Administrative and Budgetary Aspects for the Financing of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations : Cross-Cutting Issues

A/RES/59/296No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 123Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, published in 2005.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

3 reports of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2006.

2006A/60/705Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration report of the Secretary-General
2006A/60/698Staffing of field missions, including the use of 300- and 100-series appointments report of the Secretary-General
2006A/60/699Cost-benefit analysis on the issue of the transfer of vehicles with high mileage to the United Nations Logistics Base in Brindisi, Italy, to other missions and to upcoming United Nations peacekeeping operations report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

121 operative paragraphs

I

Appreciates the efforts of all peacekeeping personnel in dealing with the current unprecedented surge in peacekeeping operations;

Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the general report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,Error: Reference source not found subject to the provisions of the present resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit an annual overview report on the financing of peacekeeping missions, reporting, inter alia, on trends in the size, composition and funding of the peacekeeping missions, relevant developments in peacekeeping operations, efforts to improve the management and functioning of peacekeeping operations and the management priorities for the coming year as well as actions taken to implement the provisions of the present resolution;

Also requests the Secretary-General to provide relevant information in the individual budget submissions of peacekeeping operations for the financial period 2006/07 on the efficiencies resulting from the implementation of the applicable provisions of the present resolution;

II.Results-based budgeting

Reaffirms its resolution 55/231 of 23 December 2000;

Recognizes the continued progress in the presentation of the peacekeeping budgets using results-based budgeting techniques;

Decides that the progressive implementation of results-based budgeting shall be in full compliance with its resolution 55/231;

Recalls that in paragraph 9 of its resolution 55/231, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to ensure that, in presenting the programme budget, expected accomplishments and, where possible, indicators of achievement are included to measure achievements in the implementation of the programmes of the Organization and not those of individual Member States;

Notes that some indicators of achievement reflected in the budgets and budget performance reports appear to measure the performance of Member States, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the purpose of the indicators of achievement is not to assess the performance of Member States but, where possible, to reflect the contributions by peacekeeping missions to the expected accomplishments and objectives in keeping with their respective mandates;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit his future budget proposals in full compliance with its resolution 55/231;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to refine the existing results-based budgeting framework and to provide clearer financial information on all components of the missions;

Requests the Secretary-General to integrate operational, logistical and financial aspects fully in the planning phase of peacekeeping operations by linking results-based budgeting to the mandate implementation plans of peacekeeping operations;

III.Budget presentation

Reiterates paragraph 5 of its resolution 57/290 B;

Notes with concern the unevenness in the quality of presentation in the documentation submitted, and reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to provide in the budget documents the necessary information available that fully justifies his resource requirements;

Reaffirms rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, and requests the Secretary-General, in the context of the overview report, to provide detailed information on major policy changes having an impact on resource levels, human resources management policies or operational requirements that require the approval of the Assembly;

Welcomes the use, in the proposed budgets for 2005/06, of a new methodology for budgeting international staff costs;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the Secretariat and all missions make every effort to introduce strict budgetary discipline and enforce adequate controls over budget implementation;

Also requests the Secretary-General to entrust the Office of Internal Oversight Services of the Secretariat with conducting a business process review of the preparation of peacekeeping budget proposals, including the respective roles of staff in missions and at Headquarters and to submit its findings, including recommendations to streamline the process, to the General Assembly in the context of the report requested in section IV of the present resolution;

Decides that, in view of the critical importance of budgets for the effective functioning of missions, the submission of budget proposals from missions to Headquarters should constitute part of the leadership and accountability functions of the Head of Mission/Special Representative;

Reaffirms the necessity to provide peacekeeping operations with adequate financial resources, especially in their start-up and expanded phases, to enable the timely, full and effective implementation of their mandates in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council;

Affirms that budget submissions should, to the extent possible, reflect management improvements and efficiency gains to be achieved and articulate future strategies in this regard;

Requests the Secretary-General to undertake the review of the functions of the posts as an ongoing exercise and to determine the level of posts according to changing operational requirements as well as the actual responsibilities and functions performed, with a view to ensuring the most cost-effective use of resources;

IV.Review of the management structure of all peacekeeping operations

Recalling its decision 59/507 of 29 October 2004,

Having considered the note by the Secretary-General on the review of the management structure of all peacekeeping operations,

