US embassy cable - 03THEHAGUE1729

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 THE HAGUE 001729 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AC/CB, NP/CBM, VC/CCB, L/ACV, IO/S 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISP 
JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC 
COMMERCE FOR BIS(GOLDMAN) 
NSC FOR CHUPA 
WINPAC FOR FOLEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PARM, PREL, CWC 
SUBJECT: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): 14TH SESSION OF 
THE ADVISORY BODY ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL MATTERS 
(ABAF), 9-13 JUNE 2003 
 
This is CWC-73-03. 
 
 
(U) Sensitive but unclassified, please protect accordingly. 
 
-------- 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
1.    (U) The Advisory Body on Administrative and Financial 
Matters (ABAF) of the Organization for the Prohibition of 
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held its 14th session in The Hague, 
from 9-13 June 2003. The primary focus of attention was on 
the draft programme and budget 2004, which calls for an 8.36 
percent increase in budget level and a 9.0 percent increase 
in assessments to Member States. The ABAF noted the lack of 
justification or explanation in the text of the document for 
major increases and decreases proposed in the budget 
estimates and took exception to a number of proposals. Other 
items on the agenda also receiving active consideration were 
the progress report on the recommendations by the 13 session 
of the ABAF, the report on status of income and expenditure 
in implementation of the OPCW 2003 programme and budget of 30 
April 2003, and the audited financial statements and the 
report of the External Auditor. Some items on the agenda were 
not considered due to the unavailability of documentation 
and/or a shortage of time.  End summary. 
 
-------------------- 
ATTENDANCE 
-------------------- 
 
2.    (SBU)  Attendance at this session of the ABAF was 
rather poor. In addition to the Chairman, Farajvand (Iran), 
there were only six other members in fairly regular 
attendance: Brasack (Germany), Fox (USA), Iossifov (Russian 
Federation), Komuro (Japan), Malpaga (Italy), and 
Poornalingam (India). Three others, who attended more 
irregularly, perhaps due to budget consultations with Member 
States being conducted at the same time, were Suarez 
(Mexico), Lee (Korea) and Kamron (Pakistan).  Kamron 
apparently was attending without formal notification of his 
membership to the Executive Council and thus his he will not 
be named as an attendee in the report on the session. Those 
members with apparent budgetary experience appeared to be 
Poornalingam, Fox, Kamron, and perhaps Iossifov. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
OPENING STATEMENT BY 
 THE DIRECTOR GENERAL 
-------------------------------------- 
 
3.    (U) The DG attended the opening of the session and 
delivered a statement indicating his personal endorsement of 
the proposed programme and budget for 2004. He noted his 
commitment to transparency and his intention to move to 
results-based budgeting (RBB) for 2005 as a means to improve 
to improve management and to provide better measurement of 
resources in terms of results produced. Other points he made 
include: 
 
-     The proposed increase of 8.36 percent includes 2.92 
percent (EUR 2 million) for staff turnover largely due to the 
decision on tenure policy, which means the increase is only 
5.44 percent without the provision for staff turnover. 
-     The large increase in official travel (128 percent) 
reflects the requirements for full performance of the 
organization's work as well as the DG's belief that he must 
make visits to Member States to encourage more observance of 
the Convention and he also needs to make efforts toward the 
goal of universality of the Convention. 
-     The increase in consultants (94 percent) is because 
this is a less expensive way to provide skills and expertise 
not available within the Secretariat and it also could help 
to improve geographical balance within the organization. 
-     The Member States need to assist the DG is providing 
the necessary leadership for the organization by giving him 
more authority for reclassifying and transferring posts. 
-     This is a barebones budget and reductions would have 
serious impact on OPCW effectiveness. 
4.    (U) The DG also hosted a luncheon for members of the 
ABAF on the opening day. The key topic at the luncheon was 
the possible use of "on call" Inspectors. The DG stressed 
this would be a way to reduce the cost of Inspectors, since 
they would not receive the benefits paid for regular 
Inspectors, and the use only of retired Inspectors would 
assure the quality of those selected. Furthermore, the "on 
call" Inspectors would be used only for destruction, which 
would avoid confidentiality problems regarding industry 
inspections. 
 
