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Recalling the financial procedures for the Conference of the Parties,1
Having considered the information contained in the documents prepared by the secretariat on administrative, financial and institutional matters,2
Noting that notifications to Parties of their contributions for 2020 were sent to them by 30 September 2019,
2.Expresses its appreciation to Parties that made contributions to the core budget, in particular to Parties that made contributions in a timely manner;
3.Expresses concern regarding the high level of outstanding contributions to the core budget for the current and previous bienniums, which has resulted in difficulties with cash flow and the effective implementation of activities;
4.Strongly urges Parties that have not made contributions in full to the core budget for the current and/or previous bienniums to do so without further delay;
5.Calls upon Parties to make their contributions to the core budget for 2020 in a timely manner, noting that letters requesting payment have already been sent by the secretariat to all Parties and bearing in mind that contributions are due on 1 January of each year in accordance with the financial procedures for the Conference of the Parties;
6.Expresses its appreciation for the contributions to the Trust Fund for Participation in the UNFCCC Process and to the Trust Fund for Supplementary Activities received from Parties, including those contributions that allow for greater flexibility in allocation;
7.Urges Parties to further contribute to the Trust Fund for Participation in the UNFCCC Process, in order to ensure the widest possible participation in the negotiations in 2020–2021, and to the Trust Fund for Supplementary Activities;
8.Reiterates its appreciation to the Government of Germany for its annual voluntary contribution to the core budget of EUR 766,938 and its special contribution of EUR 1,789,522 as Host Government of the secretariat;
9.Requests the Executive Secretary to take further measures to recover outstanding contributions and encourages Parties to pay those outstanding contributions as soon as possible;
10.Takes note of the information contained in the audit report of the United Nations Board of Auditors5 and the financial statements for 2018, which include recommendations, and the comments of the secretariat thereon;
11.Expresses its appreciation to the United Nations for arranging the audit of the accounts of the Convention;
12.Also expresses its appreciation to the auditors for the valuable observations and recommendations and the presentation made thereon to Parties;
13.Urges the Executive Secretary to implement the recommendations of the auditors, as appropriate, including those outstanding from the 2017 audit report, and to update Parties on progress in the next audit report;
14.Requests the Executive Secretary in her update to Parties on progress towards implementing the recommendation of the auditors to provide expected timelines for the completion of audit recommendations that are under implementation;
15.Encourages the secretariat to enhance its implementation of decision 18/CP.24 in order to continue to improve the transparency and efficiency of the UNFCCC budget with a view to reducing redundancies and increasing cost-efficiency;
16.Also encourages Parties to take into account the budgetary implications of decisions and conclusions in advance of decision-making;
17.Welcomes the notes by the Executive Secretary on the budgetary implications of UNFCCC mandates: standard costs, prepared for consideration at the fiftieth and fifty-first sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation;6
18.Requests the secretariat to implement the recommendations contained in document FCCC/SBI/2019/INF.4;
19.Also requests the secretariat to report on its efforts to further improve the efficiency and transparency of the UNFCCC budget process and documentation for consideration at the first session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation each year, including on its implementation of this decision, and on the provisions on other budgetary matters contained in decision 18/CP.24.