General Assembly Session 57 meeting 42

Ms. Jarbussynova (Kazakhstan)

I thank you, Mr. President, for convening this important meeting. My delegation would like to join previous speakers in commending the Secretary-General for initiating the new reform proposals contained in his report entitled "Strengthening of the United Nations: an agenda for further change" (A/57/387 and Corr.1).

The report under consideration today is comprehensive and very timely and is aimed at implementing the goals of the Millennium Declaration and the outcomes of the major international conferences, including the International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

My delegation shares the view expressed by other delegations that the document represents a milestone on the road towards further improvements in the activities of both the General Assembly and the Secretariat. We believe that reform should be a continuing process, since there are still many areas in the United Nations which need to be rationalized. We deeply appreciate the efforts of the Secretary-General to make the Organization into a more effective and flexible instrument in order to enable it to respond to the wide range of new global challenges.

My Government fully supports the strong commitment of the Secretary-General further to strengthen the United Nations. Under his leadership, the Organization has undergone numerous changes in recent years and significantly improved its performance.

There is no doubt that the full implementation of the second phase of the reform proposed by the Secretary-General will require constructive support on the part of the Member States. In this regard, we commend the efforts of the President of the General Assembly to enhance the transparency of the process, in which all interested delegations will be involved.

My delegation deems this approach to be the most appropriate one, as the report of the Secretary-General merits comprehensive deliberations which, we believe, will result in the adoption of a resolution endorsed by all Member States.

My delegation also commends the intention of the President of the General Assembly to prepare a paper that will provide explanations with respect to the major issues which have been raised by regional groups and Member States. This measure will undoubtedly accommodate the concerns of delegations and stimulate the negotiation process.

Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the activities of the Organization in the economic and social fields. We agree with the Secretary-General that the United Nations should expand its presence in the developing world by improving its effectiveness and its responsiveness.

We believe that the reform measures must enable the United Nations fully to implement all mandated programmes which strengthen the capacities of the developing countries to address the challenges of a globalized economy.

We welcome the idea of improving the planning and budgetary processes of the Organization. My delegation supports those delegations which think that the budget cycle needs to be modernized in order better to serve a renewed Organization. Indeed, a more balanced, transparent and strategic document must be elaborated that reflects our priorities and consequent resource requirements.

It goes without saying that further improvement of United Nations activities in the field of information is an integral part of the whole reform package. The role of the Department of Public Information must not be underestimated, since the United Nations is repositioning itself with a view to acquiring even greater relevance as an indispensable global institution. We believe also that the activities of the United Nations Information Centres deserve serious consideration.

We acknowledge the need to strengthen the activities of the General Assembly. We believe that the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management must play a more active role in managing documentation and meetings.

We support also the continuing improvement of human resources management. We attach particular importance to the implementation of the principle of equitable geographic distribution with regard to Secretariat staff.

We wish to see a reformed Security Council that is open to dialogue and sends the international community a clear message that it stands ready to meet new challenges. We hope that the President of the General Assembly will bring the negotiation process back to life in order to reach a comprehensive package agreement on Council reform.

We welcome the initiative of the Secretary-General to establish a high-level panel to review the relationship between the United Nations and civil society.

In conclusion, allow me to assure the Assembly of our full support for the continuing efforts of the Secretary-General to strengthen the role of the Organization in the twenty-first century and of the full cooperation of my delegation in the promotion of further deliberations.

Mrs. Hughes Ferrari (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

My delegation, while aligning itself fully with the statement made by Ambassador Vicente Vallenilla on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, considers it appropriate to make some brief comments on the specific and particular problems of the smallest States Members of the United Nations. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines undoubtedly falls into this category.

My Government is firm in its view that, notwithstanding our smallness and relative poverty, it is vital to our national interests that we maintain a presence at this forum, although the cost of establishing and maintaining a Mission in New York puts a great strain on an already overburdened economy. For this reason, it is critical that the representatives here in New York serve their country well. However, I will try to pinpoint one or two reasons why it is so very difficult for mini-States to play the kind of role to which we aspire.

First of all, it is quite obvious that the architects of the United Nations agenda were representatives of States that were not constrained by lack of resources, either financial or, more importantly, human. How otherwise could we explain why the vast bulk of the United Nations agenda is crammed into a few short weeks between September and December each year? During these weeks, all of the main committees are meeting, very often simultaneously. There are also numerous meetings of the plenary, as well as a multitude of other events, seminars, briefings, meetings of regional groups, and so on, which are an integral part of the functioning of the Organization. Add to this nightmarish scenario the vast mountain of official -- and unofficial -- documentation that has to be tackled on a daily basis, and one can easily see that a dozen or more bodies would be needed for a delegation to function in even a modest way.

For a Mission with what can only be described as a skeleton staff, it is quite impossible to contribute to the workings of the United Nations in the way that we would like, given that, try as we might, we have not found a way to be in two places at once, far less three or more.

It may be impertinent of me to even think such scandalous thoughts, but I make bold to ask if it would not be possible to rethink the United Nations agenda with a view to spreading the work more evenly throughout the calendar year.

The other issue I wish to address is that of candidatures to the various United Nations bodies or organs. I wish to put forward the opinion that it is high time that the United Nations devised a system of equitable and automatic representation, on a rotating basis, for its Member States on its principal organs. Not only would this ensure equity, democracy and fairness in the system, but it would, at a stroke, remove the need for our endless processions to and from the Indonesian Lounge. This would not only free up prodigious amounts of time for hard-working delegations, but would also result in significant savings for Member States due to not having to campaign. I would like to suggest that these savings could be deposited in a special fund to assist the world's poor.

In closing, I quote from paragraph 23 of the Secretary-General's report:

"The proliferation of meetings and official documents places excessive demands on both the Secretariat and Member States. Many smaller Member States now find it practically impossible to play a meaningful role in even the most crucial activities of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council".

I cannot say it any better than the Secretary-General did, and, on that note, I rest my case.

Mr. Balarezo (Peru)

In a recent article on the future of the United Nations in the new millennium, the Deputy Secretary-General rightly maintained that the Organization faces three main challenges: the challenge of legitimacy, which implies that international organizations should be more transparent, participatory and democratic when it comes to taking decisions; the challenge of consistency, which requires programme adjustments and better inter-agency coordination, as well as a greater political willingness on the part of its Member States to provide resources and authority that the United Nations requires to comply with its objectives; and, finally, the challenge of effectiveness, measured in terms of available instruments and the effective implementation of internationally agreed commitments at the national level. The delegation of Peru fully shares this vision and feels that these three principles, along with transparency and accountability, are the basis on which the Organization should rest.

It is in this context that we welcome and congratulate the Secretary-General for the reform programme that he is submitting to us. This must be an undertaking by all of us. The Organization is at the service of member countries, and member countries must offer its Secretariat the means and instruments that make it possible to comply with these objectives, which are none other than those defined and approved by the members themselves. There can be no other agenda.

These reforms, as correctly pointed out by the Secretary-General, must be accompanied by changes in intergovernmental bodies, and for this reason, it is urgent to streamline and prioritize the work of the General Assembly, strengthen the role of the Economic and Social Council in the area of development, resolve economic and social international problems and proceed immediately to the democratization of the Security Council.

Peru agrees with the Secretary-General on the need to adjust the Organization's budget and programme instruments to the priorities that we have set for ourselves. It is crucial for the delegation of Peru that the United Nations system programme of activities be focused on the eradication of global poverty, and this requires that the developing countries achieve high-end sustained economic growth. It is also fundamental to fully implement the Millennium Declaration, as well as the Monterrey consensus and the outcome of the Johannesburg summit.

We support the ideas of the Secretary-General to emphasize questions that are not receiving proper attention, such as globalization and its positive and negative consequences for development, migration, water shortages and conflict prevention, among other things.

But we also believe there are other serious problems that should be studied with greater emphasis. Besides financial vulnerability and the recurrence of natural disasters as a result of climate change, Peru is particularly concerned by persistent unemployment in developing countries and the growing social requirements that compromise democratic viability. We have to find creative formulas in order to strengthen democracy and governance.

We commend the Secretary-General for his proposal to present a revised programme budget in 2003, with the desire to provide an efficient instrument for the Organization to comply with its task. The delegation of Peru feels that it is important to grant the Secretary-General greater autonomy in the administration of resources. This greater flexibility could be accompanied by criteria for certain priority programme lines for developing countries which should not fall below the established limit.

The arguments that the duties of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) go to the Fifth Committee seem to be quite sound. This would give a greater consistency between strategic and programme planning, as well as budget allocation. If this proposal is approved after a more exhaustive assessment, we suggest that financial support continue so that experts from capitals of developing countries can take part in the debates of the Fifth Committee.

Peru is fully committed to democracy, good governance and the protection and promotion of human rights. As a result, we support the efforts designed to strengthen and perfect the United Nations human rights machinery and effective compliance with international commitments undertaken by Member States. As a result, we are awaiting an occasion to become familiar with and to express ourselves on the different reports and recommendations requested by the Secretary-General to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in actions 2 to 5.

Since it is not possible to dwell on all the proposals here, the delegation of Peru would simply like to record its support for the strengthening of the United Nations relationship with civil society and the private sector, for the need to improve the Organization's human resources policies, the strategic redefinition of the Department of Public Information and the enhancement of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Peru believes that it is of utmost importance to strengthen technical cooperation for developing countries. However, we are not very clear on what is being proposed in this area. It is important, of course, to establish a division of responsibilities and duties. But it is also important to have alternative approaches, instruments and sources of financing and technical cooperation to meet the needs of the countries that are on the receiving end.

