United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Executive Board

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1 ex United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Executive Board Hundred and fifty-sixth Session 156 EX/33 PARIS, 14 April 1999 Original: French/English Item 8.6 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL, IN COOPERATION WITH THE HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE, ON THE RENTAL OF OFFICES IN UNESCO BUILDINGS SUMMARY In accordance with 155 EX/Decision 7.6 and 29 C/Resolution 82, this document reports on the measures taken or being taken to vacate offices for Permanent Delegations in Building V, and on the efforts made to recover arrears of rent from certain delegations. It also reports on conditions for the rental of meeting rooms and on the surface area for the bank and for the commercialization of goods in Headquarters Buildings. An addendum to this document containing proposals to reform the rental system in the Miollis Building and changes to certain rental scales applicable to other Headquarters premises will be submitted later. Decision required: paragraph Pursuant to 29 C/Resolution 82, in which the General Conference requested the Director-General, in cooperation with the Headquarters Committee, to update and apply existing criteria and to make arrangements to meet, to the extent possible, Member States requests concerning the rental of offices in Building V, the Director-General submitted to the Executive Board at its 155th session document 155 EX/30 Report by the Director-General, in cooperation with the Headquarters Committee, on the rental of offices in Building V. That document reports on the progress achieved with regard to two matters deemed particularly urgent: first, the measures to allow more Permanent Delegations to be housed in Building V (Miollis) and, second, the measures envisaged to ensure recovery of arrears of rent from Permanent Delegations.

2 156 EX/33 - page 2 2. Since the 155th session of the Executive Board the Secretariat has, in close cooperation with the Headquarters Committee, sought to study in greater depth possible measures for bringing about a general improvement in the functioning of Headquarters. The study conducted by the Headquarters Committee thus covered all the premises that might be rented, namely the meeting rooms, the areas used for exhibitions and other cultural events, and the commercial areas (bank, travel agencies, etc.). 3. The present report first of all describes what has been or is being done to give effect to the decisions to vacate more offices for the Permanent Delegations, together with the efforts made to ensure more effective recovery of the arrears of rent owed by delegations, while in the second part of the document, pursuant to 155 EX/Decision 7.6, paragraph 10(d), the Director- General reports to the Executive Board on the rental of meeting rooms and on the surface area for the bank and for the commercialization of goods in the UNESCO buildings. A. FOLLOW-UP TO THE DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD AT ITS 155th SESSION Occupation of offices in Building V (Miollis) 4. In 155 EX/Decision 7.6, paragraph 10(a), the Executive Board requested the Director- General to continue his consultations with all the parties concerned by the occupancy of offices in Building V. The main aim of the efforts undertaken by the Secretariat since the 155th session has been to vacate the greatest possible number of offices in Building V (Miollis) hitherto occupied by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As of today (31 March 1999), four of the five NGOs listed in paragraph 4 of 155 EX/Decision 7.6 have left Building V, and the fifth NGO will leave Building V in April. In addition, the offices occupied by the mediators of the Organization have been vacated on their transfer to another building. As a result of these operations a total of 11½ offices have become vacant and have all been redistributed to Permanent Delegations, including five new ones (Mali, Grenada, Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Nicaragua). 5. One delegation announced at the end of 1998 that it would return nine offices by 31 March This has enabled the Secretariat to redistribute these nine offices to three delegations on the waiting list. 6. As stated in document 155 EX/30 (para. 13), the departure of the Paris Office of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which has rented a total of 15 offices in the Miollis Building since 1991, will enable the Secretariat to redistribute the whole of this area to Permanent Delegations and, in particular, to satisfy those delegations waiting to have additional offices allocated to them. However, ILO has not so far been able to specify a definitive departure date. 7. Nevertheless, provided ILO does in fact depart in the coming months, it should be possible to satisfy all the outstanding requests for offices from delegations not yet accommodated in the Miollis Building, along with some of the requests for additional offices from other delegations After the vacation of the offices occupied by the five NGOs concerned, as requested by the Executive Board in 155 EX/Decision 7.6, a further eight NGOs are still located in the 1. As at 31 March 1999, there are 106 Permanent Delegations with offices in Building V (Miollis).

