as economic sanctions, imposition of coercive economic measures, the relationship between disarmament and development and relevant aspects of post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction.”

Africa: New Agenda for Development

In table 10.4:

Under Expected accomplishments, replace paragraph (b) with the following:

“(b) Greater awareness and understanding of African development issues, including those related to post-conflict situations.”

Under Indicators of achievement:

In paragraph (b), after “The contribution” add “and impact”

After paragraph (d), add the following five paragraphs:

“(e) An assessment of the quality and timeliness of reports submitted to intergovernmental policy-making and review bodies to facilitate deliberations on Africa.

“(f) The number and usefulness of briefing sessions on issues concerning African development.

“(g) The number and usefulness of South-South forums sponsored or co-sponsored.

“(h) The number of visits to the Africa web page.

“(i) The use of databases on the activities of non-governmental organizations and other non-governmental partners contributing to African development.”

In table 10.6:

Under Expected accomplishments, add paragraphs (d) and (e) as follows:

“(d) Improved reporting on and dissemination of experiences in the implementation of programmes and initiatives on Africa.

“(e) Strengthened national economic management capacity as an integral component of peace-building and post-conflict resolution.”

Under Indicators of achievement:

Add the following paragraph and reletter the subsequent paragraphs accordingly:

“(a) Expression of satisfaction over the support provided to Member States in implementing the programme of action.”

In new paragraphs (c) and (d), add “and impact” after “The number”

iii

Add paragraphs (e) and (f) after paragraph (d) as follows:

“(e) The number and impact of forums and expert meetings organized to access and monitor the rate of implementation of the action programme.

“(f) The number and impact of training activities organized and development personnel benefiting from them.”

In table 10.8, replace the two indicators of achievement with the following:

“(a) Assessment by users of the quality and volume of information disseminated regionally and internationally through the print and electronic media outlets.

“(b) The timely and regular issuance of Africa Recovery.

“(c) The number and quality of informational materials prepared and media events organized in order to maintain the international spotlight on Africa.”

Section 11A Trade and development

In paragraph 11A.2, after the last sentence, insert the following sentence:

“It is foreseen that the Trade and Development Board will mainstream the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001–2010 within the work programme of UNCTAD, as well as in the UNCTAD intergovernmental process. It is also foreseen that similar efforts will be undertaken by the governing bodies of all United Nations system organizations, as appropriate.”

Environment

In paragraph 12.21:

In the second sentence, replace “collection, analysis and interpretation of data” with the words “collection and analysis of data”

In the third sentence, after “reporting arrangements”, add “invited it to submit its programme of work to the Assembly”

In paragraph 12.22, at the end of the last sentence, add “in consultation with scientists and experts from interested Member States.”

In table 12.10:

Insert a new expected accomplishment (e) as follows:

“(e) The implementation of a new strategic environmental law programme for the first decade of the millennium.”

Insert a new indicator of achievement (e) as follows:

“(e) The adoption by the Governing Council of a new strategic environmental law programme.”

In table 12.14:

Insert a new expected accomplishment (f) as follows:

“(f) Adherence to the goals of the International Declaration on Cleaner Production.”

Insert a new indicator of achievement (f) as follows:

“(f) The number of signatures to the International Declaration on Cleaner Production.”

Human settlements

In table 13.9, under Expected accomplishments, replace “city authorities” with “local authorities”

Crime prevention and criminal justice

In table 14.5:

Under Expected accomplishments, replace paragraph (b) with paragraph 12.7 (b) of the medium-term plan for the period 2002–2005, as follows:

“The expansion of global knowledge of and expertise to deal with crime problems such as those posed by transnational organized crime, trafficking in persons, economic and financial crime, including money-laundering, corruption, illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, as well as to promote fair and efficient criminal justice systems.”

Under Indicators of achievement:

Replace paragraph (b) with paragraph 12.8 (b) of the medium-term plan, as modified below:

“Awareness of best practices and information disseminated, research undertaken and new techniques developed and shared among Member States to respond to crime problems as well as to promote fair and efficient criminal justice systems.”