--------------------------------- 
REVIEW OF PROGRESS ON 
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 13TH ABAF 
--------------------------------- 
 
5.    (U) The key issue was the failure this year to 
implement the recommendation in the report of the 13th ABAF 
that actual expenditures for the previous year should be 
provided to serve as a point of reference for considering 
proposed budget levels. The Indian and U.S. members expressed 
the most concern about this matter. The Secretariat indicated 
they were reluctant to provide information on 2002 actual 
expenditures because of the irregular budgetary situation in 
2002. Nevertheless, in response to an ABAF request, the 
Secretariat belatedly provided a listing of 2002 actual 
 
SIPDIS 
expenditures by programme and assured ABAF that previous year 
actual expenditures would be included in the 2005 budget 
proposals. The ABAF took official notice of this assurance by 
the Secretariat. 
 
--------------------------- 
2003 BUDGET STATUS REPORT 
AS OF 30 APRIL 2003 
--------------------------- 
 
6.    (U) The Russian member, especially, took issue with the 
heading "Revised Budget" for column 5 of Annex 6 (Expenditure 
by programme as 30 April 2003). He and other members 
questioned the implication of this heading that the 
Secretariat had the authority to officially revise the budget 
 
SIPDIS 
that had been approved by Member States. The Director of 
Administration indicated that, in accord with Financial 
Regulation 4.7, the Secretariat is obligated to manage 
expenditures in view of funds available, which meant they had 
to take into account the historical pattern of a shortfall in 
contributions (as well as transfers to Programme 3 - 
International Cooperation and Assistance required by a policy 
decision). ABAF commended the Secretariat for observing 
Financial Regulation 4.7, but recommended that column 3, 
"Anticipated Shortfall", should be deleted and the heading 
for column 5 should be changed from "Revised Budget" to 
"Allotment". 
 
7.    (U) Regarding Annex 7 (Expenditure by Category as of 30 
April 2003), the U.S. and Indian members pointed out that the 
main objects of expenditures listed reflected more activities 
than usual objects of expenditures. The Secretariat explained 
that previous efforts to revise the objects of expenditure 
had been resisted by some Member States. Nevertheless, ABAF 
recommended that the Secretariat should revise the objects of 
expenditure in accordance with the practices followed in the 
UN common system. 
 
8.    (SBU) Regarding Annexes 4 and 5 (concerning 
reimbursement of verification costs under Articles IV and V 
of the Convention), the ABAF was concerned to see the levels 
of outstanding balances of reimbursement payments. The ABAF 
noted the claim of the Secretariat that it had substantially 
improved the system of invoicing for such reimbursements (a 
claim that may have been overstated), but reiterated the need 
for the Secretariat to further improve the process of 
invoicing. Director of Administration Schulz indicated his 
understanding of the need to adjust the invoicing process to 
the different requirements of the possessor states, and his 
intention to make efforts toward doing so. In view of the low 
percentage of payments of the verification reimbursements, 
the Italian member, especially, wanted the ABAF to recommend 
that the possessor states should expedite their payments. 
After some discussion of the propriety of the ABAF making 
recommendations directly to Member States on how to manage 
their affairs, the Italian member agreed to have the ABAF 
just stress the need for expeditious payments by Member 
States. 
 
----------------------------------- 
AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 
AND REPORT OF THE EXTERNAL AUDITOR 
----------------------------------- 
 
9.    (U) In response to a recommendation last year by the 
ABAF, a representative of the External Auditor presented the 
report of the External Auditor on the financial statements of 
the organization for 2002. This was appreciated by the ABAF 
and it was recommended that this practice be continued in the 
future. 
 
10.   (U) Among the points raised in considering this item, 
the ABAF expressed concern over the delay and the alarming 
increase in costs for implementation of the Smartstream 
project. The Secretariat acknowledged serious problems in 
implementing this project and indicated that the original 
assumptions on which it was based were entirely unrealistic. 
ABAF thought it was time for an objective review of the 
project and thus recommended a critical evaluation by an 
external expert of the financial and human resources required 
for the project. 
 
