Sixty-first session Agenda item 146 Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan Report of the Fifth Committee Rapporteur: Mr. Diego Simancas (Mexico) I. Introduction 1. At its 2nd plenary meeting, on 13 September 2006, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the General Committee, decided to include in the agenda of its sixty-first session the item entitled “Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan” and to allocate it to the Fifth Committee. 2. The Fifth Committee considered the item at its 49th and 58th meetings, on 10 May and 27 June 2007. Statements and observations made in the course of the Committee’s consideration of the item are reflected in the relevant summary records (A/C.5/61/SR.49 and 58). 3. For its consideration of the item, the Committee had before it the following documents: (a) Report of the Secretary-General on the performance of the budget of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 (A/61/689); (b) Report of the Secretary-General on the budget for the United Nations Mission in the Sudan for the period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008 (A/61/745 and Corr.1); (c) Report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (A/61/852/Add.13). II. Consideration of draft resolution A/C.5/61/L.67 4. At its 58th meeting, on 27 June, the Committee had before it a draft resolution entitled “Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan” (A/C.5/61/L.67), submitted by the Chairman on the basis of informal consultations coordinated by the representative of Norway. 5. At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.5/61/L.67 without a vote (see para. 6). III. Recommendation of the Fifth Committee 6. The Fifth Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolution: Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan The General Assembly, Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General on the financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, Recalling Security Council resolution 1590 (2005) of 24 March 2005, by which the Council established the United Nations Mission in the Sudan for an initial period of six months as from 24 March 2005, and the subsequent resolutions by which the Council extended the mandate of the Mission, the latest of which was resolution 1755 (2007) of 30 April 2007, by which the Council extended the mandate of the Mission until 31 October 2007, Recalling also its resolution 59/292 of 21 April 2005 on the financing of the Mission and its subsequent resolutions thereon, the latest of which was resolution 60/122 B of 30 June 2006, Recalling further its resolution 58/315 of 1 July 2004, Reaffirming the general principles underlying the financing of United Nations peacekeeping operations, as stated in its resolutions 1874 (S-IV) of 27 June 1963, 3101 (XXVIII) of 11 December 1973 and 55/235 of 23 December 2000, Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributions have been made to the trust fund in support of the peace process in the Sudan, Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide the Mission with the financial resources necessary to enable it to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, 1. Requests the Secretary-General to entrust the Head of Mission with the task of formulating future budget proposals in full accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolutions 59/296 of 22 June 2005, 60/266 of 30 June 2006 and 61/___ of ___ June 2007, as well as other relevant resolutions; 2. Takes note of the status of contributions to the United Nations Mission in the Sudan as at 31 March 2007, including the contributions outstanding in the amount of 56.5 million United States dollars, representing some 2.7 per cent of the total assessed contributions, notes with concern that only 63 Member States have paid their assessed contributions in full, and urges all other Member States, in particular those in arrears, to ensure payment of their outstanding assessed contributions; 3. Expresses its appreciation to those Member States which have paid their assessed contributions in full, and urges all other Member States to make every possible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contributions to the Mission in full; 4. Expresses concern at the financial situation with regard to peacekeeping activities, in particular as regards the reimbursements to troop contributors that bear additional burdens owing to overdue payments by Member States of their assessments; 5. Also expresses concern at the delay experienced by the Secretary-General in deploying and providing adequate resources to some recent peacekeeping missions, in particular those in Africa; 6. Emphasizes that all future and existing peacekeeping missions shall be given equal and non-discriminatory treatment in respect of financial and administrative arrangements; 7. Also emphasizes that all peacekeeping missions shall be provided with adequate resources for the effective and efficient discharge of their respective mandates; 8. Reiterates its request that the Secretary-General make the fullest possible use of facilities and equipment at the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, in order to minimize the costs of procurement for the Mission; 9. Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,2 and requests the Secretary-General to ensure their full implementation; 10. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure the full implementation of the relevant provisions of its resolutions 59/296, 60/266 and 61/__;3 11. Also requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary action to ensure that the Mission is administered with a maximum of efficiency and economy; 12. Regrets the slow progress in providing peacekeeping contingents and other personnel with hard-walled accommodation, and requests the Secretary-General to take urgent measures to resolve this issue; 13. