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Distribution: limited UNESCO/163 HQ/Report PARIS, 13 March 2007 Original: French

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE

Hundred and sixty-third session (Paris, 20 February 2007)

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

1. The Headquarters Committee held its 163rd session at UNESCO Headquarters on 20 February 2007. The session was chaired by H.E. Mr David Hamadziripi (Zimbabwe), Chairperson of the Committee. A report of the session is given below and, in accordance with Rules 56 and 57 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, a sound recording of the session was made and has been placed in UNESCO’s archives, where it may be consulted.

2. The following participated in the work of this session:

2.1 Representatives of Member States

Country Name Title

Australia Ms S. Mansfield Ms A. Siwicki

Permanent Delegate Policy Officer

Bangladesh H.E. Mr M. Hasan Mr F. Ahmed

Ambassador, Permanent Delegate Deputy Permanent Delegate

Colombia Mr A. Bula Bohorquez

Second Secretary

Congo Mr M. Ngoni

Second Secretary

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Mr Kim Jae Hon Deputy Permanent Delegate

France

Ms C. Dumesnil Chargé de mission

Lebanon

Ms Z. Kayali Chargé de mission

Madagascar Ms L. Rahajarizafy Mr J.J. Randriafamantanantsoa

Deputy Permanent Delegate Scientific Adviser

Netherlands

Ms J. Mebes Deputy Permanent Delegate

Oman

Ms N. Makeen Translator

UNESCO/163 HQ/Report – page 2

Panama

Mr J. Patiño Deputy Permanent Delegate

Philippines H.E. Mr J.A. Zaide Mr I.G. Bailen Ms J. Brunner

Ambassador, Permanent Delegate Deputy Permanent Delegate Assistant

Romania

Professor D. Preda Deputy Permanent Delegate

Saint Lucia Ms V. Lacoeuilhe Ms M. Khawam

First Secretary Second Secretary

Spain

Mr M. A. Arias Estevez Deputy Permanent Delegate

Sweden

Ms M. Johnsson Third Secretary

Syrian Arab Republic H.E. Mr G. Nseir Ambassador, Permanent Delegate

Thailand

Ms P. Jariya Vidyanont Deputy Permanent Delegate

Uruguay H.E. Mr H. Gross Espiell Ambassador, Permanent Delegate

Zimbabwe H.E. Mr D. Hamadziripi Mr D. Munjeri


2.2 Observers

Country Name Title

Canada Ms D. Levasseur Political Assistant

Czech Republic H.E. Mr P. Janyska Ms M. Andresova


El Salvador

Ms L. Calderon Deputy Permanent Delegate

Ethiopia

Mr D. Wole Deputy Permanent Delegate

Gabon H.E. Ms Y. Bike Ambassador, Permanent Delegate

Italy Mr M. Mastrogiaco Intern

Lithuania Ms D. Vinciuniéne First Secretary

Mexico

Ms B. Hernandez Narváez Third Secretary

Morocco

Ms L. Meziani Counsellor

Norway

Mr K. E. Hegg Intern


Country Name Title

Pakistan

Ms N. Qureshi Deputy Permanent Delegate

Portugal

Ms T. Salado Attaché

Switzerland

Ms R. Oberholzer Deputy Permanent Delegate

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Ms H. Izon Third Secretary

2.3 Representatives of the Secretariat

Mr A. Khene, Assistant Director-General for Administration, Mr A. Egoshkin, Director, Headquarters Division, Ms T. Mc Ginnis, Executive Assistant, Office of the Director of the Headquarters Division, Secretary of the Headquarters Committee, Ms M. Blanco-Borra, Chief, Renovation Section and Chief a.i. of the Maintenance Section, Headquarters Division (ADM/HQD/R/M), Mr A. Ibrahim, Assistant of the Assistant Director-General for Administration, Ms D. Notari, Deputy Comptroller and Treasurer (DCO), Mr E. Sarr, Division of the Comptroller (DCO/ACT), Ms E. Mbonyingingo, Budget Administrator (ADM/AO), Mr O. Moumpala, Bureau of the Budget (BB), Mr J. P. Viroulet, Chief, Safety, Security and Transport Section, Headquarters Division (ADM/HQD/SEC), Ms M. Mone, Deputy of Mr J. P. Viroulet, Ms T. Fernandez De Toledo, Chief of the Works of Art and Special Projects Unit, Headquarters Division (ADM/HQD/WA), Ms A. Bosquillon de Jenlis, Chief, Public Relations and Cultural Events Section, Bureau of Public Information (BPI/PCE), Mr F. Kabbara (BPI/PCE), Mr M. Ben Mayassa Riahi, Chief, Workshops Unit, Maintenance Section, Headquarters Division (ADM/HQD/M), Ms E. Palmiro, Bureau of Public Information (BPI/PCE), Ms J. Pearson, Director, Division of Conferences, Languages and Documents (ADM/CLD/T), Ms S. Menegon, Sector for External Relations and Cooperation (ERC), Mr B. Falatar, Division of Relations with International Organizations (ERC/RIO), Mr J. L. Roubert, Chief Architect for French Civil Buildings and National Palaces, Consultant Architect, Mr D. Lanfranchi, Project Manager for renovation of the Fontenoy site (COTEBA).

