Questions relating to the programme budget for the biennium 1990-1991

I

First report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions

Takes note with appreciation of the first report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

II

Work-load standards for various categories of conference-servicing staff, including clerical and typing staff, and work-load statistics for the various conference services in the 1986-1987 and 1988-1989 bienniums

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on work-load standards for conference-servicing staff and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,

1.         Takes note of the Secretary-General's revised work-load standards, as modified by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

2.         Notes that the revised work-load standards reflect a further step towards enhanced productivity of conference-servicing staff, including improvements achieved through the application of new technologies;

3.         Urges the Secretary-General and the Advisory Committee to keep these standards under review in order further to enhance economy and efficiency in conference-servicing activities;

4.         Requests the Secretary-General to pursue through the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination the elaboration of unified work-load standards for conference-servicing staff within the United Nations common system and to report thereon, through the Advisory Committee, to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session;

5.         Requests the Advisory Committee to review with the organizations of the United Nations system during this time the efforts being undertaken to achieve the harmonization of work-load standards in conference-servicing of all organizations of the United Nations system;

6.         Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session, through the Advisory Committee, on progress relating to the further development of work-load standards in conference-servicing for all United Nations conference facilities, including those of the regional commissions;

III

International Computing Centre: 1991 budget estimates

Approves the 1991 budget estimates of the International Computing Centre, amounting to 10,515,500 United States dollars, as contained in the report of the Secretary-General;

IV

Recommendation of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters

Concurs with the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions in paragraphs 6 and 7 of its report;

V

African Institute for Economic Development and Planning

Concurring with the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions in paragraph 14 of its report,

1.         Requests the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme to urge the Administrator of the Programme to implement fully Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/72 of 27 July 1990, as follows:

(a)        To give its full backing to the short-term training programme and the research and advisory activities of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning;

(b)        To continue its support for the activities of the Institute;

2.         Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session on the implementation of its request to the Governing Council; VI Comprehensive review of the after-service health insurance programme

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

VII

Functioning and administrative support of the departments having mandates related to global social development issues

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

VIII

Conference services and Division of Administrative and Common Services at Vienna

1.         Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General and the related comments of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization;

2.         Endorses the conclusions and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions contained in paragraphs 11, 25, 27 and 28 of its report;

IX

Integrated management information system project

1.         Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the integrated management information system project;

2.         Reiterates its request that the Secretary-General report to the General Assembly on the cost benefits of the project;

X

Construction of additional conference facilities at Addis Ababa and Bangkok

1.         Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the construction of additional conference facilities at Addis Ababa and Bangkok;

2.         Requests the Secretary-General to proceed with the projects in accordance with the revised timetables;

XI

Functioning of the multinational programming and operational centres of the Economic Commission for Africa

1.         Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

2.         Endorses the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

XII

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

Approves the recommendation that, on an exceptional basis, payment be made for daily subsistence for representatives of the least developed countries from the Voluntary Fund for Supporting Developing Countries Participating in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and its Preparatory Process;

XIII

Standards of accommodation for air travel

1.         Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

2.         Reaffirms its resolutions 41/213 of 19 December 1986 and 42/214 of 21 December 1987;

3.         Requests the Secretary-General to review the existing arrangements in regard to payment of subsistence allowance and standards of air travel by representatives of Member States in their official capacity to attend meetings of various intergovernmental bodies and for other United Nations official work and to submit concrete proposals to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session, through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, with a view to ensuring consistency of travel arrangements within the United Nations;

4.         Also requests the Secretary-General to examine how the discounts and other incentives offered by various airlines could be utilized to provide savings to the United Nations and upgraded travel arrangements to representatives of Member States, experts attending meetings of subsidiary bodies and the Secretariat staff without incurring any additional expenditure and to include his recommendations in this regard in his report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session;

5.         Further requests the Secretary-General, in the interim, to continue to exercise his discretion in respect of business class travel for United Nations official work, taking into account the status of the traveller and in the light of the views expressed by Member States at the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly;

6.         Requests the Secretary-General to include in his report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session information on the meetings attended by eminent persons for whom exceptions have been made for first class travel;