11.   (U) Another issue under this item concerned the very 
low rate of expenditure (often zero) reported for the various 
trust funds. While some members of ABAF wondered if this 
meant that the need for the funds should be reconsidered, it 
was noted that at least some of the funds were just meant to 
be available for use when needed rather than be used 
continually. The ABAF ultimately just recommended that the 
programme managers should take steps to utilize the funds 
appropriately in accordance with the mandates for the funds. 
 
12.   (U) The report of the External Auditor (para. 16) says 
that they "were informed that there were no frauds or losses 
in 2002." When questioned by the U.S. member, in view of the 
recent history of the organization, the representative of the 
External Auditor reiterated the position taken in the report. 
 
------------------------------------ 
DRAFT PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR 2004 
------------------------------------ 
 
13.   (U) In terms of general observations, members of the 
ABAF repeated their concern regarding the lack of information 
about actual budget expenditures in the previous year. This 
led to a recommendation formulated by the Indian member that 
budgeted and actual figures for the previous full year should 
be provided in all statements and that there should be 
adequate explanations for sharp variations in the proposed 
budget to provide the necessary basis for consideration of 
budget proposals. (Having the two points in the same 
recommendation is a bit confusing, but the recommendation 
nevertheless is useful.) 
 
14.   (U) At the suggestion of the U.S. member, the ABAF 
recommended that there should be a consolidated summary table 
of the budget including all programmes and sub-programmes in 
order to more easily consider all elements in context. 
 
15.   (U) In generally discussing the budget, the Secretariat 
repeatedly indicated its intention to present the programme 
and budget for 2005 in RBB format. Taking advantage of this, 
the U.S. member got the ABAF to recommend that the use of the 
RBB format should include presentation of an annual budget 
implementation report that would contain (a) budgeted vs. 
actual expenditures by programmes and sub-programmes, with a 
brief explanation of major variances; (b) budgeted vs. actual 
expenditures by object of expenditure, again with an 
explanation of major variances; and (c) an indication of the 
extent to which objectives and outputs had been achieved. 
 
16.    (U) Finally, in regard to the planned use of the RBB 
format, ABAF members were concerned to learn what the 
Secretariat had in mind and what changes may be required in 
 
SIPDIS 
the financial rules and regulations. The Secretariat 
expressed great confidence in the preparatory work being done 
by its consultants on RBB and thought no changes would be 
required in the financial rules and regulations. 
Nevertheless, the ABAF recommended that plans for use of this 
format, including any changes required in the financial rules 
and regulations, should be submitted by the Secretariat to 
the ABAF at its 15th session. 
 
17.   (SBU) In reviewing the Executive Summary of the draft 
programme and budget, the Russian member in particular 
expressed concern about the proposed increase. Thus, the ABAF 
recalled the 9.95 percent increase in the budget for 2003 and 
noted the additional substantial increase of 8.36 percent, 
with a 9 percent increase in assessments, proposed for 2004. 
 
18.   (U) In regard to recosting, the ABAF noted that the 
budget had been calculated on the basis of the historical 
pattern of inflation and urged that the recosting calculation 
be reconsidered before adoption by the Conference of States 
Parties. This reflected the observation that inflation levels 
now appear to be quite low. 
 
19.   (U) The ABAF regretted that the budget did not include 
justification or explanation for the major increases and 
decreases indicated in the budget tables of the different 
programmes. While the Secretariat did sometimes provide oral 
or written justifications for some items in response to ABAF 
requests, there really was not time for critical review of 
these belated justifications which meant that the substance 
of the budget was not very rigorously examined by the ABAF, 
as is indicated in the ABAF report. 
 
20.   (SBU) The ABAF noted the 94 percent increase proposed 
for consultants and the fact that many of the Programme 
Managers were unable to justify the need for consultants in 
their programmes. As a result, the ABAF recommended that the 
provision for consultants should be maintained at the 2003 
level, and that any increase for consultants beyond the 2003 
level should be matched by real savings -- this is in 
recognition that the use of consultants could be a more 
effective way to accomplish some objectives. The Korean 
member insisted on including a dissenting view that got 
expressed strangely as calling for further justification to 
be provided to him. 
 
21.   (U) The ABAF noted that the proposed allocation for 
official travel amounts to an increase of 128 percent. Rather 
than recommending that travel be held to the 2003 level, ABAF 
just noted that an increase of this amount requires a full 
and careful justification, which was not presented in the 
budget. The Secretariat orally expressed concern about the 
need for more travel funds, but not much in the way of 
details. 
 
