Statement by H.E. Ambassador MIKANAGI Tomohiro, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations, at the general discussion of Item 121: “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”, Plenary Meeting of the Second Committee

Mr. Chair,

Japan is grateful for this opportunity to discuss the implementation of General Assembly Resolution 79/327 at the Second Committee.

The Second Committee should continue to provide an important venue for policy coordination among Member States based on the spirit of international cooperation enshrined in the UN Charter. To maximize the efficiency and productiveness of the discussion toward international cooperation, we should try to improve the Committee’s working methods, while also taking the UN80 discussions into account.

Increasing number of resolutions and mandates and the duplication resulting from the increase place significant human, financial, and temporal burdens on each Mission. We strongly believe that the improvement of the working methods for reducing burden on the Missions is in our common interest. Therefore, we should work constructively to consolidate a comprehensive set of creative and actionable ideas on how we could effectively and efficiently allocate limited resources towards issues which have good potential for productive cooperation.

Regarding the process for the Committee to discuss the improvement of working methods, Japan makes two suggestions which are relating to the role of the Bureau:

First, we would like to request the Bureau to establish a timeline for the Second Committee to submit timely input to the General Assembly by taking into consideration the timelines of the UN80 initiatives and the revitalization process of the General Assembly in 2026. We believe this would make the whole process that is taking place in the UN be appropriately aligned. In this regard, we suggest that the Bureau coordinate well with other main committees, while working closely with the General Committee and consulting with the PGA.

Second, to enhance concrete discussions, and also to make it efficient, we request the Bureau to organize the issues for the working methods based on discussions and decisions taken in the Committee until now. If possible, we would also like to request the Bureau, in cooperation with the Secretariat, to compile concrete proposals for the improvement through dialogues with regional and other groups as well as through making reference to discussions in other main committees.

Japan is willing to contribute constructively to the discussion on this matter and looks forward to future discussions.