57th Session of the UNHCR Executive Committee

U.S. Government Statement on Budgetary Issues

Delivered by Margaret Pollack
Senior Member of Delegation
Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration Affairs

October 5, 2006

Mr. Chairman,

In so many ways the health of refugees is contingent upon the health of UNHCR.  UNHCR’s ability to help meet the needs of the world’s refugees and other persons of concern to the agency, is contingent on strong management – strong program management and strong financial management. 

To illustrate the point, at the beginning of 2006 UNHCR projected it would have a serious budget shortfall.  If not managed correctly it could have been disastrous for its beneficiaries as well as for UNHCR and its partners.  Prudent fiscal management is enabling UNHCR to avoid the painful program cuts that have been all too frequent late in the year in the recent past.  Responsible financial management allows for greater financial and program predictability which benefits everyone involved.  It increases donor confidence as well.  While we hope the budget caps of 2006 will not be necessary next year, if they are, we urge UNHCR to follow the same tact it did this year.  

My government has long maintained the important of developing budgets based on the needs of beneficiaries.  While we remain disappointed that we are once again being asked to adopt a resource-driven budget, we urge, in the end, for any budget to be results-based.  We encourage UNHCR’s continued efforts to improve its participatory needs assessment process.  We understand that UNHCR has agreed to explain the impact of its 2006 budget caps, and await this report.  We continue to urge UNHCR to improve its ability to explain what needs it plans to meet with requested funds, what needs its partners plan to support, and what needs cannot be met due to funding constraints.  Such transparency will enhance donor confidence in the work of UNHCR and lead to greater support. 

Explaining the totality of needs includes informing donors as much as possible why some needs are addressed in the Annual Budget and others – with the exception of UNHCR’s new IDP responsibilities – are Supplemental Budgets.  If there is justification for continuing a Supplemental Budget for a second year, we need to know why, and need to be informed as soon as possible of associated financial requirements, so they can be factored into our budget early on.  Along these lines, we look forward to discussions planned for early next year regarding the criteria for mainstreaming or not mainstreaming Supplemental Budgets. 

Establishing a robust results-based management culture has the same potential to bolster confidence in and support for the work of UNHCR and its partners.  UNHCR has made significant strides in establishing objectives, indicators, and targets.  We look forward to seeing further results of this long-term undertaking in the next year or two as UNHCR and its partners are able to show the extent to which standards of protection and care are met.  Being able to measure the impact of ones work, and then take steps to improve on those efforts will engender greater confidence in the organization among UNHCR’s partners and beneficiaries; equally important, it will enhance the confidence and morale of UNHCR staff.

UNHCR stands at a crossroad, with so many opportunities to distinguish itself and succeed.  Much depends on the success of UNHCR’s management efforts, financial, programmatic, and otherwise.   The Structural and Management Change initiative, the results-based management effort, transparency on needs assessments and budgetary issues, strong financial management, and the successful mainstreaming of key information technology initiatives, including Project Profile and MSRP, are absolutely critical to this success. 

The United States stands ready to work with UNHCR – in a close and consultative partnership – to ensure that this happens.

Thank you.