31 March 2017: The UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) approved a draft decision on the budgetary implications of negotiations on the global compact on migration. The draft decision, which identifies costs of US$975,700 during 2016-2017, will be brought before the UNGA for action.

The modalities for the intergovernmental negotiations of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration are outlined in UNGA draft resolution A/71/L.58, agreed by Member States in January 2017 following informal consultations co-facilitated by Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland, and Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico. The negotiation process is proposed to include three phases, and is expected to result in the adoption of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration at an intergovernmental conference on international migration in 2018.

The programme budget implications of the agreed modalities were set out by the UN Secretary-General in February 2017, with an estimate of US$1,244,700 in resource requirements for 2016-2017, and US$442,000 for 2018-2019. The UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) considered this assessment, and on 6 March 2017 issued a recommendation on reducing the estimated costs. The Fifth Committee then considered the PBI beginning on 10 March 2017.

In the first day of Fifth Committee discussions, Ecuador for the Group of 77 and China (G-77/China) supported the UN Secretary-General’s proposal, while others asked to reduce the costs of preparing the global compact. The US called for “additional streamlining” beyond the ACABQ’s suggestions on reducing estimated costs.

The Committee approved the text specifying US$975,700 for 2016-2017 (A/C.5/71/L.26) without a vote on 31 March 2017, as it concluded the first part of its resumed 71st session. By the draft decision, the Committee identifies the budgetary requirements for the following purposes: US$417,400 under section 1, Overall policymaking, direction and coordination; US$160,200 under section 2, General Assembly and Economic and Social Council affairs and conference management; US$79,000 under section 9, Economic and social affairs; US$42,100 under section 16, International drug control, crime and terrorism prevention and criminal justice; US$97,100 under section 18, Economic and social development in Africa; US$71,200 under section 19, Economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific; US$48,300 under section 21, Economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean; US$52,000 under section 22, Economic and social development in Western Asia; and US$8,400 under section 28, Public information, of the programme budget for the biennium 2016-2017, representing a charge against the contingency fund. [Draft Decision of Fifth Committee (A/C.5/71/L.26)] [Fifth Committee Meeting Summary] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Modalities Agreement] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on ACABQ Discussion] [Draft Resolution on Modalities (A/71/L.58)]