Investing in the United Nations for a Stronger Organization Worldwide : Detailed Report

A/RES/60/283View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 46 Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, 118 United Nations reform : measures and proposals, 120 Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, 122 Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations, 124 Proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007, 128 Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations, 129 Human resources management and 136 Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, published in 2005.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 1	Enterprise resource planning solution, services to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly and to the Committee for Programme and Coordination, and management advisory services	10
	Subprogramme 2	Programme planning, finance and budget	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
	Subprogramme 1	Enterprise resource planning solution, services to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly and to the Committee for Programme and Coordination, and management advisory services	10	—
	Subprogramme 2	Programme planning, finance and budget	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?

1 report · 2006

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2006	A/61/255	Investing in people report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/60/283

What’s in this document?

73 operative paragraphs

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;

Endorses the conclusions and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions contained in its report,2 subject to the provisions of the present resolution;

I.Oversight and accountability

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure the full operationalization of the Ethics Office, including through the expeditious filling of vacancies;

Emphasizes the need for strengthening oversight in the Organization, and stresses the importance of strengthened accountability in the Organization and of ensuring greater accountability of the Secretary-General to Member States, inter alia, for the effective and efficient implementation of legislative mandates and the use of human and financial resources;

Looks forward to considering the results of the independent external evaluation of the audit and oversight system of the United Nations, as well as other relevant reports in this regard, and to taking action on proposals contained therein on, inter alia, ensuring the full operational independence of the Office of Internal Oversight Services and strengthening the evaluation capacity of the Office at the programme and subprogramme levels, as well as any budget requirements;

Recalls section XIII, paragraph 4, of its resolution 60/248 of 23 December 2005, whereby it established the Independent Audit Advisory Committee, and looks forward to considering and taking action on its proposed terms of reference with a view to operationalizing it;

II.Information and communication technology

Decides to establish the post of Chief Information Technology Officer at the level of Assistant Secretary-General in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General;

Requests the Secretary-General to rejustify the level and resource requirements for the post of Chief Information Technology Officer in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008–2009 to be considered at its sixty-second session, taking fully into account the existing staffing structure and resources dedicated to information and communication technology functions in the Organization;

Also requests the Secretary-General to provide to the General Assembly, at its resumed sixty-first session, detailed information on the structure and staffing requirements of the envisaged information and communication technology structure, as well as the lines of responsibility, the functions of the proposed structure and its relationship with other information and communication technology units in the Secretariat, offices away from Headquarters, regional commissions, peacekeeping operations, special political missions and other field offices;

Decides to replace the Integrated Management Information System with a next-generation enterprise resource planning system or other comparable system;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly, at its resumed sixty-first session, the comprehensive report referred to in paragraphs 17 and 18 of his report,⁴ and to respond to relevant General Assembly resolutions, including on the following matters:

⁴A/60/846/Add.1.

Substantive improvements to the information and communication technology systems that may be required, including the systems at offices away from Headquarters, the regional commissions and peacekeeping operations;

A detailed implementation plan, including on the user needs, scope, timetable, strategy and detailed resource requirements and information technology needs arising from the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards;

The expected contribution of the information and communication technology system to enhancing the effective and transparent use of the resources of the Organization;

Any revisions to the existing information and communication technology strategy that may be required, bearing in mind requests previously made by the General Assembly in its consideration of the 2002 information and communication technology strategy, including its resolutions 56/239 of 24 December 2001 and 57/304 of 15 April 2003;

Projected resource requirements over the life cycle of the project;

A detailed explanation and concrete examples of how it is envisaged that the proposals will enhance the effectiveness of the work of the Organization and address current deficiencies;

A clear definition of the terminologies and rationale for the proposals;

An assessment of previous investments in information and communication technology, as well as lessons learned and expected time frames for introducing the proposed system and arrangements for the continuation of the current system during the transitional period;

Decides to revert to the consideration of the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on policies of United Nations system organizations towards the use of open-source software in the secretariats⁵ at its resumed sixty-first session;

⁵A/60/665.

