第75回国連総会第5委員会再開会期第一部閉会にあたっての赤塚参事官ステートメント

 
Mr. Chair,
 
At the conclusion of this session, I would like to thank the Chair of the Committee, the Bureau members and the Fifth Committee Secretariat for facilitating another session.
 
It has been one year since the outbreak of COVID-19 in New York forced us to adopt new working methods. We have observed difficulties as well as opportunities for increased efficiency in our work, and we look forward to seeing the lessons learned from the past year reflected in the future working methods of this Committee. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the Member States for their determination and hard work to reach consensus on a number of items despite the challenging circumstances of the past year.
 
Mr. Chair,
 
Regarding the Human Resources Management agenda, we regret that no resolution was adopted on HRM again, which means that we, as Member States, have failed to give appropriate guidance to the Secretary-General and to promote his efforts toward a more effective, efficient, and inclusive organization. However, on a positive note, we appreciate the Bureau’s effort to promote negotiations by introducing clusters. This method enabled more in-depth discussions of each item than in previous years, which allowed us to find potential emerging consensus on some topics, as well as topics that require further examination.
 
Mr. Chair,
 
My delegation is pleased that the Committee managed to find common ground on several important items including the standards of accommodation for air travel, the jurisdictional set-up of the Common System and the subvention to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. We would like to encourage all Member States to maintain this positive spirit of constructive cooperation, consensus building and compromise in the up-coming Second Resumed Session, where we will be discussing important items related to the UN’s peacekeeping operations.
 
Finally, I wish all my colleagues a well-deserved and restful weekend, and I look forward to seeing you in four weeks.
 
Thank you.