Administrative and Budgetary Aspects of the Financing of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations : Cross-Cutting Issues

A/RES/61/276View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 132 Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, published in 2007.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

3 reports · 2008–2012

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2012	A/67/329/Add.1	Composition of the Secretariat : gratis personnel, retired staff and consultants and individual contractors report of the Secretary-General : addendum	A/RES/61/276
2008	A/62/762	National professional officers report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/61/276
2008	A/62/758	Comprehensive report of conduct and discipline including full justification of all posts report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/61/276

What’s in this document?

100 operative paragraphs

I

Reaffirms its resolutions 57/290 B, 59/296 and 60/266, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure the full implementation of their relevant provisions;

Appreciates the efforts of all peacekeeping personnel in the field and at Headquarters;

Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the general report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,2 subject to the provisions of the present resolution, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure their full implementation;

Emphasizes that the submission of budget proposals by missions to Headquarters should constitute part of the leadership and accountability functions of the Head of Mission/Special Representative of the Secretary-General;

Takes note of the management initiatives proposed in sections III.B and III.C of the report of the Secretary-General;²¹

²¹A/61/786.

Recalls section B, paragraphs 24 and 25, of its resolution 52/214 of 22 December 1997, and requests the Secretary-General to present his report in full conformity with the provisions of those paragraphs;

Notes with concern that a number of reports requested in resolution 60/266 have not been introduced during the current session, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the outstanding reports are submitted to it at the second part of its resumed sixty-second session;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the possible application of the relevant provisions of the present resolution to other field operations administered by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, including special political missions, where applicable, under the agenda item entitled “Proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008–2009”;

II.Budgeting and budget presentation

Reaffirms the provisions of section II of its resolution 60/266;

Requests the Secretary-General, when submitting future budget proposals and performance reports, to include information on the most significant management decisions relating to the mission’s budget and its implementation, including those related to operational costs;

Notes with concern the late submission of the budgets of some peacekeeping operations, which puts considerable strain on the work of the General Assembly and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, and, while recognizing the challenges faced in preparing budget proposals and related reports on peacekeeping and the special factors affecting some missions, requests the Secretary-General to intensify his efforts to improve the quality and timely issuance of peacekeeping documents;

Reaffirms that budget submissions should reflect management improvements and efficiency gains to be achieved and present future strategies in that regard;

Recognizes that mandate and operational changes may lead to variances in budget implementation, and requests the Secretary-General to take further steps towards improving budget assumptions and forecasts and to report thereon to the General Assembly at the second part of its resumed sixty-second session;

Notes with concern the significant increase in the cancellation of prior-period obligations in several missions, and requests the Secretary-General to improve control over obligations;

Takes note of the observations contained in paragraph 23 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;Error: Reference source not found

III.Results-based budgeting

Reaffirms its resolution 55/231 of 23 December 2000, and requests the Secretary-General to prepare the budgets for peacekeeping operations in full compliance with that resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to integrate operational, logistical and financial aspects fully in the planning phase of peacekeeping operations by linking results-based budgeting to the mandate implementation plans of peacekeeping operations;

IV.Planning and staffing structure

Emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the work undertaken during the planning phase preceding the deployment of missions is as effective and accurate as possible, and emphasizes also the importance of drawing on lessons learned;

Notes the benchmarking analysis referred to in paragraph 26 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,Error: Reference source not found and requests the Secretary-General, when undertaking the analysis, also to take into account the complexities, mandate and specificities of each mission;

V.Best practices

Recognizes the importance of incorporating lessons learned and best practices in the planning and conduct of ongoing and future peacekeeping missions;

Notes that the policy on capturing best practices is still evolving, and requests the Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive report on this issue to the General Assembly at the second part of its resumed sixty-second session, including on how information on best practices is being utilized in mission planning, as well as efficiency gains and improvements in effectiveness being made as a result of those efforts;

VI.Use of consultants

Reaffirms section III of its resolution 60/266, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly on this subject at its sixty-second session;

VII.Staffing, recruitment and vacancy rates

Reaffirms that locally recruited mission staff may be recruited as international staff only through the normal recruitment process in which they compete for international posts in another mission along with other external candidates;

Requests the Secretary-General to review the standards for the recruitment of National Professional Officers and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session for its consideration and action;

Also requests the Secretary-General, cognizant of the continuously high international staff vacancy rates in many missions, to consider, when formulating budget submissions, greater utilization of national staff, as appropriate, commensurate with the requirements of the mission and its mandate;

Reaffirms its request contained in section I, paragraph 6, of its resolution 55/238 of 23 December 2000, and reiterates its concern over high vacancy and turnover rates for civilian staff in some peacekeeping operations and, while recognizing efforts made to improve the vacancy rates, reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to ensure that vacant posts are filled expeditiously;