In subparagraphs (c) (i)and (iii), replace “transnational organized crime, trafficking in persons, corruption and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations” with the words “crime problems”

In paragraph 14.18 (a), replace “Readiness of Governments to ratify” with “Cooperation of Member States in ratifying”

In paragraph 14.18 (b), delete “including from sensitive government data sources”

In paragraph 14.19 (a), add a new subparagraph (vi), reading:

“(vi) Ad Hoc Committee for the negotiation of a legal instrument against corruption:

“a. Substantive servicing of meetings. Six sessions of two weeks’ duration (120 meetings);

“b. Parliamentary documentation. Six reports to the Ad Hoc Committee, including, inter alia, annotated agendas with the transmission of a draft text, contributions and proposals by States; six reports on each session of the Ad Hoc Committee.”

Paragraph 14.19 (a) (v) should read:

“Ad hoc expert groups (RB/XB): Four regional expert group meetings on technical issues of common regional concern on the ratification and/or implementation of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols; one expert group meeting each on: the criminal misuse of information technologies; best practices to combat trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air, with attention given to the gender dimensions; best practices in combating corruption, with attention given to the gender dimensions; hostage situations and rescue operations; recognizing early warning signals of terrorist escalation; and legal approaches to combating terrorism;”

Delete paragraph 14.19 (d) (ii).

International drug control

In table 15.7:

Under Expected accomplishments, add new paragraphs (e) and (f), as follows:

“(e) Improved coordination of drug control-related activities throughout the United Nations system, with UNDCP providing leadership.

“(f) Progress made towards the adoption and implementation of measures to strengthen national legislation and progress giving effect to the action plan against the illicit manufacture, trafficking and abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants and their precursors; measures to eliminate or reduce significantly the illicit manufacture, marketing and trafficking of other psychotropic substances, including synthetic drugs, and the diversion of precursors; national legislation and programmes to counter money-laundering; and measures to promote and strengthen judicial cooperation.”

Under Indicators of achievement, add new paragraphs (e) and (f), as follows:

“(e) The completion of needs assessments for multilateral cooperation on drug control.

“(f) Measures taken to strengthen national legislation and to give effect to the action plan against the illicit manufacture, trafficking and abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants and their precursors; to eliminate or reduce significantly the illicit manufacture, marketing and trafficking of other psychotropic substances, including synthetic drugs, and the diversion of precursors; and national legislation and programmes to counter money-laundering; and to promote and strengthen judicial cooperation.”

In table 15.10, under Indicators of achievement, delete in paragraph (c) “(conclusion of agreements and memoranda of understanding)”

In table 15.12:

Under Expected accomplishments, in paragraph (a), between “meeting” and “goals”, insert “by 2003 the”

Under Indicators of achievement:

In paragraph (a), add “by 2003” after “society”

Paragraph (e) should read:

“Number of guides on prevention and treatment issues developed during seminars and workshops and expert group meetings, and actually in use by Member States, to determine what constitutes effective prevention among school-based youth, youth at risk and women, and the design of treatment responses based on needs assessment and evaluation results.”

In table 15.14, objective 2, under Expected accomplishments, in paragraph (a), add “by 2003” between “to meet” and “the goals”

In paragraph 15.35 (a) (iv), delete “one ad hoc expert group meeting on international cooperation against drug trafficking at sea; and”

Economic and social development in Africa

In paragraph 16A.1, the last sentence of the paragraph should read:

“The main objective of development in Africa is the reduction of poverty, an objective that was reaffirmed in Copenhagen in 1995 at the World Summit for Social Development, which set a target of reducing poverty by half by 2015.”

In table 16A.9:

Under Expected accomplishments, add the following: “Increased mobilization of financial resources for the development of Africa.”

Under Indicators of achievement, add new subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) as follows:

“(iii) A substantial increase in financial flows to the countries of the region;

“(iv) The number of countries that have adopted investment and trade liberalization policies, including the removal of physical and non-physical barriers.”

