A/60/PV.92 General Assembly

Mr. President, I wish to thank you for having convened this meeting. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Today we are completing a process which started eight months ago, in which our leaders, through the World Summit Outcome, laid the foundation for enhancing development. Commitments were made and systemic issues agreed upon, and all that was needed was full and timely implementation. The Group of 77 and China had hoped that the follow-up to the World Summit Outcome would lead us on a path that would enhance the momentum generated by the World Summit Outcome so as to fully realize and implement the commitments of all major summits and conferences in the economic, social and related fields, including the Millennium Development Goals, and help create an environment that would strengthen global political will as to the need to improve the lives of the more than a billion people who still live below the poverty line. With the adoption of this draft resolution, the question will remain whether we have succeeded in the task set for us by our leaders to mainstream development as the most important central pillar of the United Nations agenda. This draft resolution does not fully reflect the issues of implementation that it should have. In many cases, it is but a reiteration of already agreed language from the World Summit Outcome and therefore does not succeed in maintaining the political will and momentum of the World Summit Outcome. Without concrete action to implement all the commitments on trade, agricultural subsidies and the transfer of vitally needed resources to developing countries which the developed community has already committed itself to achieving, we will not achieve our goal to fully realize, by 2015, the outcomes of all major summits and conferences, including the Millennium Development Goals and the World Summit Outcome. The draft resolution also fails in that there is no political will from our partners to create an equitable and balanced financial, economic and social global order, which is necessary for creating a framework for implementation in an integrated, coordinated and comprehensive approach in the global partnership for development. The draft resolution, therefore, does not take the concept of national responsibility further into the realm of implementation, in the context of how developing countries can be assisted so as to enable them to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. Much as we appreciate the fact that this draft resolution will be adopted, the Group of 77 and China has two regrets. The first is that there was reluctance to improve the structure of the draft by slightly reordering the paragraphs after we had agreed on it. That is a pity, as willingness to continue the process under facilitation could have resolved in a few hours the whole issue of the placement of paragraphs and would have resulted in a far better draft resolution that the one we will be adopting. Our second regret concerns the fact that, during the negotiations, the generous offer by His Royal Highness the Emir of Qatar to host a review conference on the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus was left out of paragraph 62 because there was an objection on the part of our partners. The irony, of course, is that the General Assembly had already accepted, in resolution 60/188, the offer made by the State of Qatar to host that review conference. We are pleased, however, by the emphasis on the need for adequate and substantive preparation for the review conference that is contained in the draft resolution that we will be adopting today, and we will work hard during the sixty-first session to make sure that the offer made by Qatar becomes a reality. It is our hope that, with the adoption of this draft resolution — imperfect as it may be — in the coming years all the commitments will be implemented in a timely manner so as to create a better life for all those millions of people who so desperately need to be lifted out of poverty. On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I would like to thank the co-Chairmen, the facilitators and our partners for all the hard work they did to ensure that we could have this important draft resolution before us. We want to acknowledge the cooperation of our negotiating partners in making it possible to adopt this draft resolution by consensus, albeit many, many months later. Finally, let me pay tribute to my colleague from Austria, whose term as representative of the presidency of the European Union (EU) ends tonight, and I welcome the new representative of the EU presidency, my neighbour, the Ambassador of Finland, and wish him all the best in this whole process.