Ms A. Dumitrescu and Mr C. Schortgen, UNESCO Staff Union (STU), observers and Ms L. Lardjane, International Staff Association of UNESCO (ISAU), observer.

3. The provisional agenda for the session was as follows:

1. Adoption of the provisional agenda

UNESCO/163 HQ/1

2. Report of the fourth meeting of the Bureau of the Headquarters Committee

UNESCO/162 HQ/BUR.4

3. Report of the 162nd session of the Headquarters Committee (for adoption)

UNESCO/162 HQ/Report

4. Report by the working group of the Headquarters Committee on rental scales for conference and exhibition premises

UNESCO/163 HQ/3


5. Report by the Director-General, in cooperation with the Headquarters Committee, on managing the UNESCO complex - Renovation, maintenance and conservation - Revised rental scales - Security, safety and avian flu matters - Works of art - Recycling

UNESCO/163 HQ/4

6. Other business

ADOPTION OF THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA

4. The Chairperson introduced the provisional agenda of the meeting (UNESCO/163 HQ/1), which was adopted unanimously.

REPORT OF THE FOURTH MEETING OF THE BUREAU OF THE HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE

5. The Chairperson submitted, for information, the report of the fourth meeting of the Bureau of the Headquarters Committee. The Committee took note of it without comment.

REPORT OF THE 162nd SESSION OF THE HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE (for adoption)

6. Referring to paragraph 19 of the report, the delegate of Saint Lucia raised a procedural question. She warned against the tendency to confuse individual viewpoints expressed by Committee members with the Committee’s actual decisions, for example, with regard to paper recycling. In the future, any decision that the Committee might make following debate on a particular item should, she suggested, be presented separately as a formal decision.

7. The representative of Bangladesh, supported by his colleague from Zimbabwe, said that the content of paragraph 41 was inadequate and could have usefully included details of the explanations that had been provided by the representative of the Director-General.

Having heard those proposals, the Committee adopted the report of its 162nd session, as amended.

REPORT BY THE WORKING GROUP OF THE HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE ON RENTAL SCALES FOR CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION PREMISES

8. After recalling that, at its 162nd session, the Headquarters Committee had approved, pursuant to paragraph 7 of 175 EX/Decision 38, an extension of the mandate of its working group to give it the opportunity to conduct a proper examination of all technical aspects related to the expenditures and incomes from the offices in the Miollis building, the Chairperson said that the working group had decided first to study the question of revising the rental scales for conference rooms and areas for cultural events. The question in relation to which it had been given an extended mandate would be examined at a later date.


9. The Chairperson, who had coordinated the three meetings of the working group, held on 17 October 2006, 13 November 2006 and 11 January 2007, introduced document UNESCO/163 HQ/3 in which the group submitted to the Committee for its consideration recommendations relating to the rental scales for conference rooms and areas for cultural events. The Chairperson said that while participation had regrettably been minimal, the working group had duly fulfilled its task. Its members had, for example, spent long hours thoroughly discussing the matter under consideration and the representatives of the Director-General had patiently provided them with explanations and documents that had moved the debate forward. It was only fair that the Committee should express its appreciation to the working group for its work.