In table 16A.13, at the beginning of paragraph (b) under Indicators of achievement, add the words “An increase in”

In table 16A.15:

Under Expected accomplishments, add the following paragraph (d):

“(d) Increased Internet connectivity of African countries.”

Under Indicators of achievement:

At the end of paragraph (b), add the following:

“Number of countries that, with the support of ECA, have improved their statistical systems, leading to the collection and dissemination of timely and reliable data.”

Add paragraph (d) as follows:

“(d) An increase in the number of African Internet hosts and countries with direct connections.”

In table 16A.17:

Under Expected accomplishments, add the following paragraphs (c) and (d):

“(c) Increased, effective and harmonized utilization of transboundary water resources.

“(d) Substantial implementation of the Framework of Action adopted by the Conference of African Ministers of Transport and Communications.”

Under Indicators of achievement, add paragraph (c) as follows:

“(c) An increase in positive results of the implementation of the Framework for Action for transport and communications.”

Economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean

In table 19.7, under Indicators of achievement, in paragraph (a), delete the phrase “in particular with respect to the ongoing negotiations on a Free Trade Area of the Americas”

In table 19.19, under Expected accomplishments, in paragraph (b), delete the phrase “democratic governance”

In table 19.21,under Expected accomplishments, paragraph (b) should read:

“Increased technical capacity to incorporate an environmental dimension into the design of economic policies and the innovative use of economic instruments in environmental management, including a better understanding of the uneven effects of such policies on men and women.”

Human rights

Replace paragraphs 22.1 to 22.8 with paragraphs 19.1 to 19.3 of the medium-term plan for the period 2002–2005, as follows:

“22.1 The purpose of the United Nations human rights programme is to promote universal enjoyment of all human rights by giving practical effect to the will and resolve of the world community as expressed by the United Nations. Its mandate derives from Articles 1, 13 and 55 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 (A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III) and subsequently endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 48/121 of 20 December 1993, the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as defined in Assembly resolution 48/141 of the same date, international human rights instruments adopted by the United Nations and the resolutions and decisions of policy-making bodies. The programme is based on the principles and recommendations of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

“22.2 The programme is under the responsibility of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who performs her or his functions under the direction and authority of the Secretary-General in accordance with General Assembly resolution 48/141. Its objectives are to provide the leading role on human rights issues and to emphasize the importance of human rights on the international and national agendas; to promote international cooperation for human rights; to stimulate and coordinate action across the whole United Nations system; to promote universal ratification and implementation of international standards and to assist in the development of new norms; to support human rights organs and treaty monitoring bodies; to anticipate serious violations and react to violations; to emphasize preventive human rights action and to promote the establishment of national human rights infrastructures; to undertake human rights field activities and operations; and to provide education, information, advisory services and technical assistance in the field of human rights.

“22.3 By the end of the period covered by the medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005, it is expected that the following will have been accomplished:

“(a) A significant enhancement and strengthening of international cooperation in the field of human rights leading to increased effectiveness of international machinery, improved respect for human rights at the national level, through, inter alia, universal ratification of all international human rights treaties, the incorporation of those standards into the domestic legislation of States and the continuing adaptation of the United Nations human rights machinery to current and future needs in the promotion and protection of human rights, as reflected in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action;

“(b) Major strengthening of coordination for human rights across the United Nations system, leading to a comprehensive and integrated approach to the promotion and protection of human rights based on the contribution of each of the United Nations organs, bodies and specialized agencies whose activities deal with human rights and on improved inter-agency cooperation and coordination;

“(c) The adoption and implementation of an integrated and multidimensional strategy for the promotion and protection of the right to development, accompanied by a significant enhancement of support from relevant United Nations bodies for that purpose;

“(d) Provision of the appropriate assistance by the Secretariat and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that the promotion and protection of all human rights are guided by the principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity, in the spirit of constructive international dialogue and cooperation;

