UNITED NATIONS, New York, Oct 13 – Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ remarks to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), in New York today:
I welcome this opportunity to introduce the proposed programme budget for 2022. The context for this presentation remains a world upended by the COVID‑19 pandemic. The pandemic has revealed fractures in our societies, inadequate health care, gaps in social protection, structural inequalities and massive shortcomings in financing and global solidarity.
But times of crisis can also bring out the best — and show what is possible when we work together. Around the world — and thanks to your support and engagement — the United Nations has stayed and delivered.
We helped the world respond to the immediate effects of the pandemic, from the health response to its devastating socioeconomic impacts. We delivered medical, food and humanitarian supplies, provided electoral assistance, undertook mediation efforts and led and supported peace talks.
We called for a global ceasefire, and appealed for action to address the alarming rise in domestic violence that has accompanied the pandemic. We protected and spoke up in defence of the human rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized.
We did all of this complex and wide‑ranging work while navigating a serious liquidity crisis. And throughout, our reforms remained on course. We are well into the third year of implementation and the benefits are visible.
The COVID‑19 pandemic was an early test of our reforms, which enabled us to adjust our business operations and respond quickly to the needs of countries. Unlike in past emergencies, the Secretariat did not need to create new structures to manage the response. The new reform structures in development, peace and security, and management already in place facilitated a unified and agile response to the pandemic, saving time and money.
In a matter of months, United Nations country teams rolled out 121 socioeconomic response plans covering 139 countries and territories. More than $3 billion was repurposed, and an additional $2 billion was mobilized, to prioritize immediate support.
According to independent surveys, over 90 per cent of Governments in developing countries agree that Resident Coordinators helped ensure a coherent United Nations response to the pandemic.
And our ongoing reforms are yielding results. Ninety‑one per cent of host Governments indicated that the United Nations today is more relevant to their country’s development needs when compared to three years ago. Ninety‑two per cent felt that the new cooperation frameworks have enabled them to address effectively and respond to national priorities. And more than 80 per cent of Governments confirmed we were successful in targeting at‑risk groups, those most hurt by this crisis.
The Resident Coordinators are now drawing on assets across the three pillars to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The peace and security reforms have allowed us to begin implementing comprehensive regional strategies, leading to greater harmonization of action with regional and subregional organizations and other stakeholders. There is now a single point of contact for peacekeeping and special political missions operating in the same region, with distinct but complementary mandates. A strengthened Peacebuilding Support Office now serves as a dedicated “hinge” with the development pillar.
Management reform has brought substantial changes in structures, accountability, delegation and internal operations. These have been critical to sustain business continuity during the pandemic.
The reforms enabled us to quickly adjust policies and procedures to accommodate the new realities on the ground; at the same time, we had dedicated capacities that could focus on key areas of concern, such as health and supply chain management.
The new division of labour between strategic and policy functions and operational functions has proven especially useful. Dedicated resources for policy were quickly able to adjust frameworks for new remote working arrangements and other policies, while the Department of Operational Support was able to provide dedicated service to all entities in the United Nations Secretariat.
In human resources, affected policy and guidance were revised and published quickly in consultation with key stakeholders to adjust to the situation on the ground. Additionally, the Department of Operational Support created a dedicated way to respond to urgent COVID‑19 queries in less than one business day.
A system-wide medevac system was established and managed by the Secretariat. And we rolled out a programme to vaccinate personnel in countries where the local health systems could not provide vaccines to our personnel. This ensured that the United Nations system was able to support countries and communities with their response efforts to the pandemic. This unprecedented operational collaboration with the wider system was made possible by our reforms.
The end-to-end supply chain structures enabled the Secretariat to act more nimbly. Emergency procurement procedures were activated. Personal protective equipment and medical equipment were successfully sourced and supplied to duty stations in need. Decentralized procurement authority was raised to allow for more local procurement of critical goods and services. The enhanced delegations of authority have provided critically needed operational responsiveness and flexibility on the ground.
Meanwhile, a unified information technology structure allowed us to jointly utilize corporate tools for communications and remote working arrangements. Our main communication tools are now also accessible system‑wide, allowing us to coordinate our response efforts with the funds, programmes and specialized agencies.