3 156 EX/33 - page 3 Miollis Building, where they occupy a total of 868 m 2. The NGO Secretariat, also located in the Miollis Building, occupies 84 m 2. In further implementation of the above-mentioned Executive Board decision, other NGOs (i.e. those not maintaining formal associate relations with UNESCO and occupying offices free of charge) number seven: they occupy a total area of 173 m 2 under office-sharing arrangements within the framework of the functioning of the NGO Secretariat. The intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) - excluding the International Labour Organization (ILO) - occupy only 38 m 2. A number of organizations that are particularly important partners in UNESCO s activities occupy a total area of 313 m 2 in Buildings V, VI and VII (see annexed tables). Recovery of arrears of rent 9. As at 31 December 1998, the total arrears of rent owed by Permanent Delegations amounted to FF 3,050, Of this total figure, FF 921, concerned unpaid rent and charges for the last half of 1998, leaving a little over FF 2 million in long-standing debts. 10. The corresponding amount dating from the spring of 1998, as shown in document 155 EX/30, was FF 2,812,311. Some improvement is therefore to be noted in the situation, but considerable arrears are still owed. 11. A total of FF 1,056, has been recovered from the 12 delegations most heavily in debt to which specific approaches were made in the second half of 1998, representing slightly under 40 per cent of the total debt. Of the 12 delegations concerned, three have settled their debts in full, two have made part-payments, one has agreed to a payment plan, two are negotiating with their governments with a view to clearing their debts (or at least to drawing up a payment plan), two have stated that since their countries are at war, they are unfortunately not able to pay their debts, at least not for the time being, and two have not replied to the Secretariat s letters, in spite of their having been sent reminders. 12. The Secretariat intends to continue its efforts to recover, to the extent possible, the debts still outstanding. In addition to the problems involving the 12 delegations concerned in 1998, since the 155th session two others have to be added to the group of countries with outstanding debts amounting to more than FF 50, In 155 EX/Decision 7.6, paragraph 8, the Executive Board had also requested the Director-General to apply, when applicable, Clause 2.2 of the contract for the renting of office space to Permanent Delegations, which stipulates that the contract shall be terminated ipso facto, without previous notice, if the lessee does not pay the charges... within a period of six months from the times of payment indicated in Clause 5 of this contract, and the premises may then be allocated by the Director-General of UNESCO to other Permanent Delegations to UNESCO. Since the 155th session of the Executive Board, the Director-General has found it necessary to apply Clause 2.2 on two occasions. In the first case, the procedure was interrupted, since the delegation concerned paid part of its debt and agreed to a payment plan in respect of the balance. The second case is a recent one and the Secretariat is awaiting the reaction of the delegation concerned.