“(e) Compliance by the Office of the High Commissioner with the paramount consideration of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, and with due regard to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible, bearing in mind that the principle of equitable geographical distribution is compatible with the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity;

“(f) A significant increase in the recognition of economic, social and cultural rights and in activities for their protection, including the integration of economic, social and cultural rights as human rights into the strategies and programmes of international organizations, agencies and financial and developmental institutions, the identification of measurements of achievement showing success in respecting those rights and the adoption of a communication procedure relating to non-compliance with economic, social and cultural rights;

“(g) The adoption and progressive implementation of an improved treaty monitoring system dealing with multiple reporting obligations and based on a comprehensive national approach;

“(h) The implementation of a strengthened system of special procedures based on harmonization and rationalization of work;

“(i) The reinforcement of the United Nations as the unique worldwide forum for the discussion and resolution of human rights matters of international concern, with the participation of all relevant actors;

“(j) The adoption of more efficient methods within the United Nations to promote and protect human rights, including by preventing human rights violations throughout the world and removing obstacles to the full realization of human rights;

“(k) The implementation of a comprehensive United Nations programme to assist States, at their request, in developing and implementing national human rights plans of action strengthening, inter alia, national structures having an impact on democracy and the rule of law; to establish national institutions to give effect to the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights; and also to assist States, at their request, within the respective mandates of the Secretariat and the Office of the High Commissioner, in the process of ratifying United Nations human rights instruments;

“(l) Fulfilment of the mandates given to the Secretariat for giving appropriate assistance, according to the resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights, to treaty bodies, intergovernmental and expert bodies, as well as the existing relevant voluntary trust funds;

“(m) The full integration of the human rights of women and the girl child into the activities of the United Nations system as a whole and its human rights machinery in particular;

“(n) The implementation of effective measures to promote equality, dignity and tolerance, to fight racism and xenophobia, and to protect minorities, indigenous populations, migrant workers, the disabled and others, taking into account also the outcome of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in 2001;

“(o) The establishment of effective programmes of education and public information and the strengthened contribution of non-governmental organizations, national institutions, grass-roots organizations and civil society in United Nations human rights activities at all levels, according to the legislative mandates in effect regarding those issues;

“(p) The provision to States, United Nations bodies, experts and the academic community of high-quality research and analysis on human rights issues, including that dealing with emerging problems and the development of new standards and instruments.”

and renumber the subsequent paragraphs accordingly.

In former paragraph 22.27, after the words “the Council also decided that”, insert the phrase “, once the Permanent Forum had been established and had held its first annual session,” and replace the words “that it would” with “to”.

In table 22.7:

Replace the text of Objectives 1 and 2 with paragraphs 19.4 and 19.5 of the medium-term plan, as follows:

“Objective 1: The primary objectives of this subprogramme will include the promotion and protection of the right to development. In this regard, the objectives will be to develop an integrated and multidimensional strategy for the implementation, coordination and promotion of the right to development in accordance with the Declaration on the Right to Development (General Assembly resolution 41/128, annex) and subsequent mandates and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, aimed at facilitating action to be taken by relevant bodies of the United Nations system, including treaty bodies, international development and financial institutions and non-governmental organizations, for the implementation of the right to development as an integral part of fundamental human rights, ensuring the realization of the right to development across the human rights programme and by specialized agencies and United Nations treaty bodies; to promote national implementation of the right to development through coordination with State-appointed officials; to identify obstacles at the national and international levels; and to promote awareness about the content and importance of the right to development, including through information and educational activities.

“Objective 2: With regard to research and analysis, the objectives will be to strengthen respect for human rights by increasing knowledge, awareness and understanding of human rights issues through data collection, research and analysis. These objectives will be pursued within the framework of the indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights and will be aimed at facilitating the implementation of standards, the work of treaty bodies, special rapporteurs and other bodies and the preparation of new standards; ensuring the recognition on the national and international levels of economic, social and cultural rights; promoting democracy and strengthening national human rights institutions and procedures for the rule of law; contributing to the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and new forms of discrimination; and strengthening the recognition of the human rights of women and children and the protection of vulnerable groups such as minorities, migrant workers and indigenous people.”