We have also continued to strengthen our internal control framework. I signed the Secretariat’s first Statement of Internal Control earlier this year, marking an important milestone towards achieving greater accountability. The Statement provides assurance to Member States that Secretariat‑wide mandated activities are being implemented effectively and efficiently; that financial reporting is reliable and compliant with International Public Sector Accounting Standards; and that regulations, rules and procedures adhere to the regulatory framework.
More work on our reforms remains, and we will increase our efforts to improve effectiveness and better support Member States. But one year on, I am proud that our reforms have allowed us not only to respond quickly and effectively to the challenges of an unprecedented global pandemic, but also enabled us to survive one of the worst financial crises in more than a decade.
The programme budget I am presenting today is the third since Member States approved, on a trial basis, the biggest change in our planning and budgeting processes in decades. The move from a biennial programme budget to an annual exercise is a major step towards more realistic budgeting and a greater focus on results.
It has improved the accuracy of our resource estimates, enabled us to adapt more quickly to changes in mandates and allowed us to adjust our planning based on actual programme performance, thereby improving mandate delivery and accountability for results.
The annual cycle also provides Member States with an opportunity to give more frequent direction on resource allocations for the Organization, and to align those decisions with recent or sudden events, such as the global pandemic.
We are now able to adjust our programme planning and incorporate lessons from the response to the pandemic into the budget for 2022. If we still lived with biennial budgets, such steps would have had to wait until 2024‑2025.
Last year, I indicated that this reform would be an ongoing process, and that I looked forward to receiving your guidance on any areas that we can improve further. The document before you reflects that guidance. One such improvement is the inclusion of more than 1,000 examples of the benefits that the United Nations helps to bring about through its global operations.
While change always poses challenges, positive signals continue to be received from all stakeholders. Both of your advisory committees have shifted their attention away from the presentation format of the budgets, hence allowing more focus on resource and programmatic discussions. I am encouraged by the positive reactions and the momentum the annual budget is generating towards a more results‑oriented culture.
As part of this new culture, more than 1,000 programme managers continue to engage in the formulation of planning and budget proposals, assessing their work and performance. In Part A of the document, we are now reporting on the performance of our programmes in 2020. In instances where our performance fell short, we make adjustments to ensure better results in 2022, not 2024‑2025.
The annual programme budget includes a multi‑year account of measurable results. This year’s budget includes measurable planned results for 2021 and 2022, and measurable actual results in 2018, 2019 and 2020 for each of the 350 result frameworks. This offers a comprehensive picture of our programme delivery over the past three years.
The Secretariat’s self‑evaluation policy took effect this year. Every department and office are now required to undertake at least one evaluation a year and report the results through the budget process. The Office of Internal Oversight Services and the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance are collaborating on providing training and support to all programme managers and evaluation focal points. These efforts will instil a culture of learning whereby programme managers will continuously assess performance to improve on programme delivery.
Two years ago, when I introduced the 2020 budget, you requested me to provide greater access to electronic information on the budget. I am happy to report that we have now provided two sets of electronic information.
First, the “results.un.org” portal provides information on the programmatic results. You can filter those results not only by programme and subprogramme, but also by type of result and geographical location, with hyperlinks to the document for more detailed information.
Second, the Umoja Budget Information Pilot provides detailed resource information to the Committee, including monthly updates of expenditures and liquidity ratios.
Working closely with you, we will continue to improve access to information as part of my efforts to increase transparency in the Organization.
Let me turn now to Part B of the proposed programme budget: post and non‑post resource requirements for 2022. The presentation format for this part has taken on board previous recommendations made by the Advisory Committee.
To fully implement the mandates entrusted to us, we will require a total of $3.12 billion before recosting, which represents a net reduction of 2.8 per cent compared to 2021, despite additional activities and mandates. This includes a total of 10,005 posts, or a net increase of 46 posts.
I would like to highlight four key drivers:
First, strengthening the development pillar. The proposals include an increase of $2.8 million for development, including for our programmes in support of Africa’s development and landlocked countries and small island developing States. I am again seeking an increase in the level of the Regular Programme for Technical Cooperation to support capacity development in Member States. This will be the third increase during my tenure.
Second, strengthening support for human rights. The proposal includes the conversion of 16 general temporary positions into professional posts, and $4.4 million to implement resolutions and decisions of the Human Rights Council.