I am grateful for this opportunity to explain our position on draft resolution A/60/L.59. The State of Qatar has been an ongoing partner in international efforts to bring about development, particularly concerning the combating and eradication of poverty, as well as the promotion of development worldwide in a more just manner. Attaining those goals will have a positive impact on stability and on the maintenance of international peace and security. As a member of the Group of 77 and China, which it chaired in 2004, the State of Qatar is particularly interested in international development. The State of Qatar has thus presented international initiatives and supports all such initiatives in the area of development. We were honoured to host the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, which led to the adoption of the Doha Development Agenda within a multilateral framework. We also hosted the Second South Summit in 2005, at which we presented an initiative to establish a development fund. At the meeting on financing for development held in the context of the 2005 High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly (see A/60/PV.3), His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, presented an initiative to host in Doha the first follow-up conference for the International Conference on Financing for Development, on the basis of paragraph 73 of the Monterrey Consensus. We have also proposed the convening in 2007 of the first review conference, with a view to bringing about more progress in the area of development. The initiative of His Highness the Emir enjoys the support of many heads of State or Government who participated in the high-level meeting on financing for development. That support was reflected in the statement of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of developing countries following the high- level meeting of the General Assembly. Furthermore, in resolution 60/188, on follow-up to and implementation of the outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development, the General Assembly welcomed Qatar’s initiative. We had hoped that paragraph 62 of the draft resolution before us would clearly state that the first review conference would be held in the State of Qatar, since resolution 60/188 had welcomed Qatar’s initiative. It is regrettable that the draft resolution that we are about to adopt omits any reference to that initiative. While we are disappointed that the paragraph proposed by the Group of 77 and China was not included in the draft resolution, we stress that, out of respect for the President of the Assembly and the Chair of the Group of 77 and China, we will join the consensus on the draft resolution before us. We hope that this omission will be corrected, and that His Highness the Emir’s initiative will be activated during coming negotiations on preparations for the review conference.

I note the explanation of position by the representative of Qatar, referring to paragraph 62 of draft resolution A/60/L.59, on preparation for the review conference on the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, as set out in General Assembly resolution 60/188. As we are all aware, resolution 60/188, inter alia, welcomes the offer of the Emir and the Government of Qatar to host the conference, and we note that this offer has been reiterated today by the representative of Qatar.

We support the statement made by the representative of South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China with respect to the generous offer of His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar to host the first review conference of the Monterrey Consensus on financing for development, in the capital of Qatar, Doha. That offer had been welcomed by the General Assembly in resolution 60/188 on follow-up to and implementation of the outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development. We look forward to the adoption during the sixty-first session of a resolution that will follow through on the Emir’s initiative, particularly in the light of the intensive efforts made by the State of Qatar to support international endeavours for development and poverty eradication. We shall therefore join the consensus on draft resolution A/60/L.59.

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of Argentina and Guatemala. Our delegations associate themselves with the statement made by the Permanent Representative of South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. As medium-income countries, we hail the consensus achieved on the important draft resolution before the General Assembly in document A/60/L.59. We believe that, for medium-income countries, it marks an important step and we appreciate it as such. Our delegations also wish to reiterate our thanks to the Emir of Qatar for his offer to our heads of State and Government to host the follow-up conference of the Monterrey summit in the city of Doha. Our delegations commit themselves to work constructively to achieve consensus on that generous initiative.

We shall now proceed to consider draft resolution A/60/L.59. The Assembly will now take a decision on A/60/L.59, entitled “Follow-up to the development outcome of the 2005 World Summit, including the Millennium Development Goals and the other internationally agreed development goals”. May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/60/L.59?

I shall give the floor to those representatives wishing to speak in explanation of position on the resolution just adopted.

First of all, Mr. President, I want to commend you for your ceaseless encouragement to finish work on this important resolution on development, a resolution that proved difficult not because of fundamental disagreements between members, but because of the complexity of the issues we had to address. The final product is a good one. Faithful to both the substance and the spirit of the world summit, it demonstrates clearly our commitment to work together in partnership to stimulate growth, economic freedom, social equity and the rule of law. Commitment, of course, is not enough. As we have heard over and over again during our discussions, implementation is the key. The true test will be the extent to which the resolution actually leads to more effective and focused work by Member States and the United Nations system to give people hope, opportunity and the tools to succeed. I would like to commend the Co-Chairmen, Ambassador Ribeke and Ambassador Diarra, for their work. They guided us with wisdom throughout the process. I would also like to praise the work of the facilitators, Paul Lolo, who helped us move from general discussions to serious negotiations and consensus on some of the hardest issues, and Carlos Ruiz, who suggested many of the final compromise packages with thoughtfulness and creativity. I would like to note for the record that the United States understands that the reference to the International Conference on Population and Development and to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the use of the phrase “reproductive health” in the resolution do not create any rights and cannot be interpreted to constitute support for or endorsement or promotion of abortion. Lastly, we, too, would like to thank the Permanent Representative of Austria, a friend of all Member States, for his tremendous service representing the presidency of the European Union (EU). We also welcome the Permanent Representative of Finland, as she commences her country’s EU presidency.