Under Expected accomplishments, replace the existing text with paragraph 19.6 of the medium-term plan, as follows:

“Expected accomplishments of the Secretariat would include:

“(a) Wider integration and/or inclusion of the promotion and protection of the right to development, in particular across the human rights programme and the relevant programmes of work of the United Nations departments and/or offices and specialized agencies and of major international organizations and forums related to this issue;

“(b) Major strengthening of coordination for human rights across the United Nations system, leading to a comprehensive and integrated approach to the promotion and protection of human rights based on the contribution of each of the United Nations organs, bodies and specialized agencies whose activities deal with human rights and also based on improved inter-agency cooperation and coordination;

“(c) Strengthened efforts that will contribute to the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

“(d) Enhanced awareness, knowledge and understanding of all human rights, including the right to development;

“(e) Wider recognition of the rights of women, children and persons belonging to minorities, migrant workers, indigenous people and persons with disabilities, and strengthening the protection of vulnerable groups.”

Under Measurements of achievement, replace the existing text with paragraphs 19.7 and 19.8 of the medium-term plan, as modified below:“

“Measures of achievement are elements used as tools for determining, where possible, the extent to which the objectives and/or have been achieved.

“Measures of achievement of the Secretariat to be applied to each expected accomplishment, as appropriate, would include:

“(a) The extent to which the right to development had been included in the work programmes of the departments and offices of the United Nations, the specialized agencies and other relevant intergovernmental organizations, providing compiled examples of concrete steps in that regard;

“(b) The extent to which the mandates given to the Secretariat contained in resolutions and decisions adopted by the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights had been fulfilled;

“(c) The holding of seminars and workshops organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in accordance with the relevant resolutions and decisions adopted by the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights, or in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, and the extent to which they contributed to the fulfilment of the objectives of the subprogramme;

“(d) The extent to which the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner contributed to increasing knowledge, awareness and understanding in order to advance the full realization of the right to development, in accordance with the Declaration on the Right to Development;

“(e) An increased number of visitors to the web site of the Office of the High Commissioner;

“(f) The number of new publications of the Office of the High Commissioner as well as their distribution, and the assessment by users of their quality and usefulness.”

In table 22.9:

Replace the text of the objective with paragraph 19.9 of the medium-term plan, as follows:

“Objective: The objectives are to support the United Nations human rights bodies and organs and to facilitate their deliberations by ensuring and enhancing their effective functioning; to contribute to increasing the knowledge, expanding the awareness and promoting the importance of all international human rights treaties; to improve existing procedures through rationalization and streamlining, and the coordination of the participation of Governments, experts, specialized agencies, other international organizations, national institutions and non-governmental organizations in their work; and to ensure the analytical capacity of human rights treaty bodies for the review of State party reports under international treaties and for the processing of communications.”

Under Expected accomplishments, replace the existing text with paragraph 19.10 of the medium-term plan, as follows:

“Expected accomplishments of the Secretariat would include:

“(a) The timely delivery of required and appropriate support to intergovernmental bodies, expert bodies and treaty bodies, inter alia, in order to contribute to reducing the backlog in the consideration by the reviewing mechanisms of the States parties’ reports;

“(b) The timely delivery of required and appropriate support to intergovernmental bodies, expert bodies and treaty bodies, inter alia, in order to contribute to reducing the backlog in the consideration by the reviewing mechanisms of complaints.”

Under Measurements of achievement, replace the existing text with paragraphs 19.11 and 19.12 of the medium-term plan, as modified below:

“Measures of achievement are elements used as tools for determining, where possible, the extent to which the objectives and/or have been achieved.