Takes note of paragraph 36 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,Error: Reference source not found and requests the Secretary-General to review the staffing structure of missions on an ongoing basis, bearing in mind, in particular, the mission’s mandate and concept of operations, and to reflect this in his budget proposals, including full justification of any additional posts proposed;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that any delegation of authority to mission officials with regard to recruitment is accompanied by appropriate steps to ensure accountability;

Takes note of paragraph 41 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,Error: Reference source not found and recalls section II, paragraph 17, of its resolution 61/244 of 22 December 2006, in which it acknowledges that the interaction of United Nations personnel with the local population is necessary and that language skills constitute an important element of the selection and training processes, and therefore affirms that a good command of the official language(s) spoken in the country of residence should be taken into account as an additional asset during those processes;

VIII.Use of 300-series and 100-series appointments

Recalls section XIV of its resolution 60/266;

Decides to continue to suspend the application of the four-year maximum limit for appointments of limited duration until 31 December 2007;

Authorizes the Secretary-General, bearing in mind paragraph 2 above, to reappoint, under the 100 series of the Staff Rules, those mission staff whose service under 300-series contracts has reached the four-year limit by 31 December 2007, provided that their functions have been reviewed and found necessary and their performance has been confirmed as fully satisfactory, and requests the Secretary-General to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue the practice of using 300-series contracts as the primary instrument for the appointment of new staff;

IX.Training

Emphasizes the importance of further steps to make training programmes more relevant and cost-effective through, inter alia, the training of trainers and the use of videoconferencing and e-learning where feasible;

Notes the increasing role of national staff in peacekeeping operations and the need to build national capacities and provide professional development opportunities for national staff, and emphasizes that national staff should be fully included in all relevant training programmes;

X.Death and disability claims

Emphasizes the importance of the expeditious settlement of all death and disability claims as a measure of relief to the beneficiaries and of removing all bureaucratic impediments delaying payments to the beneficiaries;

Reaffirms its resolution 52/177 of 18 December 1997, in which it authorized the Secretary-General to implement without delay the administrative and payment arrangements and procedures contained in section II of his report²² for the payment of awards in cases of death and disability sustained by troops for incidents occurring after 30 June 1997;

²²A/52/369.

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure strict implementation of the procedures approved by the General Assembly in its resolution 52/177 whereby, inter alia, in the case of injury or illness resulting in permanent disfigurement or the permanent loss of a member or function there shall be paid to the injured party a lump sum, the amount of which shall be determined by the Secretary-General on the basis of the schedule set out in paragraph (b) of annex V to the report of the Secretary-GeneralError: Reference source not found and in accordance with the principles of assessment set out in paragraph (c) of that annex, and applying, where necessary, proportionate and corresponding amounts in cases of permanent disfigurement or loss of a member or function not specifically referred to in the schedule;

Also requests the Secretary-General to review the payment of awards in cases of disability sustained by members of peacekeeping contingents and formed police units, civilian police officers and military observers in incidents occurring after 30 June 1997 with a view to ensuring that for those cases of permanent disfigurement or loss of a member or function specifically referred to in the schedule of awards set out in annex V to the report of the Secretary-GeneralError: Reference source not found and appendix D to the Staff Rules, the amount of compensation paid by the United Nations has not been less than the award levels set out in the schedule, and to report on the results to the General Assembly at the second part of its resumed sixty-second session;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to settle death and disability claims as soon as possible, but not later than three months from the date of submission of a claim;

Expresses deep concern about delays in the settlement of claims in respect of death and disability, and requests the Secretary-General to take urgent measures to eliminate the existing backlog of death and disability claims pending for more than three months and to report on the progress made to the General Assembly at the second part of its resumed sixty-second session;

Requests the Secretary-General to officially inform Member States of incidents involving their nationals in United Nations peacekeeping missions that may result in death or disability claims, as well as of the procedures governing the submission of such claims, no later than seventy-two hours from the time of the incident;

Stresses the importance of board of inquiry reports on incidents resulting in death and disability being completed and submitted to United Nations Headquarters and to the Member State concerned within the shortest possible period of time so as to ensure that the time limit referred to in paragraph 5 above is respected;

Requests the Secretary-General to conduct a comprehensive review of the administrative and payment arrangements and procedures for the payment of compensation in cases of death and disability sustained by members of peacekeeping contingents and formed police units, civilian police officers and military observers with a view to simplifying, streamlining and harmonizing the current process, and to submit a report thereon to the General Assembly at the second part of its resumed sixty-second session addressing, inter alia, the following issues:

Options to ensure the equal treatment of members of peacekeeping contingents and formed police units, civilian police officers and military observers;

The possible establishment of a deadline for the completion and submission of board of inquiry reports and measures to ensure its observance;

Clear delineation of responsibilities of the United Nations and the Member States in the submission of documentation in support of death and disability claims;

