text: proposal. Manydelegations saidthattheyweresurprised thatthesecretariat was seeking additional headquarters office spaceonlythreeyearsaftermovingintothe newUNICEF House. Questions wereraisedregarding theneedforthisexpansion and theoverall growthofpostsatNewYorkheadquarters which,according to paragraph 9oftherecommendation, haveincreased from423postsin1984to 557postsin1990,orby134posts. Manydelegations expressed theirconcern about thisgrowthatheadquarters. 14.Onedelegation saidthatthedifficulties posedbythespaceconstraints were understandable, butwasoftheopinion thatthisinconvenience couldbeendured pending thedevelopment ofacost-effective solution topresent andfuture UNICEF office accommodation needsatheadquarters. Itwassuggested thatthesecretariat should makemaximum useoftheexisting spaceatUNICEF House, evenifthiswere inconvenient intheshortterm. 15.Onedelegation indicated thatitwouldbeimportant tohavetheviewsofthe Advisory Committee onAdministrative andBudgetary Questions onthismatter and thatitwouldnotbeprudent totakeadecision atthissession oftheExecutive Board. 16.TheCommittee expressed theviewthattheactualtermsofanyproposed lease shouldalsobeconsidered bytheAdvisory Committee. Onedelegation expressed the viewthattheproposed rentalofheadquarters officespaceshouldbeconsidered in thecontext ofpersonnel policies andfunctions andthemedium-term plan. 17.Thesecretariat responded thatwhenthemovetoUNICEF Housewasproposed in 1984,ithadbeenpointed outthatoneimportant disadvantage wasthelimited space forfuturegrowth. ThegrowthofUNICEF hadexceeded allprojections, andalthough therehadbeenanincrease intheoverall numberofcoreandproject postsat headquarters, therehadbeenmuchfaster growthinthefield.Itwaspointed out thatafterreviewing theworkofheadquarters' divisions, theExternal Auditors had observed thatseveral ofthesedivisions wereunderstaffed andcouldnotmeetthe challenges oftheirwork-load. Therewerecurrently 60vacantpostsat headquarters thatcoulanotbeaccommodated duetospaceconstraints. Inmany cases,therewasmorethanonestaffmembertoanoffice. Inaddition, theUNICEF GlobalStaffAssociation (GSA)hadrequested 2,500squarefeetofspacetoprovide day-care facilities forthechildren ofstaffmembers. 18.Inresponse toaquestion ontheUNICEFpolicy onsubmitting requests for office spacetotheExecutive Board,itwaspointed outthatinthepastUNICEF had submitted office accommodation requests forfieldoffices requirements directly to theAdvisory Committee. Although thesecretariat explained thatthepostponement ofadecision onadditional officespacewouldputUNICEFinaverydifficult situation, onedelegation proposed aresolution requesting thatthisissuebe referred tothe1991Executive Board. (Seechap.IV,decision 1990/25 forthe recommendation oftheCommittee asadopted bytheExecutive Board.) -77-IV.ESTABLISHMENT OFARESERVE FUNDFORFIELDOFFICE ACCOMMODATION ANDSTAFFHOUSING 19.Several delegations spokeinfavourofcreating areserve fundforthe acquisition offieldofficepremises andstaffhousing (E/ICEF/1990/AB/L.8). It wasfeltthattheexistence ofsuchafundwouldallowforbettercontrol andmore transparency intheacquisition ofsuchassets byUNICEF. 20.Twodelegations requested foranexplanation ofthedecision toestablish the fundat$25million. Theyalsoinquired aboutthemethodology usedtodetermine thepercentage splitbetween office accommodations andstaffhousing notedinthe annex. Thesecretariat explained thatthesizeofthefundanditspercentage usageweredecided afterseveral inter-agency meetings thathadbeenheldto determine theneedsforjointfacilities inthefield. 21.Twodelegations saidthattheywereconcerned thattheestablishment ofthe fundcouldreducetheresources available forUNICEF programmes. Thesecretariat notedthisconcern, butpointed outthattheuseofthefundwouldenhance programme delivery andstaffwelfare inthefield. Basedonthesuggestion ofone delegation, itwasagreedthatthesizeoftheproposed fundwouldbereduced to $22million. 22.Onedelegation requested clarification oftherelationship between the "reserve fund"notedintheExecutive Boarddocument andthe"capital assetfund" referred tointheinterim UNICEFfinancial statements. Thesecretariat saidthat thisconfusion wassemantic, sincebothtermsreferred tothesamefund.In future, theterm"capital assetfund"wouldbeusedinalldocuments. 23.Onedelegation askedwhether thisfundwouldmakeunnecessary aseparate allocation intheUNICEFadministrative budgetforfieldofficecapital assets, and thesecretariat replied thatthiswasso.
analysis: This text appears to be discussing administrative and budgetary matters related to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), specifically the need for additional headquarters office space and the establishment of a reserve fund for field office accommodation and staff housing. The text does not seem to be related to economic development, natural resources, agriculture, forestry, fishing, industry, transport, communication, international trade, health, education, employment, or humanitarian aid and relief. It is more focused on the internal management and administration of UNICEF.