Statement by Ms. AKATSUKA Rena, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, at the Conclusion of the Main Part of the Seventy-Fifth Session of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly
2020/12/30
(Check against delivery)
Mr. Chair,
At the conclusion of the session, my delegation would like to express our sincere appreciation to you, Mr. Chair, your team and all the bureau members for your leadership and guidance. My sincere thanks also goes to our Secretariat colleagues, who have tirelessly worked to assist the Committee during this long session.
Mr. Chair,
This has been an extraordinary session in many ways. The Committee dealt with a large number of difficult issues. We would like to commend all delegations for sparing no effort to thoroughly discuss and reach agreements on important items, such as UN Common Systems and Pension System. With regards to the Pension System in particular, my delegation welcomes that the General Assembly provided clear guidance to the Pension Fund for submitting concrete reform plans to address the long-standing governance issues of the Pension Board. We look forward to receiving those plans in the best interests of Fund participants and beneficiaries.
We are also pleased that we were able to adopt a program budget that allows the UN to fully deliver its mandates in a more effective, efficient and sustainable manner. As the budget resolution requests, we expect that the transparency and predictability of the budget proposal for 2022 will improve, inter alia, regarding the so-called “add-ons” of construction projects.
Mr. Chair,
Needless to say, the long-established practice of achieving agreement by consensus in the Fifth Committee is critically important. Building consensus may sometimes be difficult, but the Committee had always exhausted its efforts to that end. Let us not underestimate the tremendous effort and spirit of compromise shown by our negotiators during the development of the resolutions we just adopted. At the same time, we strongly call upon all Member States to move forward in a spirit of consensual compromise and to renew their commitment to negotiating constructively and in good faith.
Going forward, we would also like to reiterate that the Committee must continue to review its working methods towards more efficient and effective negotiations.
Mr. Chair,
Finally, I wish you, the bureau members, the representatives of the Secretariat, and our dear colleagues joyful holidays and a peaceful new year.
Thank you.
At the conclusion of the session, my delegation would like to express our sincere appreciation to you, Mr. Chair, your team and all the bureau members for your leadership and guidance. My sincere thanks also goes to our Secretariat colleagues, who have tirelessly worked to assist the Committee during this long session.
Mr. Chair,
This has been an extraordinary session in many ways. The Committee dealt with a large number of difficult issues. We would like to commend all delegations for sparing no effort to thoroughly discuss and reach agreements on important items, such as UN Common Systems and Pension System. With regards to the Pension System in particular, my delegation welcomes that the General Assembly provided clear guidance to the Pension Fund for submitting concrete reform plans to address the long-standing governance issues of the Pension Board. We look forward to receiving those plans in the best interests of Fund participants and beneficiaries.
We are also pleased that we were able to adopt a program budget that allows the UN to fully deliver its mandates in a more effective, efficient and sustainable manner. As the budget resolution requests, we expect that the transparency and predictability of the budget proposal for 2022 will improve, inter alia, regarding the so-called “add-ons” of construction projects.
Mr. Chair,
Needless to say, the long-established practice of achieving agreement by consensus in the Fifth Committee is critically important. Building consensus may sometimes be difficult, but the Committee had always exhausted its efforts to that end. Let us not underestimate the tremendous effort and spirit of compromise shown by our negotiators during the development of the resolutions we just adopted. At the same time, we strongly call upon all Member States to move forward in a spirit of consensual compromise and to renew their commitment to negotiating constructively and in good faith.
Going forward, we would also like to reiterate that the Committee must continue to review its working methods towards more efficient and effective negotiations.
Mr. Chair,
Finally, I wish you, the bureau members, the representatives of the Secretariat, and our dear colleagues joyful holidays and a peaceful new year.
Thank you.