A/66/PV.72 General Assembly

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Movement wishes to thank the President of the General Assembly for organizing this important debate. The Movement also thanks the Secretary-General and his team on the review of civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict. The Movement takes note of the report of the Secretary-General, contained in document A/66/311, regarding the review of international civilian capacities in support of national capacities for post-conflict peacebuilding. The Movement also takes note of the efforts of the Secretary-General to broaden and deepen the pool of experts, giving particular attention to mobilizing the capacities of the developing countries. In this regard, the Movement underscores the importance of the civilian capacity that already exists in the developing world and expresses its readiness to support national civilian capacity- and institution- building in support of peacebuilding activities in post-conflict situations. In that regard, we reaffirm the fundamental principle of national ownership. The Movement wishes to reiterate its principled position that the review of civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict should be conducted solely to support national efforts for peacebuilding through national capacity development, based on demand in the field. Efforts must strive to incorporate the grass-roots needs of people, particularly those of women. They should be buttressed by predictable funding. The capacity that exists in the global South must be mobilized on a priority basis so that its experience can be suitably replicated in similar socio-economic conditions to support nation-building elsewhere. The report of the Secretary-General identifies some priority areas. The Movement will constructively partner in further clarification about the implementation of those priorities. The Movement hopes that, in the course of future interactions, the Secretary-General will come up with detailed plans on how each of those priority areas — such as national ownership, capacity-building, mobilizing the capacity of the global South, the integration of women and ensuring predictable funding — will be implemented. In this regard, the Movement emphasizes the importance of the following points. Partnerships must be fostered. The Movement stresses the potential benefits that the capacity-building process can realize from inclusive partnerships among relevant stakeholders in its development and implementation. Partnerships should go beyond briefings to include meaningful consultations with Member States to benefit from their ideas, views and experiences and to avoid duplication of work at Headquarters and in the field. The Movement commends the report for adopting a demand-driven approach. We stress, however, that the assessment of demand should reflect the views of national stakeholders and strike the right balance between development needs and peace and security considerations. The Movement reiterates its belief that the capacity of the global South should be mobilized on a priority basis. In this regard, we emphasize the framework of South-South and triangular cooperation, based on predictable and adequate funding and resources. We believe that the process can benefit from the experience of the time-tested mechanism of deploying military and police experts on a secondment basis. Concerning the peacekeeping-peacebuilding nexus, peacekeepers lay the foundations of peace; they also contribute to early peacebuilding. The success of peacebuilding activities hinges upon the effective completion of peacekeeping operations. We therefore stress that peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities alike should be supported by adequate financial and human resources to ensure sustainable peace. The Movement also stresses that peacebuilding activities should not detract from the resources that support peacekeeping operations. That would undermine the establishment of initial peace and inevitably create impediments to achieving sustainable peace. Building the national capacity of post-conflict countries should be the crux of all our efforts. We are cognizant of the fact that national capacities in many post-conflict situations are often fragmented. Therefore, our initiatives should focus on integrating the fragmented capacities that exist in post-conflict countries so that they can work towards sustainable peace and avoid possible relapse into conflict. The Movement emphasizes the importance of detailed analysis of situations, taking into account the views of national stakeholders. The Movement also stresses that all initiatives and programmes, including the co-location of international staffs, must promote national capacity development, and avoid encouraging brain drain. Therefore, they should be context-driven and implemented in consultation with all stakeholders. National ownership is the core principle for reviewing civilian capacities. The principle should not be applied in a selective manner. Rather, the goal should be inclusivity. The mechanism should be developed in such a way that it encompasses a wide range of citizen representatives, including from vulnerable groups such as women and children. It should empower grass-roots initiatives so that ordinary people can utilize their social bonds as a strong foundation for development work and as an effective deterrent of relapse into conflict. Empowering a community ensures the security of people, lives and property. Finally, reviewing civilian capacity is a cross- cutting task that requires a comprehensive development plan. A few years back, the United Nations leadership established the Peacebuilding Commission to uphold that spirit. We therefore believe that the process should benefit from the expertise and experience that the Commission has gathered over time. In conclusion, in expressing its preliminary views on the report of the Secretary-General on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict, the Movement emphasizes the importance it attaches to intergovernmental cooperation in the process. The Movement reiterates its commitment to constructively engaging on substantive and specific proposals on the matter.

I have the honour to speak on sub-item (a) of agenda item 123 on behalf of the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. More than 120,000 men and women are today serving in United Nations peace operations. More than 20,000 of them are civilians — a number that has more than doubled in the past five years. Our expectations of what the United Nations should be able to deliver on the ground in fragile and conflict-affected States continue to become more ambitious. The Nordic countries therefore wholeheartedly welcomed the independent review of civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict when it was launched earlier this year. The report’s vision of “OPEN” — a framework of ownership, partnership, expertise and nimbleness — offers comprehensive and cost-effective means to ensure a more effective and relevant international response in fragile and post-conflict situations. The Secretary-General’s status report (A/66/311) being considered here today confirms our confidence in the continuing work to follow up on the recommendations made in the report of the Senior Advisory Group (A/65/747). We thank Under- Secretary-General Malcorra and her team for their dedicated and steadfast work. Partnerships and national ownership are at the heart of the matter. The report offers a host of recommendations for the United Nations to strengthen its partnership base and cooperation with external institutions, in particular those in the South. Efforts to promote readily available and stronger capacities, however, will remain futile unless the United Nations commits itself to using available capacities. We look forward to enhanced consultations between the United Nations and its Member States, as well as with regional organizations, to ensure that the best possible use is made of existing capacities. We also stand ready to support new initiatives for recruitment and capacity- building in the South. In our experience, initiatives in the North can be successfully twinned with initiatives in the South. The initial experience in South Sudan is promising. National ownership and capacity-building are being strengthened, for example by regional partnerships that bring together experts from neighbouring countries and by the delegation of responsibility for child protection to UNICEF by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Not only is that a more cost-effective and sensible use of United Nations resources and capacities, but it also paves the way for a more integrated and coherent United Nations presence in the field. United Nations coherence is essential. The United Nations should demonstrate the necessary leadership by fulfilling the international New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, launched in Busan this week by the partners of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. We recognize the many initiatives taken and processes under way to develop core principles and guidelines, update planning tools, conduct reviews and improve planning processes, as detailed by the Secretary-General in his report. These must be effectively put to use. Also of particular importance is the elimination of needless internal obstacles that hinder the rapid and smooth deployment of the capacity needed in fragile conflict situations. We request the Secretary-General to continue to brief the General Assembly on the status of the follow-up. We welcome the work to establish the online platform for civilian capacities. The platform could potentially become an important resource base for the Secretariat on available civilian capacities and a repository for overall information on civilian needs and the demand for civilian capacities in the field. Furthermore, the platform may provide a link between the Secretariat and the United Nations funds and programmes on civilian capacities, and Member States and other partners could tap into and contribute to it. The Secretary-General’s report also rightly stresses the need to pay special attention to women’s participation. We know that the prospects for sustainable peace and development and for generally well-functioning societies increase with higher levels of gender equality, including women’s participation. That is something we all need to keep in mind, both at the national level and when putting forward candidates for international peacekeeping and peacebuilding tasks. It is in our common interest as Member States to promote a genuinely efficient and cost-effective United Nations system. As such, we all have a responsibility to ensure the success of that endeavour. The Secretary- General must act with clear and strong resolve to implement those aspects that can be implemented by the Secretariat. Likewise, we, the Member States, must give the Secretariat the necessary means to implement flexible solutions. The Nordic countries are already proactively supporting the process financially and otherwise. We are also looking at how we can continue to play a supporting role in the next phase. In so doing, we look forward to continuing to work in close cooperation with the Under-Secretary-General and her team and other Member States. I will now add some remarks in my national capacity on agenda items 14 and 117. Every year here at the United Nations, and last year in particular, we have all expressed our commitment to reaching all of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline. Thanks to improved policies and economic growth in many countries, we are on track to reach many of those Goals. However, we are seriously off track with respect to others. MDG 4 is one example. Quite unnecessarily, each year millions of little children die from preventable causes because we fail to meet our obligations, but it is still within our power to prevent that from happening. What is required is the adoption of best-practice policies and a sufficient funding base. Another example is MDG 5. Quite unnecessarily, the same holds true for the hundreds of thousands of young girls and women who will die in pregnancy and childbirth. We can change that. Again, what is required is the adoption of best-practice policies and a sufficient funding base. The Secretary-General responded to that alarming situation by launching his Every Woman, Every Child initiative. However, many of our colleagues resisted for too long the invitation to join in that endeavour. That is why the global campaign must continue, beyond 2015 if necessary. We will see annual reporting on those Goals here at the United Nations. We are hopeful, after all, since new political and financial commitments are being made every year and more and more countries are coming on board. Moreover, even if we make more progress on the MDGs and even if we do everything right until the deadline, we will still have a long way to go before extreme poverty and hunger have been eradicated. That is why we need policy change in many countries. That is why we need more international solidarity and cooperation. And that is why Norway consistently allocates more than 1 per cent of its gross national income to development assistance. Looking beyond 2015, the world will be a very different place than it was just 15 years ago. Changing geopolitical and economic realities affect the political balance among countries and will also affect how we do business in international organizations. We are also facing different challenges than before, such as the effects of climate change. Vulnerable populations in the developing world are those who will suffer the most. The future development agenda must remain focused on eradicating poverty and hunger. It must be clearly defined and contain the mobilizing power of the current goals. The health-related goals must be retained. Economic and social divides within societies must be narrowed, not increased. Development should lead to economic growth that is fair and inclusive, and we must expand the number of donors beyond the traditional ones. It is in regions affected by armed conflict and violence that we have made the least progress on the MDGs. We must therefore give due consideration to including the security aspect of development. Areas such as the rule of law, human rights and good governance must be seriously addressed. Energy and infrastructure belong on our post-2015 agenda as well. Access to energy is essential for growth. We need more power-generation, better grids and affordable off-grid solutions. The Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative deserves our wholehearted support, and at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio we can decide on policy paths for energy access. Finally, we must keep our eyes on the end goal of our development agenda, which is to make more countries self-sufficient and independent of development assistance. Women’s empowerment is the single most important catalyst for change. It is obvious that the full participation of women in the economic, social and political life of a country is a prerequisite for development. It simply makes no sense to exclude half the population from those areas. Women must therefore be empowered to take advantage of their rights and opportunities. The empowerment of girls and women starts with education. Unless they are given access to the places and spaces where agendas are set and decisions are made, they cannot take full advantage of that education. The next six months will be coloured by our Rio preparations. We look forward to discussing sustainable development goals and other issues with long-term consequences for human sustainable development. We will do it here in New York, as well as at many other conferences and venues. We look forward to discussing how we achieve results in vital areas. Poverty, health and energy access will be vital areas for us, and we hope also for the United Nations.