Third, supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the face of its chronic funding gap. We are proposing an increase of $6.1 million, including 43 additional posts to support education, health care and general assistance to Palestine refugees.
Fourth, investing in infrastructure and resilience. The budget proposal includes $6.3 million for upgrading the ageing security infrastructure of our premises, as well as adapting our security posture to emerging threats and improving accessibility.
While further new legislative mandates may emerge in the coming months, at this stage estimates amounting to approximately $37 million in response to new resolutions from the General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and the Human Rights Council are expected.
Another $22 million may be needed for recently expanded Security Council mandates of special political missions in Colombia and Sudan, followed by yet to be determined additional requirements for the mission in Libya.
Approximately $95 million is required for construction, including $69 million for the Strategic Heritage Plan in Geneva. Subvention requests for the courts of Cambodia, Sierra Leone and Lebanon are expected to amount to approximately $19 million.
The budget proposals were constructed on the assumption that the trajectory of the pandemic response, and the development and deployment of vaccines, would allow a return to normalcy, albeit a new normal, in 2022. Recent surges in COVID‑19 cases and multiple waves of differing intensity around the world suggest a need to remain flexible with our plans and delivery modalities. I am confident in our ability to continue to adapt to the changes that we may face.
Indeed, the Organization responded quickly and well to the sudden onset of the pandemic, even as we reached – hopefully – the peak of a financial liquidity crisis, with yet another record for arrears in contributions, exacerbated by increasing fluctuations in payment patterns.
Only through exercising careful control over our fiscal expenditure were we able to minimize the inevitable negative impact on programme delivery. Our cash management efforts also allowed us to adjust our expenditure to undertake life‑saving medical evacuations and procure and distribute core medical supplies and equipment. This allowed United Nations personnel to stay and deliver across the world.
The year 2021 started poorly, with collections in the first quarter trailing estimates by nearly $199 million, added to the $808 million in arrears with which we started the year. We responded to this emerging crisis less drastically than last year, primarily due to assurances from many Member States about their plans to pay their contributions. We saw indeed a record collection in April of $1 billion, bringing the total for the year to 76 per cent of the year’s assessment. This is also a record for early collection.
However, this should not lull us into complacency. The overall total masks numerous fluctuations in collections each month, pointing to the challenges of planning budget implementation with such uncertainties.
Our fair-weather regulatory framework leaves much to be desired, and it is my hope that Member States will see the need for full and predictable funding so that we can focus on the delivery of our mandates guided by the budgets and not by cash on hand.
The recent more positive indications have allowed us to lift most of the temporary cash‑management measures. I have asked senior managers to ensure that they advance gender parity and strive for more equitable geographical representation when they fill vacant posts. While we have reached gender parity in senior management two years ahead of our target, we have to increase efforts across the rest of the Secretariat.
Similarly, we have to increase efforts to recruit more from unrepresented and underrepresented countries for geographical posts, and from a wider geographical base for the rest of the posts. Our staff have to better reflect the international character, I would say the universal character, of our Organization.
I look forward to your support for my budget proposals for 2022, as we prepare to better serve the world in its new year of need.
I am available to answer your questions, and my senior managers will continue their interactions with you as you deliberate on these proposals.