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union. The European Union appreciates the balanced outcome of our negotiations. It recognizes that extensive and protracted consultations were required in order to finalize such a complex resolution, and is convinced that the follow- up to the development-related aspects of the 2005 World Summit Outcome will greatly benefit from the document. At the same time, we would like to reaffirm that all the development-related provisions contained in the World Summit Outcome, including those that have not found their way into the resolution, have equal dignity and should be implemented in a timely manner. Follow-up to the development-related provisions of the World Summit Outcome can be ensured only through a long-term process, and the resolution is only the first step in that direction. It should serve as an agreed platform for our mutual commitments. We are hopeful that the adoption by consensus of this important resolution will reinvigorate the global partnership for development and thereby pave the way for the successful conduct of the very important development-related efforts to come: the substantive session of the Economic and Social Council, the discussions on the Economic and Social Council draft resolution on reform, the high-level dialogue on migration and development, the mid-term review of the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries and the work of the Second Committee. I thank members for their warm welcome.

I am sure that I speak for all members of the General Assembly in welcoming the Permanent Representative of Finland as she begins her term of office representing the presidency of the European Union at the United Nations.

I wish at the outset to express my support for the statement made by the representative of South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. My delegation would like to express its views on paragraph 62 of the resolution that we have just adopted. The delegation of Bahrain fully agrees with the statement made by the State of Qatar in that respect. We had hoped that that paragraph would reflect the proposal made earlier by the Group of 77 and China, since that initiative is a matter of great importance for developing States. In joining the consensus, we expressed our readiness to accept the current formulation on the basis that it would be appropriately rectified during the forthcoming negotiations on the preparatory process for the first review conference.

I am speaking in explanation of position on paragraph 34 of the resolution just adopted. (spoke in French) Canada did not want to stand in the way of consensus on that paragraph, but we would like to express our concerns regarding the challenges with which we are confronted with a view to achieving a reduction in the level of greenhouse gases in the context of the Kyoto Protocol. Canada remains firmly committed to dealing with climate change within the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other international processes. Furthermore, we are currently developing a new action plan to deal with air pollution that will allow for an appreciable reduction in greenhouse gases. (spoke in English) In conclusion, allow me to thank the Co-Chairmen, the facilitators and our partners for making it possible for us to reach consensus on the resolution today.

My delegation would like to explain its position on paragraph 62 of the resolution just adopted. My delegation supports the statement made by the Chairman of the Group of 77 and China in that regard. We had hoped that paragraph 62 would reflect the offer made by His Highness the Emir of Qatar to host, in Doha in 2007, the first review conference of the International Conference on Financing for Development. That initiative is of great importance in terms of providing impetus for international cooperation for development. In this context, therefore, my delegation looks forward to that offer being taken up during the forthcoming negotiations on the preparatory process of the review conference.

We align ourselves with the statement made by the Chairman of the Group of 77. We are pleased that a development resolution has been adopted today by consensus. Development is a matter of high priority for developing countries. The resolution reiterates many commitments already made in the past, but makes only modest references to monitoring mechanisms to ensure that those commitments are implemented. Nevertheless, we hope that we will build a strong, robust monitoring mechanism at the United Nations to ensure effective implementation. We would like to take this opportunity to support the statement made by the delegation of Qatar regarding its offer to host, in Doha, the first review conference of the Monterrey Consensus.