I now call on the observer of the European Union.

The candidate countries Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro; the countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina; as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, align themselves with this statement. Regarding the enhancement of civilian capacity, the European Union (EU) and its member States welcome the report of the Secretary-General on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/66/311), which is the Secretary-General’s first response to the independent report produced by the Senior Advisory Group on the same issue earlier this year (A/65/747). The European Union and its member States see great merit in the way the Secretary-General draws up the road map for action along three major axes. In addition, the report divides the United Nations response into different categories in terms of implementation. We encourage the implementation of many of these actions and underline the importance of having a results-oriented focus in this process. As the Secretary-General points out in his report, some initiatives can be taken forward within his authority or under the authority of the executive heads of the United Nations. We would welcome greater clarity from the Secretariat as to which of the Secretary- General’s reports’ recommendations can be taken forward in this way. The European Union and its member States strongly support the basic principles that the Secretary- General’s report builds on. National ownership is emphasized as the only way to build a lasting peace. There should be great effort put into this approach from the very beginning, when a conflict is first being addressed. The report’s emphasis on women as a priority in these processes is also highly to be commended. Partnerships are a vital element. We value greatly the cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union, and we are in the process of enhancing our support. As the Secretary-General states in his report, “the international community … can and must do better at providing rapid, effective civilian capacities to conflict-affected countries” (A/66/311, para. 71). As the report underlines, that is a collective enterprise that must involve various actors, both internationally and within the United Nations system. We particularly welcome the fact that work is being done to see how long-standing, efficient modalities that govern the deployment of military and police personnel and the provision of specialized logistics support from Member States may be extended to civilian capacity in order to enable people, services and funding to be provided quickly and on the necessary scale. We thank the Secretary-General for outlining the way forward on enhancement of civilian capacities. We encourage the Secretariat’s efforts in that regard and look forward to a report from the Secretary-General on progress achieved and further initiatives that may be needed. We stand ready to support and cooperate in the work towards our common objectives. The European Union is already strongly involved in the deployment of international civilian expertise, both through its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and through cooperation on development, with a growing focus on governance and State-building as central features of assistance in fragile situations. The European Union has eight civilian CSDP missions currently deployed, supporting core national capacity in leading peacebuilding efforts. The European Union is fully committed to strengthening its partnership with the United Nations. The European Union is ready to share its experience, particularly in the areas of needs assessment for civilian crisis management and strategies and tools to facilitate the recruitment of civilian personnel. In the field of training, the European Union is also considering ways to engage with the United Nations on a more predictable and systematic basis. The European Union is currently working on ways of providing support to the United Nations civilian capacity review. The European Union can provide the United Nations with support in identifying practical ways of matching demand with supply in critical civilian capability areas so as to expedite recruitment and avoid overlap when deploying civilian CSDP capabilities in support of the United Nations. In so doing, we can make use of the EU’s experience and results obtained in the field of civilian capability development. The United Nations has drawn attention to a number of areas where European Union experience in civilian capability development for crisis management could be of direct support to United Nations field operations. We are currently considering how to provide such enhanced support. For example, the European Union has developed groups of personnel — so-called crisis-response teams — for deployment in post-conflict contexts. The United Nations and the European Union could explore options for the deployment of this type of personnel within a United Nations operation in cases where rapidly deployable capacities are required. The European Union is also currently working on how to enhance its civilian development in support of the United Nations. That has already been done in practice a number of times, in deployments such as the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan and the EU Mission to provide advice and assistance for security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which performed complementary activities related to police and security sector reform and worked closely in these areas with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are also examples of the European Union managing transition to and from the United Nations, such as the EU military operation in the Republic of Chad and in the Central African Republic, the EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo.

Allow me first to thank the Secretary-General for the reports pertaining to the agenda items under consideration by the General Assembly. Indonesia associates itself with the statements made by the representative of Argentina on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and by the representative of Bangladesh on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Since the adoption of the Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2), we have entered an unprecedented time in which development, security and human rights have merged into synergistic and mutually reinforcing imperatives. Governments and their partners have been working hard to translate this momentum into concrete and tangible results that can be enjoyed by all. We must continue to pursue commitment, action and partnership. Through those avenues, poverty has declined; democracy and good governance are spreading; human rights are being promoted. Yet these achievements can easily be eroded by instability caused by conflict, the economic meltdown, persistent poverty, hunger, discrimination and inequality. We therefore welcome today’s debate, which aims to identify challenges and solutions that support the implementation of international commitments and that strengthen development, security and human rights. Indonesia joins NAM in stressing that the review of civilian capacity in support of national capacities for post-conflict peacebuilding, aimed at broadening and deepening the pool of experts and giving particular attention to mobilizing the capacities of developing countries, in particular among women, is vital to the success of United Nations peacebuilding endeavours. Much needs to be done by the United Nations and all relevant stakeholders to enhance support for post-conflict peacebuilding through partnership based on comparative advantages. The global South should take the lead in providing civilian expertise through a responsive United Nations platform. My delegation sees great merit in further exploring the proposal to replicate the World Food Programme’s Working Capital Facility model for enabling quick and predictable financing in the United Nations system’s post-conflict peacebuilding work. We encourage the Peacebuilding Commission and the Steering Committee, among others, to look into this issue. In order to step up work in identifying civilian capacities at home, the Indonesian Ministry for Foreign Affairs is coordinating an effort to set up a national hub for Indonesian civilian experts. To that effect, we have started identifying a pool of capable civilian experts that has come as a direct result of our peaceful transition to democracy. Let me briefly turn to the issue of sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and the legal empowerment of the poor. Indonesia supports the view highlighted in the reports that it is important to eradicate poverty and achieve a just and more equitable globalization. In view of the many jobs and lives at stake, economic growth should be recalibrated to accommodate adequate policies and strategies that generate greater employment opportunities with the provision of social welfare. Over the past decade, Indonesia’s efforts to achieve those goals have been pursued through a pro-growth, pro-job, pro-poor and pro-environment economic and development policy. It is also important to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are distributed to all in an inclusive manner based on social safety nets designed to protect and empower people and communities, in particular the most vulnerable groups. We also underscore the dual challenge of promoting the role of women, while legally protecting them from vulnerability to discrimination. UN-Women should continue to advocate in favour of a broader role for women in efforts not only to promote peace and security, but also to maintain economic recovery and ensure sustainable and inclusive growth for the future. We believe that the legal empowerment of the poor is an important process that will allow the poor to fully enjoy their rights and will facilitate their efforts to pull themselves out of poverty. The four pillars of legal empowerment are areas of law where Indonesia has been working to improve its effective implementation. My delegation welcomes the adoption of the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations, which marks the birth of a new vehicle for the United Nations to deliver a system-wide response on the issues of common concern in our region. My delegation also wishes to stress that United Nations system work in supporting national efforts in various sectors should continually be guided by the fundamental principle of national ownership. The United Nations Chief Executive Board for Coordination and its three pillars — the High-Level Committee on Programmes, the High-Level Committee on Management and the United Nations Development Group — should carry forward their efforts to align the strengths of the United Nations system into a cohesive and functioning Organization that can respond collectively to system-wide challenges. The United Nations system should also benefit from regional, national and local expertise and resources in its work. In conclusion, Indonesia emphasizes the role of the General Assembly in providing guidance and direction to the Secretary-General on how to move the synergistic agenda of development, security and human rights forward. Indonesia stands ready to work with other delegations in our common effort to achieve a consensus outcome.

