UNESCO. General Conference; 30th; Records ... - unesdoc - Unesco

Mr Baba Haidara, Coordinator of the Group of Experts established by the General Conference at its 29th session,
who presented the document and provided the Commission with clarifications relating to the
12 recommendations contained in Appendix 1 of the document. After the review of the draft report of the Legal
Committee on this topic, the Commission decided to recommend that the General Conference adopt the draft
resolution contained in paragraph 8 of document 30 C/66, as amended in document 30 C/66 Add. and Corr.
8.10 In regard to item 5.2, Draft guidelines for the rational implementation of decentralization, the debate
took place under difficult conditions and I am sure that you will agree with the outstanding cooperation received
from the interpreters and from Member States participating in this debate. One message which became crystal
clear from discussions on this topic was the importance for National Commissions to be fully involved in
decentralization and that emphasis should be put on decentralization rather than on deconcentration. The Vice-
President of the 9th Regional Conference of African National Commissions, held in Bamako, Mali, presented a
report in which he underscored that efforts should be made to set up clear and precise directives in respect of the
creation and functioning of field offices. The Commission also examined draft resolutions
30 C/COM.ADM/DR.1 and 30 C/COM.I/DR.2 and decided not to recommend for adoption the draft resolution
proposed by Papua New Guinea in 30 C/COM.I/DR.2 as it contradicted the resolution recommended by the
Commission. In respect of 30 C/COM.ADM/DR.1, the Commission decided to adopt the resolution as amended.
At the end of the debate, the Commission recommended that the General Conference adopt the draft resolution
contained in paragraph 9 of document 30 C/66, as amended in document 30 C/66 Add. and Corr.
8.11 I now turn to item 9.1, Financial report and audited financial statements relating to the accounts of
UNESCO for the financial period ended 31 December 1997, and report by the External Auditor. The
Commission was grateful for the presence of the representative of the External Auditor of UNESCO, Mr Minto,
during its discussion on this item. The representative of the External Auditor informed the Commission that he
had examined the financial statements and was satisfied with the constructive actions taken by the Secretariat to
address his concerns. As for the performance audit, several delegates questioned the management of human
resources in the Organization and recommended that every vacant post should be advertised so as to give
inadequately represented Member States the opportunity to propose qualified candidates. Other delegates
requested that the representative of the External Auditor give his assessment of the current state of preparedness
relating to the Y2K problem. The representative of the External Auditor noted that Y2K preparedness was still a
matter of concern. The External Auditor had also found significant deviations on stated personnel policy. With
respect to Y2K preparedness, the representative of the Director-General informed the Commission that the
payroll function was now deemed to be Y2K compliant and that final testing was being carried out on all other
informatics systems. At the end of the debate, the Commission recommended that the General Conference adopt
the draft resolution contained in paragraph 10 of document 30 C/66, as amended in document 30 C/66 Add. and
Corr.
8.12 On item 9.2, Financial report and interim financial statements relating to the accounts of UNESCO as at
31 December 1998 and for the financial period ending 31 December 1999, the Commission recommended that
the General Conference adopt the draft resolution contained in paragraph 11 of document 30 C/66.
8.13 In regard to item 9.3, Scale of assessments and currency of Member States’ contributions, the
Commission recommended that the General Conference adopt the draft resolution contained in paragraph 12 of
document 30 C/66, as amended in document 30 C/66 Add. And Corr.
8.14 I now turn to item 9.4, Collection of the Member States’ contributions. The debate concentrated on
whether or not to give authorization to the Director-General to contract loans, when necessary, to enable
UNESCO to meet its financial commitments. Some delegates considered that this authority should be suppressed
and that the Director-General should plan his expenditure to remain within the cash resources available. A
number of delegates, whilst noting that borrowing was reduced in the current biennium, recognized the pragmatic
need to continue to give this authority for the next biennium. Four Member States (Canada, Colombia, Germany
and United Kingdom) expressed their reservation on borrowing and one Member State (Lebanon) gave notice
that it would raise this matter again at the next Executive Board meeting. At the end of the debate, the
Commission recommended that the General Conference adopt the draft resolution contained in paragraph 13 of
document 30 C/66.
8.15 In regard to item 9.5, Working Capital Fund: Level and Administration, the Commission recommended
that the General Conference adopt the draft resolution contained in paragraph 14 of document 30 C/66.
8.16 In connection with item 9.6, UNESCO Coupons Programme (Facility to assist Member States in
acquiring the educational and scientific material necessary for technological development), additional
information was provided to the Commission on the modality of the Fund and how it can help developing
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