Recalls its previous request for several complex peacekeeping operations to review their structures, bearing in mind the complexities, mandates and specificities of each, and notes that some operations have undertaken the revision, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the remaining complex operations conduct the requested review and streamline their structures and to report thereon in the context of the relevant budget submissions;

Requests the Secretary-General to monitor the evolution of structures in individual peacekeeping operations to avoid the duplication of functions and an excessive proportion of higher-grade posts, bearing in mind the mandates, complexities and specificities of each mission;

Recalls, in this context, its resolution 59/272 of 23 December 2004;

Requests the Secretary-General, as a matter of priority, to entrust the Office of Internal Oversight Services with a comprehensive management audit to review the practices of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and to identify risks and exposures to duplication, fraud and abuse of authority in the following operational areas: finance, including budget preparation; procurement; human resources, including recruitment and training; and information technology, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session;

Also requests the Secretary-General to entrust the Office of Internal Oversight Services, in the light of the increasing demands with which the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is faced and the burden this is putting on its functioning, with carrying out a review of the management structures of the Department, while taking into account the Security Council mandates and existing recommendations formulated on previous occasions by the Office of Internal Oversight Services and the Board of Auditors and paying specific attention to the interaction, coordination and cooperation of the Department with other Secretariat departments and offices, including but not limited to the Department of Political Affairs, the Department of Public Information, the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts and the Department of Management, as well as the relevant funds and programmes, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session;

Urges the Secretary-General to review, streamline and simplify procedures, on a continuing basis, as well as to recommend changes to regulations and rules, as appropriate, in order to support more effective and efficient administrative processes, with a view to achieving economies in requirements for human and other resources;

Notes the observation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions regarding the need for the full and timely implementation of recommendations of all oversight bodies, and urges the Secretary-General to expedite the establishment of the high-level follow-up mechanism and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session;

Stresses the need to improve the cooperation and coordination between the peacekeeping missions and Headquarters with regard to lessons learned and areas of common interest that could be used by all missions;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all relevant financial regulations and rules, staff regulations and rules and administrative issuances are fully complied with by all missions and that appropriate disciplinary actions are taken in all cases of non-compliance;

Also requests the Secretary-General to finalize the process for the establishment of guidelines for the enforcement of basic standards of conduct and behaviour for all United Nations system personnel;

Encourages the Secretary-General to take additional measures to ensure the safety and security of all personnel under the auspices of the United Nations participating in peacekeeping missions, bearing in mind paragraphs 5 and 6 of Security Council resolution 1502 (2003) of 26 August 2003;

Requests the Secretary-General to review the level and functions of the protocol officers, bearing in mind the relevant observations of the Advisory Committee, and to report thereon in the context of the relevant budget submissions;

V.Shared funding of posts of Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General

Takes note of paragraph 62 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,Error: Reference source not found and in this regard decides that the position of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, who heads the humanitarian pillar and serves as Resident Coordinator, will be funded through a cost-sharing arrangement with the United Nations Development Programme;

Requests the Secretary-General to report, in the context of the overview report, on the outcome of the exchange of letters, specifying agreed generic job profiles, organizational structure and cost-sharing arrangements with the United Nations Development Programme;

Also requests the Secretary-General to report the necessary reimbursement for the transition period, reflecting the effective start date of the cost-sharing arrangements, in the context of the budget performance reports;

VI.Disarmament, demobilization (including reinsertion) and reintegration

Takes note of the note by the Secretary-General;

Notes that reinsertion activities are part of the disarmament and demobilization process, as outlined in the note by the Secretary-General;

Emphasizes that disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes are a critical part of peace processes and integrated peacekeeping operations, as mandated by the Security Council, and supports strengthening the coordination of those programmes in an integrated approach;

Stresses the importance of a clear description of respective roles of peacekeeping missions and all other relevant actors;

Also stresses the need for strengthened cooperation and coordination between the various actors within and outside the United Nations system to ensure effective use of resources and coherence on the ground in implementing disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes;

Requests the Secretary-General, when submitting future budget proposals containing mandated resource requirements for disarmament, demobilization and reinsertion, to provide clear information on these components and associated post and non-post costs;

