Commitment authority

Commitment authority is approval for the Secretary-General to enter into financial commitments of up to a certain amount in absence of an appropriation from the General Assembly. It is usually used as a temporary measure until a full or revised budget can be prepared and an appropriation provided by the General Assembly.

Commitment authority can be with or without assessment, depending on immediate cash requirements.

Peacekeeping start-up or expansion
The use of commitment authority for peacekeeping missions was established in General Assembly resolution 49/233A of 23 December 1994, section IV, and draws upon the $150 million of the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund established by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/217 of 23 December 1992. The applicable provisions, which have subsequently been amended, are currently contained in Financial Regulations 4.6 through 4.9

"Regulation 4.6. If a decision of the Security Council relating to the start-up or expansion phase of peacekeeping operations results in the need to meet expenses and capital requirements, the Secretary-General is authorized, with the prior concurrence of the Advisory Committee and subject to regulation 4.8, to enter into commitments not to exceed the balance of the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund, and not to exceed $100 million per decision of the Security Council. The cumulative total of outstanding commitment authority in respect of the start-up or expansion phase of peacekeeping operations is not to exceed the total level of the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund at any one time; however, the appropriation by the General Assembly of any outstanding commitments shall automatically restore this commitment authority to the extent of the amount appropriated." "Regulation 4.7. Advances made from the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund shall be reimbursed as soon as receipts from contributions are available for those purposes." "Regulation 4.8. If a decision of the Security Council results in the need for the Secretary-General to enter into commitments for the start-up or expansion phase of peacekeeping operations in an amount exceeding $100 million per decision of the Security Council or exceeding the total level of the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund, the matter shall be brought to the General Assembly as soon as possible for a decision on commitment authority and assessment." "Regulation 4.9. The Secretary-General and the Advisory Committee shall report to the General Assembly on any exercise of a commitment authority given under regulation 4.6, together with the circumstances relating thereto, in the context of the next report submitted to the Assembly on the financing of the relevant peacekeeping operation."

Peacekeeping missions are also able to draw upon up to $50 million from the Strategic Deployment Stocks to support start-up and expansion, with reimbursement after an appropriation has been received. .

Peacekeeping mandate change
Since the 2010s, it has become common for the General Assembly to not approve the full budget of a peacekeeping mission that is undergoing a mandate review or where circumstances have changed since a budget was prepared. In these situations, the General Assembly has frequently approved commitment authority (with assessment) for six months until a revised budget is submitted for consideration, generally during the fall, with adoption in December.

Political mission start-up or expansion
Start-up of special political missions relies on the unforeseen and extraordinary expenses (UEE) mechanism in the regular budget, which is governed by a separate UEE resolution for each budget period. The UEE resolution for the 2018-2019 biennium is General Assembly resolution 72/264 of 24 December 2017.

Resolution 72/264 provides for expedited approval of commitment authority for the start-up or expansion of an SPM with just the concurrence of ACABQ without the requirement of going to the General Assembly if the requirements are below $10 million. Requirements above $10 million require General Assembly approval. Commitment authority under UEE does not, however, come with assessment.

While special political missions have access to the Strategic Deployment Stocks, they have to replenish the costs up-front, thus reducing the available commitment authority for other requirements. This is in contrast with the situation in peacekeeping missions, where SDS replenishment is only required after an appropriation is received.