Statement by H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Minami
Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations
At the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly
28 April 2017

 

 

Thank you, