General Assembly Session 59 meeting 21

The President

Members will recall that the Secretary-General presented his report to the General Assembly at the 3rd plenary meeting, on 21 September 2004.

Mr. Van den Berg (Netherlands)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The candidate countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia, the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro align themselves with this statement.

The European Union wishes to express its appreciation for the concise but comprehensive report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization. The European Union shares the view of the Secretary-General that the United Nations has had an extraordinary and challenging year, with ongoing and newly developing crisis situations. Clearly, some of the challenges have been around for longer periods of time, but in several cases we are making slower progress in addressing them than the situation calls for. The results, in several cases, have been mixed at best.

The political crises we are facing and the need to meet the increasing demands for peacekeeping and humanitarian emergencies can seem overwhelming, but it is essential that we meet the challenges. Several conclusions are clear. Conflict prevention and post-conflict situations need to be handled in a better manner. Our joint efforts in combating terrorists and the proliferation of weapons, in particular weapons of mass destruction, must be increased. We must all work for worldwide respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. We should not cease in our efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and other major diseases, fight poverty and the growing gap between rich and poor, both between and within countries, stop global crime and redress environmental degradation.

In the view of the European Union (EU), the United Nations is uniquely placed to provide the framework for international cooperation. It has no substitute in the international community. However, in order to be more effective, the Organization has to adapt to changing conditions. This requires, most of all, an open and constructive attitude by its Member States and a willingness to support change. But it also requires an Organization that focuses on priorities, intensifies its internal cooperation, coordination and coherence, improves its human resources management and strengthens its budget process and its accountability. The EU gave its views on these matters during the joint plenary debate last Monday.

The EU itself is strongly committed to supporting these efforts to strengthen the United Nations. It has committed itself to effective multilateralism as a central element of its external action. We believe that none of the current international challenges can be tackled in an isolated manner or unilaterally. We understand that our security and development are inextricably linked to the security and development of others.

Our objective is the development of a stronger international community, well-functioning international institutions and a rule-based international order, within the fundamental framework of the United Nations Charter. The United Nations is, in our view, at the core of such an international order.

In this regard, we must intensify our efforts to reach a consensus on changes in the institutional architecture, in order to assure that our objectives in the areas of peace, security, development and good governance are met. We considered the establishment by the Secretary-General of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change to be of the highest importance. We look forward to discussing the Panel's report and the Secretary-General's recommendations thereon in a constructive manner. We also look forward to the report by the Millennium Project and to discussing the follow-up to the report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization and the report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations.

The EU considers the high-level event at the beginning of the 2005 General Assembly a logical culmination of this process. We see this event as a key opportunity to agree on or reaffirm fundamental principles and to agree on urgent measures to achieve all the commitments of the Millennium Declaration, including the Millennium Development Goals. The event should encourage progress in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits and conferences in the economic and social areas, including, in particular, the follow-up to the Monterrey and Johannesburg summits. The EU will present more detailed views on this subject during our debate in November on the follow-up to the Millennium Summit and the follow-up to the implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields.

The EU welcomes the continued trend towards strengthening partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations in the shared pursuit of peace, stability and development in the various regions. In particular, we wish to commend and support the enhanced role of the African Union and its peace and security structures in the stabilization of regional crises. The EU is aware of its responsibility as a regional organization in the areas of conflict prevention, crisis management and peacekeeping operations. The September 2003 Joint Declaration on United Nations-European Union Cooperation in Crisis Management provided a framework for both organizations to develop practical avenues for expanded cooperation. A joint consultative mechanism consisting of a United Nations-EU steering committee on crisis management activities oversees the implementation of this Declaration.

