26. UNFORESEEN AND EXTRAORDINARY EXPENSES OF THE UNITED NATIONS FOR 1961: Resolution 1585 (XV), Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, December 20, 1960 23

The General Assembly

1. Resolves that, for the financial year 1961, the Secretary-General, with the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and subject to the Financial Regulations of the United Nations,24 is authorized to enter into commitments to meet unforeseen and extraordinary expenses, provided that the concurrence of the Advisory Committee shall not be necessary for:

(a) Such commitments, not exceeding a total of $2 million, as the Secretary-General certifies relate to the maintenance of peace and security or to urgent economic rehabilitation;

(b) Such commitments as the President of the International Court of Justice certifies relate to expenses occasioned by:

(i) The designation of ad hoc judges (Statute, Art. 31),25 not exceeding a total of $30,000;

(ii) The appointment of assessors (Statute, Art. 30), or the calling of witnesses and the appointment of experts (Statute, Art. 50), not exceeding a total of $25,000;

(iii) The maintenance in office of judges who have not been reelected (Statute, Art.. 13, para. 3), not exceeding a total of $40,000;

(iv) The holding of sessions of the Court away from The Hague (Statute, Art. 22), not exceeding a total of $75,000;

(v) The payment of pensions and travel and removal expenses of judges not re-elected, and travel and removal expenses of new members of the Court, not exceeding a total of $57,000; (e) Such commitments not exceeding a total of $25,000 as may be authorized by the Secretary-General in accordance with paragraph 4 of General Assembly resolution 1202 (XII) of 13 December 1957 28 relating to the pattern of conferences;

2. Resolves that the Secretary-General shall report to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and to the General Assembly at its sixteenth session all commitments made under the provisions of the present resolution, together with the circumstances relating thereto, and shall submit supplementary estimates to the Assembly in respect of such commitments;

3. Requests the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budg

"U.N. General Assembly Official Records, Fifteenth Session, Supplement No. 16 (A/4684), p. 55. This resolution, recommended by the Fifth Committee, was adopted by a vote of 80 (including the U.S.) to 9, with 1 abstention.

"See American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, p. 51, footnote 13. "For the Statute of the International Court of Justice, see A Decade of American Foreign Policy: Basic Documents, 1941-1949, pp. 140-152.

"Text in U.Ñ. General Assembly Official Records, Twelfth Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/3805), p. 39.

etary Questions, in the light of discussions in the Fifth Committee, to study and report to the General Assembly at its resumed fifteenth session on the question of the review of the resolution relating to unforeseen and extraordinary expenses of the United Nations.

27. THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING CAPITAL FUND FOR 1961: Resolution 1586 (XV), Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, December 20, 1960 27

The General Assembly

Resolves that:

1. The Working Capital Fund shall be established for the year ending 31 December 1961 at an amount of $US25 million, to be derived: (a) As to $23,920,842, from cash advances by Members in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 below:

(b) As to $1,079,158, by transfer from surplus account as follows: (i) $551,170 being the balance of surplus account as at 31 December 1957 not applied against Members' assessments in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1340 (XIII) of 13 December 1958,28

(ii) $527,988 being the balance of surplus account as at 31 December 1958, not applied against Member's assessments in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1445 (XIV) of 5 December 1959; 29

2. Members shall make cash advances to the Working Capital Fund as required under paragraph 1 (a) above in accordance with the scale adopted by the General Assembly for contribution of Members to the budget for the financial year 1961; 30

3. There shall be set off against this allocation of advances the amounts paid by Members to the Working Capital Fund for the financial year 1960 under General Assembly resolution 1445 (XIV) provided that, should such advance paid by any Member to the Working Capital Fund for the financial year 1960 exceed the amount of that Member's advance under the provisions of paragraph 2 above, the excess shall be set off against the amount of contributions payable by that Member in respect of the budget for the financial year 1961, or any previous budget;

4. The Secretary-General is authorized to advance from the Working Capital Fund:

(a) Such sums as may be necessary to finance budgetary appropriations pending receipt of contributions; sums so advanced shall be reimbursed as soon as receipts from contributions are available for the purpose;

27

U.N. General Assembly Official Records, Fifteenth Session, Supplement No. 16 (A/4684), pp. 55-56. This resolution, recommended by the Fifth Committee, was adopted by a vote of 71 (including the U.S.) to 0, with 12 abstentions.

28

'Text ibid., Thirteenth Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/4090), pp. 50-51. 29 'Text ibid., Fourteenth Session, Supplement No. 16 (A/4354), pp. 51-52. 80 See American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1959, pp. 92–93.

(b) Such sums as may be necessary to finance commitments which may be duly authorized under the provisions of General Assembly resolution 1585 (XV) of 20 December 1960,31 relating to unforeseen and extraordinary expenses; the Secretary-General shall make provision in the budget estimates for reimbursing the Working Capital Fund;

(c) Such sums as, together with net sums outstanding for the same purpose, do not exceed $125,000, to continue the revolving fund to finance miscellaneous self-liquidating purchases and activities; advances in excess of the total $125,000 may be made with the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

(d) Loans to specialized agencies and preparatory commissions of agencies to be established by intergovernmental agreement under the auspices of the United Nations to finance their work, pending receipt by the agencies concerned of sufficient contributions under their own budgets; such loans shall normally be repayable within two years, and the Secretary-General shall obtain the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions for any cash issues which would increase the aggregate balance outstanding (including amounts previously advanced and outstanding) at any one time to an amount in excess of $250,000;

