第76回国連総会第5委員会主要会期閉会にあたっての山口書記官ステートメント

Mr. Chair,
 
At the conclusion of the session, my delegation would like to express our sincere appreciation to you, Mr. Chair and your team, and all the bureau members for your leadership and guidance to conclude many important items in a cooperative and a timely manner.
 
My special thanks also go to our Secretariat colleagues for their tireless efforts for the committee, without which we could never have achieved these outcomes.
 
Mr. Chair,
 
This session has been extraordinary in many ways. Following last year’s practice, most of session had to be conducted online due to the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. Under these constraints, we had before us a number of pressing and complex agenda items, all of which are critical to ensuring that this Organization can implement its mandate. In this regard, I would like to commend all delegations for sparing no effort to thoroughly discuss and reach agreements on important items, such as the programme budget, programme planning, the special political missions and the scale of assessments.
 
We are pleased that we were able to adopt a programme budget that will allow the UN to fully deliver its mandates in a more effective, efficient, and nimble manner. We also expect that the transparency and predictability of future budget proposals will be improved with regard to, inter alia, the so-called “add-ons”, including the revised estimates of Human Rights Council, construction projects, and others.
 
Let me also highlight one of the most important outcomes of this session; namely, the agreement on the scales of assessments for the apportionment of the regular budget and PKO budget. While Member States varied on their positions for desirable outcomes on this matter, Japan highly welcomes that a consensus was achieved on the scales of assessments, which is the backbone of the United Nations. Taking this opportunity, Japan would like to renew and reconfirm its sincere commitment to fulfilling its financial obligation in a faithful manner.
 
Our delegation would also like to highlight the agenda item of United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. We welcome that the General Assembly embraced the governance reform plan agreed by the Pension Board, including an improved and more efficient structure, more frequent meetings, and enhancing discipline through the establishment of an Ethics Policy. We trust that this comprehensive reform plan will strengthen the Pension Board to better serve for the best interests of the beneficiaries. Japan will continue to engage in the Board reform in 2022.
 
Mr. Chair,
 
Going forward, we would also like to reiterate that the Fifth Committee must continue to review its working methods towards more efficient and effective negotiations. Needless to say, the long-established practice of achieving agreement by consensus in the Fifth Committee is critically important. 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. My delegation will spare no effort to engage in the discussions to improve the Committee’s working methods, fully taking into account the lessons learned from previous sessions.
 
Mr. Chair,
 
Finally, I wish you, the bureau members, the representatives of the Secretariat, and all our dear colleagues, a very merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year.
 
Thank you.