Sixtieth session Agenda items 124 and 97 (d) Proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007 General and complete disarmament: transparency in armaments Transparency in armaments Programme budget implications of draft resolution A/C.1/60/L.50/Rev.1 Twentieth report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions 1. The Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions has considered the statement submitted by the Secretary-General in accordance with rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly on the programme budget implications of draft resolution A/C.1/60/L.50/Rev.1 on transparency in armaments (A/C.5/60/14). 2. As indicated in paragraph 2 of the statement of the Secretary-General, operative paragraphs 4 (b), 5 and 8 of the draft resolution concern the preparation of a report on the continuing operation of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and its further development. The report would be prepared within available resources with the assistance of a group of governmental experts, who would be chosen on the basis of equitable geographical representation and which would be convened in 2006. The General Assembly would also request the Secretary-General to implement the recommendations contained in his 2000 and 2003 reports on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development and to ensure that sufficient resources are made available for the Secretariat to operate and maintain the Register. The Assembly would further request the Secretary-General to report to it at its sixty-first session on progress made in implementing the resolution. 3. The activities related to the implementation of the requests are described in paragraphs 4 to 6 of the statement; paragraphs 8 to 12 contain information on the estimated resource requirements. The total additional requirements for the implementation of the programme of work amount to $1,078,600, as outlined below. 4. The Secretary-General estimates the costs of conference-servicing requirements relating to the request in paragraph 4 (b) of the draft resolution at $679,500, including: $654,800 under section 2, General Assembly and Economic and Social Council affairs and conference management, of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007 for the three sessions of the Group of Governmental Experts on the continuing operation of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms and its further development; $21,600 for related common support services requirements under section 28D, Office of Central Support Services; and $3,100 under section 28E, Administration, Geneva. Non-conference-servicing requirements are estimated at $399,100, as follows: $395,400 under section 4, Disarmament; and $3,700 under section 35, Staff assessment, to be offset by an equivalent amount under Income section 1, Income from staff assessment. 5. The Secretary-General explains that, as the substantive secretariat of the Group of Governmental Experts, the Department for Disarmament Affairs would be required to prepare, organize and service the Group, to provide expertise in addressing the issues to be negotiated within the Group and to prepare the final report and other documentation. The Secretary-General indicates that staff resources under section 4 of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007 are fully occupied with its mandated activities. It is therefore estimated that, under non-conference-servicing requirements, an amount of $27,800 would be required for two work-months of consultancy services and an amount of $17,600 would be required for three work-months of general temporary assistance from secretariat support services for the Department for Disarmament Affairs as a consequence of the request contained in operative paragraph 4 (b) of the draft resolution. The requirements relating to operative paragraph 4 (b) also include an amount of $350,000 for travel of experts. 6. The Advisory Committee is not convinced that a full two work-months of consultancy services would be required. In any case, bearing in mind the request of the General Assembly that the report be prepared “within available resources”, as well as the level of resources already proposed under section 4 of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007, the Committee recommends against inclusion of an additional $27,800 for consultancy services and an additional $17,600 for general temporary assistance. As for travel, the Committee was informed that the Secretariat envisages travel requirements for from 22 to 24 experts. However, there is no firm basis for this projection. Similarly no firm basis has been given as to the projection of the number of sessions required or their duration. The Committee would therefore expect savings in this regard, which should be reflected in the performance report. 7. Implementation of the requirements contained in operative paragraphs 5 and 8 of draft resolution A/C.1/60/L.50/Rev.1 would be carried out within the resources provided under section 4, Disarmament, of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007. 8. The Advisory Committee notes from paragraph 13 of the statement that no provision has been made under the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007 in relation to the conference servicing activities that would be requested under operative paragraph 4 (b). The Committee was informed that this was due to the fact that the resolution was drafted some time after the proposed programme budget was prepared. The Secretary-General also explains that it is not possible to identify activities within section 4, Disarmament, of the proposed programme budget that could be terminated, deferred, curtailed or modified during the biennium. 9. The Advisory Committee recommends that the Fifth Committee inform the General Assembly that, should it adopt draft resolution A/C.1/60/L.50/Rev.1, additional requirements of up to $1,033,200 would arise under the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007 as follows: section 2, General Assembly and Economic and Social Council affairs and conference management ($654,800), section 4, Disarmament ($350,000), section 28D, Office of Central Support Services ($21,600), section 28E, Administration, Geneva ($3,100) and section 35, Staff assessment ($3,700), to be offset by the same amount under Income section 1, Income from staff assessment. Any additional appropriations for the biennium 2006-2007 would be considered by the Assembly in accordance with the procedures for the use and operation of the contingency fund.   \* MERGEFORMAT 2 \* MERGEFORMAT 3 United Nations A/60/7/Add.19 General Assembly Distr.: General 12 December 2005 Original: English 05-63821 (E) 131205 *0563821* A/60/7/Add.19 A/60/7/Add.19