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.
9月19日，特朗普总统宣布将组建一支新的“人工智能部队（AI Force）”并任命一位新的人工智能“沙皇”，即人工智能事务主管，以防止该行业出现不良行为。此前他再次强调，关于人工智能超智能将引发末日灾难的担忧不过是又一场“骗局”。 特朗普总统今天坚称，他绝不会“袖手旁观”，任由政治对手摧毁一个他视为关乎美国竞争力的关键行业；他还将那些呼吁谨慎行事的人比作自己的政治敌人。 特朗普总统今天下午在社交媒体平台“真实社交”上写道：“多年来，出现了许多骗局，全都是由激进左翼‘蠢货民主党人’（Dumocrats）炮制的，旨在摧毁我们的国家。俄罗斯、俄罗斯、俄罗斯，乌克兰、乌克兰、乌克兰，全球变暖，第一次弹劾骗局，第二次弹劾骗局，男性参加女子体育比赛，全民变性，而现在，则是对AI，即人工智能的毁灭或破坏。作为美国总统，我绝不会袖手旁观，任由这种事发生。” 特朗普总统提到了他所谓的“针对数据中心的疯狂攻击”，即针对支撑人工智能指数级增长的基础设施日益高涨的政治反对声浪，并将其比作一场“直指人工智能”的攻势，必须予以反击。 特朗普总统写道：“我们绝不会以任何方式阻碍或扼杀这一非凡行业的发展。相反，我们将珍视、扶持并见证它的成长！不过，我们也将通过现有的刑事司法体系，着力打击‘不良行为’。” 特朗普总统表示：“为此，我将组建一支‘人工智能部队’（AI Force），就像我在第一任期内组建‘太空军’（Space Force）那样，后者已取得了巨大的成功。” 他还表示，正在为这一人工智能相关职位物色“高智商人才”。 特朗普总统在第一任期内提议组建太空军时，最初曾招致反对者的嘲笑；如今，随着联邦政府申请710亿美元的预算拨款，该军种已跻身美国其他备受推崇的军事部门之列。 此外，尽管人工智能研究员雅各布·考克森（Jacob Coxon）从人工智能巨头安特罗匹克（Anthropic）公司辞职并发出警告称，这种超强智能“可能在本世纪末之前导致人类灭绝”，从而引发了美国国会要求采取立法行动的巨大压力，但特朗普总统对此并不愿意妥协。 考克森的言论引发了美国国会及民主党人采取加强监管行动的迫切呼声，要求针对人工智能实施新的监管制度。持激进左翼立场的无党婆参议员伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders，佛蒙特州无党派人士）也提议对人工智能征收50%的税，并全面禁止其中部分应用。…
9月19日华盛顿讯，美国众议院本周已批准一项民主党和共和党联合提出的法案，要求汽车制造商在新车中保留调幅广播（AM）功能；该法案现已提交至美国参议院，并获得了两党广泛支持。 美国众议院于本周9月15日通过了《2025年每辆车配备调幅广播法案》（H.R. 979）。 该法案将责成美国交通部要求在美国销售的新款乘用车将调幅广播接收功能作为标配提供，且不向消费者收取额外费用。美国参议院于9月16日收到该法案，完成了两次审读，并将其列入参议院议程。 该法案在美国众议院获得了异常广泛的支持，拥有来自两党的300多名共同提案人。来自美国佛罗里达州的共和党众议员格斯·比利拉基斯（Gus Bilirakis）是该法案的主要提案人，来自新泽西州的民主党众议员小弗兰克·帕隆（Frank Pallone Jr.）则是最初的共同提案人。 曾推动该法案早期版本的民主党众议员乔什·戈特海默（Josh Gottheimer）表示，在紧急情况下，保留调幅广播尤为重要。 戈特海默在美国众议院通过该法案后说：“调幅广播是一条生命线，当风暴或紧急情况导致停电、信号塔瘫痪或互联网中断时，调幅广播往往是家庭获取所需救命信息的唯一途径。” 美国众议院议长、来自路易斯安那州的共和党人迈克·约翰逊（Mike Johnson）也对该法案表示赞赏，并强调了调幅广播在自然灾害期间所发挥的作用。 约翰逊表示：“当灾难来袭时——特别是在路易斯安那州这样易受飓风和龙卷风影响的州——当地社区依靠AM广播来获取准确、及时的信息和关键的安全警报。” 根据该法案，美国交通部长需在法案颁布后的一年内发布相关规定。该规定通常应在发布后2年内生效，不过某些小型制造商将至少有4年的时间来达到合规要求。…