10. With regard to the group’s second recommendation, the Chairperson said that the date for the application of the new rental scale, which would apply to all new rentals, had been left in abeyance as it had not been possible to reach a consensus on one of the following three options:

- immediate application;

- application as from 1 July 2007;

- application as from 1 January 2008.

Some of the group’s members had also proposed that steps be taken to enable developing countries to use areas for cultural events free of charge, on a one-time basis, over a period which remained to be determined.

11. The Chairperson then invited the Committee to examine the following five recommendations of the working group:

1. Approval of the application of the proposed new rental scale for conference and exhibition premises, subject to adjustments in line with inflation

12. The recommendation elicited a large number of statements and a range of views. While accepting the principle of an increase in rental rates, most Member States requested further clarification of the information in the tables annexed to the working group’s report.

13. Referring to paragraph 14 of the report of the fourth meeting of the Bureau and paragraph 24 of the report of the 162nd session of the Headquarters Committee, the representative of Bangladesh said that he was in favour of applying the proposed new rental scale because the Organization needed resources to ensure full cost recovery. He would however like more information on the rental scale, especially on the method used to calculate the figures which, as he saw it, were not the same in table 4 of document UNESCO/163 HQ/3 as in Annex VI to document UNESCO/163 HQ/4; also, on how fluctuations in the dollar/euro exchange rate were taken into account and what impact they had on estimates for the part of the UNESCO budget concerned.

14. The delegate of Zimbabwe said that he was willing to endorse the first recommendation as it was a faithful reflection of what had been decided by the working group.

15. The representative of Syria also asked for explanations, in particular why, when and how the “adjustments in line with inflation” were made. The same adjustments should not be applied across the board to the Fontenoy and Miollis/Bonvin sites since they did not have the same status. In a situation unique within the United Nations system, the host country had generously placed at the disposal of the Member States of UNESCO a building in which they could house their delegations. In other words, the first site was open to all and the second was, in his view, private.


16. The representative of Spain requested an explanation of the column in table 1 headed “average”, which did not seem to apply to outside partners, and information on the difference in rental rates for different rooms.

His colleague from Mexico asked for a breakdown of the room rental costs at UNESCO for outside users, noting that several speakers at the Headquarters Committee’s previous meeting had made the same request. She also wished to know if the proposed increase applied to outside organizers as well.

In that connection, the Chairperson pointed out that the working group’s fifth recommendation dealt with that matter.

17. The delegate of Panama asked why the Miró area, which generated income, was not listed in the tables annexed to document UNESCO/163 HQ/3. His colleague from the Philippines felt that it was difficult to justify the proposed rent increase and wished to know how much the Organization, which also needed rooms, for example, for various meetings including the General Conference, paid. Might the Headquarters Committee not consider seeking other sources of financing for improving the maintenance and conservation of the Headquarters premises?

18. The representative of Australia considered that there could be no doubt about the principle of increasing the rental rates in question: Member States using Headquarters rooms and areas should be especially willing to pay since the amounts generated could then be used by the Organization exclusively for the maintenance and renewal of technical equipment.

Likewise, she endorsed the idea of a more substantial increase in the rental rates for UNESCO’s external partners.

19. At that point in the discussion, the delegate of Saint Lucia, in view of the fact that a substantial rental rate increase was being proposed for Room I, the space in which Permanent Delegations chose most often to showcase their respective cultures, suggested that, as a compromise, a sentence be added to the working group’s recommendations to the effect that the rooms used by regional and other similar groups recognized by UNESCO would continue to be made available to them free of charge in the future. There were not many such groups and the use, free of charge, of Room I for cultural purposes and of Rooms II, VI, VII, VIII and IX for meetings during the sessions of the Executive Board and the General Conference would not have an adverse effect on UNESCO’s budget.

20. Mr Egoshkin provided explanations in response to the questions raised and views expressed by the delegates of the following countries:

BANGLADESH

The last column of table 4 (UNESCO/163 HQ/3) presented the real operating costs that had been charged to the Permanent Delegations, without any commercial or profit-making intent, in order to pay the costs of maintenance, electricity, water, cleaning services and so forth. The difference between the figures in table 4 (UNESCO/163 HQ/3) and those in Annex VI (UNESCO/163 HQ/4) was due to the fact that the United Nations system continued to do its calculations in dollars. That was also true of UNESCO where the entire accounting system, and in particular the revenues and expenditures associated with the Headquarters Utilization Fund, was based on that currency. An error must have slipped in and would eventually be rectified.


