UN Human Rights Treaties

United Nations A/C.3/57/L.89
General Assembly Distr.: Limited
22 November 2002
Original: English
02-70642 (E) 221102
*0270642*
Fifty-seventh session
Third Committee
Items 109 (b) and 112
Human rights questions: human rights questions, including
alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment
of human rights and fundamental freedom
Programme budget for the biennium 2002-2003
Comprehensive and integral international convention
to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons
with disabilities
Programme budget implications of the draft resolution contained
in document A/57/357
Statement submitted by the Secretary-General in accordance
with rule 153 of the rules of procedures of the General Assembly
I. Requests contained in the draft resolution
1. Under the terms of the draft resolution contained in paragraph 16 of the report
of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International
Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with
Disabilities (A/57/357), the General Assembly would, inter alia:
(a) Decide that the Ad Hoc Committee should hold, within existing
resources, at least one meeting in 2003 of a duration of ten working days, prior to
the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly;
(b) Encourage States to hold meetings or seminars to contribute to the work
of the Ad Hoc Committee, in cooperation with, as appropriate, the Division for
Social Policy and Development, the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on Disability of the
Commission for Social Development and non-governmental organizations;
(c) Request the Secretary-General to:

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(i) Seek the views of Member States, observer States, relevant bodies and
organizations of the United Nations system, including human rights treaty
bodies, and the Special Rapporteur on Disability, on proposals for a
convention;
(ii) Submit to the Ad Hoc Committee at its second session a comprehensive
report on the views submitted, to be issued at least six weeks before the
commencement of the second session;
(iii) Continue to provide the Ad Hoc Committee with the facilities necessary
for the performance of its work and, in this context, invite the Secretary-
General to reallocate resources in order to allow the United Nations
Programme on Disability to provide the necessary support to the Ad Hoc
Committee;
(d) Decide to establish a voluntary fund to support the participation of
non-governmental organizations and experts from developing countries, in particular
from the least developed countries, and to invite Governments, civil society and the
private sector to contribute to the voluntary fund;
(e) Request the Secretary-General to forward a comprehensive report of the
Ad Hoc Committee to the Assembly at its fifty-eighth session.
II. Activities to be carried out in relation to the second session
of the Ad Hoc Committee
2. The activities to be carried out in 2003 would include:
(a) Substantive servicing of 26 meetings. Intersessional meetings of the
Bureau (6) and meetings of the second session of the Ad Hoc Committee (20);
(b) Parliamentary documentation. Annotated agenda for the second session
of the Ad Hoc Committee; information for participants; report on the views of
Member States, observer States and relevant bodies and organizations of the United
Nations on proposals for a convention; reports of meetings and seminars held by
States as contributions to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee; report on the work of
the Ad Hoc Committee at its second session for submission to the General Assembly
at its fifty-eighth session;
(c) Conference servicing of the second session of the Ad Hoc Committee in
New York.
3. The activities would be carried out by the Department of Economic and Social
Affairs.
III. Estimated resources requirements
4. The related resources that would be required are estimated at $90,000
(representing six work-months of a Professional post at the P-3 level and six workmonths
of a General Service post).
5. The conference-servicing requirements for the convening of the second session
of the Ad Hoc Committee in New York in 2003 are estimated at $378,500, at full

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cost. Should the Ad Hoc Committee hold its second session during the period from
19 to 26 June 2003, the related conference-servicing requirements would be met
within the resources approved for the biennium 2002-2003. It is recommended that
the General Assembly decide that the second session of the Ad Hoc Committee be
held during that period.
6. It is recalled that the Secretary-General established the Voluntary Fund on
Disability several years ago and that resources from that Fund have been used to
finance technical cooperation projects and the activities of the Special Rapporteur
on Disability. The voluntary contributions that may be mobilized to support the
participation of non-governmental organizations and experts from developing
countries, in particular from the least developed countries, in the work of the Ad
Hoc Committee may therefore be accounted for in a separate sub-account within the
existing trust fund. In this connection, the General Assembly is requested to clarify
the meaning of the support to be provided, in particular whether the support would
include only the payment of travel costs or the payment of the costs of the travel and
daily subsistence allowance of the participants, and whether the payment would be
made to one representative from each non-governmental organization and one expert
from each country, or otherwise. It should be noted that the payment of such costs to
participants from non-governmental organizations and from developing countries to
attend the meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee would represent an exception to the
provisions of General Assembly resolution 1798 (XVII) of 11 December 1962, as
amended by the Assembly in subsequent resolutions.
IV. Contingency fund
7. It is recalled that, under the procedure established by the General Assembly in
its resolution 41/213 of 19 December 1986, a contingency fund is established each
biennium to accommodate additional expenditures derived from the legislative
mandates not provided for in the approved programme budget. Under that
procedure, if additional expenditures are proposed that exceed the resources
available within the contingency fund, the activities concerned can be implemented
only through the redeployment of resources from low-priority areas or modifications
of existing activities. Otherwise, such additional activities will have to be deferred
to a later biennium.
8. Under the procedure for operation of the contingency fund outlined in
section C of the annex to General Assembly resolution 42/211 of 21 December
1987, the Secretary-General would, in his consolidated statement of all statements
of programme budget implications and revised estimates, make proposals for
revising the consolidated amount so that it would not exceed the available balance.
In so doing, the Secretary-General would be guided by the indications of
alternatives included in each statement of programme budget implications and in
each proposal for revised estimates. The respective legislative bodies should take
action on such alternatives at the time they adopt the decision or resolution in
question.
9. Although it has not been possible at the present stage to identify activities in
section 9 of the programme budget for the biennium 2002-2003 that could be
terminated, deferred, curtailed or modified during the biennium, it is anticipated that
efforts in this regard will continue in 2003 and, if these efforts are not successful,

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the required resources would be sought in the context of the consideration of the
second performance report at the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly.
Consequently, the amount of $90,000 referred to in paragraph 4 above need not be
appropriated.
V. Summary
10. Should the draft resolution contained in paragraph 16 of document
A/57/357 be adopted, the second session of the Ad Hoc Committee would be
held during the period from 16 to 27 June 2003, expenditure of $90,000 would
be required. This amount will be absorbed to the extent possible, but should
this prove not to be possible, the necessary funds would be sought in the
context of the consideration by the General Assembly of the second
performance report at its fifty-eighth session.
11. Further, the Assembly is requested to clarify the conditions and modalities
of the support to be provided to participants from non-governmental
organizations and experts from developing countries.