9月19日，特朗普政府批准了一项向乌克兰军售价值约26.8亿美元防空装备的潜在交易。美国国务院在今天提交给美国国会的通知中表示，已“决定批准一项可能向乌克兰政府进行的对外军售”，内容涉及采购防空系统升级服务及相关装备与服务。该拟议军售尚需接受美国国会审查。 美国国务院的通知显示，乌克兰政府申请采购的物资包括S-300仿制型导弹、GAM-67导弹、增程型防空激光制导火箭系统，以及各类发射装置、反无人机雷达、拖车和备件。 美国国务院表示：“如果这项拟议采购最终达成，乌克兰将利用欧洲方面的捐助资金以及上届政府拨付的美国‘对外军事融资’（FMF）资金来支付费用。” 乌克兰首都基辅数月以来遭遇的俄罗斯袭击激增，由于弹药短缺，乌克兰防空系统难以有效抵御这些攻击。 特朗普总统本月表示，他将要求欧洲国家偿还其前任拜登政府向乌克兰提供的援助。特朗普总统长期以来一直要求欧洲在西方支持乌克兰对俄罗斯军事行动中承担更多费用。 在美国国会经历数月拖延最终批准该法案后，特朗普总统于9月18日签署了一项新法案，旨在通过实施新制裁向俄罗斯施压，以回应其针对乌克兰的特别军事行动。这项以已故共和党参议员林赛·格雷厄姆（Lindsey Graham）的名字命名的法案，将矛头指向了俄罗斯的能源和国防部门，同时也针对普京及其他高级官员。 现任俄罗斯联邦安全会议副主席的德米特里·梅德韦杰夫（Dmitry Medvedev）今天在社交通讯应用Telegram上表示：“即便远隔重洋，他们也只听得懂直接军事威慑这种语言；面对诸如‘已死恐怖分子格雷厄姆’法案这类仇俄暴行，我们也应当以同样的语言予以回应。” 梅德韦杰夫还表示，俄罗斯对这些制裁的反制应包括“军事威慑”，但他未透露具体细节。 此前，乌克兰总统泽连斯基（Volodymyr Zelenskyy ）9月16日曾在社交媒体X上发帖称：“我们正在美国与我们的合作伙伴准备会议。这涉及谈判，让和平更近一步，以及其他一些重要问题，包括能源、粮食安全和武器。将有新的支持乌克兰的援助方案，特别是防空支持。”
9月18日，美国总统特朗普表示，他已达成一项协议，将赋予美国对格陵兰岛“安全及所有其他方面事务的永久控制权”。此前，特朗普总统一直致力于提升美国对这一北极岛屿的影响力，甚至曾设想将其直接接管。 格陵兰政府及负责管辖这一半自治岛屿的丹麦政府均证实，已与美国达成协议。据两名美国官员透露，该协议预计将于9月22日在美国纽约签署；届时，众多世界各国领导人将齐聚纽约，出席联合国大会。 目前披露的细节有限，但该协议似乎并不涉及美国直接接管该领土。特朗普总统此前曾支持这一想法，此举曾引发丹麦及其他北约成员国的震动。 一位美国国务院官员称，根据协议美国将获得进入该岛及领空的永久权利，这将使美军有望增设军事基地。该官员表示，协议还禁止非北约成员国建立军事基地，并限制美国的对手在格陵兰进行敏感投资。 这位美国国务院官员表示，该协议将永久有效，“即使格陵兰成为一个完全独立的国家”也是如此。 特朗普总统在社交媒体平台“真实社交”上发文称，他计划加强美国在格陵兰的存在。自20世纪50年代以来，该岛西海岸一直设有美军基地。 特朗普总统表示：“我们将立即着手在格陵兰的合适区域，此类区域有很多，建立大规模的军事存在，我们将与格陵兰人民合作进行相关开发与建设。” 美国国务卿马尔科·卢比奥（Marco Rubio）称这项协议是一次“巨大的胜利”。他在一份声明中表示：“格陵兰将永远属于北美战略防御区，并将把任何敌对势力排除在该地区及其周边区域之外。这项协议永久且彻底地解决了我们在格陵兰的国家安全关切。” 特朗普总统自第一个任期以来一直主张美国需要控制格陵兰岛，理由是该岛地理位置具有战略重要性：它位于北美和欧洲之间，且隔着正在融化的北冰洋与俄罗斯相望。