It gives me great pleasure to address the General Assembly today on the report of the Secretary-General on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/66/311), which was issued as a response to the independent review by the Senior Advisory Group under the able leadership of Mr. Jean- Marie Guéhenno. We welcome the fact that meetings have already taken place among the Chair of the Steering Committee, the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Ms. Susana Malcorra, the civilian capacity project team and the Member States, following the issuance of the report of the Secretary- General in August to exchange views on that important topic. The report identifies what actions the United Nations should take to improve the quality, speed and effectiveness of civilian support in conflict-affected countries. Japan supports the three axes of the report, namely, underlining ownership and developing greater national capacity in our post-conflict response; improving external partnerships and making the necessary adjustments within the United Nations system to source the civilian capacities required; and exercising the organizational and financial agility necessary to respond nimbly to unpredictable post-conflict situations. In particular, we strongly believe that reform of the security and judicial sectors and the strengthening of the rule of law are areas that must be addressed at the early stages of post-conflict situations in order to ensure a foundation for smooth reconstruction. In that context, Japan has been working to build the national capacities of affected countries and support and boost their ownership through provision of bilateral official development assistance, assistance to peacekeeping operations training centres, and the implementation of the programme for human resource development for peacebuilding in the global South. With the report of the Secretary-General putting good ideas on the table, the challenge is to ensure their effective implementation and to generate visible and tangible successes on the ground. In that process, we should give due consideration to better utilization of assets of the global South and the enhancement of the role of women. Furthermore, we believe that better collaboration with regional and subregional organizations and strengthened cooperation with the Peacebuilding Commission are essential to achieving maximum impact on the ground. Needless to say, agility and transparency are crucial in deploying civilian capacity, and internal reform must be encouraged within the United Nations to make improvements in these areas. For example, although the idea of developing a virtual marketplace of civilian capacity by creating an online platform where needs and capacities can be listed publicly merits consideration, we must be careful to ensure that it does not follow the path of some roster systems, in which reality has not met initial expectations. Furthermore, in the reform process, the promotion of balanced geographic representation that reflects the diversity of the United Nations should be given due consideration. In addition, in our efforts to enhance flexibility in how financial resources are used, our initial step should be to assess and fully utilize the potential of existing budgetary systems. Close collaboration with other reform initiatives, such as those pursued by the United Nations Change Management Team, should also be encouraged. In conclusion, I wish to reaffirm Japan’s strong and continued interest in strengthening the international response in the area of civilian support in conflict-affected countries. We promise to remain engaged in the civilian capacity review and to continue to support the work of the Secretariat in this regard. We look forward to seeing substantive progress in next year’s report on this very important issue.

Australia is committed to advancing work on all of the agenda items under consideration, but this afternoon, in the interests of time, I will focus my remarks on just two: the post-2015 development framework and civilian capacity. Obviously, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide or have provided an essential framework for engaging all of us in the international community in development efforts. My own country restructured its aid programme around the MDG framework, doubling its size in the five years to 2010, and planning to double it again to more than $9 billion by 2015. With just over three years to go until the MDG deadline, our clear focus must obviously remain on reaching the current MDG targets. Last year’s MDG summit indicated the actions we need to take, and now, of course, is not the time to pull back on those commitments. Lifting people out of poverty and promoting economic growth in developing countries is pre-eminently the right thing to do in and of itself. In addition, that growth will have benefits for the world economic situation itself, at a time when we face such a potentially catastrophic downturn in growth. Now, however, it is time to start thinking about how to establish development targets beyond 2015. While the MDGs have shown their value, it is also clear that the current framework has some weaknesses. My own country suggests that our consideration of a post-2015 development framework could take account of the following: addressing inequalities; strengthening targets and indicators for gender equality and women’s empowerment; measuring the quality of education as well as the numbers of children in school; addressing the needs of those countries with peacebuilding and State-building challenges; the special circumstances of small island developing States; the particular challenges of least developed countries, with reference to the Istanbul Programme of Action (A/CONF.219/3), which we adopted earlier this year; community vulnerability and resilience to natural disasters; and climate change and environmental sustainability issues. It will be important for a post-2015 approach to be linked to the process and outcome of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Any post-2015 development framework should have sustainable development at its core. Australia supports a set of internationally agreed sustainable development goals as a way to drive international efforts on sustainable development. As we move forward on proposed sustainable development goals, the relationship between them and the MDGs should obviously be very carefully considered and calibrated. We must not compromise achievement of the MDGs themselves, but we encourage the Secretariat and all of us to engage widely among ourselves with Member States, regional organizations and others to ensure a consultative and evidence-based process for developing sustainable development goals and the broader post-2015 development framework. Turning to United Nations reform and civilian capacity, we see the civilian capacity review and its implementation as vital to positioning the United Nations to deal with the critical challenges of helping States recover from conflict. Few fragile and conflict- affected countries will meet a single MDG by 2015. We must take concrete steps to help build peace and promote development and economic growth in those countries, and we must do so without delay. More than half of our own aid programme is directed towards meeting the needs of fragile and conflict-affected areas. Our endorsement of the recently adopted New Deal for International Engagement in Fragile States is a clear expression of our support for the acceleration of development efforts and achievement of the MDGs for the 1.5 billion people living in those countries. The Secretary-General’s priority action plan on civilian capacity will make a vital contribution to this. A consultative approach, as we develop the plan further, is essential. We agree that the principal focus of the work ahead must be on utilizing and building national civilian capacities. We also embrace the contribution that countries of the global South can make. Many have a significant breadth and depth of experience in civilian capacity and unique advantages, including local knowledge and language skills, to offer. The United Nations clearly needs greater operational and financial agility in sourcing and deploying civilian personnel. Mission leaders need the flexibility to make timely decisions and take actions so critical in a post-conflict context. We call on all parts of the United Nations system to improve coherence and integration at Headquarters and country levels in order to work on this. Partners must pursue the same strategic objectives and work to their comparative advantage. Supporting post-conflict countries requires cooperation, not competition. We call on the United Nations system to demonstrate its ability to be agile, take calculated risks and be innovative in achieving results. As Member States, we must give the Organization the latitude to do so. We applaud the Secretary-General’s commitment to the role of women in civilian capacity efforts, and to the steps that will be taken to match available civilian expertise to the needs of particular countries. In conclusion, Australia recognizes the important role that can be played by rapidly deployable civilian capabilities in supporting sustainable peace. We ourselves are ready to support civilian efforts through the expertise of our newly created Australian Civilian Corps wherever it is appropriate to do so. The Civilian Corps enables us to rapidly deploy highly qualified and trained civilian specialists to countries experiencing or emerging from crises. We will have 500 top specialists on our civilian register by 2014. We look forward to working with the United Nations and all Member States in implementing the Secretary-General’s priority action plan in this vital area of civilian capacity.

The delegation of Cuba aligns itself with the statements made by the representative of Argentina on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and the representative of Bangladesh on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. Today’s joint debate on items of such crucial importance to developing countries is a valuable opportunity to reiterate some of the approaches my delegation has proposed in the past on the central role of the United Nations in analysing and making decisions about the varied problems of the world today, particularly those related to development challenges. During the debates that marked the 2010 High-level Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, which was held in follow-up to the historic Millennium Summit in 2000, we clearly saw that a lack of financial resources continues to be the primary cause of the delays in achieving compliance with those modest Goals. Despite this, and despite the just call of the developing world for new and additional resources to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the scant time left before 2015, the wealthy countries would not allow this to be adequately reflected in the High-level Meeting’s outcome document (resolution 65/1). One of the pretexts used to justify that refusal was the global economic situation, a dire global financial and economic crisis born within their own economies whose existence they now, paradoxically, deny. Moreover, in many recent meetings, especially in the arduous negotiations in the Second Committee, some of those countries have even decided to renege on previously agreed contractual commitments to support development in countries of the South. Still others have gone so far as to disregard the historic commitment to allocate 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product to official development assistance, which was agreed upon by consensus in this Hall more than 40 years ago. As we have warned on previous occasions, not only will the Millennium Development Goals fail to be reached at our present rate of progress but the other internationally agreed development goals will also remain a pipedream. We hope that upcoming United Nations events to follow up on some of the most pressing development issues will lead to a common objective assessment of the current status of commitments on those issues and to identifying the measures necessary to make meaningful progress on them. In that vein, the next United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development will be a unique opportunity to renew our political will to continue progress towards sustainable development, based on its three pillars and in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Along those lines, we emphasize yet again that radical changes in the production and consumption patterns of the countries of the North and the establishment of a new international economic order based on new development paradigms constitute the only path to real progress in achieving the goals and objectives to which we have committed. In that context, an urgent reform of the global financial system, with an eye to establishing a new international financial architecture, should have priority in the deliberations of the Organization. We take this opportunity to refer briefly to the report of the Secretary-General under agenda item 117 entitled “Accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals: options for sustained and inclusive growth and issues for advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015” (A/66/126). In a general sense, the document seems to offer in its first pages an accurate overview of the progress and mistakes on the road to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Our country is still studying the many possible designs for what the report calls the post-2015 development agenda, including specific proposals put forward by delegations. We intend to offer our contribution to the debate in coming discussions of that important issue.