I would like to conclude with two items. First of all, it seems certain that there has been some fatigue when it comes to holding major conferences. This, however, should not prevent periodic reviews of the implementation of commitments undertaken; nor should it deny the opportunity of calling upon the political will of Member States or the conscience of public opinion. We can imagine, for example, that, earlier than we might expect, we may feel the need to convene a world summit on global governance, including the question of global public good.

Secondly, we feel that it is important to have a more fluid and ongoing interaction between the various strata of Secretariat staff with Member States on the activities and work plans that are being carried out in the concrete implementation of the budget, as well as the medium-term plan. This is not a question of transparency, nor is it one of scrutiny. We do believe that this exists. Rather, it is a matter of achieving more fluid communication, as well as human contact. For example, for any representative who would like to become informed about certain facts, activities or to exchange points of view, all he or she can do is to read the reports, attend occasional panels or request interviews.

For this reason, the delegation of Peru feels that, as is common practice for any corporate management, it would be highly positive to have periodic informal meetings with the Under-Secretaries-General, heads of department and their teams on the different activities that are being carried out or being planned, as well as an exchange of points of view on questions of particular interest. These meetings could be held with the regional groups or other groups, such as the Rio Group. This would strengthen the feeling of belonging and partnership with the purpose that unites us all, that is, to achieve legitimacy, consistency and effectiveness for the Organization.

Mr. Gallegos Chiriboga (Ecuador)

On behalf of the delegation of Ecuador, I am pleased to congratulate and thank the Secretary-General for the report on strengthening of the United Nations (document A/57/387) and to express our firm and decisive support for the proposals contained therein. This valuable document reflects the need to carry out thorough reforms within the Organization in order to ensure that its work is effective and efficient, which would make it possible to comply with the objectives pointed out in the United Nations Charter, as well as the goals that have been set by member countries in recent world summits.

There have been changes. However, much still remains to be done. In order to take positive and fruitful steps towards the accomplishment of this objective, the Organization must respond to current demands, as well as to the new realities, of a world that offers enormous challenges and, at the same time, great opportunities.

In order to achieve one of the basic objectives of the Organization -- a better world, more just, equitable and supportive -- it is necessary to have the political will for establishing a solid foundation to enable leadership of the international community.

The Millennium Declaration is a framework for future action of the United Nations. The heads of State or Government of the Member countries expressed their commitment to making the Organization a more effective instrument in achieving the priority themes, such as the struggle for the development of all peoples in the world; the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease; the fight against injustice; fight against violence, terror and crime; and the fight against the degradation and destruction of our planet.

The Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg are important steps that have been taken in the past year and that establish very explicit and agreed upon lines of action to fulfill the goals that we have expressed.

In order to make substantive progress towards these objectives, we must immediately tackle the task of implementing the agreements that emerged from these summits. It is necessary to transcend mere words or reiteration of commitment and move towards the search for and implementation of innovative, viable and effective mechanisms that will lead us towards the objective we are all pursuing -- that is, international peace and security.

We firmly believe that only development, in its broadest sense, would make it possible to move towards solid and lasting peace and international security. Social justice, respect for human rights and better opportunities for work and production for people in the developing world constitute the basis of a true guarantee of international security.

With the passing of time and increase in the number of its tasks, the General Assembly has stopped being the scene of major debates and a forum where we meet and willingly seek solutions to the challenges that history presents us with. Faced with this reality, it becomes clear that there is a need to reaffirm the primary function of the General Assembly, the main deliberative body that adopts policies and represents the United Nations, and where all States, without exception, take part democratically in deliberations.

For these reasons, it is certain that we need a renewed and strengthened multilateral system that would lay down the solid groundwork for effective international cooperation, based on common principles and norms, taking into consideration the requirements of the day.

The promotion and protection of human rights is of great importance for my country. In this respect, we feel it is particularly important to stress the proposal designed to improve different aspects of the relationship of Governments with the United Nations system. We greatly value the proposals that aim to strengthen the United Nations capacity to assist countries with the establishment of solid human-rights institutions.

We share the idea that public opinion is fundamental to strengthening the United Nations, as pointed out by the Secretary-General in his report. As a result, we believe that the proposals to redefine the duties of the Department of Public Information are also important.

Mr. President, the delegation of Ecuador would like to congratulate you on your current efforts to promote new stages in the reform process of the General Assembly, and we support them firmly. We also express our willingness to cooperate with the process that will lead to the revitalization of the Organization and make it possible to comply with the vision of men and women of this planet who would like to change the realities that affect our world.

Mr. Niculescu (Romania)

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