4 156 EX/33 - page 4 B. CONDITIONS FOR THE RENTAL OF OFFICES, CONFERENCE ROOMS, SPACES AND OFFICES, EXHIBITION AREAS AND COMMERCIAL PREMISES 14. During the biennium, the Headquarters Committee examined some of the problems connected with the rental system applied to Permanent Delegations (in the Miollis Building). With respect to the current biennium, the Committee set itself the task of reforming the office rental system at Miollis in collaboration with the Secretariat, with the aim of ensuring that the charges cover the maintenance and improvement of the facilities and services available in that building. The Committee subsequently decided to consider all premises at Headquarters which might be rented or made available, including the parking spaces at Fontenoy, Bonvin and Miollis, and the conditions applied to NGOs and other partners housed on Headquarters premises. 15. At its meeting on 13 January 1999, the Headquarters Committee decided to set up a Working Group to study in depth, in close cooperation with the Secretariat, all matters relating to the conditions for renting and/or making available premises at Headquarters. The Working Group, which held five meetings to examine different options, completed its work on 24 March The Headquarters Committee, after having examined the group s proposals, approved the report and subsequently transmitted its recommendations to the Director- General. All those proposals will be set out in an addendum to the present document and will be submitted to the Executive Board for approval at its 156th session under the same agenda item (8.6). 16. In response to the request formulated by the Executive Board in 155 EX/Decision 7.6, paragraph 10(d), the report on the rental of meeting rooms and on the surface area for the bank and for the commercialization of goods in the UNESCO buildings is reproduced (with no proposed amendments) in the second part of the present document. Conference rooms, areas and offices 17. The policy on the rental of conference meeting rooms, areas and offices is to promote the rental of these areas to conferences organized by outside entities pursuing aims compatible with those of UNESCO, thereby improving the return on capital investment in the conference premises. However, rental to outside bodies must never be to the detriment of the Organization s own interests (intergovernmental meetings, meetings initiated by programme sectors, Permanent Delegations, etc.). 18. The scales of rentals are at three different levels according to whether the rental is to outside applicants (normal scale, as a general rule) or meetings whose themes are closely related to the Organization s programme, or meetings organized by NGOs having relations with UNESCO (reduced scale, 70 per cent of the normal scale). The third scale corresponds to the real operating costs, and is applied to Permanent Delegations to UNESCO if they hold conferences, to NGOs having their headquarters at UNESCO and to associations of a humanitarian character. The free concession of premises is applied to meetings of Permanent Delegations, meetings of groups corresponding to geographical regions, and also the Group of 77 and Non-Aligned Movement. The free concession may also be granted by the Director- General to non-profit associations of a highly humanitarian character. Income from the rental of conference premises was $495,503 for 1997 and $549,722 for 1998.

5 156 EX/33 - page 5 Exhibition areas 19. As regards the rental of rooms and areas used for cultural and similar events (concerts, exhibitions, shows, etc.), the rates applied are those of the real operating costs. The rental of such premises brought in $49,827 in 1997 and $77,998 in Other premises 20. The conditions for the allocation of premises to travel agencies, banks, news-stands and so on, are defined in Appendix 12B, paragraph 24, of the UNESCO Manual. By their very nature, the contracts with such firms are concluded on the basis of negotiations taking account of market conditions and the fact that the presence of such services at UNESCO Headquarters is of great benefit to the Secretariat and staff of the Organization and to the members of the Permanent Delegations. It is therefore for the Director-General to negotiate and conclude these contracts on the best possible terms. The official bank of UNESCO in France is the Société Générale. The bank occupies an area of 102 m 2 at Fontenoy and 38 m 2 at Miollis. The initial contract was signed in 1958; the annual rental charge was then $110 per m 2.Thishas since been changed to a flat-rate charge, which is revised annually. The amount was $182,611 for 1997 and $204,421 for The operation of the travel agencies is governed by Item 1245 of the Administrative Manual. Two travel agencies operate in UNESCO: Carlson Wagons-Lits, which occupies 96 m 2 at Fontenoy, and Havas Tourisme, which occupies 30 m 2 at Miollis. Each of these companies has a contract with the Organization for a nominal rent of $1 per year and a percentage of turnover. The amounts charged were as follows: Carlson Wagon-Lits: $70,642 in 1997 on a turnover of $3,445,959, and $76,454 in 1998 on a turnover of $3,729,446; Havas Tourisme: $29,265 in 1997 on a turnover of $1,300,681, and $28,134 in 1998 on a turnover of $1,250, The operation of the news-stands is governed by Item 1270 of the Administrative Manual. Both news-stands, 35 m 2 at Fontenoy and 35 m 2 at Miollis, are operated by the same company, Relais H. That company has a contract with UNESCO which provides for an adjustable rent for each site and a percentage of turnover. The amounts charged for the two news-stands were: $25,864 in 1997 on a turnover of FF1,203, at Miollis and FF1,126, at Fontenoy; $11,980 in 1998 on a turnover of FF1,133, at Miollis and FF1,014, at Fontenoy. 23. As indicated in paragraph 15 above, the Headquarters Committee s study of these issues has given rise to a number of recommendations to the Director-General concerning conference rooms and spaces, areas used for cultural events, and parking places. The Director-General will submit an addendum to this document to the Executive Board containing his proposals regarding the recommendations. 24. Accordingly, the Executive Board might wish to consider the following draft decision, with a view to its adoption:

6 156 EX/33 - page 6 TheExecutiveBoard, 1. Having examined document 156 EX/33, 2. Recalling 155 EX/Decision 7.6, by which the Executive Board requested the Director-General to report to it, at its 156th session, on the situation of premises in the UNESCO buildings used by Member States and non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, with the corresponding rate of payment or nonpayment, and to report to it on the rental of meeting rooms and on the surface area for the bank and for the commercialization of goods, in the UNESCO buildings, 3. Thanks the Director-General for the measures taken and progress made regarding the release of space in Building V (Miollis) for the use of Permanent Delegations; 4. Commends the efforts made by the Secretariat to recover arrears of rent from Permanent Delegations; 5. Once again urges all Member States to discharge their obligations relating to payments for the premises they occupy in Building V (Miollis); 6. Expresses its gratitude to the Headquarters Committee and the Secretariat for the work done to adjust certain rental scales, etc. (to be specified in the light of the proposals contained in the addendum mentioned in paragraph 23); 7. Endorses (to be specified on the basis of the proposals made in the addendum).

7 156 EX/33 Annex ANNEX TABLE I NGOs maintaining formal associate relations with UNESCO Location Area in m² Annual rental value in FF Comments IAU Building V ,854 Including premises for the documentation centre managed jointly with UNESCO ICSSPE Building VII 10 14,180 Transferred from Building V to VII IMC/CIOFF Building V 70 99,260 ICPHS/Diogenes Building V ,964 ISSC Building V ,112 WFUCA Building V 42 59,556 ICET/UITA/WFED Building V ,816 ICET transferred from Building VII to V ICOM Building V ,780 Including premises for the documentation centre managed jointly with UNESCO ICSU Building VII 13 18,434 ITI Building V 49 69,482 NGO Secretariat Shared premises Building V Building VII , ,314 Total 1,148 1,627,864

8 156 EX/33 Annex - page 2 TABLE II IGOs Location Area in m² Annual rental value in FF Comments CARICOM Building V 28 39,704 Free of charge IDB 1 Building VII 10 14,180 Free of charge ALECSO Building V 42 59,556 Rental Latin Union Building V 21 29,778 Rental Total , Inter-American Development Bank.

9 156 EX/33 Annex - page 3 TABLE III Miscellaneous Other Location Area in m² Annual rental value in FF Comments UNU 1 Building V 63 89,334 Agreement based on mutual provision of premises free of charge CRE 2 Building VII 33 46, m² FER 3 Building VII 15 21,270 Group of 77 Building V 28 39,704 Transferred from Building VII to V IASSO 4 Building V 56 79,408 SC/EST 5 Building VII 14 19,852 Science Sector AIDS Foundation Building VI ,472 Total , United Nations University. 2. Standing Conference of Rectors, Presidents and Vice-Chancellors of the European Universities. 3. European Federation of Scientific and Technical Networks of Cooperation. 4. International Association of the Sahara and Sahel Observatory. 5. Engineering and Technology Division.

10 ex United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Executive Board Hundred and fifty-sixth Session 156 EX/33 Add. PARIS, 14 May 1999 Original: French Item 8.6 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL, IN COOPERATION WITH THE HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE, ON THE RENTAL OF OFFICES IN UNESCO BUILDINGS ADDENDUM SUMMARY In accordance with 28 C/Resolution 33 (Part III), 29 C/Resolution 82 (Part II) and 155 EX/Decision 7.6, by which the Executive Board requested the Director-General, in conjunction with the Headquarters Committee, to report to it on the occupancy of offices in Building V, the recovery of rental arrears and the rental of Headquarters premises, the Director-General reports in document 156 EX/33 on the measures taken or being taken to vacate offices for Permanent Delegations in Building V, on the efforts made to recover arrears of rent and on conditions for the rental of conference rooms, areas and offices, and premises for the commercialization of goods. Having examined document 156 EX/33, the Headquarters Committee submits its own comments in the form of an addendum to that document.