Speaking for the delegation of the Russian Federation on agenda item 117, I would like to focus on a few issues mentioned by the Secretary-General in his report entitled “Strengthening the institutional arrangements for support of gender equality and the empowerment of women” (A/66/120), covering the activities of UN-Women. The Russian delegation notes with satisfaction the efforts of the new entity UN-Women to consolidate the activities of various offices and mechanisms of the United Nations system that deal with gender equality and promote women’s rights and opportunities. However, an assessment at this time of the work of the entity after a mere 11 months of existence is somewhat premature, since the entity is essentially still at a formative stage. Clearly, the global geographic inclusiveness among its staff is a central factor in its functioning. But that does not mean that it must establish offices in every country in the world. We believe that its work in the field must be carried out by regional offices. Country projects must be adopted and implemented only at the request of the Governments of the States concerned, and with their consent. Allow me also to touch on another element, namely, the cooperation between the Commission on the Status of Women and the Executive Board of UN-Women. We believe that coordinating actions agreed to by the general policy leadership of the Commission and timely strategies and activities approved by the Executive Board can only promote success in the entity’s work. That issue should be addressed without further delay. We believe that all United Nations States Members should be directly involved in those discussions. A formal decision should be adopted in the framework of the Bureau of the Economic and Social Council, as provided for in resolution 64/289.

At the outset, Malaysia wishes to associate itself with the statements made by the representative of Argentina on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and by the representative of Bangladesh on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Secretary-General’s report on accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (A/66/126) calls for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to ensure the timely and full realization of the development goals agreed at major United Nations conferences and summits, including the Millennium Development Goals, which have helped to galvanize efforts towards eradicating extreme poverty. To that end, the report notes that achieving the Millennium Development Goals requires stable, equitable and inclusive economic growth. In his report on the legal empowerment of the poor and the eradication of poverty (A/66/341), the Secretary-General further states that the international community must continue to make the eradication of poverty a priority and, to that end, support provided to developing countries for their poverty eradication efforts should be conducive to the legal empowerment of the poor. Malaysia concurs with the Secretary-General’s assessment in that report that civil registration is an important tool to ensure and protect the legal rights of individuals and their access to entitlements. As noted in the report, Malaysia has developed civil registration systems over recent decades, which have proven to be helpful in Malaysia’s efforts to provide legal empowerment to its citizens, including the poor. We are now four years away from the deadline for reaching the targets of the Millennium Development Goals. While some progress has been made, many developing countries are still far from achieving their development goals. The challenges we face, particularly the least developed countries, are different from those of many years ago. The current global landscape, financial and economic pressures and environmental issues are hampering countries’ efforts to achieve the development goals. It is therefore more important than ever for all Member States to re-strategize and adopt a radical change in their approaches to economic and social development. It is clear that specific interventions are needed to mitigate economic inequalities and eradicate extreme poverty. Malaysia concurs with the Secretary-General’s finding in his report on legal empowerment and eradication of poverty that employment is the most effective way to reduce poverty. Malaysia is also of the view that efforts to eradicate extreme poverty should also be complemented with improved access to basic infrastructure. Equal priority should be given to improving access to roads, electricity, clean water supplies, education and health care services. In that regard, it is all the more important for our partners from developed countries to fulfil their official development assistance commitments. We are mindful of the difficulties now facing developed countries in fulfilling their official development assistance commitments given the current economic and financial challenges. It is therefore appropriate that the United Nations play a more meaningful role in addressing the ongoing financial and economic crisis. It is also important that we take urgent steps to reform the international financial system in order to stabilize the world economic situation and further ensure that the world is back on track to achieve its development targets. Last year, in this Hall, we pledged our commitment to ensuring the attainment of the targets of the Millennium Development Goal by 2015. We have asked the United Nations to play a bigger and stronger role in addressing the challenges of the changing global environment. We also acknowledged that strong political will was needed for Member States to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, reach consensus in the ongoing environmental negotiations and further promote sustainable development. The forthcoming Rio+20 Summit, in June 2012, is an excellent opportunity not only to reaffirm our political commitments to sustainable development but also to strengthen the role of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes. There is an urgent need to streamline the roles of those agencies, funds and programmes so as to reduce any overlap of mandates and expertise, and for the United Nations to deliver as one. Malaysia has been experiencing three decades of commendable economic and social progress. Indeed, Malaysia has reached a defining moment along its development path, where significant economic, social and Government transformation is imperative in order to ensure that Malaysia is on track towards attaining its target of becoming a developed nation by 2020. According to the United Nations Development Programme MDG report for the year 2010, Malaysia recorded impressive achievements, in aggregate terms, towards the MDGs, including in poverty eradication, universal primary education and child survival. Primary school attendance also increased rapidly for both boys and girls, and is now well above 95 per cent. Malaysia is encouraged by that progress and has adopted the necessary policy actions to further improve other key areas of development, including actions to reduce the rate of maternal mortality and hard-core poverty, particularly among the rural population. The Government of Malaysia has also established an important framework comprised of four pillars that we see as the drivers of change. Those pillars are, first of all, the six national key result areas outlined in the Government transformation programme; secondly, the 12 national key economic areas of the economic transformation programme; thirdly, the strategic economic reforms within our new economic model; and last but not least, the tenth Malaysia plan. Those four pillars, which emphasize inclusiveness and sustainability, are intended to propel Malaysia to be a high-income economy by 2020. Nevertheless, since most economies are interconnected and interdependent, developing countries, including Malaysia, need a strong and a stable global economic environment to support and complement their national initiatives. We underscore that connectivity, for we feel that it is essential that all countries work together towards achieving the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals.

The United Nations has a unique opportunity to strengthen its contribution to States facing the possibility of a lapse or relapse into violence. As the Secretary-General’s recent report entitled “Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict” (A/66/311) clearly indicates, the United Nations should take steps to reform the ways in which it develops, draws on and deploys civilian expertise in post-crisis settings. That is an important issue that has the potential to improve United Nations efforts in conflict management, peace support operations, peacebuilding and early recovery. (spoke in French) Too often, opportunities have been missed because important civilian capacities are lacking, international efforts are disjointed or experts are too slow to arrive. Indeed, the World Bank’s 2011 World Development Report eloquently makes the case for developing a broader global pool of specialized capacity, particularly with respect to security, justice and employment. Those are areas in which the United Nations is frequently expected to play a leading or central role. For those reasons, Canada supports the review of civilian capacities under way within the United Nations system, commends the Secretary-General for his leadership on that issue and welcomes the consultative approach adopted by Under-Secretary-General Susana Malcorra. In particular, the Secretary-General’s recent report outlines a sensible plan that begins by building on possible reforms within the existing purview of the United Nations. That is a good start, but more detailed analysis and record of results in the field is needed. As the United Nations moves towards the second phase of implementation, to be outlined in another Secretary- General’s report next year, I would like to make three observations. (spoke in English) First, the international community has long recognized that national ownership is central to peacebuilding. Yet we have been less successful in turning that commitment into practice. The review offers a number of ideas on how to draw on existing national expertise and support the development of national capacity. Recommendations on prioritizing national capacities, co-locating international capacity with national institutions and supporting work on core Government functionalities deserve very close attention. The report also rightly stresses the need to leverage, nurture and support latent capacity within the immediate region and across the global South. Doing so holds promise for strengthening the supply of expertise properly tailored to the specific demands of a given situation. As the Intergovernmental Authority on Development project currently providing Ugandan and Kenyan civil service expertise to Southern Sudan, with support from the United Nations Development Programme, demonstrates, triangular models of cooperation also have great potential. Secondly, that process presents an important opportunity for the United Nations to improve cooperation with Member States in the area of civilian capacity. Reforming modalities for drawing on external expertise and developing a more detailed picture of global supply and demand will help connect latent and underutilized sources of expertise within the United Nations system. Those steps hold promise for increasing international cooperation, lowering transaction costs and making more efficient use of existing capacity and activity. Thirdly, there is a clear need to provide better, more timely and targeted expertise to missions and country presences. The United Nations should work to clarify roles and responsibilities, particularly in areas such as the rule of law and governance, where overlapping mandates and differing policy perspectives need to be more harmoniously resolved. Senior leaders also need the training, the tools and the political support necessary to take advantage of existing capacity arrangements, react flexibly to fluid situations on the ground and take suitable risks when appropriate. Finally, let me conclude by again stressing the practical nature of this topic. The current inadequacies in the United Nations approach to civilian capacity can have very real consequences for States struggling to emerge from violent conflict or facing the prospect of instability. The civilian capacity review is under way at a time when the United Nations is itself undergoing a broader process of reform, and when the international community better understands the deep challenges posed by peacebuilding. As such, Canada stands ready to lend its support as we move forward towards the later phases of implementation, as well as to work with Member States and the Secretary-General in the evolution of work this year and next.

