Administrative and Budgetary Committee (Fifth Committee)
Practices of the Fifth Committee with regard to terms used when taking action on reports
Reports of the Secretary-General
Reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ)
Reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)
Reports of the Board of Auditors (BOA)
Reports of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC)
Reports of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU)
Reports of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)
Reports of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board (UNJSPB)
Reports of the Internal Justice Council (IJC)
Reports of the Committee on Contributions (COC)
Reports of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC)
Proposed revisions to regulations and rules?
Reports of the Secretary-General
The General Assembly traditionally “takes note” of reports of the Secretary-General.
When the Assembly “takes note” of reports of the Secretary-General or elements therein, this means that the Assembly neither agrees nor disagrees. In its decision 55/488 of 7 September 2001, the Assembly adopted the following text:
“The General Assembly, while reaffirming paragraph 28 of annex VI to the rules of procedure of the Assembly, reiterates that the terms “takes note of” and “notes” are neutral terms that constitute neither approval nor disapproval".
By doing so the Assembly is effectively indicating that it has seen these reports and that they are no longer on the list of documents to be considered by the Assembly. On several occasions the Fifth Committee has also understood that the term “having considered” in the preambular part of a resolution, when referring to a particular report or reports, has the same effect.?
Reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ)
It is the practice of the Assembly to “endorse” the conclusions and recommendations contained in the reports of ACABQ, if applicable, “subject to the provisions of the present resolution”. Both terms effectively mean that the Assembly agrees with all the observations and recommendations contained in bold in the Advisory Committee’s reports.
The Chair of ACABQ confirmed the practice in December 2013, stating that,
¡ the intention of the Committee's reports is that once the Assembly "endorses the conclusions and recommendations of ACABQ..." all the bold text of the Committee is to be considered in the same consistent manner.
Practically, language used in recommendations may vary throughout the reports (for instance, ACABQ may recommend that ‘the General Assembly request the Secretary-General to do something, or it may recommend that the General Assembly may wish to request the Secretary-General to do something’). Although the phrasing of the recommendations differs, the "endorses the conclusions and recommendations of ACABQ ..." in the resolution encompasses everything written in bold without differentiation.
Since the report of ACABQ is endorsed overall, a resolution will contain language specifying where the Assembly does not - or does only partially - agree with a recommendation of ACABQ. The established practice is to endorse the conclusions and recommendations, “subject to the provisions of the present resolution” and to “take note” of a specific paragraph and/or to include language modifying the recommendation of ACABQ. In some instances, the Assembly has avoided the use of “takes note” and chose to instead include direct language effectively being opposite to a recommendation of ACABQ.
Reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)
When the Assembly “takes note” of an OIOS report, which contains the comments of the Secretary-General, the Assembly is effectively requesting the Secretary-General to implement the recommendations of OIOS, taking into account the comments of the Secretary-General. While “takes note” has therefore been interpreted as equal to “endorsement”, there have been cases in the past where the Assembly “concurred” or “endorsed” recommendations of OIOS. Any departure from the comments of the Secretary-General would need to be clearly articulated in the resolution.
Owing to the operational independence of OIOS, the Assembly does not make direct requests to the Office. Instead, it is the practice of the Assembly “to request the Secretary-General to entrust OIOS with” undertaking a particular action, such as conducting an audit or focusing on a specific issue.???
Reports of the Board of Auditors (BOA)
When considering financial reports and audited financial statements and reports and audit opinions of the Board of Auditors, the practice of the Assembly is to use the phrase “having considered the financial report and audited financial statements for the period ended [date] and the report of the Board of Auditors on [issue]” in the preambular part of the resolution.
In cases where reports of the Board of Auditors are transmitted to the Assembly by a note of the Secretary-General, the practice of the Assembly is to use the phrase ‘having considered the note of the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Board of Auditors on [issue]” in the preambular part of the resolution and to ‘take note’ of the same note in the operative part.