Full lists of documents to be submitted in support of death and disability claims by the Member States and, where applicable, beneficiaries;

Possible limits in the number of requests for documents besides those specified in the lists referred to in subparagraph (d) above;

The principle that in cases of doubt, death and disability claims are given sympathetic consideration;

Possible procedures for a simplified settlement of death and disability claims whenever the Secretary-General is unable to complete the administrative procedures for processing such claims within the established time limit;

Reaffirms the principles enunciated in section III, paragraph 1, of its resolution 49/233 A and in paragraph 1 of its resolution 50/223 of 11 April 1996;

XI.Military

Emphasizes the importance of ensuring the provision of good quality rations in concluding the global contract on rations;

Decides to authorize the payment, as necessary, of mission subsistence allowance to staff officers during in-mission official travel in cases where accommodation and/or food cannot be provided by the mission and to review this issue in the context of the analysis requested in paragraph 56 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;Error: Reference source not found

Endorses the recommendation of the Secretary-General in paragraph 94 of his overview report20 and the recommendations thereon of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, as set out in paragraph 35 of its report,2 and decides that the support arrangements for staff officers should be revised accordingly;

Recognizes the importance of rapid deployment of military resources to the field, as referred to in paragraphs 91 to 93 of the overview report of the Secretary-General,20 and requests the Secretary-General to provide updated information on this matter in the context of his next overview report;

XII.Internal controls and conflict of interest

Affirms that an effective internal control framework, accountability mechanisms, a commitment to strong control and ethics are important components of internal control;

Stresses that the secretariat management structure for peacekeeping operations must ensure that operational and management processes are fully integrated with a strong internal control framework and supported by effective accountability mechanisms;

Reiterates paragraph 9 of section V of its resolution 60/266 and paragraph 9 of its resolution 61/246 of 22 December 2006;

XIII.Air operations

Reaffirms paragraph 2 of section XI of its resolution 60/266;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue efforts to explore possibilities for economies and efficiencies in air operations, and stresses that these should not undermine the safety and operational requirements and rotation and troop deployment cycles;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General, contained in paragraph 3 of section XIX of its resolution 59/296, to improve the formulation of resource requirements for air operations in budget submissions to make them more reflective of actual operations, bearing in mind the overbudgeting of air transportation requirements in some peacekeeping operations;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that missions, when reviewing their transportation requirements, take into account means that are efficient, cost-effective and responsive to their operational needs and that ensure the safety of their personnel and take fully into account the unique mandate, complexities, specificities and operational conditions of each mission;

Also requests the Secretary-General to further strengthen coordination with relevant United Nations entities in the area of air operations and to report on progress made in his next overview report;

Further requests the Secretary-General to continue to conduct aviation quality inspections and aviation assessments to confirm that established standards are being fully complied with;

XIV.Ground transportation and utilization of vehicles and spare parts

Requests the Secretary-General to include information on progress made towards global management of spare parts in his next overview report;

Notes with concern the uneven implementation of the vehicle rotation policy;

Notes that the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions did not make recommendations on the proposal of the Secretary-General on spare parts;

Emphasizes the importance of full implementation of the car log security system and the fuel log system;

Notes the efforts of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to develop, within Galileo, its assets management system, a comprehensive fleet management system on spare parts management, and requests the Secretary-General to report at the second part of its resumed sixty-second session on the results achieved regarding the completion of that project;

Requests the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to plan the acquisition of spare parts with due regard to realistic estimates of consumption and to dispose of unserviceable and obsolete items in a timely manner;

XV.Fuel management

Notes that fuel is a major item of expenditure and that its management is vulnerable to serious risk of fraud and abuse;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to prepare a fuel management manual and standard operating procedures and to include in his report thereon information on the review of the current business model for the provision of fuel, measures taken to improve fuel management, including information on experience with mission electronic fuel accounting system and fuel log system projects, and plans to introduce alternative systems designed to support global fuel management;

Notes the high vacancy rates in fuel management-related posts and the difficulties in recruiting appropriately qualified staff in this area, and encourages the Secretary-General to continue his efforts in this regard;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure annual certification and, where necessary, updating of fuel contingency plans at its field missions;

XVI.Conduct and discipline

Recalling section XIV of its resolution 59/296,

Reaffirming its resolution 59/300 of 22 June 2005,

Underlines the great importance it attaches to the elimination of misconduct, including sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, and calls for full implementation of the United Nations zero-tolerance policy;

Takes note with appreciation of the comprehensive report of the Secretary-General on sexual exploitation and sexual abuse;Error: Reference source not found

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse;Error: Reference source not found

Notes with concern the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on its investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in the Ituri region (Bunia) in the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;Error: Reference source not found

