General Assembly Session 58 meeting 86

The President

I would like to invite the attention of the General Assembly to documents A/58/688/Add.6 and A/58/688/Add.7, in which the Secretary-General informs the President of the General Assembly that, since the issuance of his communications contained in documents A/58/688 and Add. 1 to Add.5, the Solomon Islands, Uganda and Vanuatu have made the necessary payments to reduce their arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter.

May I take it that the General Assembly duly takes note of the information contained in those documents?

The President

Members will recall that the General Assembly held its debate on agenda item 50 at its 40th to 42nd plenary meetings, on 22 and 23 October 2003. At its 75th plenary meeting, on 17 December 2003, the General Assembly adopted decision 58/529, entitled "Commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development". Members will also recall that the Assembly held its debate on agenda item 60 at its 43rd plenary meeting, on 27 October 2003. At its 68th plenary meeting, on 3 December 2003, the General Assembly adopted resolution 58/16, entitled "Responding to global threats and challenges".

In connection with these two items, the General Assembly now has before it a revised draft resolution issued as document A/58/L.8/Rev.1, on the major high-level event to be convened in 2005. As I indicated to Permanent Representatives in my letter of 28 April 2004, draft resolution A/58/L.8/Rev.1 is the outcome of a long process of consultations and negotiations. My own consultations on the draft resolution indicate that it now accommodates and addresses the major concerns of delegations in a reasonable manner, so as to generate consensus. I have been assured that the draft resolution enjoys broad support.

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the Permanent Representative of Qatar, His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Chair of the Group of 77 and China, and his delegation, for the extensive and dedicated work they have done to ensure broad consensus on the draft resolution.

The major high-level event, which draft resolution A/58/L.8/Rev.1 addresses, is one that is broad in its scope. The mandate of the event as set out in the draft resolution encompasses a comprehensive review of the progress made in the fulfilment of all the commitments contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration. That would include internationally agreed development goals and the global partnership required for their achievement.

As well, the mandate of the event incorporates a comprehensive review of progress made in the integrated and coordinated implementation, at the national, regional and international levels, of the outcomes and commitments of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields.

The requested report of the Secretary-General is also mandated to be a comprehensive one, and as such should address all the pertinent issues contained in the Millennium Declaration and in the outcomes of major summits and conferences in the economic and social fields. I would urge all Member States to participate actively in the process of consultations that would inform this report, which will now form the basis of the review that the major high-level event will undertake.

Draft resolution A/58/L.8/Rev.1 has been the subject of consultations and negotiations for some seven months now. There is only a short time remaining for me to carry out, during the fifty-eighth session, the consultations foreseen in the draft resolution, for which I will require the full cooperation of all Member States. This time does not allow us to begin a new round of negotiations and consultations on what is, indeed, a purely procedural draft resolution. In any event, it may not be wise to do so, given the broad support for the draft resolution as it now stands.

In this spirit, I would urge Members States to join in the consensus adoption of draft resolution A/58/L.8/Rev.1.

We shall now proceed to consider draft resolution A/58/L.8/Rev.1.

Before giving the floor to speakers in explanation of position before action is taken on the draft resolution, may I remind delegations that explanations of vote or position are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.

Mr. McIvor (New Zealand)

Mr. President, I will try to make myself heard above the considerable background noise, to which you have referred.

It is always a pleasure to take the floor in this forum on behalf of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as I do today.

The draft resolution before us deals with a subject that, increasingly, is the focus of critical attention from all delegations -- namely, what are we actually doing to give effect to the objectives and aspirations of the Millennium Summit and to implement the commitments made at the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields? The draft is the culmination of protracted consultations and negotiations in which many -- though not all -- delegations have participated. Throughout that process, and in other forums, our three delegations -- and, indeed, many others -- have consistently emphasized several points.

In our view, it is essential that the proposed high-level meeting in 2005 focus squarely on the question of implementation and not seek to revisit previously agreed outcomes. It is our understanding from the consultations and from statements that delegations have made elsewhere and at other times that no delegation disagrees with this.

We also believe that the proposed event would provide an important occasion for delegations to reaffirm previously agreed commitments. Moreover, the review should, as the draft resolution notes, be comprehensive and should not presume a more specific focus on selected issues.

Next year is a milestone in the history of the United Nations. A stock-taking of progress towards the objectives and commitments we have set ourselves should not occur just in the abstract. Rather, as the Organization nears its sixtieth anniversary, we should also ask whether the structures and tools currently at our disposal are what we need in the twenty-first century to achieve our goals. We trust that next year's event will take account of the findings and conclusions of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and other relevant processes under way.

We have a unique opportunity next year. We have one chance to assemble the highest levels of Government to consider these important matters. We must get it right, and we have little time to plan. While we retain concerns about the current text and the way in which it has evolved, we are ready to join a consensus because of the importance of the subject. With that in mind, we must ensure that our preparations are thorough and that all delegations are able to participate fully in them. We look forward to working with you, Sir, in the coming months as you conduct your open-ended consultations.

Mr. Wrafter (Ireland)

Ambassador Ryan has asked me to apologize for the fact that he was unable to make this statement in person.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union (EU). The candidate countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey; the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro; and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries Iceland and Liechtenstein, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

The EU supports the draft resolution before us today. The text represents months of hard work since the first draft was presented by Morocco as the then-Chairman of the Group of 77. Since January, Qatar has assumed the chairmanship of the Group and the role of promoter of the draft resolution.

We consider that the adoption of the draft represents a small but important point on the road to the major event at the commencement of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly in 2005.

Our goal is the effective implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits, in particular the Millennium Declaration, which, for the EU countries, constitutes the overarching policy framework for the United Nations in the economic and social fields. The Millennium Development Goals and the other internationally agreed goals provide us with clear objectives in the economic and environmental areas on which the international community needs to focus its attention and, above all, its action.

The EU stands ready to make a substantive contribution to the major event, where the United Nations will undertake a stocktaking of the progress made in implementing the Millennium Declaration and towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. On 27 April last, EU Development Ministers invited the European Commission to take forward work on the preparation and coordination of a consolidated EU contribution to the international stocktaking of the Millennium Development Goals. It is expected that a synthesis report prepared by the European Commission will be submitted to EU Development Ministers no later than April 2005.

We look forward to and will constructively engage in the open-ended consultations to be carried out by you, Sir, as President of the General Assembly.

Mr. Staehelin (Switzerland)

Switzerland is fully aware that the process of negotiation of the draft resolution before us has taken too much time. We therefore collectively find ourselves in a difficult situation which calls for a prompt solution. In that regard, Switzerland intends to fully cooperate with you, Sir, and we are prepared to join in what seems to be a consensus.

Switzerland, however, wishes to make the following three comments for the record.

First, the process of consultation and negotiation on this draft resolution became opaque on 24 February last, and communication among all parties concerned was not ensured -- something that we deeply regret.

Secondly, the text before us today cannot be considered optimal. In particular, the disappearance of any explicit reference to the reaffirmation of the outcomes and results of the major conferences and summits of the United Nations in the economic, social and related areas, including the Millennium Summit, is deeply regrettable. Switzerland continues to believe that these conclusions and outcomes must be reaffirmed unambiguously, and it is ready to do so.

Thirdly, Switzerland does not believe that the outcomes and results of those conferences and summits should be renegotiated.

We are pleased to participate fully and actively in the follow-up to the process, which will from now on be in your capable hands. We wish to convey our full confidence in you, convinced as we are that will conduct the consultations entrusted to you in an inclusive and competent manner.