Statement by Ms. AKATSUKA Rena, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, On Agenda item 143: Improving the financial situation of the United Nations, Second resumed session of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly

Mr. Chair,
 
At the outset, I would like to thank Ms. Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, for providing last week and today a comprehensive overview of the financial situation of the United Nations, and Mr. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General, Controller, for his briefing on Monday regarding the management of the liquidity situation.
 
Mr. Chair,
 
It is the responsibility of each Member State to pay its assessment in full and in a timely manner. For its part, Japan has already fulfilled its obligation and paid all assessed contributions as of today despite the impact of COVID-19 on our economy and the domestic financial situation. Japan's determination to play an active role in contributing to the implementation of UN mandates remains unchanged.
 
We are glad to see that the liquidity of the Regular Budget in 2021 has been improving thanks to the increased collection of contributions and the Secretariat’s continuous efforts toward better management of liquidity. We appreciate Member States who have made all efforts to shift the trend of delayed payment and encourage them to continue their efforts to bring back a complete normalcy.
 
We also welcome the relaxation of hiring restrictions as a result of the improved liquidity situation. We trust the Secretary-General to take into account the long-standing challenge of the under-representation and un-representation of some Member States in the recruitment of personnel for these vacant posts.
 
Mr. Chair,
 
My delegation would like to stress the importance of setting realistic resource levels that are both necessary and sufficient for the delivery of the given mandates. At the same time, we reiterate that the resources of the Member States are not unlimited. It is the Member States’ and the Secretariat’s common responsibility to constantly seek to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the use of resources so that we can maintain a high level of accountability to our taxpayers.
 
Mr. Chair,
 
 We note that the liquidity of the PKO budget this year is under potential risk stemming from the expected lower collection capacity due to the upcoming scale negotiations in the 76^th Main Session. My delegation is of the view that the Secretariat should explore sustainable measures to mitigate that unavoidable risk, which occurs every three years. We are also looking forward to discussing PKO liquidity management next year in the context of the review of cross-borrowing and the annual assessment.
 
Thank you.