Finally, the Secretary-General mentions in his report the crucial role that the United Nations has played in the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the arrangements for the commencement of its operations. Without the United Nations, the ICC would not exist. The purposes of the United Nations and of the ICC are mutually reinforcing, and close cooperation between the United Nations and the ICC should now proceed, on the basis of the relationship agreement that entered into force on 3 October 2004. More than half of the United Nations Members -- 97 States -- have now become parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and we encourage an even wider ratification. The ICC is now operational, with two situations being investigated by the prosecutor. The EU recalls its continuous support for the ICC and the efforts of the international community to fight impunity. We are firmly convinced that the Rome Statute provides all the necessary safeguards against the use of the Court for politically motivated purposes, and are committed to preserving the integrity of the Statute.

Let me conclude by applauding the Secretary-General and his staff for the work they have undertaken in the past year, often under extremely difficult circumstances, and for always acting within the framework of the principles and purposes of the Charter. Allow me to remind Member States that we will have to take decisions on a potentially major overhaul of the safety and security policies of the Organization, both for Headquarters and in the field. The EU looks forward to receiving the Secretariat's report on safety and security, and will support appropriate improvements in security measures. Let me assure you that the European Union is, and will be, on your side.

The President

I now give the floor to the representative of Canada, who is also speaking on behalf of Australia and New Zealand.

Mr. Laurin (Canada)

I am pleased to address the Assembly on behalf of New Zealand, Australia and Canada under agenda item 10, the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization. Allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr. President, on behalf of our three delegations, on your election as President of the fifty-ninth session, and to assure you of our constructive cooperation and support in the year ahead. We also offer our congratulations to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report, which in so many ways reflects the quality of his own leadership, highlights both the Organization's successes and its shortcomings over the past year and underlines the challenges we face. These are challenges, which, in our view, are unprecedented in their scope and in their potential gravity.

Mr. Laurin (Canada)

For those of us convinced that a more just and secure world requires effective multilateral institutions, these are times of serious concern, including the concern that, as we speak here today, human tragedies continue to unfold, most notably in the Darfur region of Sudan. Our peoples increasingly question why the collective international will embodied in this Organization seems so tenuous in responding, and why we seemingly permit the mantra of sovereignty to shelter the abusers rather than the abused, including women and children, who are often the first and most helpless victims.

We have jointly spoken previously in this Hall of the responsibility of Governments to protect the people in their charge and of the obligation of the international community to exercise that responsibility on a temporary basis whenever that most fundamental of obligations is egregiously ignored.

We have many means at our disposal to prevent, deter and respond to crimes against our common humanity and to bring the perpetrators to account for their actions. The International Criminal Court, for example, has an essential role to play in facilitating justice and accountability, particularly through the principle of complementarity, which is an essential feature of the Court's statute.

We live in perilous times. Armed conflict continues to take innocent lives in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. The threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction hangs over us. Terrorist acts continue unabated. It need not be so. We must do more in this Organization by way of an effective response. We note with satisfaction in this regard the efforts being made to strengthen the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

In countries with their own tragic histories -- Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Liberia, East Timor, and elsewhere -- the United Nations is contributing significantly to the difficult but tentatively promising process of economic recovery and reconciliation. The United Nations can and should play a similar role in Iraq to fulfil its mandate under Security Council resolution 1546 (2004), most critically through supporting Iraqis in the holding of elections on schedule, no later than 31 January 2005.

We also take this opportunity to recognize once again the military, civilian police and civilian personnel in peacekeeping operations, both as deployed in traditional blue-helmet missions -- in greater numbers than for many years -- and in national uniform serving in missions authorized by the Security Council. We honour those among them who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of peace.

As the Secretary-General's report on the work of the Organization notes, last year this Assembly, for the first time, adopted a historic resolution on the prevention of armed conflict (resolution 57/337), based on the Secretary-General's earlier report on the subject (A/55/985 and Corr.1). It also endorsed the integration of conflict prevention across the funds and programmes of the United Nations system. We applaud the Secretary-General for his leadership in taking this process forward.

We recognize, however, that threats take many forms, and for those whose nations are mired in poverty, whose populations must live and die with the HIV/AIDS pandemic on a scale others among us cannot imagine or which have suffered cataclysmic natural disasters, national security has connotations no less serious even if the threats they face are different in character.