The Assembly has used different formulations in the past, when ‘agreeing’ with recommendations contained in reports of the Board of Auditors, including: “Takes note of the observations and endorses the recommendations contained in the report of the Boar of Auditors" (see, for instance, Res. 69/249 B), "Approves the conclusions and recommendations¡” (see, for instance, Res. 70/238 A), or "Approves the recommendations of the Board of Auditors contained...” (see, for instance, Res. 70/239).
The Audit Advisory Committee of the Board of Auditors, in October 2016, informed the Fifth Committee of the advised formulations, taking into consideration technical audit requirements and the independent status of the Board. These are:
For BOA reports with financial statements
“Takes note of the audit opinion and findings, and endorses the recommendations, contained in the report of the Board of Auditors;”
For BOA reports without financial statements (such as ICT, CMP, Umoja, SHP, etc.)
“Takes note of the findings of the report of the Board of Auditors, and endorses the recommendations contained therein;”
In cases where the Assembly did not agree with recommendations of the Board (including those accepted by the Organization), it has in the past requested the Secretary-General “not to implement” specific recommendations. ?????
The Assembly does not normally make direct requests to the Board. In accordance with article VII, regulation 7.7 of the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions may request the Board to perform certain specific examinations and issue separate reports on the results. Therefore, the Assembly has in the past “request(ed) the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions to request the Board of Auditors to” undertake particular action.
Reports of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC)
Recommendations of IAAC relating to OIOS
It is the understanding of the Fifth Committee that if the Committee “takes note” of recommendations of IAAC relating to OIOS, it agrees with these recommendations and will then further request the Secretary-General to implement them (see Summary Records of 28th meeting of the sixty-third session ¨C (A/C.5/63/SR.28).
Recommendations of IAAC relating to the mandate of OIOS
It is the practice of the Committee to “endorse” observations and recommendations of IAAC relating to the review of the mandate of OIOS and, if modified by the Fifth Committee, this will be “subject to the provisions of the present resolution”. As with reports of ACABQ, where the Committee does not agree with a recommendation of IAAC, the resolution will contain language specifying which particular recommendations they do not endorse by using “takes note” of a particular paragraph. This indicates that the Assembly does not agree with its content and therefore the recommendations contained therein should not be implemented.
Recommendations of IAAC relating to the budget of OIOS
Recommendations of IAAC related to the budget of OIOS will be submitted through ACABQ and the Committee will decide on these recommendations in the context of ACABQ’s recommendations on the proposals.
Recommendations of IAAC relating to subjects other than OIOS?
In the case of recommendations of IAAC relating to subjects other than OIOS, the Committee considers them in accordance with General Assembly decision 55/488, whereby “takes note” indicates that the Assembly neither agrees nor disagrees (see above).
Reports of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU)
Annual report and programme of work of the JIU
The annual report of the Joint Inspection Unit, along with its programme of work for the ongoing year, is presented annually to the Assembly at the Fifth Committee’s first resumed session (resolution 61/260). The Assembly normally “takes note with appreciation of the report of the Joint Inspection Unit for
(year) and programme of work for (year)”.?
The annual report of the Unit is accompanied by a note of the Secretary-General, prepared pursuant to paragraph 17 of General Assembly resolution 65/270. The Assembly normally “takes note of the note by the Secretary-General on the report of the Unit for (year)”.????
Reports of the JIU (and accompanying comments)
In accordance with article 11 of its Statute, JIU issues reports, notes and confidential letters. The reports, together with comments thereon, are submitted the legislative bodies for consideration, while notes and confidential letters are submitted to executive heads for use by them as they may decide.
Reports of the Unit generally contain recommendations addressed to executive heads of the United Nations system organizations, and/or recommendations addressed to governing bodies of those organizations, as applicable.
With regard to the recommendations addressed to executive heads, the organizations will indicate in their comments whether they accept them (with reasons where they do not) and how they intend to implement them. Governing bodies do not have to take specific actions on this type of recommendations, unless to specifically comment on the action proposed by the executive head.