12月12日华盛顿报道，美国总统特朗普今天在白宫签署一项法案时接见了1980年美国冬奥会男子冰球队员。这支球队因在“冰上奇迹”(Miracle on Ice）中击败苏联队而闻名。已于今年9月在美国众议院和参议院获得通过的一项法案，旨在授予这支冰球队国会金质奖章以表彰他们的卓越贡献。 特朗普总统今天在白宫签署的这项法案授予该支冰球队国会金质奖章，以纪念美国在1980年冬奥会上取得胜利45周年，并与头戴牛仔帽的前队员们合影留念。 1980 年美国冬奥会男子冰球队在纽约州普莱西德湖举行的美国队对阵苏联队的比赛中获胜。苏联是冷战时期美国的宿敌，也是冰球强国，在此前四届冬季奥运会上都获得了金牌。 特朗普总统在签署法案后表示：“今天，我们非常荣幸能与美国体育史上真正的传奇人物、整个国家的英雄—1980年美国冬奥会冰球队的成员们齐聚一堂，这是我见过的体育史上最伟大的时刻之一，而我本人也很喜欢体育。正是这些人为我们带来了体育史上最传奇的胜利之一，它被称为冰上奇迹，我想这就是它应有的样子。” 在白宫椭圆形办公室举行的颁奖仪式上，该支冰球队的明星球员悉数到场，包括队长迈克·埃鲁齐奥（Mike Eruzione)、守门员吉姆·克雷格（Jim Craig）和前锋巴兹·施耐德（Buzz Schneider)。已故教练赫伯·布鲁克斯（Herb Brooks）的家人也出席了仪式。队员们赠送给特朗普总统一顶与他们1980年比赛前所戴帽子相似的帽子。 白宫发言人罗杰斯（Taylor Rogers）在签字仪式前表示：“特朗普总统将向这支传奇的奥运男子冰球队致敬，他们的‘冰上奇迹’为美国队赢得了历史性的、具有象征意义的胜利，击败了苏联队。这场胜利激发了美国人民的民族自豪感，全美各地的人们都见证了美国队出人意料地夺得金牌。” 特朗普总统强调说：“自1968年以来，苏联队未尝败绩，并且刚刚取得了四连冠的骄人战绩。”…
12月12日加州河滨县报道，一个与2名失踪男子有关的神秘宗教团体的领导人，以及另一名人士12月11日周四在加州河滨县的赫米特市（Hemet）被捕，他们涉嫌谋杀。 加州圣贝纳迪诺县和河滨县的拘留记录显示，58岁的马丁（Darryl Muzic Martin）、他62岁的妻子雪莉（Shelly Bailey Martin）以及43岁的莫雷诺（Rudy Moreno）于12月11日上午在河滨县赫米特市的普莱森特街被捕。三人均不得保释。 除了证实逮捕之外，当局对案件一直守口如瓶。雷德兰兹（Redlands）警方的发言人贝克（Carl Baker）以调查仍在进行为由，拒绝透露警方认为的受害者身份。 失踪的2名“祂的道路圣灵引导教会”（His Way Spirit Led Assemblies）宗教团体的前信徒，最后一次露面40岁的加内姆（Emilio Ghanem）和莫雷诺（Ruben…
12月12日华盛顿报道，在硅和平峰会（Pax Silica Summit）前夕，美国和日本今天在华盛顿特区签署了一份里程碑式宣言的联合宣言，宣告一项新的地缘政治共识：经济安全即国家安全，国家安全即经济安全。 美国国务院称，美日两国确认将致力于共同推进多层次的伙伴关系，以加强供应链安全，解决胁迫性依赖和单点故障问题，并推动可信赖的技术生态系统的采用。 《美日硅和平宣言》（U.S.-Japan Pax Silica Declaration）由美国国务院负责经济事务的副国务卿赫尔伯格（Jacob Helberg）与日本驻美大使山田重夫（Shigeo Yamada）共同签署。 美国常务副国务卿兰道（Christopher Landau）在签署仪式的致辞中强调指出，该宣言推进了美国总统特朗普关于开启“经济治国新时代”的号召，旨在通过私人投资、自由企业和经济的力量，为美国及其盟友带来和平与安全。 美国国务院表示，美国与日本将探索在全球技术体系中的旗舰项目上开展合作的机遇，涵盖信息互联与数据基础设施、算力与半导体、先进制造、物流、矿产提炼与加工以及能源。《硅和平宣言》旨在成为构建更广泛伙伴关系框架的基石，美日两国计划与峰会其他参与方共同推进这一框架。 赫尔伯格今天在社交媒体X上发帖表示：“很荣幸能与兰道、萨克斯（David Sacks)、克莱因（Ethan…