I call on the observer of the Observer State of the Holy See. Monsignor Cushley (Holy See): My delegation welcomes the resolution on the follow-up to the development outcome of the 2005 world summit and the renewed commitment of Member States to work in favour of development, which in itself is an essential and central goal among the various ends of the Organization. In accord with its explanations of position in the past, the Holy See welcomes all measures that will provide for the achievement of equal rights everywhere and promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. Therefore, while my delegation supports the resolution in question, it hereby restates its understanding that the term “reproductive health” and the reaffirmation in the resolution of the full and effective implementation of the goals and objectives of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly do not endorse the creation or maintenance of a right to abortion or access to it as a service.

We have heard the last speaker in explanation of position. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda items 46 and 120. Reports of the Fifth Committee The President: The General Assembly will now consider the reports of the Fifth Committee on agenda items 121, 135 to 140, 142 to 145, 146 (a), 147 to 152 and 124. If there is no proposal under rule 66 of the rules of procedure, I shall take it that the General Assembly decides not to discuss the reports of the Fifth Committee that are before it today. It was so decided.

Statements will therefore be limited to explanations of vote or position. The positions of delegations regarding the recommendations of the Fifth Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant official records. May I remind members that, under paragraph 7 of decision 34/401, the General Assembly agreed that “When the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, i.e., either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation’s vote in the plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee.” May I remind delegations that, also in accordance with General Assembly decision 34/401, explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats. Before we begin to take action on the recommendations contained in the reports of the Fifth Committee, I should like to advise representatives that we are going to proceed to take decisions in the same manner as was done in the Fifth Committee, unless notified otherwise in advance. That means that where recorded or separate votes were taken, we will do the same. I also hope that we may proceed to adopt without a vote those recommendations that were adopted without a vote in the Fifth Committee.

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 121.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 135.

Draft resolution II is entitled “Financing of the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy”. The Fifth Committee adopted draft resolution II without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

Draft resolution III is entitled “Support account for peacekeeping operations”. The Fifth Committee adopted draft resolution III without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 136.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 137.

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 138.

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 139.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 140.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 142.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 143.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 144.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 145.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 146.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 147.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 148.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 149. (b) United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Report of the Fifth Committee (A/60/928) The President: The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 12 of its report. The text of the draft resolution, for the time being, is contained in document A/C.5/60/L.42. The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution, which is entitled “Financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon”. A single separate vote has been requested on the fourth preambular paragraph and operative paragraphs 4, 5 and 17 of the draft resolution. Is there any objection to that request? As there is none, I shall put to the vote the fourth preambular paragraph and operative paragraphs 4, 5 and 17 of the draft resolution, on which a single separate vote has been requested. A recorded vote has been requested. A recorded vote was taken. In favour: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe Against: Australia, Canada, Israel, Palau, Papua New Guinea, United States of America Abstaining: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay The fourth preambular paragraph and operative paragraphs 4, 5 and 17 were retained by 99 votes to 6, with 49 abstentions. [Subsequently the delegation of the Congo informed the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in favour.]

I shall now put to the vote the draft resolution as a whole. A recorded vote has been requested. A recorded vote was taken. In favour: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe Against: Israel, Palau, United States of America Abstaining: Australia [Subsequently the delegation of the Congo informed the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in favour.]

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub- item (b) of agenda item 149.

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 150.

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 151.

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 152.

