24 December 2016: Concluding the main part of its 71st session, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted 14 resolutions and one decision recommended by its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), revising the UN’s budget to US$5.61 billion for the 2016-2017 biennium, and providing a blueprint of financial priorities for the next two-year budget cycle, which starts in 2018.

On supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) on Financing for Development (FfD), the Assembly decided to establish 16 temporary posts, including five for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), four for the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), two for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), two for the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and three for the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

A human resources resolution addresses finishing reforms begun in 2010 on how UN staff are hired, trained and paid. The Assembly requests the Secretary-General to investigate reasons for delays at each stage of the staff selection and recruitment process, and to present a comprehensive strategy aimed at achieving the 120-day target for filling a post.

The UNGA also approved funding to advance Umoja, UN’s enterprise resource planning project, and US$639.53 million to run the UN’s 33 special political missions. [UN Press Release on Fifth Committee Texts] [UN Press Release on UNGA Adoptions] [Human Resources Management Resolution]