Our three Governments are united in our commitment to a broad concept of security in which the security of the individual human being is paramount and must be addressed in a number of dimensions. In that respect, we share the report's hope for greater progress in attaining the Millennium Development Goals. We urge all Member States to contribute to the efforts described in the report to stem the flow of small arms and light weapons. We strongly endorse the call in the report for those States that have not ratified the Ottawa Convention to do so promptly and for all States to participate in the first review conference of the Convention, to be held in Nairobi a month from now. And we are among those who share the disquiet noted in the report regarding the dysfunctional elements of the United Nations human rights machinery, including the continued election to the Commission on Human Rights of Governments that are themselves accused of gross human rights violations.

Working to enhance our security in all these respects are the civilian personnel of this Organization and those associated with it, in whose daily lives the element of risk is increasing. We appreciate the measures taken thus far to deal with this serious issue, particularly following the events in Baghdad last year, which took the lives of so many of this Organization's very finest. As the Assembly moves to implement further security enhancement measures -- and we know they will not be cheap -- we owe it to those we have lost and to those who follow in their footsteps, to do our utmost to protect them and their families.

If there is a common theme in all of this it is that of unprecedented change and challenge. We must face the fact that across our world today the United Nations is seen by many to be falling short of its potential and its purpose. The report, to its credit, does not shrink from this reality, while underlining that without the commitment and support of Member States that potential cannot be realized.

The process of administrative and budgetary reform must continue and be accelerated. The United Nations must reach out as never before to civil society, including the private sector, as underlined in the United Nations Development Programme report entitled "Unleashing entrepreneurship: making business work for the poor", and the report of the Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society relations (A/58/817 and Corr.1).

Perhaps most immediately critical, however, in terms of the fork in the road of which the Secretary-General spoke a year ago, will be our collective response to the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. Its recommendations and the Secretary General's response to them promise to be of historic significance. So too should be our collective response. If this Organization is to remain relevant, it cannot be more of the same. We must be prepared to make difficult compromises and take bold decisions. If we do not, history will move this Organization to its margins. We cannot permit that to happen.

Mr. Baali (Algeria)

Following the general debate of the last two weeks, today's meeting, on the consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (A/59/1), provides a further opportunity to debate issues of great importance and concern to the international community, as well as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the central and irreplaceable role of the United Nations in meeting the objectives for peace and development, as set out in the Millennium Declaration.

An attentive reading of the report of the Secretary-General and a lucid analysis of his assessment of the achievements of the Organization over the past year lead us once again to the following conclusion: the pressing need for a strong and effective Organization better able to serve the interests of States and people in this new era marked by increased globalization, which in turn leads to the globalization of the concept of security.

Global problems today are of such a scale and complexity that they can be solved only through collective action founded on the values of solidarity, universality and multilateralism as embodied by the United Nations.

The United Nations brings together almost all countries of the world, and its activities impact on almost all aspects of human activity. Those characteristics have made it a unique and ideal forum for the exchange of information, the holding of negotiations and the elaboration of standards and policies, the expression of aspirations, the orientation of the conduct of States and other partners and the implementation of collective action plans.

Member States must do more than simply reaffirm the relevance of the United Nations. They must also ensure that the Organization performs its tasks as effectively as possible and act as a catalyst of change in a rapidly changing world that is facing new challenges.

In that context, Algeria hopes that the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change will be able to make innovative and consistent recommendations founded on a stringent analysis of global threats to international peace and security and on an in-depth examination of the institutions and mechanisms existing within the United Nations. Therefore, Member States must carry out an objective examination, without complacency, of issues related to the reform of the United Nations in the light of the conclusions and recommendations to be issued by the High-level Panel, and must work constructively to implement the radical reforms that our Organization needs.

While pursuing those ambitious endeavours, Member States must also bear in mind that the great strength of this Organization lies in its legitimacy, which in turn is rooted in the fundamental principles of international law as accepted by all States and expressed by the international community as a whole. It is from that legitimacy that the United Nations is able to draw the authority required in order to ensure that its decisions are respected.