22.   (U) There is some confusion in the budget and within 
the Secretariat about the staffing levels for 2004. Paragraph 
3 (a) in the Executive Summary (p. 7) states that four posts 
will be re-activated in view of the needs of the Information 
System Branch, the Office of the Legal Advisor and the Office 
of Internal Oversight (two in ISB and one in each of the 
others). As stated in paragraph 7 (p. 13), this means there 
will be 478 positions funded in 2004 compared to 474 in 2003. 
Nevertheless, the funded posts indicated in the sections for 
each of the programmes add up to 481 posts, a net increase of 
seven with a total of nine new or additional posts specified 
that are offset by two posts identified for deletion. The 
Director of Administration noted there were some mistakes in 
the sections for the different programmes and he reaffirmed 
that 478 is the correct number of funded positions proposed 
for 2004. Nevertheless, some of the Programme Directors stood 
by the staffing numbers in their sections, and some even 
thought the requests in their sections were understated. 
23.   Despite an increase of four funded positions, the 
number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) will increase by ten, 
from 460 in 2003 to 470 in 2004. This presumably reflects a 
decreased lag factor for recruitment. 
 
24.   (U) ABAF members in general were troubled by the 
Secretariat's repeated citing of the 507 approved posts and 
 
SIPDIS 
the savings achieved by not filling all of them. The members 
thought it would be more realistic and meaningful to write 
off the level of 507 posts, since that level had not been 
filled for years, and just agree that the number of approved 
posts should be those posts approved for funding in each 
annual budget. 
 
25.    (SBU) There was great concern expressed by some ABAF 
members, the Russian and Italian in particular, about the 
proposal in the budget (p. 16) that the Director General be 
given authority to meet urgent operational requirements by 
adjusting numbers in the staffing table provided that (a) he 
does not exceed the total of 507 posts and (b) the total 
appropriated for staff costs is not exceeded. This concern 
reflected the contentious staffing practices of the DG's 
predecessor. The DG had vigorously requested the need for 
more flexibility in his management responsibilities and some 
members were sympathetic to his request, at least within 
limits. Therefore, rather than simply rejecting the proposal, 
as some members would have liked, the ABAF developed a 
recommendation to put some constraints on the proposed 
flexibility, i.e., before taking such actions, the 
Secretariat should present a full justification for the 
 
SIPDIS 
proposal, including reference to changes that may be required 
in staff rules and regulations and to provisions that would 
govern any re-classification of posts and transfer of posts 
among programmes. 
 
26.   (U) Although not indicated in the ABAF report, members 
did express concern about the 58 percent increase in medical 
insurance costs. The Director of Administration indicated 
that this increase results in large measure from the 
occurrence of some bad illnesses among Secretariat members (a 
point that needs further explanation.). He also indicated his 
plan to have a consultant examine the organization's 
insurance polices. 
 
27.   (U) There was much discussion among ABAF members of the 
proposed level of EUR 3.9 million for Article IV and V 
reimbursements, with many concerned that the proposed level 
was too low and others concerned that a higher level would 
just add to budgetary shortfalls for the organization. The 
Director of Administration stressed that the problem was one 
of late payment rather than non-payment and that he had in 
mind a mechanism or process for dealing with this problem, 
which would not require change in financial rules and 
regulations. Rather than addressing the level of 
reimbursements, the ABAF recommended that the Secretariat 
submit the proposal indicated by the Director of 
Administration for review by ABAF and the States Parties. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Programme 1 - Verification 
--------------------------------- 
 
28.   (SBU) Interesting points that came out in the 
presentation of the Director for this Programme and follow-up 
discussion included: 
 