他曾推动从丹麦手中购下该领土，但这一想法长期以来一直遭到丹麦和格陵兰方面官员的拒绝。 今年早些时候，特朗普总统大幅升级了收购格陵兰岛的行动，威胁要对丹麦及任何不“配合”其收购计划的国家征收高额关税。其政府甚至未排除动用军事力量夺取该岛控制权的可能性。 这一举动发生在特朗普总统下令军方推翻委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗（Nicolás Maduro）之后不久，且早于他于2月28日发动伊朗战争，以及切断古巴大部分石油进口的行动；这些举措表明其外交政策正变得日益强硬。 丹麦方面警告称，若美国强行接管该岛，将实际上导致北约（NATO）联盟的终结；格陵兰方面也拒绝了这一提议。其他北约成员国纷纷声援丹麦，反对特朗普总统的吞并企图。 特朗普总统于1月取消了关税威胁，并放弃了对格陵兰采取军事行动的打算，同时宣布他与北约秘书长马克·吕特（Mark…
9月18日，全球最大芯片制造商英伟达（NVIDIA ）创始人兼首席执行官黄仁勋（Jensen Huang）表示，尽管近期有忧心忡忡的业界领袖发出警告，称出于对该技术未来走向的担忧或许需要放慢脚步，但科技公司仍应继续推进人工智能的开发。 黄仁勋在接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）资深商业与科技记者肯特（Jo Ling Kent）采访时，当被问及人工智能的开发是否需要放缓时表示：“无论其他人怎么做，我们都应该尽可能快地推进。” 黄仁勋表示：“我们会尽可能快地推进，但绝不会，也绝不应该在产品尚未准备就绪时就将其推向市场，或者交付不安全的产品，也没人指望我们会那样做。但大家都期望我们能取得成功，并助力美国实现尽可能大的繁荣。” 总部位于美国加州圣克拉拉的英伟达是全球市值最高的公司，市值已超过5万亿美元；该公司的增长正是得益于人工智能热潮的推动。 然而，近几周来，人们对人工智能（AI）发展速度的担忧日益加剧，一些人呼吁建立防护机制并实施政府监管。 引发这一讨论的部分原因是人工智能巨头安特罗匹克（Anthropic ）的研究员雅各布·考克森（Jacob Coxon ）本月早些时候公开辞职；他指出，人工智能公司为了追求创新而牺牲了必要的安全规程。 考克森告诉哥伦比亚广播公司，若不加以干预，人工智能有朝一日可能会对人类构成威胁。迄今为止，特朗普政府对这些担忧大多持不以为然的态度。…
全美电视9月18日尔湾讯，希望之城（City of Hope）在橙县尔湾癌症治疗中心举行第三届希望厨房食养是良医活动，约110名癌症患者、家属及社区人士参加。活动通过营养分享和现场烹饪，探讨饮食和生活方式如何为癌症治疗提供支持。 希望之城程氏家族综合肿瘤学中心主任李望吉医学博士指出，健康饮食可以作为癌症治疗的辅助，但不能取代正规的癌症治疗。中心目前支持超过50项研究项目，其中约12项临床试验正在进行，研究范围包括针灸、太极、瑜伽以及天然产品和传统中医相关疗法。 希望之城临床营养师普里蒂·索尼则特别提醒患者，不要轻信网络上各种所谓的“抗癌饮食”。她建议患者多摄取水果、蔬菜和全谷物等多样化食物，并根据自己的身体状况、文化习惯和饮食需求，建立能够长期坚持的健康饮食方式。 熊猫快餐产品创新总监王吉仁同时分享了自己的家庭经历。他的父亲曾罹患肺癌，并在希望之城接受治疗，与癌症抗争约三年半。 正在与转移性乳腺癌共同生活的活动参加者塔米·麦金纳尼认为，改变饮食并不是追求完美，而是在漫长的治疗过程中，尽可能作出更好的选择。 活动当天，熊猫快餐产品创新总监王吉仁亲自下厨，示范芝麻姜汁蘑菇面、墨西哥辣椒酱油蒸鸡肉玉米卷心菜包，以及香料红糖豆腐冰淇淋三道料理。 希望之城表示，“全人照护”并不是用食物或整合疗法取代癌症治疗，而是在正规治疗基础上，从营养、症状管理和生活质量等方面，为患者提供更全面的支持。 https://youtu.be/QuvejeDi0jg