The United Nations is more than a simple tool, for beyond the varied fields of action in which it is engaged, its aim, as reflected in the Charter, is to transform relations among States, to manage global affairs and to respond to the needs and hopes of the world's peoples. That immense task entrusted to us by the founders of the United Nations some 60 years ago will be fulfilled only if we work together in a pragmatic and clear-headed manner. At the same time, we must show creativity and daring by helping the United Nations to do its best to adapt to the global realities of the twenty-first century.

My delegation would like to comment briefly on some salient aspects of the report of the Secretary-General, bearing in mind that in coming weeks we will be addressing further important issues on our agenda.

With regard to peace and international security, the report of the Secretary-General once again highlights the fact that there are ongoing violent conflicts worldwide, which have cost millions of lives among civilians, have had an impact on neighbouring countries and have endangered international peace and security.

Africa has done a great deal to resolve the crises that face it. But it continues to be the continent most sorely afflicted by conflict, as can be seen from the agenda of the Security Council. While we welcome the positive developments in the situations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and in the Comoros, other nascent and full-blown conflicts require our attention.

In the areas of preventing conflict, restoring peace, peace-building and peacekeeping, combating poverty and illness and promoting development, cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations is more necessary than ever before. Therefore, cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union and subregional organizations on the African continent must address the whole range of serious issues facing Africa.

In that context, Algeria particularly welcomes the cooperation of the United Nations in developing and implementing guidelines for setting up the structures of the African Union's Peace and Security Council, in particular by helping to establish the African Standby Force and the Union's Military Staff Committee. Through the African Union, the subregional bodies and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Africa is now able to draw upon frameworks and mechanisms that are better suited to the kinds of problems that we must solve.

With regard to combating the AIDS pandemic, my delegation agrees with the Secretary-General that "[t]he fight against HIV/AIDS requires strong global leadership, effective global partnership and sustained global action" (A/59/1, para. 4). Algeria welcomes the initiative launched by the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, which aims to provide antiretroviral treatment for some 3 million individuals suffering from AIDS by the end of 2005. This is an initiative which will make possible the survival of at least half of the 6 million individuals suffering from AIDS in developing countries, the majority of whom dwell in Africa.

The United Nations must continue its action in the fight against terrorism. We are well aware of the persistent threat that terrorism poses to peace and international security. In this respect, we share the view of the Secretary-General that we need to combat terrorism while at the same time ensuring full respect for fundamental freedoms and human dignity. But we must also emphasize that in resolution 58/174 the General Assembly recalled the reference in last year's report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration to the fact that "[T]errorism itself is a violation of fundamental human rights and must be combated as such" (A/58/323, para. 28).

The report of the Secretary-General furthermore emphasizes the need for increased international cooperation to combat that scourge using existing mechanisms.

Among the counter-terrorism activities carried out during the past year, the Secretary-General recalls Security Council resolution 1535 (2004) on the revitalization of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in order to strengthen its effectiveness while enhancing all the Committee's activities to prevent and suppress terrorism.

The report also emphasizes that the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, working in close coordination with the Counter-Terrorism Committee, has provided technical assistance to more than 70 countries in connection with the ratification and implementation of the 12 universal anti-terrorism conventions and the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). It notes also that in 2004 the connection between terrorism and organized crime was discussed by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination.

My delegation welcomes all of these actions, which demonstrate the determination of the international community to combat this scourge. At the same time, however, we feel that it is only through the development of a comprehensive anti-terrorism convention that we will be able to put an end to these dangerous movements, which tend to lead to confusion between the legitimate liberation struggle of peoples and the terrible phenomenon of terrorism.

Mr. Sychov (Belarus)

The Republic of Belarus views the past year as having been a period of difficult and intensive work by our Organization, its agencies and its institutions. The Secretary-General has repeatedly drawn our attention to the fact that the range of challenges facing the Organization is constantly expanding, and that their complexity and their importance for the international community are constantly increasing.