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a revised budget for the United Nations Mission in the Sudan to reflect the financial resource requirements for the Heavy Support Package for the African Union Mission in the Sudan at the main part of its sixty-second session, as stated in paragraph 23 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;2 14. Also requests the Secretary-General to review and reflect the progress of the implementation of the Mission’s activities relating to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in the context of the Mission’s revised budget for the period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008, and reaffirms in this regard section VI of its resolution 59/296; Financial performance report for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006 15. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the financial performance of the Mission for the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006; Budget estimates for the period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008 16. Decides to appropriate to the Special Account for the United Nations Mission in the Sudan the amount of 887,332,000 dollars for the period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008, inclusive of 846,277,200 dollars for the maintenance of the Mission, 35,309,300 dollars for the support account for peacekeeping operations and 5,745,500 dollars for the United Nations Logistics Base; Financing of the appropriation 17. Also decides to apportion among Member States the amount of 295,777,333 dollars for the period 1 July to 31 October 2007, in accordance with the levels updated in General Assembly resolution 61/243 of 22 December 2006, taking into account the scale of assessments for 2007, as set out in its resolution 61/237 of 22 December 2006; 18. Further decides that, in accordance with the provisions of its resolution 973 (X) of 15 December 1955, there shall be set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 17 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of 7,344,800 dollars, comprising the estimated staff assessment income of 6,016,800 dollars approved for the Mission, the prorated share of 1,198,033 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the support account and the prorated share of 129,967 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the United Nations Logistics Base; 19. Decides to apportion among Member States the amount of 591,554,667 dollars for the period from 1 November 2007 to 30 June 2008, in accordance with the levels updated in General Assembly resolution 61/243 and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2007 and 2008, as set out in its resolution 61/237, subject to a decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of the Mission; 20. Also decides that, in accordance with the provisions of its resolution 973 (X), there shall be set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 19 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of 14,689,600 dollars, comprising the estimated staff assessment income of 12,033,600 dollars approved for the Mission, the prorated share of 2,396,067 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the support account and the prorated share of 259,933 dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the United Nations Logistics Base; 21. Further decides that, for Member States that have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Mission, there shall be set off against their apportionment, as provided for in paragraph 17 above, their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other income in the amount of 195,157,800 dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2006, in accordance with the levels updated in General Assembly resolution 58/256 of 23 December 2003, taking into account the scale of assessments for 2006, as set out in its resolution 58/1 B of 23 December 2003; 22. Decides that, for Member States that have not fulfilled their financial obligations to the Mission, there shall be set off against their outstanding obligations their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other income in the amount of 195,157,800 dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2006, in accordance with the scheme set out in paragraph 21 above; 23. Also decides that the decrease of 1,693,200 dollars in the staff assessment income in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2006 shall be set off against the credits from the amount of 195,157,800 dollars referred to in paragraphs 21 and 22 above; 24. Emphasizes that no peacekeeping mission shall be financed by borrowing funds from other active peacekeeping missions; 25. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to take additional measures to ensure the safety and security of all personnel participating in the Mission under the auspices of the United Nations, bearing in mind paragraphs 5 and 6 of Security Council resolution 1502 (2003) of 26 August 2003; 26. Invites voluntary contributions to the Mission in cash and in the form of services and supplies acceptable to the Secretary-General, to be administered, as appropriate, in accordance with the procedure and practices established by the General Assembly; 27. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-second session the item entitled “Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan”. A/61/689 and A/61/745 and Corr.1. A/61/852/Add.13. See A/C.5/61/L.49. A/61/689. __________________ __________________  sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/61/978 sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/61/978 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 07-40853 \* MERGEFORMAT 2 \* MERGEFORMAT 5 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 07-40853 United Nations A/61/978 General Assembly Distr.: General 28 June 2007 English Original: Spanish jobn \* MERGEFORMAT 07-40853 (E) 120707 Barcode \* MERGEFORMAT *0740853*