Notes that the components used by the Secretary-General for budgeting for disarmament, demobilization and reinsertion activities are set out in the note by the Secretary-General, recognizing ongoing discussions on these concepts;

Notes also the intention of the Secretary-General to submit integrated disarmament, demobilization and reintegration standards to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session;

VII.Quick-impact projects

Requests the Secretary-General to streamline the process of implementation of quick-impact projects and to ensure that they are fully implemented within the planned time frames;

VIII.Training, recruitment and staff in the field

Recalling its resolutions 56/293 of 27 June 2002 and 57/318 of 18 June 2003,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the training policy and evaluation system of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and the relevant paragraphs of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,

Having also considered the reports of the Secretary-General on the criteria used for recruitment to support account posts, on greater use of national staff in field missions, on measures to expedite recruitment for field missions, taking into account the delegation of recruitment authority to field missions, including the use of fair and transparent recruitment procedures and monitoring mechanisms, on measures that would better streamline the policy guidelines related to the temporary duty assignment of staff in peacekeeping missions, on the status of the civilian rapid deployment roster, on the staffing of field missions, including the use of 300- and 100-series appointments and the relevant section of the report of the Advisory Committee,

Having further considered the notes by the Secretary-General transmitting the reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the audit of the policies and procedures for recruiting Department of Peacekeeping Operations staff and on the follow-up audit of the policies and procedures of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations for recruiting international civilian staff for field missions,

Emphasizes the importance of finalizing the comprehensive training strategy, and decides to restrict training away from mission headquarters of civilian staff to training specific to the implementation of the mandate of the mission, the effective functioning of the mission, the function of a post or, where it is cost-effective, until the finalization of the strategy;

Requests the Secretary-General to report on the finalization and implementation of the comprehensive training strategy along with the framework of the evaluation of training to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session in the context of his overview report;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the comprehensive training strategy includes the training needs of national staff for the purpose of capacity-building in the mission area;

Further requests the Secretary-General to ensure that staff in all United Nations peacekeeping operations have access to relevant training opportunities;

Requests the Secretary-General to make greater use of national staff;

Recalls section X, paragraph 7, of its resolution 59/266 of 23 December 2004, decides to establish an overall target of no more than 5 per cent of authorized General Service/Field Service posts across missions, with the exception of those missions in a start-up phase, and other exceptional circumstances, to be filled by staff on assignment from Headquarters, and requests the Secretary-General to report on the progress towards reaching this target;

Affirms that locally recruited mission staff may be recruited as international staff only through the normal recruitment process in which they compete for international posts in another mission along with other external candidates;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity serve as the paramount consideration in the employment of staff, with due regard for the principle of equitable geographical distribution, in accordance with Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations;

Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to make every effort to fill vacant posts in peacekeeping operations expeditiously;

Decides that generic vacancy announcements posted in Galaxy shall be accompanied by information on the location of current specific vacancies and that this would apply to all international vacancies in peacekeeping missions;

Notes with concern the observations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, in paragraphs 55 and 56 of its report,Error: Reference source not found regarding the practice of hiring individual contractors or individuals on procurement contracts to perform functions of a continuing nature, and requests the Secretary-General to revert to the General Assembly for its consideration of the creation of a post if the function is ongoing and is so warranted;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on criteria used for recruitment to support account posts,Error: Reference source not found and requests the Secretary-General to update the information and to submit a report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session for its consideration in the context of human resources management;

Recalls section X of its resolution 59/266;

Regrets that the report of the Secretary-General on the staffing of field missions, including the use of 300- and 100-series appointments,Error: Reference source not found did not fully provide the information requested in section X, paragraphs 2 and 3, of resolution 59/266, and in this context reiterates its request to the Secretary-General in section X, paragraph 3, of its resolution 59/266;

Decides to continue to suspend the application of the four-year maximum limit for appointments of limited duration under the 300 series of the Staff Rules in peacekeeping operations until 30 June 2006;

Authorizes the Secretary-General, bearing in mind paragraph 15 above, to reappoint under the 100 series of the Staff Rules those mission staff whose service under 300-series contracts has reached the four-year limit by 30 June 2006, provided that their functions have been reviewed and found necessary and their performance has been confirmed as fully satisfactory, and requests the Secretary-General to report thereon to the General Assembly at the second part of its resumed sixtieth session;