We believe in the Organization's ability to considerably strengthen its lead coordinating role in mobilizing the efforts of Member States when confronting new challenges and threats. In that regard, we welcomed the Security Council's adoption of its resolution 1535 (2004), which formed the basis for the creation of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, which includes a special office for providing technical assistance to States. We hope that these structural reforms will help strengthen the operational coordination between the Counter-Terrorism Committee and Governments, thus improving the impact of the Committee's work.

An important step in the work of the Organization was the Security Council's adoption of its resolution 1540 (2004), by which we are taking a new approach to the question of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by linking that problem to the growth in the terrorist threat. For that resolution to be successfully implemented, in is important that States submit comprehensive national reports. For our part, the Government of the Republic of Belarus intends to submit our national report on time.

The Secretary-General has drawn our attention to the surge in the number of local conflicts and the increased demand for United Nations peacekeeping operations. The setting up of new operations and the increased scale of current ones require increased activity by the relevant Secretariat units and place a heavy burden on the financial resources of the Organization.

In our view, we should tackle this situation in two ways. First, there is a need to enhance the participation of interested regional associations and organizations which can effectively organize and carry out peacekeeping activities. In particular, we welcome the African Union's desire to take an increasingly active role in peacekeeping operations, specifically in Africa. However, the United Nations should coordinate and direct peacekeeping activities carried out by regional organizations.

Secondly, it is important to organize, with the help of the most economically powerful States, large-scale training of potential peacekeepers for interested regional organizations and developing countries. In that context, it is important to note that during the general debate, a number of far-reaching initiatives were proposed for a rational, pragmatic approach.

My country has great military and civilian potential and is interested in expanding its participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations. It is taking practical steps to establish a legal basis for such participation and for training peacekeeping personnel.

The Government of the Republic of Belarus supports strengthening the role of the United Nations in the political reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan in the light of the preparations for national parliamentary and presidential elections in those war-affected countries. The United Nations has great experience in organizing democratic elections in post-conflict countries and can make a valuable contribution to the post-war reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan.

We note with regret that the United Nations has not yet been able to make a significant impact on the process of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and implementing the road map. In that connection, we call on the Secretary-General to intensify his mediation activities in that area in order to resolve the most problematic issues between the parties to the conflict.

We welcome the Organization's work in protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, and we welcome the work of the Commission on Human Rights. In that context, we can only agree with the Secretary-General with respect to the high level of politicization of the Commission's debates and the fact that a selective approach is taken in considering situations involving human rights violations. The Republic of Belarus has repeatedly stated its position of principle on this issue. We share and support the desire of most members of the Commission to avoid unnecessary politicization of the Commission's work so that it can carry out its functions as the principal human rights body of the United Nations, able to respond promptly, effectively and even-handedly to the new challenges with respect to massive violations of human rights. Only by adopting a constructive approach and renouncing double standards can the global human rights situation be improved.

Our delegation commends the efforts of the United Nations to promote the Millennium Development Goals and to incorporate them into the activities of the main bodies of the United Nations system. We hope that the General Assembly's high-level meeting in 2005 will conduct a thorough analysis of the five years of implementation of the Millennium Declaration and of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences in the economic, social and related fields.

At the same time, we are concerned that in implementing the Millennium Development Goals, priority attention has gone to the social and humanitarian goals, while economic issues have been given lower priority. Without denying the urgent importance of resolving social and humanitarian problems, we are convinced that Governments, Member States and international organizations in the United Nations system need to step up their efforts to meet the economic challenges set out in the Millennium Declaration. Creating favourable conditions for sustainable development is vital to eradicating hunger and poverty, ensuring respect for human rights, mitigating the threat of terrorism, preventing armed conflict and eliminating dangerous epidemics.

It will be impossible to overcome those challenges without a revitalized, institutionally strong and effectively functioning United Nations whose activities are founded on the principles of multilateralism in international relations, the rule of law in international affairs and collective and fair solutions to global problems. In that regard, the delegation of Belarus calls upon Member States to adopt a well-balanced approach to the forthcoming report of the Secretary-General's recently established High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.