“Measures of achievement of the Secretariat to be applied to each expected accomplishment, as appropriate, would include:

“(a) The quality and timeliness of services provided by the Office of the High Commissioner;

“(b) A reduction in the time lag between the submission of a State party report and its examination by the relevant treaty body;

“(c) A reduction in the time lag between the submission of a complaint and its review, as appropriate, by the relevant mechanisms;

“(d) The number of reports prepared by the Secretariat in accordance with resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights, and the extent to which they were presented in a timely manner, in compliance with the six-week rule for the issuance of documentation, for consideration by organs dealing with human rights.”

In table 22.11:

Replace the text of Objective 1 with paragraphs 19.13 to 19.15 of the medium-term plan, as follows:

“Objective: In the area of advisory services and technical cooperation, the objectives are to assist countries, at their request, in developing comprehensive national plans of action to promote and protect human rights and to provide advice and support to specific projects to promote respect for human rights; to develop a comprehensive and coordinated United Nations programme to help States in building and strengthening national structures for human rights promotion and protection; and to raise awareness and promote specialized knowledge about human rights through the organization of training courses, seminars and workshops, and the production of a wide range of educational, training and information material.

“In the area of support to fact-finding bodies, the objectives are to ensure the effective functioning of human rights monitoring mechanisms by assisting special rapporteurs and representatives, experts and working groups mandated by policy-making bodies, including through the preparation of information regarding alleged violations and situations for review and the provision of support for missions and meetings; and to enhance the efficiency of action by policy-making bodies by providing analytical information on human rights situations.

“With respect to field activities, the objective is to ensure the efficiency of field missions and presences through the maintenance of contacts with Governments, appropriate sectors of the United Nations system, international and regional organizations and others by supporting and developing such activities through the development of training programmes and materials for human rights field staff and training in human rights for the appropriate components of other United Nations field operations.”

and delete the text of Objectives 2 and 3.

Under Expected accomplishments, replace the existing text with paragraph 19.16 of the medium-term plan, as follows:

“Expected accomplishments of the Secretariat would include:

“(a) Provision of advisory services and technical and financial assistance, at the request of the State concerned and, where appropriate, the regional human rights organizations, with a view to supporting actions and programmes in the field of human rights;

“(b) Fulfilment of the mandates given to the Office of the High Commissioner in resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights to support human rights monitoring mechanisms, such as special rapporteurs and representatives and expert and working groups mandated by policy-making bodies;

“(c) Enhanced awareness, knowledge and understanding of all human rights, including the right to development.”

Under Measurements of achievement, replace the existing text with paragraphs 19.17 and 19.18 of the medium-term plan, as modified below:

“Measures of achievement are elements used as tools for determining, where possible, the extent to which the objectives and/or have been achieved.

“Measures of achievement of the Secretariat to be applied to each expected accomplishment, as appropriate, would include:

“(a) The number of seminars, workshops and training courses held or supported by the Office of the High Commissioner; and the number of persons trained, participants in seminars and workshops and fellowships granted as well as data on their geographical distribution and the extent to which they contributed to the fulfilment of the objectives of the subprogramme;

“(b) The number of requests from Member States and, where appropriate, from the regional human rights organizations, received and fulfilled by the Office of the High Commissioner for the provision of advisory services and technical and financial assistance, with a view to supporting actions and programmes in the field of human rights;

“(c) The timeliness, significance and relevance of the advisory services and technical cooperation.”

Protection of and assistance to refugees

In paragraph 23.2, after the first sentence, insert the following sentence, based on the last sentence of paragraph 21.1 of the medium-term plan for the period 2002–2005: “The pursuit of permanent solutions to the problems of refugees is at the heart of protection and the principal purpose of this section.”

In paragraph 23.3, in paragraph (e), replace “in these activities, due consideration will be given to the interests both of Member States and of the United Nations” with the following text from the end of paragraph 21.5 (f) of the medium-term plan:

“in this regard, due consideration should be given to the obligation of United Nations officials, in the conduct of their duties, to observe fully both the laws and regulations of Member States and their duties and responsibilities to the Organization.”

