Sixtieth session Fifth Committee Agenda item 149 (b) Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East: United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Draft resolution submitted by South Africa* Financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The General Assembly, Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General on the financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, Recalling Security Council resolution 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978 regarding the establishment of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the subsequent resolutions by which the Council extended the mandate of the Force, the latest of which was resolution 1655 (2006) of 31 January 2006, Recalling also its resolution S-8/2 of 21 April 1978 on the financing of the Force and its subsequent resolutions thereon, the latest of which was resolution 59/307 of 22 June 2005, Reaffirming its resolutions 51/233 of 13 June 1997, 52/237 of 26 June 1998, 53/227 of 8 June 1999, 54/267 of 15 June 2000, 55/180 A of 19 December 2000, 55/180 B of 14 June 2001, 56/214 A of 21 December 2001, 56/214 B of 27 June 2002, 57/325 of 18 June 2003, 58/307 of 18 June 2004 and 59/307, Reaffirming also the general principles underlying the financing of United Nations peacekeeping operations, as stated in General Assembly 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 Force, Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide the Force with the necessary financial resources 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 the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon with the task of formulating future budget proposals in full accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 59/296 of 22 June 2005, as well as other relevant resolutions; 2. Takes note of the status of contributions to the Force as at 30 April 2006, including the contributions outstanding in the amount of 71 million United States dollars, representing some 2 per cent of the total assessed contributions, notes with concern that only thirty 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 that 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 Force in full; 4. Expresses deep concern that Israel did not comply with General Assembly resolutions 51/233, 52/237, 53/227, 54/267, 55/180 A, 55/180 B, 56/214 A, 56/214 B, 57/325, 58/307 and 59/307; 5. Stresses once again that Israel should strictly abide by General Assembly resolutions 51/233, 52/237, 53/227, 54/267, 55/180 A , 55/180 B, 56/214 A, 56/214 B, 57/325, 58/307 and 59/307; 6. 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; 7. 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; 8. Emphasizes that all future and existing peacekeeping missions shall be given equal and non-discriminatory treatment in respect of financial and administrative arrangements; 9. Also emphasizes that all peacekeeping missions shall be provided with adequate resources for the effective and efficient discharge of their respective mandates; 10. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to 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 Force; 11. 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; 12. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure the full implementation of relevant provisions of its resolution 59/296; 13. Notes with great concern the reported fuel and rations fraud as reported by the Advisory Committee, which was revealed in an investigation undertaken by the Office of Internal Oversight Services at the request of the mission; 14. Recognizes that the investigation is still ongoing, and requests the Secretary-General to report in the next budget submission on the status of recovery of the financial loss, if any, to the mission; 15. Requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary action to ensure that the Force is administered with a maximum of efficiency and economy; 16. Also requests the Secretary-General, in order to reduce the cost of employing General Service staff, to continue efforts to recruit local staff for the Force against General Service posts, commensurate with the requirements of the Force; 17. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to ensure the full implementation of paragraph 8 of its resolution 51/233, paragraph 5 of its resolution 52/237, paragraph 11 of its resolution 53/227, paragraph 14 of its resolution 54/267, paragraph 14 of its resolution 55/180 A, paragraph 15 of its resolution 55/180 B, paragraph 13 of its resolution 56/214 A, paragraph 13 of its resolution 56/214 B, paragraph 14 of its resolution 57/325, paragraph 13 of its resolution 58/307 and paragraph 13 of its resolution 59/307, stresses once again that Israel shall pay the amount of 1,117,005 dollars resulting from the incident at Qana on 18 April 1996, and requests the Secretary-General to report on this matter to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session; Financial performance report for the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005 18. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the financial performance of the Force for the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005; Budget estimates for the period from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 19. Decides to appropriate to the Special Account for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon the amount of ________ dollars for the period from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007, inclusive of 93,526,200 dollars for the maintenance of the Force, ________ dollars for the support account for peacekeeping operations and ________ dollars for the United Nations Logistics Base; Financing of the appropriation 20. Also decides to apportion among Member States the amount of _________ dollars for the period from 1 to 31 July 2006, in accordance with the levels updated in General Assembly resolution 58/256 of 23 December 2003, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2006, as set out in its resolution 58/1 B of 23 December 2003; 21. 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 20 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of ________ dollars, comprising the estimated staff assessment income of 378,200 dollars approved for the Force, the prorated share of _______ dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the support account and the prorated share of _______ dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the United Nations Logistics Base; 22. Decides to apportion among Member States the amount of _______ dollars for the period from 1 August 2006 to 30 June 2007 at a monthly rate of ______ dollars, in accordance with the levels updated in General Assembly resolution 58/256, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2006, as set out in its resolution 58/1 B, and for 2007, subject to a decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of the Force; 23. 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 22 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of _______ dollars, comprising the estimated staff assessment income of 4,160,200 dollars approved for the Force, the prorated share of ______ dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the support account and the prorated share of ________ dollars of the estimated staff assessment income approved for the United Nations Logistics Base; 24. Further decides that, for Member States that have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Force, there shall be set off against their apportionment, as provided for in paragraphs 20 and 22 above, their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other income in the amount of 8,814,700 dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2005, in accordance with the levels updated in its resolution 58/256, and taking into account the scale of assessments for 2005, as set out in its resolution 58/1 B; 25. Decides that, for Member States that have not fulfilled their financial obligations to the Force, there shall be set off against their outstanding obligations their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other income in the amount of 8,814,700 dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2005, in accordance with the scheme set out in paragraph 24 above; 26. Also decides that the decrease of 521,300 dollars in the estimated staff assessment income in respect of the financial period ended 30 June 2005 shall be set off against the credits from the amount of 8,814,700 dollars referred to in paragraphs 24 and 25 above; 27. Emphasizes that no peacekeeping mission shall be financed by borrowing funds from other active peacekeeping missions; 28. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to take additional measures to ensure the safety and security of all personnel under the auspices of the United Nations participating in the Force; 29. Invites voluntary contributions to the Force 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; 30. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-first session, under the item entitled “Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East”, the sub-item entitled “United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon”. * On behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China. A/60/629 and Corr.1 and A/60/642 and Corr.1. A/60/812 and Corr.1. See ibid., para. 30. A/60/629. To be adopted by the General Assembly. __________________ __________________  sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/C.5/60/L.42 sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/C.5/60/L.42 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 06-40165 \* MERGEFORMAT 4 \* MERGEFORMAT 3 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 06-40165 United Nations A/C.5/60/L.42 General Assembly Distr.: Limited 22 June 2006 Original: English jobn \* MERGEFORMAT 06-40165 (E) 230606 Barcode \* MERGEFORMAT *0640165*