SYRIA

21. Making adjustments in line with inflation was a nearly automatic, rather complex but nonetheless indispensable operation which was conducted at the end of each year. The calculations were based on the index of the Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE) of the host country. The index, which was based on price readings over one calendar year, was a statistical measure of price trends for all goods and services on French territory. It therefore served as a reference for the Organization in its recosting exercises.

22. As for the difference between Fontenoy and Miollis, one should not lose sight of the fact that UNESCO owned the buildings on the land, which the host country had rented to the Organization for an initial period of 99 years, and was accordingly responsible for their maintenance, conservation and renovation. The buildings on the two sites were therefore managed in exactly the same way.

SPAIN

23. The column headed “Average” had been included in table 1 (UNESCO/163 HQ/3) at the request of the Chairperson of the Headquarters Committee, who wished to know how much the Organization would lose, in practical terms, by applying the current rental scale, with the related amounts also being mentioned.

In its discussions, the working group had focused mainly on Room I, which explained why the average for that room figured in the table. That was a vital statistic. The reason that the rental rate for Room I had gone up by 20%, in comparison with the other rooms, for which the rent had decreased, was that Room I required technicians, electricians, firemen and so forth. The suggested basic rental scale, which appeared in the last column of table 1, showed in fact what the Organization paid to cover the costs of the maintenance and use of its rooms.

MEXICO

24. The figures in table 1 showed clearly that external users paid nearly double what the Permanent Delegations paid to rent space. In its report, the working group invited the Secretariat to increase the rental rates for external users. In that regard, it should be kept in mind that the Organization would have to be realistic and remain competitive with an external market in which prices were 11 or even 12 times higher, in order to encourage external partners to use its rooms rather than those located elsewhere in Paris.

PANAMA

25. It had to be pointed out that some of the income-generating rooms did not appear in any of the tables. Once the general principle proposed by the working group for the calculation of the price per square metre had been adopted, the Organization could easily use the principle to calculate the real cost of any space in connection with the income it generated, because the base was the same. The tables should therefore be regarded as tentative, rather than exhaustive.

PHILIPPINES

26. In the current budget context, the Organization did not have enough resources to pay for all the services that it supplied free of charge to the Permanent Delegations. That was why it was necessary to consider, in cooperation with the Headquarters Committee, raising the rental rates for conference rooms and areas for cultural events.


27. Moreover, the Executive Board had declared itself to be concerned by the inadequate maintenance of the buildings and, in 172 EX/Decision 40, had invited the Director-General to explore the possibility of increasing the share of earnings from revenue-generating activities earmarked for maintenance.

28. On another issue, table 1 showed that Room I had been rented out for 120 days (89 for Permanent Delegations and 31 for external users). The Organization had borne the cost for the remaining 245 days of that year. With regard to seeking other sources of financing, one need only recall that the many appeals for voluntary contributions made by the General Conference and the Executive Board to the Member States had to date gone unanswered.

CHAIR

29. The Organization had never charged for the use of premises for meetings of the regional and similar groups and those premises would continue to be provided free of charge.

30. At the end of the debate, the Committee adopted unanimously the working group’s first recommendation, as amended by the representative of Saint Lucia.

Application of the new rental scale for all new rentals as from […]

31. After being reminded by the Chairperson that the working group had not been able to chose among the three options (set out in paragraph 10 of the present report), the Committee embarked on a dense and instructive debate during which there emerged a divergence of opinion with regard to the date on which the new rental scale should be applied to all new rentals. Because their respective countries had already adopted budgets for 2007, the delegates of Zimbabwe, Spain and Panama were in favour of applying the new rental scale as from 1 January 2008.

32. In an effort to facilitate the Committee’s debate, Mr Egoshkin pointed out that by adopting the working group’s first recommendation, the Committee had agreed de facto that adjustments in line with inflation should be made to the rental scale. In other words, if the scale were to be applied as from January 2008, the figures contained in table 4, which were only valid for 2007, would have to be adjusted since the costs of materials and services would inevitably go up in 2008. The increase for 2008 (the rate of which would be determined at the time) would, it should be remembered, be in addition to the 3% increase for 2006 and 2007.

