18 December 1981

Questions relating to the proposed programme budget for the biennium 1982-1983

The General Assembly I Activities of the Administrative Management Service

1. Takes note of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions on the activities of the Administrative Management Service;

2. Endorses the comments and recommendations contained therein;

II United Nations Language Training Programme Having noted the report of the Secretary-General on the review and evaluation of the United Nations Language Training Programme and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,

1. Approves the recommendations made by the Secretary-General in paragraph 46, subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of his report;

2. Endorses the observation contained in paragraph 8 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to conduct a review with a view to exploring the possible quantitative limitations of the number of official languages which may be learned free of charge and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session;

III Use of experts and consultants by the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations Having noted the information contained in document A/C.5/36/CRP.1, Requests the Secretary-General to submit, in the future, for consideration in conjunction with the programme budget for the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, full information on the experts and consultants employed by the Centre financed both from the regular budget and from extrabudgetary resources.

IV Interorganizational security measures Having considered the report of the Secretary-General and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, 1. Authorizes the Secretary-General to enter into commitments in an amount not exceeding $300,000 in any one biennium under section 28D of the programme budget of the United Nations, initially under the terms of the General Assembly resolution on unforeseen and extraordinary expenses, and to seek reimbursement from the other organizations in accordance with the agreed cost-sharing formula, as indicated in his report;

2. Further authorizes the Secretary-General, should commitments in excess of $300,000 be required in any biennium, to enter into such commitments with the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to report all such security-related expenditures, and the related reimbursements to the General Assembly in the context of his performance reports on the programme budget;

V First-class travel in the United Nations Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on first-class travel in the United Nations;

VI Training programme for English translators/precis-writers at the Economic Commission for Africa Having considered the report of the Secretary-General, Decides that the fourth training programme for English and French translators/precis-writers at the Economic Commission for Africa should be pursued, financed from the regular budget of the United Nations for the biennium l982-l983;

VII International Computing Centre Approves the budget estimates for the International Computing Centre for the year l982;

VIII Job classification and career development of language staff Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on job classification and career development of language staff;

IX United Nations accommodation at Nairobi Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on United Nations accommodation at Nairobi and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,

1. Approves the revised construction project at Nairobi;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Advisory Committee as soon as possible on the results of the tendering and to make recommendations based on those results;

3. Authorizes the Secretary-General to enter into commitments, with the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee, in excess of the appropriations, provided that the total cost of the project in United States dollars remains within the dollar equivalent of Kenyan shillings 254,944,000 at the time the General Assembly specified that amount as the limit of the cost of the project, reflecting the commitments in question, if any, in the performance report to be submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session;

X Common services at the United Nations Centre at Nairobi Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General regarding common services at the United Nations Centre at Nairobi and of the comments and observations thereon contained in the report of the Advisory Committee;

XI Implementation of revised General Service salary scales in Geneva

1. Requests the Secretary-General to reconsider his intention to grant a 3 per cent increase in salaries with effect from 1 March 1981 to those General Service staff in Geneva to whom the pre-1978 scale had once applied, taking into account the views expressed in the Fifth Committee;

2. Decides not to approve the related expenditures for 1981, 1982 and 1983;

XII Office accommodation at Headquarters Takes note of the interim report of the Secretary-General on office accommodation at Headquarters;

XIII Review of the financing of the administrative costs of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Requests the Secretary-General in co-operation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to complete the ongoing joint review of the financing of the administrative costs of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with a view to establish a proper basis for the financing of these costs and report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session;

XIV Revised estimates resulting from decisions of the Economic and Social Council at its resumed second regular session, 1981:

Convening of an International Conference on Population in 1984 Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the convening of an international conference on population in l984;

XV Staff training activities, Headquarters: contractual status of language teachers Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the contractual status of language teachers and the related report of the Advisory Committee, 1. Endorses the recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee;

2. Requests the International Civil Service Commission and the Secretary-General to consider this matter and report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session;

XVI Establishment of a child-care centre at Headquarters Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the establishment of a child-care centre at Headquarters, and of the related report of the Advisory Committee, Endorses the recommendations of the Advisory Committee as contained in its report;

XVII United Nations language-training programme: access by accredited staff of permanent missions at Headquarters Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General and of the related report of the Advisory Committee,

l. Decides to request the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps to enable the staff of permanent missions to participate free of charge in the language training programme, on the conditions set forth in option (a) in his report, as from l January l982, at Headquarters, in New York;

2. Likewise requests the Secretary-General to make the relevant adjustments in the income section of the budget and to report on the implementation of this decision to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session;

XVIII Administrative and financial implications of the recommendations of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination in paragraphs 477 through 514 of its report on its twenty-first session Having considered the report of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination on its twenty-first session,

1. Decides not to endorse the recommendations contained in paragraphs 479, 483, 489 (a) and 509;

2. Further decides that programme element 9.1 (Environmental law) of subprogramme 9 (Environmental management including environmental law) should be retained, with the exception of two meetings on international rivers, which should be deleted;

XIX Use of experts and consultants in the United Nations

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the use of experts and consultants in the United Nations and the related report of the Advisory Committee;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to submit an updated report on this subject to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session;

XX Formulation, presentation, review and approval of programme budgets Decides, in the event that a resumed session of the General Assembly is convened during 1982, to authorize the Fifth Committee to meet to continue its consideration of the question.