Two days ago, in the Fifth Committee, in dissociating itself from the Committee’s recommendation to lift the spending cap by consensus, my delegation expressed its strong hope that good progress would be made and tangible results achieved on the remaining key issues of management reform, mandate review and other issues associated with United Nations reform. That, I said, would give us confidence and satisfaction and, hopefully, enable us to change our position and join a full consensus decision when it comes to the General Assembly plenary. Over the past two days, intensive efforts have been made on all sides to find generally agreed solutions to these issues, and I commend all negotiating partners for their efforts to that end. In particular, I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for the special efforts you yourself have made in this regard. In addition, we all are very grateful to Ambassador Allan Rock of Canada, one of the co-Chairmen on mandate review, for his special dedication to making progress, up until his very last day as Ambassador in New York. On the issue of management reform, we regret that, despite extended and good-faith efforts on all sides, consensus has not been possible. My delegation put forward a modest, concrete suggestion on the question of limited discretion for the Secretary-General in budgetary implementation, an issue that is long overdue for consideration. This was incorporated into the proposal informally circulated by the United States, Australia and Japan. We appreciate the fact that a version of the proposal has been well received by a large number of Member States, including States members of the Group of 77 and China. I hope that this will be a useful basis for possible consensus in our further talks. On the issue of mandate review, to which my delegation also attaches great importance, along with reform in management, accountability and oversight, we once again express regret that consensus continues to elude us, despite the fact that we had made some very encouraging progress thanks especially to the extraordinary efforts made by the co-Chairmen, for which we are again grateful. We had come fairly close to an agreement on a road map for mandate review on a win-win basis, but, unfortunately, it became clear that more time was needed to clinch it. I join others in expressing my delegation’s dismay at not having been able to achieve agreement on the issue at this point. However, this is not and must not be the end of the road. We really need to continue with our serious work and reach decisions soon on key issues if we are to be successful in implementing what our leaders decided in the Outcome Document on mandate review, which is to review all mandates older than five years, complete the process and take the necessary decisions arising from that review during 2006. Bearing all the foregoing in mind, it is with great regret that my delegation finds it impossible to change the position it took in the Fifth Committee, and, consequently, Japan will dissociate itself from consensus in the plenary on the decision to lift the spending cap. In that regard, I wish to mention the fact that Japan is proud of its record of fulfilling its financial obligations to the United Nations in full and without conditions, and my delegation will strive to maintain that record. Causing a financial crisis for the Organization has never been the aim of the spending cap. As I stated on 23 December last, in this very Hall, the spending cap was intended — as I put it — as concrete evidence of Member States’ firm determination to realize, in good faith, the implementation of United Nations reform. We believe that a more efficient and effective United Nations is in the interest of all Member States. The status quo is not an option for us. The decisions in the September outcome document need to be implemented in good faith and in full. My delegation stands ready to work with other delegations to achieve progress on management reform during the next resumed session of the Fifth Committee. We are also determined, in the days and weeks ahead, to continue to work strenuously and constructively with other like- minded Member States to achieve results on mandate review.

Australia must also dissociate itself from lifting the spending cap by consensus. Last December, we decided by consensus to limit the Secretary-General’s spending authority. That demonstrated our collective commitment to United Nations reform and our shared conviction that reform should be achieved as early as possible in this session of the General Assembly. To lift the cap without meeting that responsibility to reform would be to defeat the purpose for which the cap was originally accepted. When the matter was taken up in the Fifth Committee on Wednesday, I said that we had not achieved important reforms on mandates or management reform, and therefore the proposed action was premature. I said I nevertheless hoped that such reforms would be achieved by today. They have not been. We have no resolution before us on management and oversight reform or mandate review. For us, that is a serious failure, and it is a failure by us, the Member States. To agree to review the mandates or the work programme of any organization on a regular basis is simply sensible practice. It allows an organization to ensure that its funding and its staff are focused according to contemporary and not historical priorities. It is the least that our constituencies should expect of us. Similarly, the need to implement best management practices should also be beyond debate. Necessary reforms — such as accepting international public sector accounting practices, publishing an annual report for the Organization, operationalizing the ethics office, establishing a chief information technology officer, providing a modern information and technology structure, and adopting a modern enterprise resource planning system — should not take months of endless debate. Neither should sensible oversight reform, such as ensuring budget independence for the Office of Internal Oversight Services or appointing members to the already established Independent Audit Advisory Committee. Necessary reforms in procurement should have been authorized and better public access to United Nations documents provided. Our failures to achieve these necessary reforms should not allow us to lift the cap, to lift the only discipline that we had imposed on ourselves — which is the cap. Having said that, and having accepted the reality that the cap will be lifted, my delegation will nevertheless continue to work hard towards the goal of a United Nations Organization that is best able to meet the many and important demands that are placed on it. Finally, there are many — including yourself, Mr. President — who deserve to be thanked for a great deal of effort to have done better than what we had before us tonight, but I would specifically mention Mr. Allan Rock, Ambassador for Canada, because he retires within a couple of hours. I thank him for his tireless efforts and wish him well for the future.

