Statements

by the representatives of the Russian Federation

at the 29th Session of the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance
of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

(Geneva, 26-27 October 2021)

Item 5. Programme and Budget for 2022

Mr. Chair,

Since it is the first time we are taking the floor,  on behalf of my delegation I would like to thank the Director General, Deputy Director General and the Comptroller for their presentations and providing additional clarifications.

We thank the Secretariat for preparing the draft Program and Budget for 2022. We note the detailed elaboration of this document and note that the Administration part of the budget is prepared on the basis of the ZNG scenario. 

We would be grateful for further clarification as to whether it is planned to transfer financing of any projects from the Operations budget to the Administrative part of the budget. The cost-benefit analysis of any changes in the organizational structure and the proposed establishment of new positions would also be appreciated.

Our delegation encourages the allocation of funds for the participation of the IOM in the main UN inter-agency mechanisms. Namely to cover the cost-sharing fees for participating in UNCEB, UNJSPF, ICSC and JIU. We are convinced that IOM shall pursue further integration into the UN system and strongly support the IOM’s membership in the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU). The minor cost-sharing fees related to this membership will be offset by the benefits of the participation in these UN bodies.

We note the value of certain conclusions of MOPAN, which were taken into account in the development of this draft budget.  At the same time, we ask the Administration  to clarify whether the IOM Council gave the mandate to conduct this assessment.

Taking into account the high rate of  recommendations of the External Auditor which have not yet been implemented, we call for allocating adequate  funds to address pending recommendations.

Given the significant staff costs of IOM, we believe it is important that the Secretariat is guided by the principles and standards of the UN common system in determining the conditions of service of its staff.

For our part, we assure the Secretariat of the intention of our country, as a new member of the IOM, to take an active part in the work of the working group on budget reform.

We once again thank the Secretariat for their work on the draft budget.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. 

Item 8. Report of the IOM Audit and Oversight Advisory Committee

Mr. Chair,

We thank the Audit and Oversight Advisory Committee for their annual report and for delivering on its important mandate.

My delegation would very much appreciate if the Oversight Committee would include more detailed and in-depth information in its future reports on the following issues: Financial reporting matters, Security and information assurance, Human resources management, Procurement, Business continuity management, Implementation of oversight recommendations, Ethics matters, Investment policy.

We believe that this information and the relevant conclusions of the Oversight Committee would present a special interest for the Member States and contribute to further improving the internal control system of the IOM.

Also, a more active engagement of the Oversight Committee with Member States will prove valuable. Organizing information meetings for Member States after each session has already become common for many UN system organizations. This best practice can be followed by the IOM Audit and Oversight Advisory Committee.

We once again thank the Oversight Committee for their work.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. 

Item 9. Internal Governance Framework: summary of progress to date

Mr. Chair,

We take good note of the work of the Secretariat in further implementing the Internal Governance Framework.

We would also appreciate if the Secretariat could establish a practice of preparing annual audit opinion on governance, risk management and internal controls as well as preparing risk appetite statements. 

This could further contribute to the development of the internal control system and increase the engagement of Member States in this process. 

Any information on cost-efficiencies associated with the implementation of the Internal Governance Framework could also be helpful. 

Thank you.

Item 10. Update on human resources management

We thank the Secretariat for the oral update on human resources management. We believe that this information could be provided to Member States in writing. This would be in line with best practice in the UN system.

We attach particular importance to improving the situation with the geographical representation in the IOM, both at headquarters and in the field. We would be interested to know if the Secretariat plans to reflect the issue of equitable geographical representation in the IOM People Strategy for the next six years.

As previously mentioned, we are convinced that in determining the conditions of service, including salaries, allowances and benefits for its staff, the Secretariat should be guided by the UN Common System standards, which are confirmed by the decisions and recommendations of the ICSC and the relevant UNGA resolutions.

We thank again the HR department for the presentation and their valuable work.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.