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M2 PRESSWIRE-20 May 1998-UN: Gratis personnel should not be accepted because of recruitment failure, Fifth Committee is told (C)1994-98 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
Gratis personnel should not be used to perform functions that could be carried out by other United Nations staff members, nor should they be accepted because of recruitment failure, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told this morning as it discussed use of such personnel and aspects of the support account for peacekeeping operations.
The representative of Uganda said there was a growing tendency to undermine the General Assembly directive to accept gratis personnel only when the expertise they provided was unavailable in the Secretariat.
Gratis personnel are staff loaned to the United Nations, free of charge, by Member States. General Assembly resolution 51/243 of 15 September 1997 prescribes the circumstances under which such personnel may be utilized. They may be accepted for a limited period of time, after a budget is approved, to provide expertise not available within the Organization. Also, they can be used to provide temporary and urgent assistance for new and/or expanding mandates, pending the Assembly's decision on funds for those mandates.
The representative of the United Kingdom, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said the United Nations must be able to fulfil mandated activities despite the decision to expeditiously phase out gratis personnel. Canada's representative added that arrangements to replace gratis officers should be in place prior to their departure so that valuable expertise was not lost during the transition.
Also this morning, delegations commented on the Secretary-General's funding and staffing proposals for the support account for peacekeeping operations. The support account is used to pay for variable backstopping activities at Headquarters to assist peacekeeping operations in the field. Backstopping is the overall direction, assistance and guidance given by offices at Headquarters for ensuring the effective planning, implementation and liquidation of such operations.
Several delegations expressed support for the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) that a decision on the account be taken at the next regular session, as important information from the Secretariat was missing. Some other delegates, however, felt that such a postponement would interfere with the budget cycle and the implementation of Assembly resolutions. Many...