We express our readiness to cooperate closely with other delegations to find common approaches to the major problems related to establishing a new international order.

Mr. Aboul Atta (Egypt)

At the outset, my delegation thanks the Secretary-General and the Secretariat for their efforts towards achieving the Organization's objectives as defined in the Charter and by the resolutions adopted by Member States.

The report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (A/59/1) discusses very important issues deserving of our attention. We wish to comment on them, but time constraints oblige us to concentrate on just a few. The Egyptian position on all issues covered in the report will be expressed during the discussion of the individual items of the agenda of the fifty-ninth session in plenary meetings and in the Main Committees. Today, I shall touch on the following issues.

First, even a cursory glance at the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and the report's discussion of the issue reflect a single truth. Despite the constant efforts of the international community and parties in the region, notably including Egypt, the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory has worsened, and the resolutions adopted are not being implemented. There are occasional glimmers of hope that agreements concluded and initiatives adopted will be implemented, but realities on the ground undermine that hope. That is so because the occupying Power is not committed to the principles of international law. It has not heeded the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and ignores the Fourth Geneva Convention and the provisions of international humanitarian law.

Secondly, we note that the Organization has stepped up its peace-building activities. That has led to administrative difficulties for the Organization. It is important to develop a rapid response capability for dealing with crises as soon as they emerge. We need an integrated strategy, including all related elements and clear timelines, for the various phases of peacekeeping, peace-building and capacity-building in countries in conflict. That would enable Member States to anticipate the human and material resources needed for such operations.

That issue is very important because it directly affects the safety and security of United Nations personnel. And that in turn is important to us because United Nations personnel is a treasure valued by all. We believe that we cannot provide security if we spend enormous amounts of money without having a clear plan rooted in a solid culture of security, with an administrative approach including a clear chain of command, specific responsibilities, expertise and competencies ensuring high-level performance in this very important field. Therefore, we must undertake a comprehensive review of the Organization's capabilities and expertise in this area, making use of the conclusions of the many committees that have been created, the expert studies done and the reviews carried out. That approach was endorsed by the General Assembly at its previous session and constitutes a very important contribution that must be taken into consideration.

Thirdly, terrorism is still a threat to international peace and security and that requires more efficient action by the international community. Here we would like to emphasize the important role undertaken by all of the multilateral international bodies -- in particular the Security Council and the General Assembly -- on the basis of complementarity rather than competition and within the context of emphasizing the responsibilities entrusted to each of them in accordance with the Charter.

Fourthly, we welcome the efforts made by the Special Adviser on Africa and his Office in presenting the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and mobilizing international support and efforts to bring about its objectives. We would like to underline the importance of supporting that office with the human and material resources needed to achieve its objective.

We have noted that, despite the efforts made by the Organization, concrete steps to implement specific programmes and projects that have been set up with within the context of NEPAD, have not received the necessary priority within the framework of development policies for Africa, by donor States.

We look forward to revitalizing the interaction between the United Nations, as manifested by the Office of the Special Adviser, and the many initiatives made individually, or by many other bodies, in order to bring about efficient and effective projects and programmes in the areas of social, environmental and economic development, and peace and security.

Therefore, we should try to avoid double standards and diversion of international interest so we can bring about development in Africa as set forth in the NEPAD Initiative.

Fifthly and finally, we would like to make the following preliminary remarks concerning the strengthening of the United Nations. First, the proposed programme budget of the Organization must reflect the priorities in the medium term plan, as they are more comprehensive. We should provide the necessary funding for all of the activities endorsed by the Member States.

Secondly, developing the work of the Organization is a matter that should be left to the leadership of the Member States and to what they agree on. It should be done with a clear view of the responsibilities of those who are involved.

Thirdly, the concepts of transparency, accountability and assessment must be supported within the Organization at all levels in order to guarantee the work efficiency to which all of us at the United Nations look forward.

Mr. Neil (Jamaica)

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