(e) Such sums not exceeding $35,000 as may be required to finance payments of advance insurance premiums where the period of insurance extends beyond the end of the financial year in which payment is made; this amount may be increased with the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions; the Secretary-General shall make provision in the budget estimates of each year, during the life of the related policies, to cover the charges applicable to each such year;

(f) Such sums as may be necessary to enable the Tax Equalization Fund to meet current commitments pending accumulation of credits; such advances shall be repaid as soon as credits are available in the Tax Equalization Fund;

32

(g) Such sums, not to exceed $100,000 during the period 1961 to 1964, as may be necessary to finance awards made for the international encouragement of scientific research into the control of cancerous diseases, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 1398 (XIV) of 20 November 1959; 33 the Secretary-General shall make provision in the annual budget estimates for reimbursing the Working Capital Fund; 5. Should the provisions in paragraph 1 above prove inadequate to meet the purposes normally related to the Working Capital Fund, the Secretary-General is authorized to utilize in 1961, under the conditions approved in General Assembly resolution 1448 (XIV) of 5 December 1959,34 cash from special funds and accounts in his custody or to seek short-term loans from Governments.

Supra.

* Established by U.N. General Assembly Res. 973 (X) of Dec. 15, 1955; text in U.N. General Assembly Official Records, Tenth Session, Supplement No. 19 (A/3116), pp. 35-36.

Text ibid., Fourteenth Session, Supplement No. 16 (A/4354), pp. 23-24. 34 Text ibid., p. 53.

28. ESTABLISHMENT OF A WORKING GROUP TO EXAMINE THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY PROCEDURES OF THE UNITED NATIONS WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO METHODS FOR COVERING THE COST OF PEACE-KEEPING OPERATIONS: Resolution 1620 (XV), Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, April 21, 1961 35

The General Assembly,

Having in mind that among the main purposes of the United Nations are the maintenance of international peace and security, the pacific settlement of disputes and international economic and social co-operation with a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations,

Recognizing that in order to fulfil these purposes the United Nations must have at its disposal adequate financial resources and generally recognized procedures for dealing with the financial problems resulting from activities undertaken by the Organization,

Believing that, with the continuing growth and development of the United Nations, increasing demands will be made on the Organization in the fulfilment of its purposes,

Believing also that in these circumstances it would be appropriate to review the administrative and budgetary questions relating to the expenditures of the United Nations,

1. Decides to place on the provisional agenda of its sixteenth session, as a matter of prime importance and urgency, the question of the administrative and budgetary procedures of the United Nations, including the following points:

(a) Methods for covering the cost of peace-keeping operations; (b) The relationship between such methods and the existing administrative and budgetary procedures of the Organization;

2. Requests the President of the General Assembly to appoint a working group composed of fifteen Member States-the permanent members of the Security Council, two States from Africa, two from Asia, two from Latin America, two from Western Europe, one from Eastern Europe and one from the Commonwealth 36-to consider the points mentioned in paragraph 1 above, in consultation, as appropriate, with the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Committee on Contributions, and to report in good time for the sixteenth session of the Assembly;

35

U.N. General Assembly Official Records, Fifteenth Session, Supplement No. 16A (A/4684/Add.1), pp. 14-15. This resolution, sponsored by the Representative of Canada, and amended by the Representatives of Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, was adopted by a vote of 44 (including the U.S.) to 13, with 32 abstentions.

36

Subsequently appointed were Representatives of Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Sweden, the U.S.S.R., the United Arab Republic, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

3. Requests the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budg etary Questions, in assisting the working group, to consider what improvements might be required in the existing administrative and budgetary procedures of the United Nations and any other measures to ensure the financial stability of the Organization;

4. Requests Member States to submit not later than 1 July 1961, for consideration by the working group, observations on principles to be applied in determining a special scale of assessments for peace and security, and on other matters relevant to its study;

5. Decides to refer to its sixteenth session all relevant documentation for consideration under this item, the records of the fifteenth session and all draft resolutions submitted to it, any observations which may be made by Member States, and the reports requested in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 above.

"THE WORKING GROUP... HAS BEEN UNABLE TO INDICATE ANY PRECISE PRINCIPLES FOR FINDING A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF FINANCING PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS UNDERTAKEN BY THE UNITED NATIONS": Report of the Working Group of Fifteen on the Examination of the Administrative and Budgetary Procedures of the United Nations, November 15, 1961 7

29. "THE UNITED NATIONS WILL BE FACING IMMINENT BANKRUPTCY": Statement Made by the U.N. Acting Secretary-General (Thant) in Committee V of the U.N. General Assembly, December 11, 1961 38

Mr. Chairman, I hope the Committee will bear with me a few minutes before it proceeds with its consideration of today's agenda, in order that I may make some brief but relevant observations on the state of the United Nations finances as a background to the discussion which is about to take place.

It is not my intention at this time to deal specifically with the question of the cost estimates and financing of the United Nations in the Congo and the United Nations Emergency Force, or to seek to prejudge the General Assembly's decision in this respect. The documentation already issued, including the reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, will, I hope, provide a sufficient basis for necessary action.

The purpose of this intervention is rather to underline once again the fact that the steadily increasing financial difficulties which have confronted the United Nations during the past several years have become so serious as now to threaten the ability of the Organization to carry out its primary responsibilities and approved programmes.

The progressive deterioration in the financial position of the Organization may be seen in the widening gap between the Organization's total unpaid obligations and its total net cash resources to cover such obligations.

In referring to the financial position I am, of course, speaking only to the situation that obtains in respect of activities financed in whole, or primarily, by assessments levied on Members by the General Assembly. These activities relate

*U.N. doc. A/4971 and Corr.1.

U.N. doc. A/C.5/907.