39.3% of the 2009 assessed contributions were received during the first three months of 2009, which is less than the 52.4% of the 2008 assessed contributions received by the end of March 2008.
Following are the paragraphs related to administrative and financial matters contained in the opening statement by the OPCW Director-General to the Executive Council at its 56th session.
Turning now to administrative and financial issues, I have submitted a detailed report on the income-and-expenditure performance of the OPCW for the first quarter of the financial year 2009 and this is now before the Council for its consideration.
In this regard, I would like to point out that 39.3% of the 2009 assessed contributions were received during the first three months of 2009, which is less than the 52.4% of the 2008 assessed contributions received by the end of March 2008.
It should be noted that the Conference of the States Parties convened one month later in 2008 as compared to 2007. Consequently, the decisions on the budget and the scale of assessments, and therefore the assessment letters for 2009 were also issued one month later. But the decrease in receipts to date is nonetheless a matter for concern. I therefore wish to express my gratitude to those Member States that have already provided their assessed contributions for 2009 and invite early compliance by the other Member States with their financial obligations under the Convention.
Given the importance of assessed contributions being paid as soon as possible, I hope that the States Parties will, as necessary and where appropriate, review their past practices and consider making payments at an earlier stage than they have done in the past.
As for the expenditure for 2008, this is at a level of EUR 71.1 million, of which EUR 6.1 million reflects obligations that have been carried forward to 2009.
The OPCW Financial Statements for 2008 and the Financial Statements of the Provident Fund for 2008 have been completed. The External Auditor has finished the audit, and I expect to present the Financial Statements and the accompanying audit report to the Council at its Fifty-Seventh Session.
In the course of moving forward in the implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), the Technical Secretariat has taken several preparatory steps. I will be presenting a further progress report on this matter to the Council at its next session.
During the current financial crisis, in order to ensure the proper stewardship of OPCW cash resources, the Secretariat’s Investment Committee began meeting on a weekly, and later on a fortnightly basis, to actively monitor the situation. This includes closely following changes in bank ratings, pursuing relationships with new highly rated banks, and ending relationships with those banks whose ratings were downgraded.
Proposed Programme and Budget for 2010
The coming few months will see continuing efforts across the Secretariat to draft the 2010 Programme and Budget. We will aim once again to produce a document that addresses both routine service delivery and emerging priorities for the OPCW, at all times ensuring that the Organisation meet it core objectives, but without burdening States Parties with unwarranted costs or items of expenditure.
As I indicated during my statement to the Council at its Fifty-Fifth Session, I will once again aim to present a Draft Programme and Budget with zero growth, which will allow for full programme delivery in the context of strict financial discipline. If we succeed in our endeavour, 2010 will be the fifth consecutive year with a zero-growth budget. I believe this approach is all the more in line and in order, given the present financial situation of the world.
However, let me stress once again that this endeavour underscores how crucial it is for States Parties to comply with their financial obligations. A zero-growth budget for the fifth consecutive year can only be successfully implemented if Member States pay their assessed contributions in full and on time. I apologise for repeating this theme in my statement, but it is so very important to the ability of the Organisation to carry on its programme in full.
The budget document to be presented to you on 10 July 2009 will reflect a revised budget structure that includes subprogrammes. This, I believe, will further enhance the transparency, accountability, and planning of the OPCW Programme and Budget. Further enhancements, which I indicated to you during the last session of the Council, will of course also be incorporated in the 2010 budget document.
As I had announced to the members of the Council at its last session, I will make the programme-performance report for 2008 available to Member States. The report, which is currently being finalised, is an important reflection of the results-based budgeting process.