Statement by Mr. Daisuke Wakabayashi First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations Agenda item 144: UN Pension System Main Part of the Seventy-third Session, Fifth Committee of the General Assembly

 
Madame Chair,
 
         At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation to Mr. John Levins, Chairman of the 65th United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board, Mr. Sudhir Rajkumar, Representative of the Secretary-General for Investments of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, Ms. Parama Sen, Director of External Audit (India) and Chair of the Audit Operations Committee, Board of Auditors, Mr. Paul Dooley, Acting Secretary of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board, Mr. David Kanja, Assistant Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services and Mr. Babou Sene, Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions for introducing their respective reports.
 
Madame Chair,
 
         My delegation would like to emphasize that the pension system is a backbone of the United Nations to enable its staff to work with peace of mind. The stability of the system is crucial for attracting and retaining high-performing staff. In this regard, we welcome the recent investment performance of the Fund and the continuous effort of the Fund to remain near actuarial balance.
 
         However, we are seriously concerned that there have been significant number of outstanding cases every year, and that the Fund still has various issues regarding the Integrated Pension Administration System. This situation will undermine the credibility of the pension system as a whole.
 
         In addition, my delegation read relevant reports of OIOS and BoA with great interest. The OIOS report indicates several issues faced by the Pension Board, including the conflict of interest, the oversight by the Standing Committee, fair and equitable representation in the Board, effective performance management as well as the issue of integrity and ethical values.
 
         My delegation is committed to taking part in the negotiations constructively to reach consensus for the betterment of the Fund.
 
I thank you, Madame Chair.