At the
UN, Votes on Peacekeeping Split and Israel Debt, Building Fix and School's Out
for Summer
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN
UNITED NATIONS, June
27 -- "School's out for summer." With that quotation from rocker Alice Cooper,
Germany's representative to the UN General Assembly's Fifth Committee put an end
to the Committee's end of session flurry of work, complete with adoption of
peacekeeping budgets, reports on the Capital Master Plan to renovate the UN, and
contested votes involving Israel.
On the
restructuring of the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations,
about which the Committee met deep into the night some weeks ago, the Committee
agreed "to establish the post of Under-Secretary-General for Field Support until
30 June 2008." After that, UN Controller Warren Sach read a statement that the
Secretariat understands that the establishment is for two years, and not one.
Mr. Sach
also provided an update on the
Capital Master Plan.
He stated that the UN is about to announce the selection of a construction
manager, and the lease of 70% of the needed space within blocks of the UN.
Sources tell Inner City Press it is at 305-311 East 46th Street; these sources
indicate the building has a history of violations, including involving the
elevator system.
Egypt's
representative contested Mr. Sach's report, questioning why the promised
advisory board has not been established, and saying that there has been "zero
progress."
"That's a
value judgment," Mr. Sach replied. He acknowledged that the Plan is now behind
scheduled, but said that the CMP's executive director -- "a distinguish
architect" whom Sach left unnamed -- is about to be named. "We don't have
liquidity needs," Sach said. Asked about the (still unnamed) construction
manager, Mr. Sach expressed his, and by extension the Secretariat's, "reasonable
level of comfort."
UNIFIL
at night (5th Committee also met at night)
The
contested vote occurred on the "Financing of the
UN Interim Force in Lebanon,"
or UNIFIL. Four paragraphs in the 38-paragraph resolution refer to requiring
Israel to pay $1,117,005 "resulting from the incident at Qana on 18 April
1996." Voting against these paragraphs were five countries: the United States,
Israel, Canada, Australia and Palau. (One wag asked, what happened with the
Marshall Islands?) Voting against the entire resolution on these grounds were
only the U.S. and Israel, with Australia abstaining.
There
followed a series of folksy thank-yous, to a Canadian staffer who coordinated
breakfasts throughout the session, to Mr. Sach and to Mr. Saha of the
Advisory Committee on Administrative and
Budgetary Questions. The Fifth
Committee's resolutions are slated to be endorsed en masse by the General
Assembly on June 29. We'll be there...
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UN Office: S-453A,
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Reporter's mobile
(and weekends): 718-716-3540