One of the most impressive achievements of the United Nations system in the past generation has been its contribution to reducing the devastating toll of war around the world through its mediators, peacekeepers and humanitarian and development agencies. Ensuring that peace endures, in turn, requires the United Nations to draw on the full range of instruments and capabilities across the United Nations system. It is therefore appropriate that today we are addressing the issue of the United Nations capacity to provide civilian support to conflict-affected countries under the broader agenda item of strengthening the United Nations system. I would like to start by thanking the Secretary- General for his recent report on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/66/311) and his ongoing commitment to the issue. I would also like to thank Under-Secretary-General Susana Malcorra for her leadership of the Steering Committee and for the openness with which she and her team have been engaging Member States as the Secretary-General works to take forward the key recommendations of the Senior Advisory Group for the Review of International Civilian Capacities. Let me also express appreciation to the Governments of Indonesia and Canada for facilitating dialogue on that important cross-cutting subject. The United States appreciates the overarching conclusions of the Senior Advisory Group on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict: the imperative of national ownership in post-conflict transitions, the value of building partnerships with diverse sources of capacity, and the need for timely access to critical expertise and for administrative flexibility in order to respond to fluid post-conflict environments. We also welcome the process outlined by the Secretary-General to address the Group’s recommendations. We agree with the Secretary- General’s proposal to prioritize implementation in areas that fall within the existing authority of the Secretariat and the agencies, funds and programmes, while taking time to reflect further on issues that will require more careful consideration by Member States and other stakeholders. We also encourage the Secretariat to seek opportunities to align the process to improve civilian capacity with other ongoing reform and strengthening efforts, such as the global field support strategy. In his report, the Secretary-General identified several priority actions over the next year to improve United Nations civilian response in the aftermath of conflict. The United States looks forward to their swift implementation. We appreciate the review that the Department of Management is now undertaking to identify ways to improve current practices and procedures in related areas. The online platform proposed by the Secretary-General to match civilian needs to available capabilities is also an important step towards building the more diverse and interoperable partnerships that we need in order to be able to give timely and relevant support to countries that are rebuilding after war. We particularly look forward to the opportunity that this creates to draw on wider capabilities in the global South. We also welcome the priority given to reviewing how gender expertise is structured and deployed. Finally, the ultimate test of any of those ideas will be in the field. We appreciate the fact that many of the recommendations emerged from consultations with host countries and other critical partners about what they believe could be improved in the United Nations response. We strongly support the Secretary-General’s interest in the early application of some of the review’s findings in the field, including co-location with national partners, clarifying roles and responsibilities on the basis of comparative advantage, and promoting local procurement where appropriate. The civilian capacity review sets out a timely and far-reaching agenda. It presents the United Nations and Member States with an opportunity to strengthen how we address the underlying drivers of conflict and build the foundations of lasting peace. The United States welcomes the Secretary-General’s initiative and concurs with his road map for the next 12 months. We look forward to the Secretary-General’s further progress reports and to working together to strengthen our collective efforts to support countries recovering from conflict.

I thank the President for having convened today’s joint debate. The full text of my intervention has been circulated. In the interests of time, I shall read out only some of it. Naturally, we broadly align ourselves with the statements made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 in this joint debate. We would also like to thank the Secretary-General for his reports on the agenda items being discussed. Let me first say a few words about UN-Women. The focus on women’s issues in the United Nations system received a substantial boost through the transformative step that Member States took last year in creating a unified gender entity — UN-Women. We are happy to note that the new entity has embarked on its important tasks with purpose and vigour, even as it settles into its new structures and mandate. Particularly critical at this nascent phase of the new entity are the twin tasks of putting in place capacity to deliver optimally on the ground and mobilizing adequate resources to achieve the vision and priorities envisaged in the establishment of UN-Women. I would like to reaffirm my delegation’s unqualified support to UN-Women in realizing the shared vision of gender equality and women’s empowerment. I would like to start by thanking the Secretary- General for his report on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/66/311). I would like to thank all those involved in the processes, the independent Senior Advisory Group for the Review of International Civilian Capacities, the Steering Committee under Under-Secretary-General Malcorra, her Special Adviser, her team and others for all the work that they have done. Governance, basic services and public administration are some of the formidable challenges that countries face when in transition from conflict to lasting peace. The need for enhanced civilian capacities in post-conflict situations is an important imperative that must engage our attention in the United Nations. As I have already mentioned, we are very appreciative of all the efforts already undertaken in that regard. My delegation especially welcomes today’s joint debate as it places the civilian capacity review process in the formal intergovernmental domain. Given the integral nature of field operations and the close linkage between peacekeeping and peacebuilding, a vibrant debate on civilian capacity in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and in the Fifth Committee context will make its outcomes inclusive. Peacekeeping is a critical pillar of the United Nations peace and security architecture. Subsequent achievements on the economic, social, political and developmental fronts depend on our abilities to capitalize and build upon the gains of peacekeeping. In that regard, civilian capacity is a critical element within the overarching framework of peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Rebuilding institutions of public governance and ensuring basic administration will diminish the probabilities of a relapse into conflict by kick-starting the process of sustainable peace and development. However, we firmly believe that such steps must neither dilute nor detract from the requirements of peacekeeping. We are greatly encouraged by some of the fundamental assumptions of the Secretary-General’s report, especially the recognition of national ownership as the key determinant of success in preventing a relapse into conflict and the importance of support to core Government functions. It is critical that civilian capacity deployments be demand-driven. The recommendations on the manner in which civilian capacities are to be recruited are critical to the implementation of ideas on augmenting civilian capacities. My delegation believes that the recruitment model should give primacy to a partnership with Governments of Member States and involve the secondment of Government officials. That has a number of advantages. It gives the United Nations rapid access to the required capacities. It allows the rapid scaling-up and scaling-down of capacities and facilitates burden-sharing among Member States. Above all, it provides capacities that are trained to work in Government structures and to establish those structures and would mesh well with the peacekeeping personnel on the ground. My delegation also believes that the capacities that are being sourced must be relevant to the conditions in post-conflict situations. In that regard, it stands to reason that the most relevant expertise is to be found in fellow developing countries that have undertaken recent successful efforts to build governance structures and arrange for better delivery of basic services. United Nations efforts to source capacities from developing nations would be in consonance with this approach. The key challenge lies in implementation. While there is growing interest in post-conflict situations on the part of many international organizations, the United Nations remains, in the eyes of the affected, the most credible and legitimate representative of the international community. Its peacekeeping activities have provided the bedrock of that trust. It is imperative that civilian capacities add to that credibility.

