General Assembly Session 50 meeting 33

Mr. Arcilla (Philippines)

I wish at the outset to express our appreciation to and to commend the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his comprehensive report (A/50/1) and for the various initiatives he has undertaken and pursued to further enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations and its Secretariat.

The United Nations, for 50 years, has in general done its best to act effectively and in a timely manner in respect of the various demands of our times. It has responded with creativity and innovativeness, notwithstanding severe constraints, including its diminishing financial resources. Considerable attention has been paid to preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution. Several major initiatives, including those relating to the search for peace in Angola and to the restoration of democracy in Haiti, have been adequately supported by the Organization.

The United Nations has also ensured the implementation of various post-conflict peace-building measures. Notable here is the assistance provided for the conduct of elections and for mine-clearing activities in various countries. Likewise, the Organization has successfully undertaken a number of peace-keeping operations, despite the fact that the need for such support mechanisms has grown in number and complexity in recent years.

In the fields of development and humanitarian action, the Organizations -- either through its own Department of Development Support and Management Services or through the various United Nations organs, agencies and other bodies, such as the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Population Fund, and the regional commissions -- has carried out and implemented various technical cooperation activities, despite financial constraints. The Organization's portfolio of technical cooperation projects and the demands for timely and efficient project delivery have grown considerably through the years.

The Organization has also undertaken various operational follow-up activities in the implementation of decisions and agreements emanating from several international conferences, including the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the International Conference on Population and Development and the World Summit for Social Development.

There is much more that the developing countries would like the Organization to undertake, in keeping with various international agreements and instruments designed to support their efforts to achieve sustained growth and development and to address, in particular, the eradication of poverty and the urgent needs of the most vulnerable segments of their societies.

The globalization of the world economy and the deepening interdependence among nations have also presented new challenges and opportunities, as well as risks and uncertainties, for the future of the world economy, in particular, for the development prospects of developing countries. The Organization must respond to these new challenges and opportunities by providing the necessary support to enhance its role in formulating appropriate policy guidelines on international economic and development issues, as well as ensuring that the requisite operational follow-up measures are carried out.

Obviously, my intervention today cannot fully do justice to the wide-ranging topics covered in the report. We can only highlight some of its major elements and, possibly, focus on the bottleneck that prevents the Organization from providing optimum service to Member States.

The Secretary-General has on several occasions brought to our attention the financial situation of the Organization. The report unequivocally reiterates the point that the United Nations now faces very serious financial situation. It details the indices of the severity of the current financial problems, including the millions of dollars owed to Governments that have contributed troops and equipment to peace-keeping operations. The report asserts that "This is manifestly unjust". (A/50/1, para. 32)

It is disturbing to note that, despite our collective recognition of the problem -- as stated in General Assembly resolution 41/213 -- and of the requirement to fulfil our financial obligations promptly and in full, we have failed to act decisively on the Organization's perennial problem of cash availability. My delegation therefore once again appeals to the Member States concerned, particularly the largest contributor, to make every effort to pay all their dues unconditionally, in full and on time.

We welcome the initiatives being pursued by the Secretary-General to streamline the Organization into a more focused and integrated machinery. We support the Secretary-General's efforts to increase its efficiency. "Downsizing" has been implemented and will continue in the years to come, as is already reflected in the biennium budget for 1996-1997, and in various organs, bodies and agencies of the United Nations.

However, we wish to reiterate the point that an institution can pursue genuine reforms only under a policy framework that seeks to fully realize its mandate. When we speak of reforms, we should be very clear on the premises underlying what we would like to achieve. We must refer in unmistakable terms to the efforts to achieve economy and efficiency in fulfilling completely the mandates of the bodies, organs and agencies of the United Nations system, not to efforts that will compromise effective programme delivery and be substitutes for measures aimed at significantly strengthening the United Nations role in development.

It is on this note that our Organization has to pause and assess the impact on its mandates of streamlining exercises. We clearly need to see where we stand and to proceed cautiously on other, related measures.

Before concluding, may, I, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, convey the views of the Group on the draft resolution contained in document A/50/L.5. We take note that this draft resolution will be considered under agenda item 119, entitled "Pattern of conferences", which has been allocated by the General Assembly to the Fifth Committee for its consideration. After careful and in-depth consideration of the report of the Committee on Conferences, the Group of 77 and China are of the view that the control and limitation of documentation are integral parts of the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly under that agenda item. Hence, the Group of 77 and China will carefully review the elements of draft resolution A/50/L.5 in the Fifth Committee within the broadest context of the agenda item entitled "Pattern of conferences".