33. In the light of those explanations, the delegate of France, considering that increases were usually made on an annual basis in calendar-year budgets, whether based on public or private accounting practices, declared herself to be in favour of the immediate application of the proposed increase.

34. The representative of Australia asked for further explanations with regard to the amount and source of the sums that the Organization would have to find in the case of an immediate increase or an increase as from 1 July 2007. The latter date was, in her view, a reasonable one to choose for the application of the new rental scale.

35. The Chairperson noted that, according to the working group’s fourth recommendation, rental contracts already signed for 2007 would be honoured.

Agreeing with the Chairperson, Mr Egoshkin said that the last column in table 1 provided an idea of the amount that the Organization stood to lose over one year (approximately €60,000). In such difficult times, that represented a relatively substantial amount for UNESCO, which could be used to pay a large number of electricity, water, cleaning and other bills.


36. The Chairperson noted that the Committee had endorsed the idea of readjustment. He, himself, thought that losses should be reduced; at the same time he considered that, once established, the principle should be respected. He recalled that, during the debate in the Executive Board, some Members had insisted that the new rental scale be applied and that the Member States be so informed in order to give them enough time to absorb the increase in their respective budgets.

37. The representative of Saint Lucia pointed out that some contracts for 2007 had already been signed and others had not. She proposed that the current rental scale should continue to apply in 2007 and that the new scale take effect in 2008. Since the additional increase, which was indexed to inflation, was known and taken into account each year, it would seem inadvisable to pursue the discussion especially as the Member States did not all agree on the increase. She suggested that the Committee not adopt the new rental scale for the time being and wait until January 2008.

38. Following the Chairperson’s appeal to the countries advocating immediate or 1 July 2007 application, it was finally agreed that the new rental scale would be applied as from January 2008.

39. The rest of the working group’s recommendations were then approved without comment. The Committee also decided to add the amendment proposed by Saint Lucia to the text of the first recommendation (see paras. 19 and 30 of this document).

40. The Committee then adopted the recommendations, as amended, of its working group, namely:

1. to approve the application of the proposed new rental scale for conference and exhibition premises, subject to adjustments in line with inflation. Premises used for meetings of regional and other similar groups recognized by UNESCO would continue to be made available free of charge in the future;

2. to apply the new rental scale for all new rentals as from 1 January 2008;

3. to discontinue the 15% evening surcharge on room rental prices for Permanent Delegations;

4. to honour rental contracts already signed for 2007;

5. to request the Secretariat to adapt the rental scales for external partners to the new rental scales with a view to increasing their share in the upkeep and modernization of the Organization’s premises and to apply them with immediate effect.

REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL, IN COOPERATION WITH THE HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE, ON MANAGING THE UNESCO COMPLEX: RENOVATION, MAINTENANCE AND CONSERVATION; REVISED RENTAL SCALES; SECURITY, SAFETY AND AVIAN FLU MATTERS; WORKS OF ART AND RECYCLING

41. On the proposal of the Chairperson, document UNESCO/163 HQ/4 (Report by the Director-General, in cooperation with the Headquarters Committee, on managing the UNESCO complex) was considered chapter by chapter.

1. Phase 2 of the Belmont Plan for the restoration and improvement of Headquarters buildings (Fontenoy site), (paragraphs 4 to 9)


42. Referring to paragraph 9, the representative of Saint Lucia asked what arrangements had been made, outside of the Belmont Plan budget, to finance the additional expenditure estimated at €2 million, following the unexpected rise in building costs in the host country.

43. On that subject, Mr Khene informed the Committee that news of the extra cost had come as a surprise to everyone and that a working group within the Secretariat was considering all aspects of the issue in order to propose various options for managing the situation.

In response to the delegate of Saint Lucia’s question, he stressed that it was important for the working group’s analysis to be as precise as possible concerning the above-mentioned sum. It was therefore too early to provide any information, although the Committee would of course be informed of the group’s conclusions at the right time.