At the outset, I wish to extend my delegation’s great appreciation to the Secretary-General for his thought-provoking report entitled “Accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals: options for sustained and inclusive growth and issues for advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015” (A/66/126). As the target year of 2015 approaches, the remaining time needs to be dedicated to scaling up the progress to fully implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits and undertake a thorough and comprehensive review and assessment of what has been achieved and what has eluded us, along with the underlying causes, in order to identify a post-2015 development agenda. It is encouraging that, as the report reveals, significant progress has been registered in a number of areas. As a result, the world as a whole is still on track to reach its poverty-reduction targets, including universal access to primary education, reducing child mortality, increasing access to improved drinking water, and a substantial drop in the prevalence of malaria, new HIV infections and the burden of other communicable diseases. Yet the most disturbing fact revealed in the report is that the most vulnerable populations are still missing out in many areas, with a sharp rise in the recent past in the number of malnourished and undernourished people, with unacceptably high rates of maternal deaths in some regions, with over 2.6 billion people still lacking access to adequate sanitation, with a growing number of slum-dwellers, and with employment opportunities still elusive for hundreds of millions of people. That is why there is a compelling need for targeted and scaled-up action by the international community to alleviate the burden of those most in need. Furthermore, the discriminatory impact on the most vulnerable countries and populations of the multiple interrelated global crises, which are further exacerbated by the challenges resulting from climate change makes it imperative that all commitments under the global partnership for development be promptly implemented. Significant gaps in that respect still remain in delivering on commitments in the areas of aid, trade, debt relief and access to new technologies. Any excuse not to honour those commitments or any attempt to rewrite them is simply unacceptable. Ideally, the full realization of all MDGs worldwide would ordinarily have preceded our discussion of the way forward after 2015. However, since that is not going to be the case, my delegation believes that consideration of a post-2015 development agenda ought to start with a thorough review of the implementation of the MDGs, giving priority to addressing the problems of those living in extreme poverty and those who are most disadvantaged and marginalized. Accordingly, poverty and hunger eradication should remain a universal goal. In that respect, such public policy tools as social safety nets, social protection floors, decent and productive employment, conditional cash transfers, legal empowerment of the poor and other policy initiatives that have already proved their effectiveness could be more broadly utilized. Investing in education, health and the empowerment of women and girls has also proved critical in advancing human development. Furthermore, we believe that greener and sustainable economic development should be adequately reflected in the post-2015 development agenda. To that end, we look forward to next year’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to effectively integrate the economic, environmental and social pillars for truly sustainable development. Sustainable energy access for all and food and nutrition security are also important aspects of the new development agenda. In considering the post-2015 development agenda and undertaking relevant consultations, we support the Secretary- General’s observation that we should have an inclusive, open and transparent process with multi-stakeholder participation. As to our national implementation, Mongolia’s third national report indicates that 66 per cent of the MDGs are achievable by the target date. Yet the goals on poverty, environmental degradation and gender inequality are seriously off track, which calls for stepped-up national action and more focused bilateral and multilateral partnerships. Furthermore, implementation of our MDG-based comprehensive national development strategy up to 2021 is expected to lay the foundation for more inclusive, equitable and sustained growth and sustainable development in Mongolia beyond 2015. I would like now to turn briefly to sub-item (a) of agenda item 123 and agenda item 124. At a time of global uncertainty and challenges, continued United Nations reform remains critical. The revitalization of the work of the General Assembly and the early reform of the Security Council are essential components of overall United Nations reform. Over recent years, there has been positive progress in the process of General Assembly revitalization. One of the notable developments is the holding of thematic debates on emerging issues of critical importance to the international community. That practice should be continued. There is a continued need to implement the resolutions on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, including the most recent one, resolution 65/315. As acknowledged in those resolutions, improving the working methods of the General Assembly and its Main Committees is critical to revitalization efforts. We agree with the need to further rationalize and streamline the agendas of the General Assembly and its Main Committees, which would allow us to focus our limited time on issues of genuine importance. Mongolia is pleased to have contributed to the General Assembly revitalization process by having initiated, in its capacity as Chair of the Second Committee of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly, the decision aimed at rationalizing and streamlining the Committee’s agenda and improving its working methods. In addition, all the current General Assembly draft resolutions sponsored by Mongolia have been biennialized and in some draft resolutions we have kept the preambular part to a minimum in accordance with the relevant General Assembly resolutions, the most recent one being our draft resolution in the Third Committee on improving the situation of women in rural areas. Mongolia also included sunset clauses in some of the General Assembly draft resolutions it authored, including those on the observance of an annual disarmament week, the declaration of the right of peoples to peace, the right of people to a healthy environment, and the right of people to adequate housing. My delegation welcomes the final report and recommendations of this year’s review of the implementation of resolution 61/16, on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council. We consider it important to enhance the effectiveness of the Economic and Social Council by developing stronger relations with the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and other relevant stakeholders. We also deem critical the active engagement of the Council, through its Annual Ministerial Reviews and biennial Development Cooperation Forum, in formulating the post-2015 development agenda. The establishment of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) was a landmark in strengthening United Nations system-wide coherence. Mongolia looks forward to closely cooperating with UN-Women in implementing its development objectives, including gender-related goals. Mongolia welcomes the ongoing efforts of the Secretary-General to strengthen the accountability, performance and results of United Nations work, in particular the establishment of the Change Management Team to guide the implementation of a reform agenda at the United Nations. In conclusion, may I reiterate my delegation’s strong resolve to work together with fellow Member States towards strengthening the United Nations system so that it remains a centre for effective multilateralism for advancing human development around the world in the years to come.

Allow me, at the outset, to thank the President for having convened this joint debate to discuss the report of the Secretary-General on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/66/311). It is timely for the General Assembly to analyse strategies aimed at peacebuilding and preserving the peace. Generally, at the end of a conflict, Governments and populations find themselves in situations that are precarious both institutionally and economically, which makes the transition to peace difficult. To build peace, we need an intense effort to strengthen institutions and mobilize civilian capacity in countries that are entering the post-conflict phase. The United Nations system has developed specific ways for supporting national efforts and needs on the ground. We welcome the Secretary-General’s report, which covers progress, difficulties and recommendations for dealing more effectively with the subject of peacebuilding in the aftermath of conflict. Colombia agrees that national activities to establish and build peace in the aftermath of conflict must be supported by effective and timely civilian capacities. It is therefore essential to reaffirm the United Nations commitment to the task of quickly facilitating the specialized assistance and experience necessary to support national actors seeking to establish rule of law, revitalize the economy and renew the provision of basic services to the population. Colombia stresses that post-conflict support must continue to be based on the principles of national ownership, stronger partnerships, experience in helping national actors and agility in responding. National ownership is the guiding principle that should be the foundation of measures to build civilian capacity. It must be based on the inclusion of the various stakeholders of society and must bear in mind the needs of the community to move towards development. To strengthen national ownership, work to clarify and strengthen the basic functions of Government must be intensified in the aftermath of conflict. It is not just technical capacities that must be built; institutionalization must be strengthened and bonds of trust established with society, as that will make possible popular acceptance and the legitimacy of Governments. Another fundamental priority for responding to the needs of civilian support is the establishment of stronger partnerships with foreign actors that can provide innovative approaches to building civilian capacities. The Organization must act as a facilitator for progress in the field, creating effective partnerships, with a more broadly composed work force, bearing in mind the supply and demand of external partners. We recognize the difficulties identified in the report tied to the recruiting, agility and composition of the work force, as well as the matter of the assigning personnel in the field. We welcome the proposals in the report for new methodologies for improving the deployment of personnel. We hope that the new tools will help to expand and mobilize existing personnel appropriately. It is clear that there is a need to establish systems that are more agile, timely and effective, allowing for flexibility in the responses that are required by the changing situations on the ground. In that regard, it is essential to give due consideration to programmatic budgetary contributions, as well as to the need to achieve greater agility in the availability of financing, so that the critical tasks can be carried out in due time. For our country, the participation of women in peacebuilding is a central pillar in the transformation of societies. The United Nations has the responsibility to provide the tools necessary for women in societies in transformation to be able to participate not merely as experts within the Organization and within countries, but also as protagonists of change. We appreciate the work of the Peacebuilding Commission and of each of its configurations. Support for national authorities has brought about distinct progress in security sector reform, the rule of law, respect for human rights, the re-establishment of Government institutions and the revitalization of the economy. With respect to that progress, we believe that for there to be significant peacebuilding, the reforms in the judicial sector must be aimed at strengthening the fight against impunity, while at the same time establishing reparations mechanisms for victims to compensate them for the harm suffered and thereby lay the groundwork for true national reconciliation. Lastly, Colombia reaffirms the need to design sustainable strategies for the long term. They must be based on a balance between direct international support and national efforts in order to prevent prolonged dependency by countries on international funds that might limit their development. Lasting and sustainable peace worldwide depends on the responsible, coherent and solid support of the international community.

I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his reports on the four agenda items under discussion in the General Assembly this afternoon. Due to time constraints, we will focus on this occasion mainly on the follow-up to the Millennium Summit. The current joint debate offers us an important opportunity to exchange views on these key issues. Brazil aligns itself with the statement made earlier by the representative of Argentina on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Over the past 10 years, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have become the most visible and prominent element of the international development agenda. In that regard, we welcome the frank assessment by the Secretary-General on the progress achieved thus far, as well as on the challenges ahead. Brazil remains convinced that the MDGs can be achieved by 2015, provided that the international community provides sufficient support. While we recognize that development is primarily a national responsibility, international assistance also plays a crucial role. Fiscal and policy space to implement effective policies in accordance with their international priorities and strategies is equally crucial for all developing countries, including in particular the least developed among them. As the centrepiece of international cooperation, the renewed global partnership for development requires the full engagement of the international community, including civil society, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. But, first and foremost, Member States must deliver on all development commitments, particularly with regard to official development aid. Innovative sources of financing can complement, but not substitute for, such commitments. As the deadline of 2015 approaches, we believe that poverty eradication, together with the elimination of chronic hunger and malnutrition, should remain at the heart of the international and national efforts to promote sustainable development. We fully recognize that all development goals are interconnected. Nevertheless, we believe that sustained progress in the development agenda is simply not possible without addressing the challenges posed by poverty and hunger. The renewed economic and financial crisis poses additional challenges to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Much will depend on the depth and duration of the current slowdown in the developed economies, as well as on the extent of the spillover effects on the developing world. In that context, Brazil believes it is crucial to promote strengthened policy coordination and enhanced coherence. We reiterate the call for the United Nations, along with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Group of 20, to send a clear signal of policy cohesion and political determination to address the crisis in an effective and timely manner. It is increasingly clear that economic growth is necessary, but not sufficient, for sustainable development. Without growth, it is virtually impossible to achieve long-term human and social development. To that end, economic growth must be complemented by policies to promote social inclusion and effective environmental protection as conditions for intra- and inter-generational equity. Investment in sound social and environmental measures can contribute not only to reducing social exclusion and inequalities but also to fostering sustained economic growth. Under normal conditions, a basic social protection floor that provides universal access to social protection and social services can contribute to breaking the long-term cycle of poverty by helping individuals to obtain the necessary skills to participate in the economy, not only as consumers but as citizens. In economic downturns, such policies can ensure minimum income levels for the unemployed and essential services for the poor, while providing for the needs of all citizens and for the enhanced promotion of women, youth, minorities, persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples. In the present context, the pursuit of policies aimed at full employment and decent work for all is all the more necessary. Even before the current crisis, many countries were struggling to overcome the conditions that lead to increased joblessness. As the world economy faces the prospect of a renewed slowdown, the number of unemployed workers is likely to increase, particularly in developed countries. Similarly, the recent progress in reducing the number of working poor could well be reversed as they increasingly are forced to rely on the informal economy. While the international community must redouble its efforts to achieve the MDGs, it is also important to reflect on the development agenda beyond 2015. Brazil believes that the post-2015 development framework should be based on open, inclusive, transparent and member-driven consultations, with broad participation by civil society organizations and major stakeholders. It is certainly necessary to allow sufficient time for substantive deliberations. Nevertheless, it is also crucial to initiate the preparatory process in due time, taking into account other important processes and negotiations. In the short term, we believe that the United Nations system should remain firmly engaged in supporting the achievement of the MDGs, while Member States should focus on implementing the agreed goals and commitments and on overcoming the pressing development challenges ahead. The formal and informal meetings and events in the run-up to 2015 can contribute to the review of the United Nations development agenda. In particular, we believe that Rio+20 can provide meaningful inputs to the process from the point of view of sustainable development. But the Rio Conference should not be seen as a stepping stone to the post-2015 development framework. As Member States prepare for formal negotiations for the Rio Conference next year, the post-2015 framework will certainly be an important point of reference in the deliberations. We share the view expressed by the Secretary- General that sustainable development goals should be at the heart of the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015. To that effect, Rio+20 could be considered as the starting point to the preparatory process for the post-2015 United Nations development framework. As highlighted in our national inputs to the preparatory process for Rio+20, sustainable development goals should not necessarily substitute for the MDGs but should rather complement and update the goals emanating from the Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2). Like the MDGs, the sustainable development goals should be limited in number to no more than 10 and should contain concrete, quantifiable, verifiable time-bound goals that reflect a comprehensive political commitment by the international community on sustainable development. Given their global nature, they should apply to all Member States, respecting the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. To the extent possible, sustainable development goals should be based on previously negotiated commitments contained in the relevant international instruments, such as Agenda 21, the Millennium Declaration and the Monterrey Consensus, with a view to fully integrating the economic, social and environmental pillars. In the context of sustainable development goals, it is also important to address the necessary means of implementation, in a comprehensive and ambitious global partnership for sustainable development. Brazil is confident that the Rio+20 Conference can adopt a framework for sustainable development goals, establishing solid foundations for an inclusive, participative and member-driven process leading to 2015 and beyond.