11 156 EX/33 Add. COMMENTS BY THE HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE ON THE REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL ON THE RENTAL OF OFFICES IN UNESCO BUILDINGS (156 EX/33) 1. At its 131st session, held on 12 March, 19 March, 26 March and 26 April 1999, the Headquarters Committee examined, inter alia, the report by the Director-General on the rental of offices in UNESCO buildings (156 EX/33). In the present addendum, it makes the following observations and comments on the report. 2. As part of the ongoing study conducted by the Secretariat since the 155th session of the Executive Board of ways and means of improving the functioning of Headquarters, and in line with its work plan for the biennium, the Headquarters Committee has examined the scope for modifying the conditions for the rental of offices and commercial premises. In view of the significance of the issue and the various aspects to it, the Committee set up at its 130th session a working group which it asked to study, in cooperation with the Secretariat; the conditions and rates applied for all the offices and areas rented or made available and to present proposals for the possible reform or adaptation of the rental system with the twin objectives of: financially strengthening the Headquarters Utilization Fund and distributing offices in Building V to Permanent Delegations without office space at Headquarters; guidelines for the use of premises in UNESCO by Member States, NGOs and IGOs in order to give effect to 155 EX/Decision 7.6 (para. 5) adopted by the Executive Board at its 155th session. 3. The working group completed the work for which it had been set up after holding five meetings, on 25 January, 3 February, 15 February, 22 February and 24 March The discussions were long and laborious, since the work that was carried out in depth led to increasing demands being made on the Secretariat for specific information and documents that were often not immediately available. 4. In its final report, the working group informed the Headquarters Committee of its findings. Broadly, it recommended that the Committee should state its willingness to agree to the proposals for an increase in the rental payments and the rental rates for other areas that can be rented, provided that the use to which the resources generated by the new rental rates are put is precisely ascertained. In other words, it insisted that the funds be used to renovate Headquarters buildings and improve certain services provided to Member States, particularly those affecting security and safety and also the mail service, reception, minimum upkeep of certain technical equipment and improved cleaning of toilet facilities. 5. Regarding the occupancy of offices in Building V (Miollis), the Headquarters Committee took note of the praiseworthy efforts of the Secretariat since the 155th session of the Executive Board to ensure that offices occupied in that building by certain NGOs and the Mediators and which are to be redistributed to Permanent Delegations, were vacated. It also insisted that further steps be taken by the Secretariat to recover other offices, in particular those occupied by the International Labour Organization (ILO), so that they may be redistributed to Permanent Delegations which have made a request, either because they do not have a base at Headquarters or because they are working in cramped conditions. 6. Furthermore, pursuant to paragraph 5 of 155 EX/Decision 7.6 on the Guidelines for the use of premises in UNESCO, the Headquarters Committee considers that:

12 156 EX/33 Add. - page 2 (a) (b) the Miollis building, including its two basements, should be reserved for the Permanent Delegations; priority should be given, in line with 28 C/Resolution 33 (Part III) and 29 C/Resolution 82 (Part II), to Permanent Delegations which request offices in Building V. Such priority should be accorded to: Permanent Delegations whose country does not have an embassy or consulate in Paris and which have already requested, in writing, working premises at Headquarters; Member States which have requested one or two offices and which are on a waiting list; Permanent Delegations which have requested extra space, on condition that they pay their rent regularly and have no rental arrears; (c) Executive Board decisions and General Conference resolutions concerning NGOs which no longer maintain formal associate relations with UNESCO must be applied without reservation; In this respect, the Headquarters Committee regrets that paragraph 4 of 155 EX/Decision 7.6 was interpreted as an invitation to move the five NGOs which no longer maintain the kind of relations required under the Directives from Building V to Building VII; (d) (e) NGOs which no longer have that kind of relations and the ILO representatives must vacate without delay the offices they occupy in all Headquarters buildings; Secretariat staff aside, all the occupants of offices in all Headquarters buildings, including NGOs, must pay rent. 7. With regard to the recovery of rental arrears, the Headquarters Committee, which has had to deal with this problem throughout the biennium, a problem considered to be sensitive because of its political ramifications and the economic situation in the countries concerned, welcomes the measures taken or being taken to recover outstanding debts. It takes this opportunity to repeat the proposal it has made on several previous occasions, namely that Clause 2.2 of the contract for the renting of office space should be applied systematically and without exception to all occupants of offices after the usual reminders, in conformity with 155 EX/Decision 7.6 (para. 8) adopted by the Executive Board at its 155th session. The Clause stipulates that the contract shall be terminated ipso facto, without previous notice, if the lessee does not pay the charges Referring to Part B of document 156 EX/33, the Headquarters Committee points out that it did indeed set up a working group to which it assigned the task of looking at the conditions for the rental of offices in Building V, and of conference rooms and offices, exhibition areas, parking places and commercial premises. The working group put its recommendations and proposals in a report which it submitted to the Headquarters Committee. 9. During the consideration of the report by the Headquarters Committee in plenary meeting (131st session), the specific information requested of the Secretariat was not yet

13 156 EX/33 Add. - page 3 available and the Committee, desirous of completing the discussions on the question, particularly on the use of resources which might be generated by raising the rent, decided - after requesting the Secretariat to provide it with the necessary information and documents - to continue the study of this important issue immediately after the 156th session of the Executive Board. It hoped to be in a position to submit all of its recommendations at that time to the Director-General and to the Executive Board.

14 ex United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Executive Board Hundred and fifty-sixth Session 156 EX/33 Corr. PARIS, 4 May 1999 Original: French Item 8.6 of the provisional agenda REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL, IN COOPERATION WITH THE HEADQUARTERS COMMITTEE, ON THE RENTAL OF OFFICES IN UNESCO BUILDINGS CORRIGENDUM 1. Replace the summary on page 1 with the following text: In accordance with 155 EX/Decision 7.6 and 29 C/Resolution 82, this document reports on the measures taken or being taken to vacate offices for Permanent Delegations in Building V, and on the efforts made to recover arrears of rent from certain delegations. It also reports on conditions for the rental of meeting rooms and on the surface area allocated to the bank and for the commercialization of goods in Headquarters Buildings. Having examined document 156 EX/33, the Headquarters Committee is submitting its own comments and recommendations to the Executive Board in the form of an addendum to this document. Decision required: paragraph Replace the text of paragraph 15 with the following text: At its meeting on 13 January 1999, the Headquarters Committee decided to set up a Working Group to study in depth, in close cooperation with the Secretariat, all matters relating to the conditions for renting and/or making available premises at Headquarters. When the Director-General has received the Headquarters Committee s recommendations on all of these matters, he will submit his proposals to the Executive Board for approval, in accordance with paragraph 30 of the Regulations contained in Appendix 12B of the UNESCO Manual. 3. Replace the text of paragraph 23 with the following text: As indicated in paragraph 15 above, the Director-General intends to return to all of these matters and to submit to the Executive Board at its 157th session his proposals for the adjustment of rates, and so on.

15 156 EX/33 Corr. - page 2 4. Delete paragraphs 6 and 7 of the draft decision in paragraph 24 and replace them with a new paragraph 6, worded as follows: Invites the Director-General to continue his efforts towards establishing a consensus with the Headquarters Committee on reforms/adjustments to be proposed regarding the rates applicable for the rental of UNESCO premises, with a view to being able to submit them to it at its 157th session.