Distr.

GENERAL

FCCC/CP/1996/6/Add.3

14 June 1996

Original: ENGLISH

CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES

Second session

Geneva, 8 - 19 July 1996

Item 8 (a) of the provisional agenda

1. In making the arrangements for the institutional linkage of the Convention secretariat to the United Nations and for the Convention budget (decisions 14/CP.1 and 17/CP.1), the Conference of the Parties at its first session (COP 1) left open for consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations the appointment of the head of the Convention secretariat (the Executive Secretary), as well as the levels of remuneration of that post and of the two other senior posts in the approved staffing table for the core budget for 1996-1997. The appointment of the Executive Secretary was to be made by the Secretary-General after consultation with the COP through its Bureau, whereas the levels of remuneration were to be the subject of consultations between the President of the COP and the Secretary-General (see decision 14/CP.1, para. 7*). The purpose of the present note is for the President of COP 1 to report on the consultations undertaken on both these matters and on their outcome.

* For decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its first session, see document FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1.

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2. The President took this matter up in an executive session of the Bureau of the COP in Bonn on 19 June 1995. Subsequently, the President initiated consultations with the

Secretary-General of the United Nations. The interlocutors for the two sides were senior officials of the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations and of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.

3. Proposals made during the consultations on the Convention budget were reviewed. The advice conveyed on behalf of the Secretary-General was that, since the Convention secretariat was to be administered under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, the level of remuneration of the post of head of the secretariat could not be delinked from the United Nations post and salary structure. Nor could the level of any post be made conditional upon its being filled by a designated person. The advice received further indicated that it was open to the Parties to set the level of the post of the head of the secretariat only for a fixed initial period, and that there was no administrative obstacle to maintaining the two other senior posts at the D-2 level, as provided for in the Convention budget for 1996-1997.

4. The Bureau considered this matter further, on the basis of this advice, in an executive session during its meeting in Geneva on 26 August 1995. It recalled that the levels of remuneration of the post of the head of the secretariat and of the two other senior posts would be reviewed by COP 3, in accordance with decision 14/CP.1, paragraph 8. The Bureau concluded that, should any of these three posts be vacated before COP 3, the level of that post should be reviewed before a new appointment was made to it.

5. With respect to the level of remuneration of the post of the head of the Convention secretariat, the Bureau decided that this should be set initially at the level of Assistant Secretary-General in the United Nations Secretariat structure. With respect to the two other senior posts, the Bureau decided to advise the head of the interim secretariat that they could be maintained at the D-2 level in the Convention budget for the biennium and noted that they would be filled in due course in accordance with the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations.

6. The decision of the Bureau concerning the level of remuneration of the head of the Convention secretariat was conveyed to the Secretary-General, with an invitation to proceed to make the initial appointment to that post, after consultation with the COP through its Bureau. The decisions of the Bureau concerning the levels of remuneration of all three posts were communicated to the head of the interim secretariat to enable him to complete the Convention budget for 1996-1997 and to notify Parties of contributions due.

7. Subsequently, the Bureau was informed of the Secretary-General's intention to make the appointment of the Executive Secretary of the Convention secretariat at the level determined by the Bureau (namely, Assistant Secretary-General) for a period of two years, effective 1 January 1996. The duration of this appointment was related to the fact that the level of the post would be reviewed by COP 3 in 1997.

8. At the same time, the President was informed of the Secretary-General's proposal to appoint to this post Mr. Michael Zammit Cutajar, who had been heading the interim secretariat since its establishment. The President sought and obtained the concurrence to this proposal of the other members of the Bureau, on behalf of the COP, and conveyed this to the Secretary-General. Consequently, the appointment of the Executive Secretary was made on the above-mentioned terms and conditions for two years with effect from 1 January 1996.

9. The Executive Secretary is now proceeding to make appointments to the two other senior posts at the D-2 level, in accordance with the appropriate Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and the authority conferred upon him under the arrangements for the administration of the Convention secretariat.

10. The COP may wish to take note of :

(a) The outcome of the consultations with the Secretary-General on the levels of remuneration of the post of the head of the Convention secretariat and of the two other senior posts in the approved staffing table for the core budget, and

(b) The appointment of the Executive Secretary for two years from 1 January 1996 at the level of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

11. The Conference may also wish to recall its decision to review at its third session the levels of remuneration of the three above-mentioned posts.