I thank the President for convening today’s meeting. Our delegation aligns with the statement delivered earlier by the representative of Bangladesh on the Secretary-General’s report entitled “Civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict” (A/66/311). We have taken note of the Secretary-General’s report and its ongoing follow-up by the Steering Committee under Under-Secretary-General Susana Malcorra. We agree with the basic parameters outlined in the report, that civilian capacity deployed by the United Nations must enable national ownership, work in global partnership, utilize expertise in prioritized areas and exercise organizational agility to be nimble in the face of change. The report rightly emphasizes the need to work more closely with host communities, regional organizations and civil society. Priorities outlined in the report are pragmatic. Proposals made to the Member States and external actors, namely, civil society organizations and training communities, to help them provide more effective civilian support are lucid and well articulated. Building effective and relevant capacities for post-conflict situations rests on the judicious implementation of the report. In that context, the following four points are worth highlighting. First, broad acceptance of the work of the Steering Committee will depend on institutional engagement with the Member States, in line with the intergovernmental nature of the process. We value the work done by Canada and Indonesia to lead a consultative process on the subject. Further engagement with the United Nations membership through, inter alia, the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission, the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations or any other representative forum will help the process. Secondly, identifying civilian capacities from within the region would be beneficial, as the old adage of finding local solutions to local problems holds true. Thirdly, building civilian capacities should be a resource-neutral exercise. The Senior Advisory Group made a similar observation in its recommendations. Finally, civilian capacities should not replace key peacekeeping functions or be conceived at the expense of resources allocated to peacekeeping. We are already experiencing a resource crunch in the peacekeeping field. Moreover, peacekeepers undertake key peacebuilding functions in various integrated missions. The support of the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in critical peacebuilding areas are the two notable recent examples. We therefore believe that civilian capacities should be identified to supplement existing structures and not to create parallel ones.

To begin, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for having submitted the report on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/66/311). The report is a commendable effort to establish priority and specific measures to strengthen civilian support for sustainable peace and development and third-party partnerships, using existing mechanisms and resources. We appreciate in particular the fact that the report does not have financial implications. My delegation also thanks Ms. Susana Malcorra, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, and her team for their tireless efforts to accomplish that important and ambitious initiative. The basic goal of post-conflict assistance is to foster national and institutional capacities in order to strengthen peace, security and economic recovery. Civilian capacities are an extremely valuable tool because they allow specialized assistance and in specific subjects. For that assistance to be effective, the starting point should be that external solutions or skills do not replace national involvement and capacity. National ownership must be strengthened for each of the strategies implemented and in each of their phases. International civil assistance must also be part of a broader strategy, with reference points for its duration and a realistic and clearly defined exit strategy in order to prevent prolonged dependence on international resources. Also, duplication of existing mechanisms of the United Nations and other bodies in the field must be avoided. We support the proposal to promote South-South and triangular cooperation in order to benefit from experience in areas of encouraging the capacities of countries that have faced similar challenges and have resolved them satisfactorily. We also commend the proposal to launch an online platform to link the demand and supply regarding civilian capacity, not only among Member States but also within the Secretariat itself. Relevant arrangements to allow for a more nimble Organization depend not only on its external partners, but also the changes made within it. In that regard, we hope that the necessary adjustments are made within the Organization so that staff from various United Nations agencies can be deployed in line with requirements. That would allow the United Nations greater interoperability and nimbleness. Mexico supports and gives great importance to civilian capacities. As we have on previous occasions, we believe that, on the basis of our experience, we can support the development of such capacities in significant areas, such as electoral assistance, reconstruction assistance in natural disasters and economic revitalization. To that end, we recently established the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation. To fully implement the recommendations in the report of the Secretary-General on civilian capacities, it is not only the effort of the United Nations that is needed, but also the full involvement of Member States. While there may be differences with regard to implementing those recommendations, there is a generalized interest in carrying them out. That should be done through an interactive process, bearing in mind the goal of building an inclusive and open organization that can make better use of existing resources and achieve better results on the ground. It will also be necessary to consider possible actions in the General Assembly that would make it possible to endorse those recommendations and set the way for their follow-up in the near future. Mexico looks forward to the prompt development of that important initiative.

I thank the President for the opportunity to discuss the important issue of civilian capacity here today. We would also like to thank Under-Secretary-General Susana Malcorra for her continued leadership on that agenda. The United Kingdom warmly welcomes the recent report of the Secretary-General on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/66/311). Helping countries to emerge sustainably from conflict is at the heart of the United Nations mandate. The United Kingdom remains strongly committed to strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to respond to post-conflict peacebuilding challenges. In particular, we strongly support the principles of national ownership and partnership that are at the heart of the Secretary-General’s report. We hope that that process will lead to real results on the ground. There are just two particular points that we would like to make here today. First is the importance of building a truly global system for identifying and deploying civilians. We need to ensure that countries emerging from conflict have access to expertise from across the world. In particular, we welcome the emphasis in the Secretary- General’s report on increasing South-South cooperation and on developing mechanisms for triangular cooperation. For example, we are interested in seeing the results of the pilot project through which Kenyan, Ethiopian and Ugandan civil servants provide additional capacity to the South Sudanese Government, with additional costs paid for through a United Nations Development Programme trust fund. We think that that might offer an excellent model for future triangular cooperation. Secondly, while we strongly support the overarching principles and approach of the Secretary- General’s report, we would like to see further clarity on the recommendations relating to financial flexibility. We agree in principle that providing field leaders with more financial flexibility will allow them to react more quickly to events on the ground. However, greater financial flexibility must be accompanied by sufficient transparency and accountability. We would therefore welcome a little more detail on how such proposals will be implemented and the opportunity for further discussion with Member States on that issue. The United Kingdom welcomes the progress made to date on the civilian capacity initiative and we stand ready to support the Secretariat so as to move ahead in the coming months.