Thank you, Mr. President, for the tremendous effort that you and your colleagues made on behalf of all of us over the last several weeks. As the Assembly knows, my delegation dissociated itself from consensus on this matter in the Fifth Committee. We do so again here tonight, and our remarks can be found in the records of the Fifth Committee (see A/C.5/60/SR.65). Finally, we too would like to thank Allan Rock, the Permanent Representative of Canada, for his tireless service to this body, particularly over the last several weeks. We wish him well as he leaves us after tonight, and we will all miss him.

Let me begin by acknowledging the very helpful and constructive role you have played, Mr. President. We encourage you to persevere. The breadth and depth of Canada’s engagement in this Organization is well known. Our commitment to ensuring its effectiveness is unshakeable. We are, as the Assembly knows, among the few countries that have, without exception, paid their dues in full and on time — a concrete expression of our commitment to the reliable financing of this Organization. Canada joined in the lifting of the cap on Wednesday night on the basis of what we thought was a shared understanding of the work to be completed by this evening’s plenary. That included substantial progress on both management reform and mandate review. My colleagues know how hard our delegation has worked to bring one of those tracks to a successful conclusion. Sadly, what we have seen since that time cannot, in Canada’s view, be construed as a serious effort to find common ground or to advance the cause of reform. What we know is this: the United Nations cannot continue to be effective unless it modernizes its programme of work through mandate review and its methods of work through management reform. Above all, the management structures within which the United Nations undertakes its operations must be suited to the times. One simply cannot confront new problems with antiquated structures. We are therefore deeply distressed at the failure of this body to seize the moment and act on what our leaders have instructed us to do, namely, modernize the Organization. We believe this failure undermines the Organization’s credibility, and we fear it will ultimately undermine support for the Organization among the Governments of the world. That is a decision with which we cannot associate ourselves. Nevertheless, we intend to dedicate ourselves fully to achieving consensus on both management reform and mandate review in the weeks and months ahead.

We shall first take up the report of the Fifth Committee issued as document A/60/608/Add.3. The Assembly has before it a draft decision entitled “Expenditure authorization for the biennium 2006-2007”, recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take an action on the draft decision. The Fifth Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

We shall now take up the report of the Fifth Committee issued as document A/60/608/Add.4. The Assembly has before it a draft resolution entitled “Estimates in respect of special political missions, good offices and other political initiatives authorized by the General Assembly and/or Security Council”, recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 6 of its report. The text of the draft resolution, for the time being, is contained in document A/C.5/60/L.63. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Fifth Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

We shall now take up the report of the Fifth Committee issued as document A/60/608/Add.5. The Assembly has before it a draft decision entitled “Additional office accommodation in Geneva for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights”, recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 6 of its report. The text of the draft decision, for the time being, is contained in document A/C.5/60/L.65. We will now take action on the draft decision. The Fifth Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

We shall now take up the report of the Fifth Committee issued as document A/60/608/Add.6. The Assembly has before it a draft resolution entitled “Capital master plan”, recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 6 of this report. The text of the draft resolution for the time being is contained in document A/C.5/60/L.66. We will now take an action on the draft resolution. The Fifth Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

There is a request for explanation of position. I give the floor to the representative of Finland, speaking on behalf of the European Union.