With regard to the recommendations addressed to the governing bodies of organizations, the respective governing bodies will have to explicitly request that their respective executive head implement the recommendations. When no action is taken on a report or when a governing body only “takes note” of it or the recommendations contained therein, the recommendations are considered pending.
For the Fifth Committee this means in practice, that specific action is required by the Assembly with regard to the recommendations addressed to the governing bodies. There are generally two variants of such action:
- (A) The Assembly wishes that a recommendation of JIU is implemented within the Secretariat:?
Where the Assembly wishes that such a recommendation be implemented within the Secretariat, it may
“request the Secretary-General to ¡”.
- (B) The Assembly wishes that a recommendation of JIU is implemented system-wide:??
The General Assembly and the Secretary-General, as the Chair of CEB, have no mandate or leverage over the modus operardi, calendar and agenda of the respective governing bodies of the members of CEB. Similarly, CEB has no institutional mandate to ensure follow-up on the Unit’s recommendations, and is cognizant of the distinct roles, responsibilities and authorities of the executive heads and legislative bodies and their respective bureaux of its member organizations.
Accordingly, taking into consideration its prerogatives as well as that of CEB, the Assembly has in the past used the following formulations:
“request the Secretary-General and other executive heads of the member organizations of CEB, as appropriate¡.”
“request the Secretary-General to encourage the heads of entities of the United Nations system to¡”
“encourage the Secretary-General, in his capacity as Chair of CEB, to invite the executive heads of participating organizations to¡”.???
Reports of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)
When considering the reports of the International Civil Service Commission, the Assembly “takes note” of the report and of any decisions that are within the competence of the Commission (such as to keep under its review particular questions). Any decisions or recommendations of ICSC that require action by the Assembly, for example regarding remuneration or increases to allowances, the Assembly, if it agrees, will “approve” ICSC’s recommendations.
Reports of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board (UNJSPB)
The Assembly “takes note” of the report of the Pension Board and the information it contains. In the case of proposals or recommendations by the Board that require decision of the Assembly, such as any proposed changes to regulations or provisions of the Pension Fund, the Assembly will “approve” in case it agrees with the proposal.
In addition, the Secretary-General prepares a report on the administrative and financial implications of any decisions by the UN Joint Staff Pension Board. This report is considered by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Assembly will therefore also “endorse” the conclusions and recommendations of the Advisory Committee (see above).
Reports of the Internal Justice Council (IJC)
The Assembly traditionally considers the report of the Internal Justice Council in the context of the agenda item entitled “Administration of Justice”. It will include the reports in the preambular part of the resolution i.e. “having considered” and traditionally also “takes note” of the report in accordance with decision 55/488. On occasion, the Assembly has also “taken note” of recommendations contained in the reports, on the understanding that this implies neither agreement nor disagreement with a recommendation.
Reports of the Committee on Contributions (COC)
The Assembly will consider the reports of the Committee on Contributions in the preambular part i.e. “having considered”. Where there are specific observations or recommendations in the Committee’s report that the General Assembly approves, it will “endorse” the relevant section or paragraph in the report.
Reports of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC)
The Assembly “endorses” the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Coordination contained in each chapter of its report. If the Assembly does not agree with any recommendation or conclusion of the Committee this will be reflected in the resolution (for example further changes to the Strategic Framework ¨C see the Annex to resolution 61/235). Any additional requests or decisions by the Assembly will be contained in the text of the draft resolution.
Proposed revisions to regulations and rules
Staff Regulations and Rules ()
Under Article 101 of the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly establishes staff regulations that set out the broad principles of human resources policy for the staffing and administration of the Secretariat and the separately administered funds and programmes. The Secretary?General issues staff rules consistent with these principles pursuant to Regulations 12.2 to 12.4.
Regulation 12.2
Such staff rules and amendments as the Secretary-General may make to implement the present Regulations shall be provisional until the requirements of regulations 12.3 and 12.4 below have been met.