Switzerland welcomes this opportunity for the General Assembly to debate jointly a number of issues that are usually addressed separately. In fact, all of the issues under discussion should enable us to answer two key questions. How can United Nations activities on the ground be made more effective? How can the role of the United Nations in global problem-solving be strengthened? The review of international civilian capacities is a promising process in efforts to strengthen the United Nations. Switzerland welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/66/311). I would like to focus my remarks today on several specific points. We support the step-by-step approach suggested by the Secretary-General, and welcome the determination of the United Nations system to rapidly implement the changes falling within its purview. We are also confident that consultations will be held with the partners concerned and Member States as often as necessary. Switzerland will continue to actively support efforts to implement the recommendations made in the report of the independent experts on strengthening civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict (A/65/747) and the response to those recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General. My country encourages the United Nations system, including the World Bank, to continue cooperating with the Steering Group in order to provide coordinated, coherent and pragmatic follow-up to the Secretary- General’s report. The Secretary-General’s report rightly stresses the need to develop national capacities. International support should indeed respond to the needs and the demands of countries dealing with post-conflict situations, rather than allowing support to be driven by supply. Moreover, special attention should be paid to gender equality issues and the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). Henceforth, scaled-up civilian resources with increasingly specialized capacities will be necessary, given the large number of United Nations interventions in conflict-affected countries and the breadth and complexity of their mandates. In order to find such expertise and fill current gaps, the United Nations needs to explore a greater variety of sources of capacity, particularly among actors from the global South. Through its partnerships and its pool of experts, Switzerland strives to develop the experience of fragile and conflict-affected countries. We call on the United Nations to make further efforts to develop new partnerships with those countries, for instance within the framework of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding. By the same token, Switzerland has developed cooperation partnerships with institutional centres of excellence in Africa and provides experts and expertise to support the management and the formation of civilian capacities in Africa. My country firmly supports measures to strengthen the capacity and accountability of senior United Nations leaders. From that standpoint, Switzerland provides financial support for the course for the senior management of United Nations missions given by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Moreover, Switzerland stresses the importance of strengthening the role of Resident Coordinators and building their capacities in areas where there are no missions mandated by the Security Council. Finally, we deem it essential that both the heads of missions and United Nations country teams fully participate in that process. Their contribution will help to identify opportunities for testing ideas and approaches in the field. We therefore think that other situations should be taken into consideration, in addition to that in South Sudan. My next comment pertains to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are an excellent example of how the United Nations system has helped to focus the efforts of its organs, agencies and Member States, as well as civil society, by means of a restricted set of universal objectives. While we all have to remain committed to achieving progress by 2015, my delegation would like to highlight the importance of the following points when looking beyond 2015. The significant shifts that have occurred in the economic, political and environmental landscape since the establishment of the MDGs must be taken into account in the post-2015 development framework. In that process, the United Nations has a critical role to play. By building coalitions and continuing its intellectual leadership, it should ensure system-wide coherence and national and regional participation. The early and inclusive engagement of all stakeholders in that process is important. The United Nations system should make use of the Global Compact to reach out to the private sector and of the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service to ensure the participation of civil society organizations, particularly those in developing countries. What type of post-2015 development framework will follow the MDGs? Will the new goals remain focused on poverty or will they address other important universal themes related to inclusive and sustainable development? The Sustainable Energy for All initiative of the Secretary-General demonstrates how a more universal agenda could be shaped. The coming 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro should provide guidance for the future post-MDG agenda and indicate, from a very early stage, how to transparently and openly link the Rio outcome and the formulation of future development goals. In addition, the specific challenges facing fragile and conflict-affected countries deserve particular attention. In that regard, the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding is a valuable mechanism through which to formulate recommendations in preparation for 2015. Switzerland attaches great importance to the United Nations reform process. In that respect, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) is particularly well placed to achieve further progress and establish good practices within the United Nations system. My delegation welcomes the report of the Secretary- General on strengthening the institutional arrangements for support of gender equality and the empowerment of women (A/66/120) and would like to emphasize the following points. The general approval for the first UN-Women strategic plan, covering the period 2011 to 2013 (UNW/2011/9), in June marks an important milestone. We strongly agree with UN-Women that closing the remaining implementation gaps between the global normative and policy commitments and women’s daily realities is absolutely crucial. UN-Women has an important coordination role to play, and we appreciate its consistent initiative to establish an institutionalized system-wide accountability mechanism on gender equality. We also support UN-Women in its search for mechanisms for dialogue with civil society closer to the field. We also appreciate UN-Women’s efforts to strengthen the women, peace and security agenda. While setting up its institutional arrangements and its field structure, UN-Women has the unique opportunity, or rather the obligation, to cooperate with other United Nations entities in the field in order to optimize the impact, while also minimizing costs. Switzerland encourages UN-Women to find models for optimal representation in the field, for example, by placing senior gender advisers in the offices of the Resident Coordinators. Switzerland congratulates UN-Women for the progress achieved in establishing the core elements needed for the effective functioning of the entity, and we encourage it to remain innovative in the search for ways to obtain optimal operational efficiency and effectiveness.

I would specifically like to address the March 2011 report of the independent Senior Advisory Group on Civilian Capacity in the Aftermath of Conflict (A/65/747), which, as many previous speakers have made clear — most recently the representative of Switzerland — makes a compelling case for urgent measures to strengthen the ability of the United Nations to identify and deploy specialized civilian expertise, and which proposed a number of practical steps for doing just that. The independent experts’ report’s recommendations are wide-ranging. Their implementation is likely to be complex and time- consuming. Before any decisions are reached, some of them will require broader consultation and deeper analysis to clarify their full implications. Yet the increased range of United Nations activities requiring specialized civilian expertise and the current inadequacies in the ability of the United Nations to identify, deploy and effectively utilize such expertise make the implementation of that report a matter of importance, even urgency. Nowhere are those inadequacies more starkly evident than in the area of post-conflict peacebuilding. To speak plainly, in that area the United Nations can never be the relevant and effective contributor it aspires to be, and indeed needs to be, until it credibly addresses those deficiencies. Those with practical experience in peacebuilding understand the central role that institutional capacity-building can play in moving to a sustainable peace. As the Secretary-General himself stressed in his 2009 report on post-conflict peacebuilding (A/63/881), effective capacity-building is complex and difficult. Great care is necessary to ensure that any support works to supplement existing capacity without displacing it. That requires personnel with a blend of technical expertise and an understanding of skills transfer — skills that are in short supply internationally. Such support is more effective the earlier it is deployed. Currently, the United Nations lacks the tools or mechanisms for the rapid identification of relevant personnel who might be available for such tasks, even from within its own ranks, and it lacks the ability to recruit and deploy such personnel in a timely manner. For countries seeking urgent assistance to revive core Government functions and services, delays of 18 to 24 months in the deployment of experts are woefully long and are totally unacceptable. Moreover, when such personnel are deployed, many lack the requisite skills, experience or training for the effective rebuilding of national capacity. Too often, the wrong people are sent, with the wrong skills at the wrong time, arriving far too late to be effective. That means that we create too little in the way of genuine, sustainable local capacity. We can do better, and we must do better. The Senior Advisory Group’s report sets out clearly the principles that must guide our work as we address those inadequacies. First, and most fundamentally, it places national ownership and the strengthening of national capacity at the centre of everything. Secondly, it emphasizes the need for strengthened partnerships in order to enhance the ability of the United Nations to call with speed on external sources of relevant expertise, particularly from the global South. Next, it calls for better systems for identifying expertise and determining accountability for delivery. The report also suggests practical ways in which United Nations field operations could be more nimble and responsive. All that is easy to support but, as always, the devil will be in the details of implementation. Ensuring a coordinated response to the report from the United Nations system will be crucial to its implementation. Along with Mexico, the United Kingdom and others, we are pleased that the Secretary-General has established a Steering Committee to provide coordinated follow-up, and that Under-Secretary- General Susana Malcorra will lead that process. We have great confidence in Under-Secretary-General Malcorra, and we are impressed with the able team she has assembled. We wish them all well in their challenging task. Many of the proposals in the Advisory Group’s report are complex and, as I said earlier, some will require further analysis and refinement by the civilian capacity team, in close cooperation with Member States. New Zealand therefore supports the approach outlined in the Secretary-General’s 2011 report of beginning that process with some quick wins, by first implementing any measures that fall within the Secretary-General’s existing authority before moving on to more complex issues. We also welcome moves to pilot specific approaches in the field, and we urge that in due course those field trials be subject to frank and independent assessments. The Advisory Group’s report and the processes initiated by the Secretary-General in response provide the opportunity to move our performance on post-conflict peacebuilding closer to its lofty goals and rhetoric. It is an opportunity that must not be missed. To accept that does not necessarily mean accepting each and every one of the Advisory Group’s report’s recommendations, but acceptance does acknowledge the basic objectives and principles that underline those recommendations. Above all, it challenges us to do better in this vitally important area and to commit ourselves to a constructive dialogue in taking this forward. What lies ahead is a lengthy and complex process of working through the recommendations and implementing them in a manner most conducive to attaining the goals of timely deployment of the right civilian expertise and building sustainable national capacities. That process must be rigorous, inclusive and transparent. We must be honest in identifying potential problems and in acknowledging success or failure. There will be both. But we all have a stake in seeing this through. New Zealand looks forward to playing its part in that important process.

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item. Before proceeding further, I should like to consult members regarding an extension of the work of the Second Committee. Members will recall that at its sixty-third plenary meeting, on 22 November 2011, the General Assembly extended the work of the Second Committee from Wednesday, 23 November 2011 until Friday, 2 December 2011. I have been informed by the Chair of the Second Committee that in order to facilitate reaching consensus on the pending resolutions before the Committee, he would like to request the approval of the Assembly to change the date of the last meeting of the Second Committee to 9 December 2011. May I therefore take it that the General Assembly agrees to extend the work of the Second Committee until Friday, 9 December 2011? It was so decided.

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda items 14, 117, 123 and its sub-item (a), and 124.