I am speaking on behalf of the European Union. While the European Union is encouraged by the constructive spirit that came to the fore during our negotiations, we are disappointed that we are not seeing more of it this evening. But we have demonstrated that if we work together we can achieve tangible progress. The lifting of the cap was important, because it is in our shared interest that the United Nations continue its crucial mission to deliver services around the world. Mr. President, in your letter of 28 June, which reflects the political understanding of representatives of all groups on the way ahead in the reform process, you addressed the remarkable progress achieved so far, which in our view deserves to be highlighted. A new Peacebuilding Commission has been established, and it met for the first time on 23 June. The new Human Rights Council has replaced the Commission on Human Rights; its first session ended today. We set up the Central Emergency Response Fund. We adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. We established the Ethics Office. We strengthened oversight capacities, and we introduced a system of whistle-blower protection and financial disclosure. We achieved all of that in a little over six months. Today, we adopted resolution 60/265, on development follow- up, which reflects a spirit of global partnership. And the intensive negotiations on the financing of peacekeeping operations have been successfully concluded. Agreement was not reached on mandate review or management reform today, and we must now redouble our efforts in order to reach consensus next week. But there a consensus may be emerging on reform methods, specifically on the replacement of the Integrated Management Information System, the creation of the position of Chief Information Technology Officer in order to better manage the information technology resources of the Organization, the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards, better reporting and an increase in the Working Capital Fund. We need to build on the progress next week as we continue our work along the lines that you, Mr. President, have proposed. Reform is an ongoing process, and a lot remains to be done. The European Union will continue to work hard and constructively with all partners with a view to achieving a successful conclusion. We appeal to all delegations to enhance the global partnership that has been evolving in recent days in order to help us to take the decisions on substance and process which are necessary if we are to make our Organization more efficient and effective. It is crucial that by 7 July we achieve meaningful and concrete results together. The European Union is deeply grateful for your efforts, Mr. President, to bridge the gaps, to create an atmosphere of trust and to show us the way ahead.