2. Work financed from extrabudgetary funds (paragraph 12)

44. The delegate of Saint Lucia suggested expanding paragraph 12 in order to inform the Executive Board of anticipated work in the Miró area, and of the corresponding financial estimates since, if the paragraph were left as it was, it would give the impression that what was involved was an embellishment project.

45. Mr Egoshkin stated that the Secretariat had no problem with describing in that paragraph all the works to be undertaken in the area and he listed some 15 operations, including repairing the roof (waterproofing), the floors and the air conditioning (hot and cold) and increasing safety in general.

He announced that financing for the project was estimated at €1,883,000. That figure was provisional and could vary, depending on responses to future invitations to tender. Such funding would be provided from the Headquarters Utilization Fund, since the Miró area could be used to generate more revenue.

46. The representative of Saint Lucia proposed allocating an agenda item at the next session of the Headquarters Committee to the Headquarters Utilization Fund. She considered the above-mentioned sum sufficiently important to request that the Headquarters Committee consider the issue in order to see, in particular, if the Miró area was in such a condition as to require such considerable financing, on a priority basis, for its renovation.

47. Mr Khene gave his assurances that the Headquarters Committee would obviously be consulted on use of the reserve of the Headquarters Utilization Fund. He stressed that the scheme of works per se in the area was still on the drawing board, since it was only in a preliminary phase and that the sum earmarked for its implementation was an estimate. In any case, the Committee would also be informed a posteriori of developments in the scheme’s preparation.

48. The Chairperson recalled that the Committee had mandated its working group to consider the use of the Headquarters Utilization Fund and the group would do so at its next meeting. He invited the Secretariat to take the Committee’s discussions on the matter into consideration.

3. Maintenance of UNESCO Headquarters (paragraphs 13 to 22)

49. Mr Egoshkin, responding to a request for information from the delegate of Saint Lucia, stated that a significant number of maintenance activities were outsourced and there was no question of further outsourcing. Outside contracts were, however, being reorganized, as they had been too scattered, the intention being to reduce their administrative costs and, consequently, to improve the quality of technical maintenance services, while conforming to modern ISO (International Standards Organization) standards on environmental protection.


He added that the reorganization of maintenance management services had become imperative as a result of the reduction in the Organization’s resources and the poor performance of the workshops with their current structure. However, that did not prevent the Secretariat from continuing its efforts in that field, as far as the budget permitted, while ensuring that the services indispensable to the Organization were maintained.

4. Revision of rental scales and increasing the share of revenue-generating activities for the maintenance and conservation of UNESCO premises (paragraphs 23 to 28)

50. The Chairperson, referring to paragraph 27 on recovering rent arrears from delegations, invited the Secretariat to provide the Committee with additional information on the action it had taken to recover unpaid rent and achieve the encouraging results stated in that paragraph.

51. Recounting in detail the means employed to that end, Mr Egoshkin stressed that the Administration had mainly drawn upon decisions adopted on the matter by the Headquarters Committee. Perceptible progress had been made to date, since the total arrears had fallen from €586,374 in December 2005 to €448,178 in December 2006. The situation thus continued to improve. However, it was worth noting that the delegations that were unable to settle their debts were not doing so through any lack of goodwill, but because their countries were genuinely faced with major budgetary difficulties.

52. The speaker announced that letters had been submitted at the beginning of February 2007 for the signature of ADG/ADM, in which the Delegations were informed that, owing to the lack of improvement in regard to their arrears, the decision by the Headquarters Committee to deprive them of their means of communication provided by the Organization (Internet, telephone, mail) would be applied. However, ADG/ADM wished to accord them a further period of reflection of two months before implementing what was considered to be a drastic decision.

53. The Chairperson recalled that, during its 161st session (22 June 2006), the Committee had recommended acting with tact and prudence towards Member States facing payment difficulties. It would be wise to continue bearing that recommendation in mind. On behalf of the Committee, he congratulated the Administration on the encouraging progress it had made to date on recovering rent arrears.

5. Security at Headquarters (paragraphs 29 to 34)

54. While expressing his great appreciation of the progress that had been made in recent years in regard to safety and security at Headquarters, the representative of Romania advocated further strengthening of the security measures and an increase in essential funding, including for specific continuing training for the security staff. He suggested that the report should indicate the concrete measures envisaged in order to achieve that goal.

