Briefing on the United Nations Budgeting Processes

28 September 2018, Geneva, Switzerland – The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) delivered a one day briefing on the United Nations Budgeting Processes. The briefing provided an opportunity to Geneva-based diplomats to enhance their understanding of UN budgeting processes, specifically with regards to the UN General Budget and specialized UN agencies.

The first part of the morning session briefing was delivered by Mr. Remo Lalli, Secretary of the High-Level Committee on Management (HLCM). Mr. Lalli gave an overview of the Chief Executive Board for Coordination and the different funding mechanisms; including regular vs voluntary contributions. Furthermore, he gave a brief summary of the UN personnel, their categories, gender and geographical distributions and concluded the session by defining the budgetary process for Jointly-Funded activities.

The second part of the morning session briefing was led by Ms. Shari Klugman, Secretary of Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). She defined the UN budget process and the role of intergovernmental bodies. Ms. Klugman provided a briefing on the background, work, and processes of the ACABQ and its relation to the 5th Committee. She clarified that the ACABQ serves as an independent body between the Secretary-General and the 5th Committee that brings a unique historical perspective to its reports.  

The second session was jointly delivered by Mr. Nick Jeffreys, Comptroller and Director, Department of Finance, World Health Organization (WHO) and Mr. Greg Johnson, Treasurer and Financial Comptroller, International Labour Organization (ILO). They focused on specialized agencies and how their budget is derived, approved and financed. Mr. Jeffreys and Mr. Johnson further explained how the expenditure is reported, the process of budget cycles and long-term financing and the challenges they face in their organizations.

Participants spent the day enhancing their understanding of each phase of the UN budgeting process and identifying the main actors and bodies involved. Additionally, they learnt to draw the main connections between UN budgeting processes and their individual budget-related work and contribute to the overall efficiency of the UN machinery by understanding the implications of its budgeting processes. The briefing was highly interactive as our speakers also responded to several questions from the participants. The participants were overly satisfied with their experience, as all of them reported that the briefing was extremely useful and 100% of them would recommend it to a colleague. Benefits from the briefing were confirmed by post-training self-evaluations. All participants stated that their knowledge on the UN Budgeting Process had increased.

Photo: Participants of the briefing