United Nations General Assembly Resolution 14

by the UN General Assembly

14 (I). Budgetary and Financial Arrangements

A.

The permanent budgetary and financial arrangements of the United Nations should be so designed as to promote efficient and economical administration and command the confidence of Members.

Therefore the General Assembly resolves that:

1. Arrangements be made on the basis of the general principles set out in section 2 of chapter IX of the Report of the Preparatory Commission and of the provisional financial regulations, for budgetary procedures, the collection and custody of funds, the control of disbursements and the auditing of accounts.

2. To facilitate the consideration of administrative and budgetary questions by the General Assembly and its Administrative and Budgetary Committee, there be appointed at the beginning of the second party of the first session of the General Assembly, an Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions of nine members (instead of seven as laid down in rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure) with the following functions:

(a) to examine and report on the budget submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly;

(b) to advise the General Assembly concerning any administrative and budgetary matters referred to it;

(c) to examine on behalf of the General Assembly the administrative budgets of specialized agencies and proposals for financial arrangements with such agencies;

(d) to consider and report to the General Assembly on the auditors' reports on the accounts of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies.

The Committee shall deal with personnel matters only in their budgetary aspects, and representatives of the staff shall have the right to be heard by the Committee.

3. A standing expert Committee on Contributions of ten members (instead of seven as laid down in rule 40 of the provisional rules of procedure) be appointed with instructions to prepare a detailed scale of appointment of expenses, based on the principles set out in paragraph 13 of section 2 of chapter IX of the Report of the Preparatory Commission for consideration at the second part of the first session.

B.

With a view to the integration of the administrative and budgetary planning of the Organization,

the General Assembly:

4. Recommends that the Secretary-General appoint at an early date a small advisory group of experts, as described in paragraphs 23-26 of section 2 of chapter IX of the Report of the Preparatory Commission to perform the functions suggested by the Preparatory Commission in paragraphs 23-26 of section 2 of chapter IX of its Report, including those specified in the provisional financial regulations.

C.

Having made a general examination of the draft provisional financial regulations submitted by the Preparatory Commission,

the General Assembly:

5. Adopts the provisional financial regulations, as amended, and reproduced in annex I to this report.

D.

The opportunities of Members to participate in the activities of the United Nations should be equalized as far as possible.

Therefore the General Assembly resolves that:

6. The actual travelling expenses of representatives or their alternates to and from meetings of the General Assembly shall be borne by the United Nations budget provided that the number of persons whose expenses will be so paid is limited to five in all per Member. The maximum travelling allowances shall be restricted to the equivalent of first-class accommodation by recognized public transport via an approved route from the capital city of a Member to the place where the General Assembly is meeting, and shall not include the payment of subsistence, except where this is included as an integral part of the regular posted schedule for first-class accommodation for recognized public transport. Actual travelling expenses to and from the meetings of the General Assembly of representatives or their alternates shall be reimbursed to each Member by means of an adjustment in the Member's annual contribution.

E.

The General Assembly resolves that:

7. The Secretary-General, after consultation with the Advisory Group referred to above, should be prepared to recommend to the General Assembly during the second part of the first session necessary action on administrative and budgetary questions, including the following:

(a) the form of the budget;

(b) procedure for the examination of the budget by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, and for submission of the Committee's report to the General Assembly;

(c) machinery for the control of expenditure;

(d) means of meeting extraordinary expenditure;

(e) provision of working capital;

(f) character and scope of special funds; and

(g) scope and method of audit of accounts and the procedure for the submission of the auditor's report to the Advisory Committee and the General Assembly.

F.

The General Assembly:

8. Notes the observations made in paragraphs 5, 10, and 11 of section 2 of chapter IX of the Report of the Preparatory Commission dealing with the formulation, presentation and execution of the budget, the collection and management of funds and the currency of account, and transmits them to the Secretary-General for his information and consideration.

G.

The General Assembly resolves that:

9. An amount of $21,500,000 is hereby appropriated for the following purposes:

Section I - For expenses of the General Assembly and the Councils ...... 1,500,000

Section II - For expenses of the Secretariat ...... 16,510,750

Section III - For expenses of the International Court of Justice ...... 617,250

Section IV - For unforeseen expenses ...... 2,000,000

Section V - For the expenses of the Preparatory Commission and the cost of convening the General Assembly for the first part of the first session ...... 872,000

10. The above amounts are to be available for the payment of obligations incurred prior to 1 January 1947. The Secretary-General may transfer by written order credits among or within the above listed classifications.