III.Limited budgetary discretion

Recalls its resolution 59/275 of 23 December 2004, in which it set the priorities for the Organization for the biennium 2006–2007;

Reaffirms the role and prerogative of Member States in setting the priorities of the Organization, as reflected in legislative decisions;

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

Emphasizes again 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;

Recalls paragraph 11 of its resolution 60/246 of 23 December 2005, whereby it recognized the need for limited discretion in budgetary implementation for the Secretary-General, within defined parameters to be agreed by the General Assembly along with clear accountability mechanisms to the Assembly for its use;

Decides to authorize the Secretary-General, on an experimental basis, a limited discretion for budgetary implementation for the bienniums 2006–2007 and 2008–2009, to enter into commitments up to 20 million United States dollars in each biennium for positions and non-post requirements for the purpose of meeting the evolving needs of the Organization in attaining its mandated programmes and activities;

Also decides to authorize the Secretary-General to utilize the Working Capital Fund to finance the implementation of the authorization referred to in paragraph 6 above, which shall be offset by savings identified and attained, including through the efficient use and assignment of resources, during the course of each biennium within the authorized appropriation level, as reported in the performance reports;

Decides that the authorization referred to in paragraph 6 above shall be implemented in accordance with the following principles:

The experiment shall not be utilized for unforeseen and extraordinary expenses that are authorized in respect of the maintenance of peace and security;

The experiment shall not imply any changes in the human resources management policies of the Organization;

The proposed programme budget shall remain the principal instrument in which the Secretary-General sets out the resources and staffing requirements of the Organization, including the requirements for all reform proposals as agreed by Member States;

The experiment shall in no way prevent the Secretary-General from requesting additional posts during the course of the experiment;

The experiment shall not be implemented in pursuance of General Assembly resolutions calling for the implementation of decisions “within existing resources”;

The experiment shall not imply any changes to the provisions guiding the use of the contingency fund;

The utilization of authorization shall be exercised with the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions when the total amount utilized exceeds 6 million dollars per biennium;

The experiment shall not alter the priorities of the Organization as agreed by the General Assembly;

The utilization of the funds provided for under the experiment shall be subject to the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly, through the Advisory Committee, in the context of the performance reports, on the utilization of all commitments made within the context of the experiment, together with the circumstances relating thereto, as well as the impact on programme delivery and the ability to meet the evolving needs of the Organization;

Decides to review the experiment at its sixty-fourth session with a view to taking a final decision on its continuation, and requests the Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive report on the implementation of the experiment for its consideration, including the following aspects:

The utilization of the experiment during the course of the two bienniums;

Implications, if any, for the human resources management policies and the Financial Regulations and Rules;

The impact on programme delivery, as well as on the priorities of the Organization as set by Member States;

The criteria used by the Secretary-General to define the evolving needs of the Organization;

Recalls paragraph 14 of its resolution 58/270 of 23 December 2003 and paragraph 7 of its resolution 60/246, decides that the experiment will not be extended beyond the current biennium, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session on the results of the experiment as well as lessons learned that can be applied to the experiment referred to in paragraph 6 above;

Requests the Secretary-General to expeditiously implement paragraph 8 of its resolution 60/246 and to report thereon in the context of the first performance report on the programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007;

Recalls its request to the Secretary-General to specifically define accountability as well as clear accountability mechanisms, including to the General Assembly, and to propose clear parameters for their application and the instruments for their rigorous enforcement, without exception, at all levels;

Recognizes that it will consider the related report of the Secretary-General referred to in paragraph 13 above at its sixty-first session with a view to taking decisions to strengthen accountability in the Organization;

IV.Financial management practices

International Public Sector Accounting Standards

Decides to approve the adoption by the United Nations of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards;

Approves the resources requested to permit the Secretary-General to begin implementation of the Standards, bearing in mind paragraph 42 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;2

Working Capital Fund

Recalls its resolution 60/250 of 23 December 2005;

Resolves that the Working Capital Fund for the biennium 2006–2007 shall be increased to 150 million dollars effective from 1 January 2007;

Also resolves that Member States shall make advances to the Working Capital Fund in accordance with the scale of assessments to be adopted by the General Assembly for contributions to the regular budget for the year 2007;