7.         Decides to review at its forty-sixth session the arrangements regarding the payment of subsistence allowance and accommodation for air travel on the basis of the report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session;

XIV

Optical disc storage and retrieval system

1.         Decides to defer until its forty-sixth session consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on the optical disc storage and retrieval system;

2.         Requests the Secretariat to carry out consultations with the permanent missions in order to determine the appropriateness of making the system compatible with those of permanent missions and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session;

3.         Empowers the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions to authorize the Secretary-General to enter into commitments for additional requirements necessary for 1991, on the understanding that such appropriations as may be necessary for 1991 would have first call on the contingency fund of the programme budget for the biennium 1990-1991 at the forty-sixth session; XV Contingency fund

Notes that a balance of 3,218,700 dollars remains in the contingency fund.

B

The General Assembly,

I

Revised estimates under sections 3, 13, 27, 31 and income section 1 Section 3C. Namibia

1.         Reaffirms its resolutions 44/243 A and B, of 11 September 1990, by which, inter alia, it dissolved the United Nations Council for Namibia and authorized the orderly completion of the programmes and activities for Namibia during the period 1990-1994;

2.         Decides, having taken note of the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions in paragraph 4 of its report and of the request made by the Government of Namibia for the holding of a seminar on programme planning for the national reconstruction and development of Namibia, to appropriate an amount of 241,800 United States dollars for this seminar in the programme budget for the biennium 1990-1991;

3.         Accepts the recommendation of the Advisory Committee contained in paragraph 7 of its report regarding the urgency of the redeployment of the remaining staff of the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Namibia, on the understanding that the Secretary-General will report, as necessary, to the Advisory Committee on this question in the course of 1991;

4.         Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to provide assistance to the Government of Namibia in the preparation of a comprehensive national census, taking into account the recommendations of the Advisory Committee in paragraph 9 of its report;

5.         Accepts the proposals of the Secretary-General related to the residual obligations of the United Nations Institute for Namibia whose operations have ceased on 30 September 1990, as decided in paragraphs 7 and 8 of resolution 44/243 B ;

6.         Reiterates its decision reflected in paragraph 15 of resolution 44/243 B that Namibians currently benefiting from assistance through the United Nations Educational and Training Programme for Southern Africa and through the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa shall continue to be eligible for such assistance until they complete their programmes;

7.         Decides that, in respect of the individual scholarship programme for Namibian students, should there be a shortfall in funding, the Secretary-General would be authorized to enter into commitments under the regular budget, subject to the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee;

8.         Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations Trust Committee for the United Nations Fund for Namibia to give priority to the execution of the individual scholarship programme, including through an appeal early in 1991 for voluntary contributions;

9.         Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session, through the Advisory Committee, on the financing of the individual scholarship programme for Namibian students;

Section 3B. Department for Special Political Questions, Regional Co-operation, Decolonization and Trusteeship

10.       Accepts the proposal of the Secretary-General to establish a Transitional Unit for Namibia in the Department for Special Political Questions, Regional Co-operation, Decolonization and Trusteeship;

11.       Decides that the Transitional Unit for Namibia shall be composed in 1991 of four temporary posts, two at the Professional level (1 P-5 and 1 P-3) and two at the General Service level;

12.       Accepts also the proposal of the Secretary-General to redeploy within the Department for Special Political Questions, Regional Co-operation, Decolonization and Trusteeship, one Professional post (P-4 level) and one General Service post (other level) from Programme support services to the Unit for Special Emergency Programmes;

13.       Decides that the functions of the Unit for Special Emergency Programmes shall be reviewed by the Secretary-General, as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, in the context of the preparation of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993;

Section 3D. Centre against Apartheid

14.       Takes note of the proposals of the Secretary-General regarding the establishment and reclassification of posts in the Centre against Apartheid, and of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions thereon;

15.       Decides, given the priority attached to activities against apartheid, to establish on a temporary basis one Professional post (P-3 level) and one General Service post (other level) in the Centre against Apartheid;

Section 13. Economic Commission for Africa

16.       Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General and the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