55. The representative of Saint Lucia warned that the desired increase in the staffing level would inevitably involve costs. Before doing anything else, it was necessary to establish whether full use was being made of the staff available. She mentioned, by way of example, the security officers posted at the reception desk to greet visitors, who, in her view, did not have the right profile for such a task. The delegate of Zimbabwe asked whether personnel training was provided in accordance with United Nations standards.

56. Replying to the two previous speakers, Mr Egoshkin explained that, in order to comply with the norms in force in the host country as well as United Nations standards, UNESCO needed at least 120 security officers to provide a proper level of security. Compared with 1988 when the security


units numbered 130 posts in all, the Organization currently had only 74 such posts (54 security officers – to be reduced to 51 the following year – and 20 firefighters). Regarding the personnel at reception, a security officer would in exceptional circumstances replace one of the receptionists who was temporarily absent, but only for a short time.

57. Moreover, the speaker confirmed that there was one set of United Nations standards, known as H-MOSS, to which the Organization strictly adhered, though it needed to be made clear that compliance with those rules varied from one organization to another. For instance, it would be very difficult for UNESCO, in Paris, to implement the measures applied by the United Nations in New York where the security officers were armed and parking was normally prohibited within a 50- metre radius.

6. Works of art (paragraphs 35 and 36)

58. The representative of Saint Lucia suggested that the Chairperson of the Headquarters Committee should in future participate in the work of UNESCO the Advisory Committee for Works of Art (ACWA) in the capacity of an observer, or send a representative if he or she was unable to attend. She also recalled that when the Headquarters Committee had dealt with that question for the first time, a request had been made for an inventory to be drawn up as a matter of urgency of all the works of art in UNESCO’s collections. That action had been taken because of the complaints made by certain delegations about the disappearance of works of art that their governments had donated to the Organization. She wanted to know whether that inventory was available, whether the planned “Virtual Gallery” website was ready, and where the works of art were located. She also asked for details of the costs of managing the works of art and of the budget to which the salaries of the staff used, and also the costs of ACWA meetings, were charged.

59. In reply, Ms Fernandez de Tolédo stated that there was a complete inventory of the works of art. A web page containing all the works of art was being finalized, and would shortly be available to the public. The cost of the software was 7,000 euros. Apart from the works of art on display in the corridors and in some renovated offices, there were others that were still in the reserve, in the Directorate, which would be put on display as the renovation works were completed, in places where they could be enjoyed by Headquarters users. As to the structure of the Works of Art and Special Projects Unit, it consisted of a chief of unit who was assisted by probationers, which meant that, in that regard, operating costs were limited.

60. All the information about ACWA could be found in paragraphs 35 and 36 of the report. It should be added, however, that whereas the first meeting of that Committee, held on 24 November 2006, had been devoted to its official inauguration and the adoption of its internal rules, the second, planned for 2007, would be public, as representatives of the Member States would be invited to take part.

7. Paper recycling (paragraphs 37 to 41)

61. The representative of the Netherlands, referring to her government’s interest in the subject, noted with satisfaction the progress that UNESCO had made in paper recycling as referred to in paragraph 38 of the document, as well as the contribution the Organization had made, through its education and science policies, to making the world a healthier place, with strict respect for sustainable development and for an environmental charter covering, inter alia, waste recycling and the use of recyclable products.

62. The speaker warned that it was not the time to rest on one’s laurels, because there was still a long way to go to avoid wasting paper, for instance, and to popularize the idea of paper recycling


within the Organization. Ways did exist of cutting waste: for instance, instead of automatically sending documents, sometimes in several copies, to the Permanent Delegations, it would be better to circulate an announcement informing them that a particular publication was available and that, if they were interested, they could request it from the Secretariat. She indicated that she would later be proposing the addition of a subparagraph on recycling to the draft decision in paragraph 42 of the document.

63. Recalling what she had already said at the fifth meeting of the Bureau of the Committee, the delegate of Saint Lucia, with the support of her colleague from Panama, stated that the section on recycling in fact dealt with two quite distinct questions that must be kept absolutely separate. For the moment, the discussion should be confined to recycling, which explained the heading given to that section, because much remained to be said and done on that subject. Suggestions had been made during the most recent discussions on the issue concerning ways to improve the collection and removal of paper, and a sustained effort needed to be made to solve the problem of waste paper. On that basis, the speaker favoured the deletion of paragraph 39 of the report.