Requests the Secretary-General to examine ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination of conduct and discipline teams, the Office of Internal Oversight Services and other entities of the United Nations system, both at Headquarters and in the field, and to report in this regard at the second part of its resumed sixty-second session in the context of the overview report;

Stresses the importance of having a dedicated capacity in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at Headquarters and, as appropriate, in its field missions to address conduct and discipline issues, decides to convert seven temporary positions at Headquarters and forty-one temporary positions in the field into posts and to authorize that the remaining positions in the field be funded from general temporary assistance, and requests that a comprehensive report on the issue of conduct and discipline, including full justification of all posts, with staffing levels, functions and their impact on conduct and discipline, be submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session;

XVII.Disarmament, demobilization (including reinsertion) and reintegration

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General,Error: Reference source not found and endorses the observations contained in the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;Error: Reference source not found

Reaffirms the provisions of its resolution 59/296 on disarmament, demobilization (including reinsertion) and reintegration;

XVIII.Quick-impact projects

Affirms that quick-impact projects play a critical role in strengthening the link between missions and local populations and in accomplishing their objectives, and that their implementation should take into account the situation and needs on the ground;

Welcomes the inclusion of quick-impact projects in the budgets of peacekeeping operations, and recognizes the important contribution that they make towards the successful implementation of the mandates of peacekeeping operations;

Stresses that quick-impact projects are an integral part of mission planning and development and of the implementation of comprehensive strategies to meet the challenges facing complex peacekeeping operations;

Recognizes that, in accordance with the purpose of such projects, that is, that they be used by United Nations peacekeeping operations to establish and build confidence in individual missions, their mandates and the peace process, thereby improving the environment for effective mandate implementation, they should be executed by the missions to the extent possible and that, in instances when they are implemented by partners, steps should be taken to ensure that the missions are given due recognition;

Emphasizes that quick-impact projects should be implemented with minimal or no overhead charges in order to ensure that the maximum amount is spent for the direct benefit of the local population;

Recognizes that funding for quick-impact projects for the third year of a mission and beyond may be requested if there is a requirement for confidence-building activities, in which case a needs assessment should be conducted;

Emphasizes the importance of coordination with humanitarian and development partners in order to avoid duplication and overlap of activities between missions and humanitarian and development partners in the field;

Stresses that mission budgets allocated for quick-impact projects should not be used to finance humanitarian and development activities already being carried out by United Nations agencies or other international organizations;

XIX.Procurement

Reaffirms its resolution 61/246, and regrets that the Secretary-General did not present the reports requested by the General Assembly in that resolution;

Reaffirms also section VII of its resolution 60/266, and reiterates its request to the Secretary-General that he increase efforts to improve procurement opportunities for vendors from developing countries and countries with economies in transition and report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session;

Recognizes that procurement reform is an ongoing process that should focus, inter alia, on ensuring the efficiency, transparency and cost-effectiveness of United Nations procurement, strengthened internal controls, greater accountability to Member States and the full implementation of General Assembly resolutions on procurement reform;

Requests the Secretary-General to identify obstacles preventing the participation of developing countries and countries with economies in transition in United Nations procurement contracts;

Recognizes the efforts by the Procurement Division of the Department of Management of the Secretariat to increase the number of business seminars in developing countries, and requests the Secretary-General, in his capacity as Chairman of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, to encourage the organizations of the United Nations system to facilitate, in cooperation with Member States, the organization of business seminars in developing countries and countries with economies in transition;

XX.Regional coordination

Reaffirming section IX of its resolution 60/266,

Acknowledges progress made in regional cooperation;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General that regional coordination plans aligned to the objectives of missions be developed and implemented, keeping in mind the specific mandate of each mission, and that he report thereon to the General Assembly in the context of his next overview report;

Welcomes efforts to enhance regional and inter-mission cooperation, where feasible, with a view to achieving greater synergies in the use of the resources of the Organization and the implementation of the mandates of the missions, while bearing in mind that individual missions are responsible for the preparation and implementation of their own budgets and for controlling their own assets and logistical operations;

XXI.Partnerships, country team coordination and integrated missions

Stresses the importance of close collaboration with partners, both inside and outside the United Nations system, including partnerships with regional organizations, and notes the efforts of the Secretary-General to strengthen such partnerships;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide, in the context of the budget submissions of complex integrated peacekeeping missions, a clear description of the role and responsibility of missions vis-à-vis integrated mission partners as well as the strategies of the missions for enhancing coordination and collaboration with United Nations country teams in order to achieve better results under relevant components;

XXII.Liabilities and reimbursements

Notes with concern the status of liabilities and reimbursements to troop- and formed police-contributing countries for their troops, formed police units, contingent-owned equipment and self-sustainment, emphasizes the importance of the full settlement of those liabilities, and, in this regard, urges all Member States to pay their assessed contributions on time, in full and without conditions.