In table 23.4, under Indicators of achievement at the end of paragraph (e), add the following phrase, based on paragraph 21.17 (d) of the medium-term plan: “; the number of refugees repatriated and resettled.”

In paragraph 23.11 delete paragraph (a),“UNHCR staff are trained as to the need for, and most effective design of, programme initiatives;” and reletter the remaining paragraphs accordingly.

In paragraph 23.14, paragraph (c) should read: “a sufficient level of extrabudgetary funding is raised to allow for the funding of planned capacity-building projects.”

Palestine refugees

In paragraph 24.14 (b), insert the word “some” between “by” and “host” in the first line.

Humanitarian assistance

In table 25.6:

Delete paragraphs (b) and (c) under Expected accomplishments;

Delete paragraphs (b) and (c) under Indicators of achievement;

Delete “Increased attention to and respect for an active and visible policy of” in paragraph (d) under Expected accomplishments.

In paragraph 25.18:

In subparagraph (b) (iii), replace the words “human rights and international humanitarian law” with “international humanitarian law and human rights instruments”;

Subparagraph (b) (vi) should read “Paper requested by the Security Council on protection for humanitarian assistance to refugees and others in conflict situations (1);”

Subparagraph (b) (vii) should read: “Study on the application of the guiding principles of humanitarian assistance to all populations in need, as contained in the annex to General Assembly resolution 46/182 (1);”

At the end of subparagraph (b) (viii), add “in strict conformity with the principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality and to ensure that they are not working at cross-purposes;”

Subparagraph (c) (iv) should read: “Production of inter-agency training package on enhancing the provision of humanitarian assistance to all populations in need;”

Add a new subparagraph after (c) (iv), reading:

“(v) Collaboration with other agencies to support and to promote the efforts of Governments of affected countries upon their request to assist and to protect internally displaced persons;”

Delete subparagraph (c) (vi) and reletter the subsequent subparagraphs accordingly.

In paragraph 25.27, in the second sentence, add “where appropriate” after “Framework”.

In table 25.10:

Under Expected accomplishments:

Paragraph (a) should read: “Increased capacity of developing countries for preparedness in disaster prevention and mitigation.”

Add a new paragraph (b), reading: “(b) Increased participation by developing countries in disaster reduction-related training and seminars.”

Under Indicators of achievement:

Paragraph (a) should read: “Increase in the number of developing countries having the technical capacity to deal with disaster prevention and mitigation.”

Add a new paragraph (b), reading: “The number of experts from developing countries participating in training seminars on disaster prevention.”

Reletter former paragraphs (b) and (c) as (c) and (d) respectively.

Under Expected accomplishments:

Delete (d);

Add a new paragraph (e) reading:

“(e) Better and more effective coordination in the mobilization of international support to contribute to preventive management and rehabilitation related to natural disasters.”

Under Indicators of achievement, reletter former paragraph (d) as (e).

At the end of paragraph 25.30 (c) (i), add a new item, reading: “n. Update inventory of the resources available to help deal with natural disasters;”

In table 25.12:

Delete (a) under Expected accomplishments

Delete (a) under Indicators of achievement

Under both headings, reletter paragraphs (b) and (c) as (a) and (b) respectively

Under Expected accomplishments, add a new paragraph (c), as follows:

“(c) Increased capacity of developing countries to deal with disaster relief.”

Under Indicators of achievement add a new paragraph (c), as follows:

“(c) Increased participation in training seminars on disaster management, improved field and regional cooperation in disaster management and increased donor response to inter-agency appeals.”

Under Expected accomplishments, in paragraphs (a) and (d), after “environmental disasters”, add “as well as technological accidents”

In table 25.14, under Expected accomplishments, in paragraph (b), after “United Nations”, delete the remainder of the paragraph.

Office of Human Resources Management

In paragraph 27C.1, at the end of the last sentence, add the following text:

“, as well as meet the expectations of Member States as set forth in General Assembly resolution 55/258 of 14 June 2001.”

