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SEVENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Other financial and general questions

Increasing interpretation resources
for meetings of groups

1. The Programme and Budget for 1998-99 provides for US$3.6 million to cover the cost of support services and interpretation provided by freelance staff for all the Organization's meetings. Of that sum, US$178,000 have been included to cover the growing demand for additional interpretation. A proportion of this amount was intended to cover the cost of one additional team of interpreters for the week of meetings of the Governing Body committees. This has proven to be inadequate to cover the costs which have arisen as a result of a request made by the Government group, through its Chairperson, to increase even further interpretation services provided for group meetings during the Governing Body session and throughout the rest of the biennium.

2. Although in the absence of any more detailed information it is difficult to assess these requirements, an estimate of about 60 supplementary meetings is reasonable. It will also be necessary to have at least one additional team available for the duration of the Governing Body session, to ensure that all the requests made during the meetings can be met.

3. The cost in 1998-99 of interpretation in four languages⁽¹⁾  for meetings requested outside the official programme and of an additional team to provide interpretation in five languages⁽²⁾  during each session of the Governing Body is estimated at US$529,000, of which US$178,000 are already included in the Programme and Budget. The Director-General will take account of these needs in his Programme and Budget proprosals for 2000-01.

4. The Programme, Financial and Administrative Committee may wish to recommend that the Governing Body decide that the additional cost resulting from paragraph 3 above, estimated at US$351,000, should be financed primarily through savings in Part I of the Programme and Budget for 1998-99, it being understood that if this were to prove impossible, the Director-General would submit proposals for other means of finance during the biennium.

Geneva, 27 February 1998.

Point for decision: Paragraph 4.

1. English, French, Spanish and German (or Arabic, as appropriate).

2. English, French, Spanish, German and Arabic.