📋 Tender Overview
United Nations conference facilities in Kenyas capital badly need upgrading and expansion as a centre for multilateralism the Fifth Committee Administrative and Budgetary heard today as it also examined the required financial resources to implement resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council.Kenyas delegate expressed concern that the deteriorating conditions and limited capacity of the conference centre at the United Nations Office at Nairobi UNON home to the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme UN-Habitat is greatly affecting the Secretariats ability to service the regular calendar meetings and other international conferences held there.It is important to highlight the risk and potential reputational loss that the United Nations faces by continuing to try to support conferences of that magnitude using the existing ageing and inadequate conference facilities he added further emphasizing the need to expand the facilities seating capacity from the current 2000 and bring them up to date. As the United Nations is committed to promoting the equal participation of persons with disabilities it must walk the talk and its premises must set an example in accessibility he said.The observer for the State of Palestine speaking for the Group of 77 developing countries and China said that attendance at the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2019 surpassed the 5000 accredited participants and 109 meetings were held. Recalling that the Nairobi Office has responded to this demand by using and converting corridors walkways and car parks and installing temporary tented structures across the complex he warned This is unsustainable and creates unacceptable risk and additional cost to the conference organizers.These conditions also risk successful outcomes for the meetings and do not uphold the prestige and dignity on which the United Nations is premised he added lamenting that Member States have been forced to conduct informal negotiations in substandard and inaccessible rooftop rooms in which the interpretation and audiovisual equipment is outdated and prone to failure.Botswanas delegate speaking for the African Group said the facilities should be upgraded to a centre for multilateralism on par with other headquarters locations namely New York Geneva and Vienna with full compliance with building and safety codes in a manner that allows modern and multipurpose conferencing. Investment in state-of-the-art technology is urgently needed as the conference management and simultaneous interpretation systems dating from 2009 have been experiencing failures. In that regard the Group looks forward to receiving a detailed needs assessment and an expanded analysis of the options for the consideration of the General Assembly he stated.The Fifth Committee also reviewed budgeting for the implementation of Human Rights Council resolutions. The Philippines delegate stressed that the United Nations in its current financial crisis should carefully spend money questioning whether the proposed 331300 to implement Human Rights Council Resolution 412 on the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines would make a difference on the ground.She insisted that the resolution was adopted by 18 members less than half of the Human Rights Councils total membership and calls for a so-called comprehensive report on the human rights situation in the Philippines with no intention of generating an objective assessment of the real situation on the ground but speaks to the real motive of the authors to name and shame for which no amount of money will ever be enough. The Assembly should carefully consider whether it will allow itself to advance the political agenda of a few she said.At the outset of todays meeting Chandramouli Ramanathan Controller and Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Programme Planning Finance and Budget in the Department of Management Strategy Policy and Compliance introduced the Secretary-Generals reports on revised estimates resulting from resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council document A74529 the conference services facilities at the United Nations Office at Nairobi document A74471 and the programme budget implications of draft resolution on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar document AC.57411.He noted that the Human Rights Council adopted 65 resolutions with financial implications. In support of implementation of these texts the report requests an additional appropriation of 22.54 million representing a charge against the contingency fund for the year 2020. Approval is requested for the establishment of 18 posts for 2020 including 12 posts for the establishment of the country office in Sudan.As for the Nairobi Office the General Assembly is requested to approve the proposed next steps appropriate 470000 for 2020 and ask the SecretaryGeneral to submit a report on the results of a detailed needs assessment and expanded options analysis at the Assemblys seventy-fifth session.Should the draft resolution on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar be approved required resources will amount to 1.07 million.Julia Machiel Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions ACABQ introduced that bodys related reports documents A747Add.26 A747Add.22 and A747Add.25.
