PH Asserts ASEAN Commitment to Addressing UN Budget Issues
Permanent Representative Antonio Manuel R. Lagdameo, Sr. speaks on behalf of ASEAN at the opening session of the Fifth Committee of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on 3 October 2022 ( Photo from NYPM)
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, 05 October 2022 – The Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Antonio M. Lagdameo, spoke on behalf of ASEAN on 03 October 2022 to convey the region’s commitment to productive discussions among Member States that would lead to agreement on the UN budget.
“The annual budget cycle is an important agenda item of the Fifth Committee, and ASEAN will actively engage in the deliberations to reach a timely conclusion on this topic,” Ambassador Lagdameo said at the opening plenary of the Committee during the 77th UN General Assembly held at the UN headquarters.
Ambassador Lagdameo said that for ASEAN, the agreement on the annual budget cycle is important to facilitate the efficient delivery of UN mandates. He further underscored that programme planning is an essential tool in ensuring that the UN’s budget is focused on and aligned with its mandates.
In reviewing the Programme Plan, the Ambassador said that ASEAN acknowledges the role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) in examining the Programme budget in accordance with its mandate and following the sequential nature of the review process. He then stressed that the Philippines, in collaboration with ASEAN, will actively participate in the discussions on other topics of crucial importance and of special interest to the region.
Since 1973, the UN has had more than four decades of biennium budgets over which it struggled as a result of severe liquidity crunch. At one point, the cash crisis in the UN had compelled the organization to limit staff hiring and travel, as well as the hours of operation to carry out cost-saving emergency measures.
The implementation of the annual budget cycle was deliberated on in 2019 as part of the Secretary-General’s UN management reforms. According to the UN secretariat, it has the potential to ensure accurate and meaningful estimates as budgets are prepared closer to the implementation period. It is geared towards addressing, among others, the organization’s liquidity problem by strengthening the UN system for resilience, thereby making it more effective and accountable.
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