United Nations

A/60/608/Add.6
Distr.: General 10 July 2006 Original: English

General Assembly

Sixtieth session Agenda item 124

Programme budget for the biennium 2006-2007
Report of the Fifth Committee
Rapporteur: Ms. Katja Pehrman (Finland)

I. Introduction
1. The previous recommendations made by the Fifth Committee to the General Assembly under agenda item 124 appear in the reports of the Committee contained in documents A/60/608 and Corr.1 and Add.1-5. 2. For its further consideration of the item, the Committee had before it the report of the Secretary-General on the business analysis on the possibility of constructing a new permanent building on the North Lawn (A/60/874) and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (A/60/7/Add.38). 3. The Fifth Committee resumed its consideration of the item at its 60th, 61st and 66th meetings, on 16, 19 and 30 June 2006. Statements and observations made in the course of the Committee's consideration of the question are reflected in the relevant summary record (A/C.5/60/SR.60, 61 and 66).

II. Consideration of draft resolution A/C.5/60/L.66
4. At its 66th meeting, on 30 June, the Chairman of the Committee proposed a draft resolution entitled "Capital master plan" (A/C.5/60/L.66). 5. At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.5/60/L.66 without a vote (see para. 6).

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III. Recommendation of the Fifth Committee
6. The Fifth Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolution: Capital master plan The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 54/249 of 23 December 1999, 55/238 of 23 December 2000, 56/234 and 56/236 of 24 December 2001, 56/286 of 27 June 2002, section II of its resolution 57/292 of 20 December 2002, resolution 59/295 of 22 June 2005, section II of its resolution 60/248 of 23 December 2005, resolution 60/256 of 8 May 2006 and its decision 58/566 of 8 April 2004, Having considered the second 1 and third 2 annual progress reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the capital master plan, the reports of the Secretary-General on viable options for ensuring sufficient parking space at United Nations Headquarters, 3 on plans for three additional conference rooms and viable solutions for allowing natural light into the rooms, 4 on cooperation with the City and State of New York related to the capital master plan, 5 on the status of possible funding arrangements for the capital master plan, 6 on a business analysis of the possibility of constructing a new permanent building on the North Lawn, 7 the note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Board of Auditors on the capital master plan for the biennium ended 31 December 2003, 8 the report of the Board of Auditors for the year ended 31 December 2004, 9 the reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the capital master plan for the period from August 2003 through July 2004 10 and the period from August 2004 through July 2005 11 and the related reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, 12 as well as the oral report by the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, 13 1. Reiterates its serious concern about the hazards, risks and deficiencies of the current conditions of the United Nations Headquarters Building, which endanger the safety, health and well-being of staff, visitors, tourists and delegations, including high-level delegations; Takes note of the second1 and third2 annual progress reports of the 2. Secretary-General on the implementation of the capital master plan, the reports of the Secretary-General on cooperation with the City and State of New York related to
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A/59/441 and Add.1 and 2. A/60/550 and Corr.1 and 2 and Add.1. A/58/712. A/58/556. A/58/779. A/58/729. A/60/874. A/59/161. Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixtieth Session, Supplement No. 5 (A/60/5 (vol. V)). A/59/420. A/60/288. A/59/556 and A/60/7/Add.38. See A/C.5/59/SR.54.

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the capital master plan,5 on the status of possible funding arrangements for the capital master plan6 and on the business analysis of the possibility of constructing a new permanent building on the North Lawn;7 3. Decides to revert to the consideration of the reports of the SecretaryGeneral on viable options for ensuring sufficient parking space at United Nations Headquarters,3 on plans for three additional conference rooms and viable solutions for allowing natural light into the rooms,4 the note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Board of Auditors on the capital master plan for the biennium ended 31 December 20038 and the report of the Board of Auditors for the year ended 31 December 2004,9 the reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the United Nations capital master plan for the period from August 2003 through July 200410 and the period from August 2004 through July 2005,11 at the main part of its sixty-first session; 4. Notes the benefits, including economic ones, accruing to host countries from the presence of the United Nations, and the costs incurred; 5. Stresses the special role of the host country Government with regard to support for United Nations Headquarters in New York; 6. Recalls the current practices of host Governments with regard to support for United Nations headquarters and United Nations bodies located in their territories; Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that no action is taken that 7. would preclude any decision that the General Assembly might take on the construction of a new permanent building on the North Lawn at some future date; Approves, effective 1 July 2006, the recommended strategy for the 8. implementation of the capital master plan, strategy IV (phased approach), contained in the third annual progress report of the Secretary-General,2 including the phasing, swing space and cost, and decides to review the updated projected costs at the main part of the sixty-first session; Requests the Secretary-General to submit proposals to the General 9. Assembly at its sixty-first session, through the Committee on Conferences, on the possible adjustment of meeting schedules, including a change in venue of meetings for the United Nations intergovernmental organs that normally meet at Headquarters for the period of the implementation of the capital master plan; 10. Stresses the need for a long-term strategy for office accommodation at Headquarters; 11. Requests that a comprehensive study on the feasibility of the proposed construction of a building on the North Lawn, including a number of other factors that have not been included in the business analysis contained in the report of the Secretary-General,7 on security, architectural, and host city and community issues be included in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009; 12. Requests the Secretary-General, considering the need to continue to explore ways to increase procurement opportunities for vendors from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to take the provisions of its resolutions 54/14 of 29 October 1999, 55/247 of 12 April 2001 and 59/288 of

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13 April 2005 on procurement reform fully into consideration in the implementation of the capital master plan; 13. Notes that the capital master plan office will provide resources to the Office of Internal Oversight Services in order to ensure an appropriate construction audit for the capital master plan, and requests the Secretary-General to report on the findings thereon in the context of the relevant reports, including the annual report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services throughout the phases of the project; 14. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that procurement processes related to the capital master plan are conducted in a transparent manner and in full compliance with relevant General Assembly resolutions; 15. Welcomes the establishment of the capital master plan website;

16. Requests the Secretary-General ensure that financial disclosure statements are filed by staff involved with the capital master plan in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions; 17. Recognizes that the cash payment option, based on a one-time assessment or multi-year special assessments, would be the simplest and the most cost-effective approach for meeting the cost of the capital master plan; 18. Decides to revert to the issue of the funding plan for the capital master plan, including the credit facilities or instruments referred to in paragraph 35 of the third annual progress report as well as the feasibility of a one-time upfront payment option at the main part of its sixty-first session, and in this context requests the Secretary-General to propose, inter alia, to the General Assembly, at the main part of its sixty-first session, a mechanism that would ensure that Member States that pay their assessed contributions for the capital master plan in full and on time will not bear any financial liabilities and/or other obligations derived from the possible utilization of those credit facilities or instruments; 19. Also decides to convert the existing commitment authority of 77 million United States dollars into an appropriation, with assessment on Member States in 2006 on the basis of the regular budget scale of assessment in effect for the year; 20. Requests the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the provisions of the present resolution in the fourth annual progress report on the implementation of the capital master plan to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session.

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