64. Her colleague from Zimbabwe, supported also by the delegate of Panama, endorsed the view of the previous speaker and proposed that paragraphs 39, 40 and 41 simply be deleted.

65. The Chairperson commented that a number of points he regarded as important that had been raised during the Committee’s discussion on recycling at its 162nd session did not appear in the report of the Director-General. They included the proposal by Sweden to increase the number of paper recycling bins at Headquarters and inform users of their location, so that they could dispose of their waste paper and unwanted documents.

66. Agreeing with previous speakers, the delegate of the Netherlands stated that she did not oppose the deletion of paragraphs 39 to 41, but suggested replacing them with some of the ideas and proposals formulated during the Committee’s discussions, including that of Sweden.

67. Mr Khene expressed his agreement with the comments that had been made about the form of the section on recycling. He suggested that, in order to dispel any confusion, work should be done before the following session of the Headquarters Committee on the drafting of the paragraphs concerned and the content of the decisions. It was clear, in his view, that the Organization would have to move in the direction of using electronic means rather than paper for reasons of efficiency, but the transition could not be made just anyhow.

68. As to the initiative itself, the Administration was currently at the stage of consulting the Member States about the proposals to put forward. The speaker also informed the Committee that he had submitted a draft decision to the Chairperson of the Headquarters Committee on the implementation of such a policy, one of the main aims of which was to reduce waste without making it more difficult for Member States to do their work. In fact, it was the Secretariat, he thought, that had first attempted to put an end to waste, by suggesting that a range of documents that should no longer be distributed in paper form.

Draft decision

69. The representative of the Netherlands proposed the inclusion in the draft decision of a new subparagraph that would invite the Director-General “to explore other ways to avoid the waste of paper and to promote recycling”, because it was a question that seemed to hold the attention of the Member States.


The delegate of Saint Lucia voiced support for her colleague of the Netherlands and proposed, in turn, the insertion before paragraph 4 of the draft of another subparagraph informing the Executive Board of the additional amount resulting from the recosting of the renovation work carried out under the Belmont Plan.

She also suggested that the subparagraph proposed by the Netherlands should replace the present subparagraph 5 of the draft decision.

70. The draft decision, as amended, was approved unanimously as was the Director-General’s report to the Executive Board as a whole.

OTHER BUSINESS

71. The representative of Zimbabwe recalled that the representative of Australia had insisted, at the 162nd session of the Committee, on the need for the Permanent Delegations to have an updated telephone directory at their disposal. He requested that its compilation be considered to be a matter of the utmost priority by the Secretariat.

72. Mr Khene announced that the new telephone directory requested by the representatives of Australia and Zimbabwe would be ready in April 2007.

73. The delegate of Saint Lucia recalled the decision to include an item concerning use of the Headquarters Utilization Fund in the agenda of the following session of the Committee.

74. After confirming what he had said at the beginning of the meeting, concerning the examination by the working group of all technical aspects related to the expenditures and incomes from the offices of the Permanent Delegations, the Chairperson announced that the working group would meet for that purpose on 20 March 2007.

75. Mr Khene informed the Committee that the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China, and the local government of Suzhou were in the process of jointly establishing, in collaboration with the Permanent Delegation of the People’s Republic of China to UNESCO, a project to lay out a Yiyuan Chinese garden at the entrance to the Miollis Building. The expenditures for both the execution of the project and its subsequent maintenance were to be the exclusive responsibility of the Chinese Government. Detailed information concerning the progress of the project’s implementation would be communicated to the Committee at its following session, even before the Director-General informed the Executive Board and the General Conference.

76. As the agenda was exhausted, the Chairperson declared the closure of the 163rd meeting of the Headquarters Committee after expressing his gratitude to the members of the Committee and the senior officials of the Secretariat for their active participation in the debates and for the spirit of cooperation and conciliation that reigned during the deliberations. He also thanked the interpreters whose valuable collaboration, throughout the meeting, had made the work of the Committee much easier.