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 124. The General Assembly has thus concluded its consideration of all the reports of the Fifth Committee before it. Statement by the President The President: During the past few weeks in the General Assembly there has been intense work on Secretariat and management reform, as well as on mandate review, with a view to implementing the decisions taken by our leaders at the 2005 world summit. By those efforts we have begun the process of creating the necessary conditions for a more efficient, effective and accountable United Nations. As I indicated in my letter of 28 June, we can look back on a number of significant accomplishments during the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. I also outlined measures that now need to be pursued on issues relating to Secretariat and management reform. The Assembly’s work during the past few weeks was carried out in an increasingly improved atmosphere. Member States have started to discuss these complex issues with a view to better understanding each others’ positions and to finding common ground for mutually acceptable solutions. Over the past few days our colleagues in the Fifth Committee have been focused on the various issues raised in the Secretary-General’s report “Investing in the United Nations” (A/60/692). I want to thank all delegates for working literally day and night to find compromises regarding the proposals on the table. I would also like to thank the Chairman of the Fifth Committee and the Secretariat for their contributions. In particular, I would like to thank the coordinator, Mr. Morteza Mirmohammad of the Islamic Republic of Iran, for the skilful way in which he has led the negotiations on a possible draft resolution. In those negotiations — in which work must continue — some areas of possible agreement have emerged. There is agreement on the establishment of the post of Chief Information Technology Officer in the Office of the Secretary-General. There is general acceptance of the need to replace the Integrated Management Information System with a modernized system to ensure that the Organization provides a high degree of transparency and accountability. There is support for the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards. There is, furthermore, a general understanding of the need for an increase in the Working Capital Fund. There is also support for the Secretary-General in his intention to submit a single, comprehensive annual report to the General Assembly containing financial and programme information, aimed at enhancing the transparency of the Organization and the accountability of the Secretariat to Member States. Consultations are also being pursued with regard to the idea of providing the Secretary-General with limited discretion in budgetary implementation. The Fifth Committee has been working hard on the complex management reform issues in the “Investing in the United Nations” report. At the same time, the Committee has also had to deal with peacekeeping budgets. Nearly 20 resolutions amounting to almost $5 billion have been negotiated and adopted. The workload has been extremely heavy. Given that situation, it is understandable that more time will be needed to finalize the negotiations. Expectations of results have been expressed in this Hall today. The Fifth Committee has thus decided to extend its resumed session from 5 to 7 July so that it may devote its attention solely to concluding its work on the “Investing in the United Nations” report with a view to working out a comprehensive, substantial draft resolution on Secretariat and management reform for adoption by the General Assembly. Another important aspect of our reform efforts is mandate review. As members may recall, at the 2005 world summit, our leaders asked us to review all mandates older than five years in order to strengthen and update the programme of work of the United Nations. To facilitate that review, the Secretary- General provided us with his report “Mandating and delivering” (A/60/733). I would like to thank the Co- Chairs for management reform, Ambassador Rock of Canada and Ambassador Akram of Pakistan, for their constructive and dynamic leadership of the complex mandate review process. I would also like to mention and thank Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry of Pakistan and Heidi Hulan of Canada for their important and diligent efforts in the working group. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Assistant Secretary-General Robert Orr and his very competent staff for their excellent work. As members know, in parallel with the work in the General Assembly, mandate review processes are ongoing in the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. The Co-Chairs have provided me with an interim report on their work. According to the report, comprehensive discussions have been held on the report entitled “Mandating and delivering”. Member States have welcomed the electronic database of mandates as a helpful tool for their deliberations. The database should be a living source of information — that is, it should be continuously updated. A working group has been established to consider mandates five years or older that have not been renewed. The 400 mandates that the group has considered have been separated into categories on the basis of their implementation status. The group will continue by identifying areas for early action within those categories. During the past few days, intensive consultations have taken place among Member States regarding the proposals for the way forward outlined in the interim report by the Co-Chairs. It is my understanding that there is support for the idea that, as soon as the review of mandates five years or older that have not been renewed has been concluded, consideration should be given to entering a second phase of discussion on the remaining mandates. It is, however, also my understanding that further consultations will be needed on the guiding principles for such a second phase. It is thus my intention to convene informal consultations of the plenary on mandate review as soon as possible in the month of July to consider the way forward. I also suggest that the informal plenary consider giving a renewed mandate to the working group so that it can continue its work on the non- renewed mandates with a view to broadening its scope to consideration of the remaining mandates once an agreement on how to proceed is agreed upon. Regrettably, Ambassador Rock will leave his post in New York tomorrow to return to Canada. Let me take this opportunity to wish him all the best in his continued professional pursuits and in his personal life. Alan Rock is a deeply respected friend and colleague who will be sorely missed; he will always be welcomed back to the United Nations in New York. I have asked Ambassador David Cooney of Ireland to take his place as Co-Chair for management reform. I am very pleased to inform the Assembly that Ambassador Cooney has agreed to take on that task and is ready to start his work in July. We know that he will do so with his well- known competence and wisdom. Before concluding, I would also like to note that the General Assembly has now authorized by consensus the expenditure of the remaining funds appropriated through resolution 60/247 A, also noting the disassociation from the consensus by some Member States. With this decision, the United Nations is now in a position to fully implement its programme of work during the remainder of the biennium 2006-2007 and to deliver its services to peoples and crisis areas all over the world. In order to do that effectively, the work to reform, streamline and modernize the United Nations must be pursued with vigour and a sense of shared responsibility. Extension of the work of the Fifth Committee The President: As there are still pending issues to be considered by the Fifth Committee, may I take it that the General Assembly agrees to extend the work of the Committee from Wednesday, 5 July, to Friday, 7 July 2006, on the understanding that conference services will be provided from resources allocated for the General Assembly? It was so decided.

I wish all members a pleasant evening and a good Fourth of July weekend.