17.       Recognizes that urgent action needs to be taken to establish adequate standards of technology and management to ensure the efficient functioning of the Economic Commission for Africa;

18.       Approves the proposed office automation project of the Economic Commission for Africa set out in the report of the Secretary-General;

19.       Decides to appropriate an amount of 1,716,500 dollars for this purpose under section 13 of the programme budget for the biennium 1990-1991, as an exceptional measure, without prejudice to the new budgetary procedure set out in General Assembly resolution 41/213 of 19 December 1986, particularly paragraph 10 of annex I thereto;

Section 27. Public information

20.       Takes note of the proposals of the Secretary-General and the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions on the financing of a new information centre, at Windhoek, in 1991;

21.       Recalls recommendation 2 (h) contained in section II, paragraph 1, of its 44/50 of 8 December 1989, and urges the Secretary-General to facilitate and expedite the establishment of an information centre at Windhoek;

22.       Requests the Secretary-General to make the necessary arrangements, in consultation with the Government of Namibia, for organizing early in 1991 the briefings referred to in paragraph 82 (b) of his report;

23.       Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session a report on the implementation of section I of the present resolution;

II

Review of translation and interpretation services for all official languages in the Economic Commission for Africa

Having considered the note by the Secretary-General on the review of the translation and interpretation services for all official languages in the Economic Commission for Africa,

1.         Expresses its concern over the difficulties experienced by the Economic Commission for Africa, particularly in the area of conference services;

2.         Requests the Secretary-General to take action for the revival of a training programme for translators/precis-writers in all official languages of the Economic Commission for Africa and to report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session, through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, on the measures taken;

3.         Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that this training programme is comparable in quality with other similar United Nations training programmes and to make every effort to utilize existing facilities and expertise within the region;

4.         Invites the Secretary-General to take appropriate measures to ensure the immediate recruitment of those candidates who, after completing their training, have passed the competitive translators/precis-writers examination;

5.         Further requests the Secretary-General to make proposals in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993 on the improvement of conference services in the Economic Commission for Africa, including the provision of a permanent staff for interpretation;

6.         Decides to consider again the question of conference services for the Economic Commission for Africa at its forty-sixth session, in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993;

III

Electoral assistance to Haiti

1.         Decides to appropriate an amount of 5 million dollars to be placed provisionally under the custody of the Secretary-General under section 1 of the programme budget for the biennium 1990-1991, on the understanding that such a decision does not imply any judgement on the nature of the activities of the United Nations Observer Group for the Verification of Elections in Haiti;

2.         Also decides that this amount is to be financed as a revised estimate arising from extraordinary expenses;

3.         Decides further that this should not prejudge the way to treat revised estimates arising from extraordinary expenses as referred to in paragraph 11 of annex I to its resolution 41/213 of 19 December 1986;

IV

International action to combat drug abuse and illicit trafficking

Taking into account all relevant resolutions on the overall number of regular budget high-level posts in the Organization,

Bearing in mind the need to maintain the overall integrity of the United Nations Office at Vienna,

Requests the Secretary-General to propose a comprehensive restructuring of United Nations entities at Vienna with a view to a speedy implementation of the expressed wish of the General Assembly both to strengthen the United Nations Office at Vienna and to consolidate the United Nations drug structures under an Under-Secretary-General;

V

Developments relating to the activities of the Centre for Human Rights

1.         Decides to accept the proposal for additional posts made by the Secretary-General in paragraph 8 of his report on developments relating to the activities of the Centre for Human Rights;

2.         Also decides that the Secretary-General shall enter into commitments for further resources equivalent to 1 P-4, 1 P-3 and 2 General Service posts subject to review and concurrence by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions on the basis of the results of his management and work-load analysis which will be completed no later than January 1991;

VI

Procedures for administrative and budgetary matters

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

2.         Reaffirms also the role of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

3.         Expresses its concern at the tendency of its substantive Committees and other intergovernmental bodies to involve themselves in administrative and budgetary matters;

4.         Invites the Secretary-General to provide all intergovernmental bodies with the required information regarding procedures for administrative and budgetary matters.