Notes the fact that 278 of 346 eligible staff were judged to have performed “fully satisfactorily”, and requests the Secretary-General to apply rigorously the criteria set out in its resolution 59/266;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue the practice of using 300-series contracts as the primary instrument for the appointment of new mission staff;

IX.Conditions of service

Recalls section X, paragraphs 5 and 6, of its resolution 59/266, in which the General Assembly requested the International Civil Service Commission and the Secretary-General to review conditions of service in the field and to report to the Assembly at its sixty-first session;

Decides to limit conversion of General Service posts to the Field Service category pending receipt of that review;

Also decides that the review of the field service is the appropriate mechanism for possible recognition of hardship, if warranted;

X.Mission subsistence allowance

Recalling its resolution 58/258 of 23 December 2003,

Having considered the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the audit of mission subsistence allowance policies and procedures and the note by the Secretary-General transmitting his comments thereon,

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Office of Internal Oversight Services continues to audit the mission subsistence allowance rates to ensure their reasonableness in comparison with the actual subsistence costs in the various mission areas and with the daily subsistence allowance set by the International Civil Service Commission in the same areas;

Decides to revert to the question of mission subsistence allowance rates and the recommendations of the Office of Internal Oversight Services in the context of the review of conditions of service in the field, requested by the General Assembly in section X, paragraphs 5 and 6, of its resolution 59/266;

Also decides that specific guidelines and criteria for the setting of miscellaneous or incidental costs as a component of the mission subsistence allowance should be developed, taking into account that mission subsistence allowance rates should not, as a general principle, exceed those of the daily subsistence allowance in the same locality;

XI.Participation of United Nations Volunteers

Recalling its resolution 54/245 A of 23 December 1999,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the participation of United Nations Volunteers in peacekeeping operations, the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the evaluation of the United Nations Volunteers Programme and the note by the Secretary-General transmitting his comments thereon, and the related reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the participation of United Nations Volunteers in peacekeeping operations,Error: Reference source not found the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the evaluation of the United Nations Volunteers ProgrammeError: Reference source not found and the note by the Secretary-General transmitting his comments thereon,Error: Reference source not found and endorses the observations and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, as contained in paragraphs 70 to 72 of its report;Error: Reference source not found

Acknowledges the valuable contribution of United Nations Volunteers in the United Nations system;

Recognizes that Volunteers should not be used as a substitute for staff to be recruited against authorized posts for the implementation of mandated programmes and activities and should not be sought for financial reasons;

Takes note of paragraph 25 of the report of the Secretary-General and the intention of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to continue its efforts to exploit the potential for increased use of United Nations Volunteers in peacekeeping operations in those functions or skills which are not normally available in the Secretariat or which are limited;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to ensure that Volunteers are subject to the same obligations and responsibilities, including standards of conduct, that the United Nations staff are subject to;

Also requests the Secretary-General to take into account greater use of national staff in peacekeeping operations, when feasible;

XII.Military component

Requests the Secretary-General to make every effort to reimburse Member States that have provided troops and equipment to United Nations peacekeeping operations in a timely manner;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the deployment of troops and contingent-owned equipment is well coordinated so that troops are not deployed without their equipment;

XIII.Regional investigators

Having considered the note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the first year of experience of regional investigators in two hubs, Vienna and Nairobi,

Takes note of the findings and recommendations contained in the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the first year of experience of regional investigators in two hubs, Vienna and Nairobi, and emphasizes in particular the utilization of resident investigators to do investigations in the large peacekeeping missions and regional investigators to do investigations in the other missions and to provide support for complex cases in the large missions;

XIV.Sexual exploitation and abuse

Recalling its resolution 59/300 of 22 June 2005,

Reaffirming its resolutions 48/218 B of 29 July 1994, 54/244 of 23 December 1999, 59/272 of 23 December 2004 and 59/287 of 13 April 2005,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and the report on the investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services into allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuseError: Reference source not found and the report on the investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services into allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;Error: Reference source not found