-     The request for 70 staff members assumes the services 
of an additional eight Inspectors on loan; the request would 
have to be increased if those Inspectors were not available. 
-     The Programme Director was unable to explain the need 
for consultants for this programme, the request for which had 
been inserted at the insistence of the DG. 
-     The dramatic increase in official travel from EUR 
12,000 in 2003 to EUR 52,000 on 2004 reflects significant 
under funding in 2003. 
-     The tenure of a majority of Verification Division staff 
will expire at the end of May 2004, and there will have to be 
an extension for some beyond the seven year limit in order to 
assure the necessary continuity. 
-     Inspectors kept home are well used: using them in the 
Verification Division gives the Inspectors beneficial 
experience and makes their field experience more available to 
headquarters staff. 
29.   (U) The ABAF noted that the two "required" additional 
staff for the Technical Support Branch in paragraph 1.4.3 are 
not actually included among the funded positions for 2004. 
Although not noted in the ABAF report, the upgrading of a P-3 
to P-4 level in the Chemical Demilitarization Branch cited as 
"required" in paragraph 1.4.4 also is not included in the 
budget for 2004. 
 
30.   (U) There were no ABAF recommendations regarding this 
section of the budget. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Programme 2 - Inspection Management 
and Operations (Inspectorate) 
------------------------------------- 
 
31.   (U) Some members of ABAF questioned why there is in 
Table 24 (p. 42) an EUR 500,000 request for training of 
Inspector candidates in 2004 (compared to nothing requested 
for 2003) in view of the fact that one of the basic 
assumptions for the 2004 budget (see paragraph 3 of the 
Executive Summary, p. 7) was that there would be no hiring of 
new Inspectors. The Secretariat explained that the number of 
Inspectors would not increase (in fact it will decrease from 
174 to 173) but there would be turnover among the Inspectors 
and thus the word "new" in that assumption should be changed 
to "additional". The training is for the new Inspectors. 
However, the Secretariat pointed out that the request for EUR 
500,000 presumed the use of "on call" Inspectors (even though 
use of "on call" Inspectors is not officially part of the 
budget) and EUR 1,000,000 would be required if it turned out 
that there would be no "on call" Inspectors. 
 
32.   (U) There were no ABAF recommendations specifically 
regarding this programme. However, there were three 
recommendations in this section of the report calling for 
increased information in Tables 15, 16 and 17 in the overview 
of Chapter One regarding inspections. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Programme 3 - International Cooperation 
and Assistance 
---------------------------------------- 
 
33.    (SBU) There was considerable discussion regarding 
whether or not the extra EUR 450,000 added to this programme 
for 2003 is or should be provided for in 2004. The 
Secretariat indicated that the EUR 114,000 for the new 
 
SIPDIS 
programmes in 2003 were included in 2004 but it was up to 
Member States whether they wanted in 2004 again to divert 
savings of EUR 336,000 from other programmes to ICA. The 
Mexican member was very concerned that the extra EUR 450,000 
added to this programme for 2003 should be maintained for 
2004 and she wanted a recommendation to this effect. The 
Chairman indicated he substantively supported such a position 
but, much to his credit, he insisted it would be 
inappropriate for a technical body like ABAF to make such a 
recommendation. Thus the ABAF merely noted the fact that the 
level proposed for ICA for 2004 is less than the amount 
funded in 2003. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Programme 4 - Secretariat for the Policy-Making 
 Organs and Subsidiary Bodies 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
34.    (U) There was little discussion of this programme and 
the ABAF made no recommendations regarding it. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Programme 5 - External Relations 
--------------------------------- 
 
35.   (SBU) In his presentation and the follow-up discussion, 
the Director for this programme made several interesting 
points: 
 
-     Justification for the request for consultants (EUR 
85,000 vs. 0 for 2003) for this programme should be sought 
from the DG. 
-     The increase for official travel (EUR 60,000 vs. EUR 
20,000 in 2003) was due at least in large part to the need to 
accompany the DG on his increased visits to Member States. 
-     The new D-1 position in his office came from the office 
of the DG and was not requested. 
 
36.   (SBU) The Director also insisted that the 2004 
allocation for general temporary assistance (GTA) for this 
programme should be increased from the EUR 5,000 shown in the 
budget (Table 40, p. 68) to EUR 45,000, and that this 
increase was approved by the DG. The Director of 
Administration did not agree with this and the ABAF decided 
it could not accept the change without a piece of paper from 
the DG. 
 