Regulation 12.3
The full text of provisional staff rules and amendments shall be reported annually to the General Assembly. Should the Assembly find that a provisional rule and/or amendment is inconsistent with the intent and purpose of the Regulations, it may direct that the rule and/or amendment be withdrawn or modified.
Regulation 12.4
The provisional rules and amendments reported by the Secretary-General, taking into account such modifications and/or deletions as may be directed by the General Assembly, shall enter into full force and effect on 1 January following the year in which the report is made to the Assembly.
- General Assembly practice: The General Assembly, were it agreed with proposed revisions (with or without modifications), has traditionally “approved” proposed amendments to the Staff Regulations and “noted” amendments to the Staff Rules, subject to provisions or modifications it may have added (see, for instance, OP 24 of resolution , OPs 38, 39 and 41 of resolution and OP4 of resolution ).
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Financial Regulations and Rules ?(, amended by and amended by ) ?
Rule 152 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly provides that “the General Assembly shall establish regulations for the financial administration of the United Nations”. The Regulations set out overarching directives governing financial management. Regulation 5.8 authorizes the Secretary?General to “establish detailed financial rules and procedures in order to ensure effective and efficient financial management and the exercise of economy”.
- General Assembly practice: Since the establishment of the Financial Regulations in resolution , the Assembly has used varied formulations when adopting amendments, including “decides to amend” and “approves”. Most recently, in resolution adopted on 24 December 2012, the Assembly adopted the revised Financial Regulations and took note of the revised Financial Rules, with modifications to the Secretary?General’s proposal. It also decided that the revised Financial Regulations should take effect as from 1 July 2013.
Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation (PPBME) ()
The Regulations Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation (PPBME) were adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution and promulgated as , The corresponding rules were formulated by the Secretary-General and promulgated as pursuant to Assembly resolutions and A.
- General Assembly practice: Subsequent amendments to the PPMBE have been adopted through the Assembly’s endorsement of the related recommendation of CPC, namely that the General Assembly “approve the revisions proposed by the Secretary-General”, subject to modifications.
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In some instances, the Assembly has chosen variations, such as “takes note with appreciation” or “welcomes”.
Based on A/520/Rev.15 of May 1985, in which paragraph 28 of decision 34/401 was included under annex VI. In the most recent version of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.17), decision 34/401 is contained in annex V.
In resolution 48/218 B, the Assembly decided that the Secretary-General shall facilitate the prompt and effective implementation of the approved recommendations of OIOS, and to inform the General Assembly of actions taken in response thereto. In its resolution 50/239, the Assembly decided to consider the reports of OIOS under the relevant item of the agenda. In its resolution 59/272, the Assembly decided that reports of OIOS should be submitted directly to it and that the comments of the Secretary-General may be submitted as a separate report. Thereafter, in its resolution 64/263, the Assembly endorsed a recommendation of IAAC which requested that “¡.in OIOS reports, the complete response of management be included as an annex. Programme managers should ensure that their responses are concise and directed at the issues in the report. OIOS would then consider and respond to comments of management as it deems appropriate.”. Accordingly, for OIOS reports prior to the 64th session, when the Assembly “took note” of an OIOS report, it was effectively requesting the Secretary-General for full implementation of the recommendations of the OIOS. When the General Assembly “took note” of both the report of OIOS and the Secretary-General it was understood that recommendations would be implemented according to the Secretary-General’s comments.
With respect to the practice of CPC, at its 55th session, to ensure consistency, it decided to use the term “endorsed” when considering reports of OIOS on programme evaluation.
When a report concerns only one organization, the report and comments thereon of the executive head will be transmitted to the competent organ of that organization for consideration. When a report concerns more than one organization, the respective executive heads consult with one another and, to the extent possible, co-ordinate their comments. The report, together with the joint comments and any comments of the respective executive heads on matters that concern their particular organizations will be submitted to the competent organs of the organizations for consideration.