12月12日纽约报道，加拿大运动休闲公司露露乐蒙（Lululemon）股价在今天盘前交易中飙升超过 9%，此前该公司宣布首席执行官麦克唐纳（Calvin McDonald）将辞职。 麦克唐纳的离职将于1月31日生效，该公司已连续一年业绩不佳。该公司在纽约上市的股票最新交易价格约为 204.50 美元，上涨 9.35%。12月11日盘后交易中，股价上涨约 10%。 露露乐蒙公司在一份新闻稿中表示，该公司董事会正在与一家“领先的高管猎头公司”合作，物色下一任首席执行官。麦克唐纳将在该公司继续担任高级顾问至 明年3月31日。 麦克唐纳在与分析师的电话会议上表示：“现在是时候做出改变了，我曾说过担任麦克唐纳的首席执行官是我的梦想工作。它确实不负众望，给了我一生难得的机会。” 在寻找新任首席执行官期间，该公司首席财务官弗兰克（Meghan Frank）和首席商务官马埃斯特里尼（André Maestrini）将担任临时联合首席执行官。该公司董事会主席莫菲特（Marti Morfitt）在此期间也将兼任执行主席一职，她在声明中表示，公司拥有坚实的基础，但需要一位新的领导者来带领公司度过转型期。…
12月11日华盛顿报道，美国总统特朗普今天签署了一项行政命令，为人工智能制定统一的监管框架，削弱了各州监管权力。 特朗普总统签署的行政命令指出：“为了取得成功，美国的人工智能公司必须能够自由创新，不受繁琐监管的束缚。但过度的州级监管阻碍了这一目标的实现。” 特朗普政府在人工智能和加密货币领域领军人物萨克斯（David Sacks）的协助下，一直致力于推动联邦法规优先于各州对人工智能的监管，此举旨在阻止包括加利福尼亚州和纽约州等民主党执政的大州对这个蓬勃发展的行业施加控制。 特朗普总统今天在白官椭圆形办公室签署该命令时，萨克斯和另一位科技投资者兼播客主持人帕里哈皮蒂亚（Chamath Palihapitiya）在场。美国财政部部长贝森特（Scott Bessent)、美国商务部长卢特尼克（Howard Lutnick）和德克萨斯州共和党参议员克鲁兹（Ted Cruz）出席了签字仪式。 此举对OpenAI、谷歌（Google）以及风险投资公司霍洛维茨（Andreessen Horowitz）等科技公司来说是一次胜利，这些公司一直游说限制他们认为过于繁琐的监管。人工智能公司纷纷在美国国会大厦附近开设办公室，并通过超级政治行动委员会（Super PAC）发起竞选活动，计划在2026年中期选举中投入至少1亿美元。 联邦法规的支持者认为，全国各地不同的监管规定会阻碍美国在全球人工智能竞赛中取得优势。上个月，一份拟议的行政命令草案浮出水面，该草案旨在制定统一的联邦人工智能标准，“取代50个州各自为政的监管体系”。 一项拟议的为期10年的各州人工智能监管禁令最初被纳入共和党的支出法案，但在特朗普总统7月签署前被删除。 特朗普总统的行政命令还要求美国司法部长成立一个人工智能诉讼工作组，“其唯一职责是挑战各州的人工智能法律”。不遵守规定的州可能会面临资金限制。…
12月11日西雅图报道，美国会员制仓储零售商好市多（Costco）今天公布的季度业绩超出华尔街预期，同比增长8.2%，这主要得益于线上销售的增长和新店的开设。好市多今天未发布全年业绩展望。 好市多首席财务官米勒奇普（Gary Millerchip）在该公司财报电话会议上表示，电子商务的增长是本季度业绩的一大亮点。线上销售额同比增长20.5%。其网站流量同比增长24%，应用程序流量更是飙升48%。通过Instacart（美国）和Uber（国际）及DoorDash（国际）提供的当日送达物流服务，其增长速度超过了整体线上销售额的增长速度。 米勒奇普表示，好市多在假日购物季最繁忙的几周也迎来了良好的开端，黑色星期五是好市多美国电商业务的创纪录一天，非食品订单额超过2.5亿美元。 米勒奇普还表示，非食品类销售额主要由药品、黄金珠宝、轮胎、小型电器和服装带动，这些品类的同比增长均达到两位数。 好市多今年第一财季的业绩与华尔街预期基于伦敦证券交易所集团 (LSEG) 对分析师的调查的对比数据显示，每股收益为4.50 美元，预期为 4.27 美元；营收为673.1 亿美元，预期为 671.4 亿美元。 数据显示，截至11月23日的三个月内，好市多的净利润从去年同期的18亿美元（合每股4.04美元）增至20亿美元（合每股4.50美元）。营收也从去年同期的621.5亿美元增至673.1亿美元。…