After paragraph 27C.4, add a new paragraph, reading:

“27C.5. At its fifty-fifth session, the General Assembly considered the report of the Secretary-General and adopted resolution 55/258. In implementing all the activities under this subprogramme, the Office of Human Resources Management will take fully into account the provisions of resolution 55/258.”

and renumber subsequent paragraphs accordingly.

In former paragraph 27C.5:

In the first line, replace “resolution 53/221” with “resolution 55/258”

In the fourth line, insert the word “robust” before the word “monitoring”

In former paragraph 27C.6 (a), replace “monitoring” with “robust monitoring mechanisms”

In former paragraph 27C.12, replace the second sentence with the following text:

“In accordance with the decisions of the General Assembly contained in its resolution 55/258, the Division will concentrate on the implementation of human resources management reform in the areas of its expertise and will work on improving and enhancing its control and monitoring mechanisms and procedures.”

In former paragraph 27C.16, at the beginning of the paragraph, insert the following text:

“In line with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 55/258 and”

In former paragraph 27C.20, at the beginning of the paragraph, insert the following text:

“In line with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 55/258,”

In former paragraph 27C.21, at the beginning of the paragraph, insert the following text:

“In accordance with the decisions of the General Assembly, including resolution 55/258,”

In former paragraph 27C.26, the beginning of the paragraph, insert the following text:

“In line with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 55/258,”

Internal oversight

In table 28.6, under Objective 1, replace paragraph (b) under Indicators of achievement with the following: “The number of joint meetings, agreements and assignments with external oversight bodies.”

In table 28.8:

Under Indicators of achievement:

Merge subparagraphs (b) (i) and (ii) to read

“(b) Clear delegation of authority and the existence and effective use of mechanisms to ensure accountability at all levels of the Organization.”

Replace paragraph (d) with the following: “The number of joint meetings, agreements and assignments with external oversight bodies.”

Staffing table for 2002 and 2003

2002 | 2003 | Professional category and above | Deputy Secretary-General | 1 | 1 | Under-Secretary-General | 26 | 26 | Assistant Secretary-General | 19 | 19 | D-2 | 80 | 80 | D-1 | 244 | 244 | P-5 | 687 | 687 | P-4/3 | 2 300 | 2 300 | P-2/1 | 457 | 457 | Subtotal | 3 814 | 3 814 | General Service category | Principal level | 269 | 269 | Other level | 2 653 | 2 653 | Subtotal | 2 922 | 2 922 | Other categories | Security Services | 181 | 181 | Local level | 1 632 | 1 632 | Field Service | 185 | 185 | Trades and Crafts | 185 | 185 | Subtotal | 2 183 | 2 183 | Total | 8 919 | 8 919

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

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Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

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What’s in this document?

I

II

III

IV

Part IOverall policy-making, direction and coordination

Section 1Overall policy-making, direction and coordination

Section 2General Assembly affairs and conference services

Part IIPolitical affairs

Section 3Political affairs

Section 4Disarmament

Part IIIInternational justice and law

Section 7International Court of Justice

Section 8Legal affairs

Part IVInternational cooperation for development

Section 9Economic and social affairs

Section 10Africa: New Agenda for Development

Section 11A Trade and development

Section 12Environment

Section 13Human settlements

Section 14Crime prevention and criminal justice

Section 15International drug control

Part VRegional cooperation for development

Section 16Economic and social development in Africa

Section 17Economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific

Section 18Economic development in Europe

Section 19Economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean

Section 20Economic and social development in Western Asia

Part VIHuman rights and humanitarian affairs

Section 22Human rights

Section 23Protection of and assistance to refugees

Section 24Palestine refugees

Section 25Humanitarian assistance

Part VIIPublic information

Section 26Public information

Part VIIICommon support services

Section 27Management and central support services

Section 27A Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management

Section 27D Office of Central Support Services

Section 27G Administration, Nairobi

Part XJointly financed administrative activities and special expenses

Section 29Jointly financed administrative activities

Income section 2 General income

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?