37.   (U) The ABAF had no recommendations relevant to this 
programme aside from its recommendations regarding 
consultants and official travel overall. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Programme 6 - Executive Management 
----------------------------------- 
 
38.   (SBU) The DDG made the presentation for this programme. 
He stressed the need for partnership and trust between the DG 
and the States Parties and ABAF. In particular, he urged the 
need for giving the DG flexibility to reclassify and transfer 
posts in order to take advantage of situations as they 
develop. He indicated his own priority on working to develop 
RBB and otherwise improve budget planning and implementation. 
The U.S. member indicated partnership and trust between the 
DG and the States Parties and ABAF would be very good for the 
Organization and one way to help build that trust would be 
for the Technical Secretariat to provide, in accord with RBB, 
annual budget implementation reports (resulted in ABAF 
recommendation reported in para. 12 above). The U.S. member 
also urged that the TS submit a specific proposal for 
granting the DG more flexibility regarding reclassifying and 
transferring posts (resulted in ABAF recommendation reported 
in para. 22 above). The DDG appeared to accept both points. 
 
39.    (SBU) Taking advantage of the presence of the DDG and 
the Legal Adviser, ABAF members expressed concern about the 
excessive use of GTA and, especially, the fact that many GTA 
staff have been employed for considerable periods of time. 
ABAF members and the Director of Administration indicated 
concern that longtime use of GTA staff is unfair since they 
often do much the same work as regular staff but are denied 
the benefits of regular staff. As agreed by the Legal 
Adviser, there is also the concern that this longtime use of 
GTA staff could make the organization vulnerable to suits 
before the ILOAT that could result in significant financial 
liabilities for the organization. It also was pointed out 
that the extensive use of GTA staff can be misleading to 
States Parties since consideration of the staffing issue 
tends to focus on just approved and funded positions while 
overlooking the use of GTA staff. As a result, the ABAF 
recommended that the Secretariat prepare a report on "all 
aspects" of using GTA (implying the concerns expressed above, 
but not wanting to be too specific). 
 
40.   (SBU) Reflecting concern about the use of overtime, the 
ABAF requested information for its next session regarding 
average overtime payment per person under each programme 
during 2003. The location of this request in this section of 
the ABAF report reflects attention drawn to the use of 
overtime in the office of the DG especially. 
 
----------------------------- 
Programme 7 - Administration 
----------------------------- 
41.   (U) Since this programme was examined toward the end of 
the session and the Director of Administration had been 
present through so many of the meetings, there was not 
prolonged discussion of this programme. However, the ABAF did 
note that two branches of this division (Procurement and 
Support Services; Information Systems) were each requesting 
two additional posts and yet there were still significant 
increases in GTA requests for both branches. This was a 
matter that was not discussed with the Director of 
Administration since it did not arise until the report was 
being drafted. 
 
42.   (U) The added posts for Information Systems are 
officially recognized as being included in the four posts to 
be re-activated for 2004, but this is not true for the added 
posts for Procurement and Support Services. Thus the latter 
two are examples of the confusion regarding staffing levels 
in the budget. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Programme 8 - Common Services Not 
Distributed to Programmes 
---------------------------------- 
 
43.   (U) There was some discussion about the anomaly that, 
while this programme is for common services not distributed 
to programmes, specific shares of allocations in this 
programme for GTA, overtime, official travel and consultants 
are indicated for each of the programmes in sub-tables within 
the separate sections for each of the programmes. However, 
the ABAF notes that even this anomalous practice is not 
followed consistently, i.e., all funds for consultants are 
not included in programme 8 since three programmes have 
allocations for consultants within their own budget tables. 
 
---------------------------- 
ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON AND 
VICE-CHAIRPERSON 
---------------------------- 
 
44.   The current chairperson, Mr. Hadi Farajvand (Iran), was 
elected to serve again as chairperson for the next session. 
Despite his absence from this session, the current 
vice-chairperson, Mr. Dudley Lashmar (UK), also was elected 
to serve again for the next session. It was agreed that if he 
did not show up for the next session, a new vice-chairperson 
would elected. 
 
------------------- 
ANY OTHER BUSINESS 
------------------- 
 
45.   The Executive Council had requested an opinion from the 
ABAF on Draft Financial Rule 9.1.02 concerning an upward 
revision in the limit on the amount that the Organization is 
allowed to invest in one institution. The revision calls for 
increasing the limit from EUR 7 million to EUR 12 million in 
order to allow the Organization to continue to earn 
competitive rates on its short term investments. The ABAF 
recommended approval of the draft amendment. 
 