Emphasizes the need for the development of a comprehensive, well-defined and coherent policy, taking into account also the relevant provisions of resolution 59/300, addressing, inter alia, the various managerial aspects of preventing and addressing allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in all United Nations activities;

Affirms that the implementation of a zero-tolerance policy and procedures towards acts of sexual exploitation and abuse should be clearly defined as a core management function, in particular also addressing clear lines of responsibility and accountability relating to the non-implementation and non-enforcement of codes of conduct, policies and preventive measures, and should ensure that adequate mechanisms are in place in this regard;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session a comprehensive report based on a thorough analysis of the aspects referred to paragraphs 2 and 3 of the present section, as well as addressing the following:

Systematic consideration of the full continuum of personnel conduct issues, including policy development, training, community relations, compliance supervision, accountability, discipline and investigation;

Clear demonstration that existing expertise and resources in the Organization, both at Headquarters and in the field, including on child protection, gender, public information and other components within their specific roles and mandates, as well as human resources management and training, are fully utilized, and that relevant resource requests avoid duplication of resources and functions and enhance coordination among relevant departments and offices, while ensuring the effective implementation of the mandates of the missions;

Clear reporting lines and proposals for the placement of the proposed capacity dealing with personnel conduct issues, bearing in mind that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General is ultimately accountable;

Full justification of resource requirements, both at Headquarters and in the field, taking into account the specificities of each mission and based on empirical data on the actual number of allegations and cases of sexual exploitation and abuse;

XV.Global audit of field security management

Having considered the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the global audit of field security management,

Decides to defer until its sixtieth session consideration of the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services in the context of its consideration of a strengthened and unified security management system for the United Nations;

XVI.Procurement

Recalling its resolutions 57/290 B of 18 June 2003, 58/297 of 18 June 2004 and section A of its resolution 59/288 of 13 April 2005,

Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General on procurement and contract management for peacekeeping operations and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,

Having also considered the reports of the Secretary-General on the analysis of establishing a global procurement hub for all peacekeeping missions at Brindisi, Italy, and on the implementation of the strategic deployment stocks, including the functioning of the existing mechanisms and the award of contracts for procurement, and the related reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,

Having further considered the note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the procurement of goods and services through letters of assist,

Requests the Secretary-General, in order to improve the transparency and efficiency of procurement in peacekeeping operations, to ensure implementation of and compliance with the mechanisms aimed at facilitating the compilation by all missions of an assessment of progress and final performance of vendors and its immediate transmission to the United Nations Procurement Service at Headquarters;

Notes progress towards the harmonization of Headquarters and mission procurement databases, and in this regard welcomes the continued efforts towards improved transparency and accountability of a comprehensive procurement system, including the availability of peacekeeping procurement data for Member States, as currently displayed on the United Nations Procurement Service web site;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to improve reporting procurement data to Member States and to consider procurement system processes utilized in the government and private sectors;

Notes the efforts made by the Secretary-General to increase procurement opportunities for developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and requests the Secretary-General:

To continue to simplify the vendor registration process, taking into account access to the Internet;

To take further steps to sensitize the business community to procurement opportunities within the United Nations system, including:

The holding of additional business seminars;

Inviting the Inter-Agency Procurement Working Group to hold more meetings in developing countries;

iii

Including the issue of diversity of sources of procurement as an agenda item at the annual meetings of the Inter-Agency Procurement Working Group;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all peacekeeping missions operate with reference to their procurement plans in order to realize the benefits offered by proper procurement planning;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to monitor and address causes of excessive procurement lead times at peacekeeping missions;

Also encourages the Secretary-General to continue to ensure that all peacekeeping missions formally identify the training needs of all procurement officers and communicate these needs to Headquarters in order to ensure that training follows proper planning and evaluation of its effectiveness;

XVII.Asset management

Reiterates that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations should ensure that all missions implement an assets replacement programme in a cost-effective manner and in strict compliance with the guidelines on the life expectancy of assets;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the heads of the peacekeeping operations take effective measures to ensure inventory control, replenishment of stocks and reasonable write-off procedures for the disposal of assets no longer required or useful;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that formal written agreements are in place, which include elements such as financial reimbursement and liability, with other United Nations bodies before loaning out to them resources belonging to a peacekeeping operation;