Further resolves that there shall be set off against these advances:

The surplus balance of the programme budget for the biennium 2004–2005;

Cash advances paid by Member States to the Working Capital Fund for the biennium 2006–2007 in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/250;

V.Improving reporting mechanisms: public access to United Nations documentation

Comprehensive annual report

Emphasizes the importance of providing the information necessary to enable Member States to make well-informed decisions;

Reaffirms that all reports pertaining to administrative and budgetary matters are subject to the consideration of the Fifth Committee as the appropriate Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibilities for those matters;

Takes note of the intention of the Secretary-General to prepare a single comprehensive annual report containing both financial and programme information, with the aim of enhancing the transparency of the Organization and the accountability of the Secretariat to Member States;

Emphasizes that the report would be developed in the context of paragraphs 68 and 69 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,2 bearing in mind paragraph 2 above;

Also emphasizes that the report would be complementary in nature and would not replace the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization required under Article 98 of the Charter of the United Nations, nor reports that are subject to the consideration of the Fifth Committee;

Public access

Notes the proposal of the Secretary-General on the policy for access to United Nations documentation by Member States and the public and also the observations of the Advisory Committee thereon, and requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session, for consideration and action, a comprehensive report containing detailed parameters of the above proposal, including information on resource requirements, financing mechanisms and the possibility of a fee structure, and also addressing the implementation of the existing mandates governing the issue of facilitating the access of Member States and the public to United Nations documentation and information materials, as contained in relevant resolutions of the General Assembly;

VI.Procurement

Authorizes the Secretary-General to enter into commitments of up to 706,600 dollars to strengthen the United Nations procurement system, including by enhancing internal controls and developing business seminar programmes for vendors in developing countries, pending consideration of and action on the report of the Secretary-General on procurement reform⁶ by the General Assembly at its sixty-first session;

⁶A/60/846/Add.5.

VII.Future consideration of management reform

Decides to defer consideration of the following proposals contained in the addendum on financial management practices⁷ to the above-mentioned detailed report of the Secretary-General as follows:

⁷A/60/846/Add.3.

Consolidation of peacekeeping accounts and increases in the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund and commitment authority for peacekeeping operations (paragraphs 112 (b) to (l)) — until the second part of its resumed sixty-first session;

Establishment of a reserve fund (paragraphs 112 (p) and (q)) — within the context of the programme budget for the biennium 2008–2009;

Looks forward to considering at its sixty-first session proposals on:

Governance, oversight and accountability;

Human resources management;

Procurement;

Administration of justice;

Reaffirms its intention to continue the consideration of measures to fulfil the commitments made by Heads of State and Government in the 2005 World Summit Outcome⁸ to strengthen the United Nations by ensuring the efficient and effective functioning of the Organization and a culture of accountability, transparency and integrity in the Secretariat;

⁸See resolution 60/1.

Pledges to provide the United Nations with adequate resources, on a timely basis, to enable the Organization to implement its mandates and achieve its objectives, having regard to the priorities agreed by the General Assembly and the need to respect budget discipline;

VIII.Appropriation

Approves an additional appropriation of 4,433,100 dollars in the programme budget for the biennium 2006–2007, broken down as follows:

Section | Amount (United States dollars) | 1. | Overall policymaking, direction and coordination | 145 600 | 28A. | Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management | 1 860 000 | 28B. | Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts | 1 428 900 | 28D. | Office of Central Support Services | 574 600 | 30. | Jointly financed administrative activities | 424 000 | Total | 4 433 100

Also approves an additional appropriation in the amount of 127,300 dollars under section 35, Staff assessment, to be offset by an equivalent amount under income section 1, Income from staff assessment.

Investing in the United Nations for a Stronger Organization Worldwide : Detailed Report

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

I.Oversight and accountability

II.Information and communication technology

III.Limited budgetary discretion

IV.Financial management practices

International Public Sector Accounting Standards

Working Capital Fund

V.Improving reporting mechanisms: public access to United Nations documentation

Comprehensive annual report

Public access

VI.Procurement

VII.Future consideration of management reform

VIII.Appropriation

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?