------------------------- 
AGENDA ITEMS NOT COVERED 
------------------------- 
 
46.   Due to the lack of availability of the documents on the 
"Strategic Plan on External Relations" and the "Strategic 
Plan on Information Technology" until the first day of the 
session, and due to time constraints, it was agreed to defer 
consideration of these agenda items until the next session. 
The "Draft OPCW 2005-2007 Medium Term Plan was not considered 
because it was not provided. 
 
---------------------- 
OBSERVATIONS/COMMENTS 
---------------------- 
 
47.   (SBU) The functioning of the ABAF: 
 
-     Lack of documentation in advance was a real handicap. 
-     The expertise of members could be improved, but it 
still provides an opportunity to raise issues that need 
attention, which can be of benefit to both the Member States 
and the Secretariat. 
-     While the current Chairman is somewhat handicapped by 
his lack of budgetary expertise and his lack of full facility 
with the English language, he does make a serious effort to 
do good technical work. 
-     The holding of budget consultations with Member States 
at the same time that the ABAF was in session was 
unfortunate. If ABAF reports have any value they should serve 
to prepare Member States for more effective consultations 
with the Secretariat on draft budgets. Since some ABAF 
members come from delegations, they had to choose whether to 
attend ABAF meetings or the Member State consultations. The 
availability of Secretariat members for ABAF meetings also 
was limited by their need to attend the Member State 
consultations. 
-     Much better Secretariat support is required for the 
ABAF to be as effective as it needs to be. The secretary 
assigned to the committee to assist in drafting the report 
needs to be knowledgeable regarding administrative and 
financial issues and terminology. 
-     While the Director of Administration was often in 
attendance, there should be someone always available from his 
staff who is very knowledgeable about both 
administrative/financial policies and practices in order to 
respond to questions and/or find the appropriate staff member 
to provide the responses required. 
 
48.   (U) The programme and budget: 
 
-     The programme and budget contained very little real 
information. In particular, as indicated above, there was a 
remarkable lack of justification or explanation for the major 
increases and decreases proposed in the budget and there were 
too many mistakes or inconsistencies in the budget document. 
-     The activities in the object of expenditure tables need 
to be cleaned out so that the Secretariat could present a 
matrix showing how the different programmes compare in use of 
various objects of expenditure. 
-     The 2004 budget talks in terms of moving toward RBB, 
but the "objectives" presented in the tables for the 
different programmes most usually were really activities 
rather than objectives. The budget clearly at this stage is 
very much an input budget with little information about 
results planned or achieved. 
 
49.   (U) The move to RBB: 
 
-     The Director of Administration is very pleased with the 
consultants working on converting the organization to RBB. He 
notes they did this for ILO. It would be good to examine the 
success of RBB in ILO and to see some sample of what the 
consultants are doing for OPCW before it is too late. 
-     Success in using RBB is going to require a major 
re-education of both the Member States and the Secretariat. 
It is not clear what plans exist for this. 
 
50.   (U) The use of consultants: 
 
-     The Director of Administration is proud of the use of 
Korn-Ferry to screen candidates and the use of another firm 
for providing a psychological profile of candidates. Both 
sound promising, but it would be interesting to know the 
costs for these services and to get some objective evaluation 
of the psychological profiling especially. 
 
51.   (U) The seven-year limit as an opportunity: 
 
-     The Director of Administration often referred to the 
seven-year limit for staff tenure as an opportunity for 
reshaping and updating the organization. This sounds 
promising and efforts should be made to assure that advantage 
is taken of this opportunity. Informal consultations on the 
matter could be useful. 
 
52.   (SBU) Fraud: 
 
-     As noted above, the report of the External Auditor 
indicates he was told there "were no fraud or losses in 
2002." Such a claim for any organization must raise 
questions, and the recent history of OPCW makes such a claim 
especially questionable. It might be useful to probe deeper 
on this matter with the representative of the External 
Auditor to be sure there is not some cover-up at work. 
 
53. (U) Javits sends. 
BAILY