Commends the ongoing efforts to increase cooperation between missions, particularly those in the same region, and stresses that any agreement on the loan or sharing of mission assets should be clearly understood and documented by the missions involved, bearing in mind that individual operations should remain responsible for preparing and overseeing their own budgets as well as for controlling their own assets and logistical operations;

XVIII.Information technology

Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General on the functional requirements of field missions for communication and information technology and on the information and communications technology strategy: arrangements for the Galaxy system and the relevant section of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,

Requests the Secretary-General to take fully into account the return on investment for information and communication technology and to report on its impact on the resource requirements for the support account for peacekeeping operations;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure the full implementation of the information and communications technology strategy adopted by the General Assembly in order to avoid unnecessary redundancies;

Further requests the Secretary-General to implement the Galileo system in all peacekeeping operations in order to unify peacekeeping operations inventory;

XIX.Air operations

Recalling section B of its resolution 59/288,

Requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary actions to ensure that staff members involved in air operations are adequately trained, as specified in the Air Operations Manual;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to conduct aviation quality inspections and aviation assessments at missions to confirm that established standards are being fully complied with;

Further requests the Secretary-General to improve the formulation of resource requirements for air operations in budget submissions to make them more reflective of actual operations, bearing in mind the overbudgeting of air transportation requirements in some peacekeeping operations;

Requests the Secretary-General to undertake an analysis of the impact of the new costing structure relating to air operations, bearing in mind the relevant observations and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Board of Auditors, and to report thereon in the context of his next overview report;

XX.Ground transportation

Requests the Secretary-General to provide the General Assembly with a cost-benefit analysis on the issue of the transfer of vehicles with high mileage to the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, to other missions and to upcoming missions, taking into account the cost of freight, and to report thereon to the Assembly at its sixtieth session;

Also requests the Secretary-General, in the context of his overview report, to provide detailed information on the implementation of the vehicle policy, as requested in paragraph 86 of the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;Error: Reference source not found

Further requests the Secretary-General to develop a standard policy with regard to the purchase and assignment of standard civilian and specially equipped armoured vehicles, as well as representational vehicles;

XXI.Ratios of vehicles and information technology equipment to staff

Notes with concern the lack of information on the implementation of ratios of vehicles to staff and discrepancies in the implementation of standard ratios;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that peacekeeping operations adhere to the standard ratios, bearing in mind the mandate, complexities and size of individual peacekeeping operations;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that in all missions the actual ratio of heavy/medium vehicles is no greater than the established standard ratio of 1:1 and to justify any departure from this standard ratio;

Further requests the Secretary-General to review the policies on standard ratios of vehicles to staff and to provide the General Assembly, in the context of the overview report, with information on the outcome of the review and efforts to ensure that individual peacekeeping operations adhere to the standard ratios, while bearing in mind the mandate, complexity and size of individual operations;

Requests the Secretary-General to apply greater economies in the provision of 4x4 vehicles for civilian staff in missions, in particular but not limited to senior staff at the D-1 level and above, bearing in mind that the existing ratio for 4x4 vehicles must not be exceeded, and to report on the implementation thereof to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session in the context of the overview report;

Encourages the Secretary-General progressively to reduce the allocation of one printer per work station and to implement, with immediate effect, where it is cost-effective and feasible, the ratio of printers to desktop computers of 1:4 for all work stations in peacekeeping missions, at Headquarters and in the field;

Decides to defer consideration of new provisions for desktop computers, printers and laptops at Headquarters and in the field with the exception of new missions and those missions undergoing expansion according to Security Council mandates as well as for replacement purposes in strict compliance with the General Assembly resolution, pending the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the comprehensive management audit to review the practices of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, mentioned in section IV, paragraph 4, of the present resolution;

XXII.Rations contracts

Requests the Secretary-General to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the delivery of food rations by air assets, without prejudice to the delivery of food to the troops, and to implement the most viable and cost-effective option in each peacekeeping operation;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all missions monitor and evaluate the quality management systems of rations contractors to ensure that food quality and hygienic conditions are in accordance with established standards;

Further requests the Secretary-General to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the use of an independent inspection mechanism to verify the fulfilment by contractors and vendors of all contract specifications regarding quality, hygiene and delivery plans.

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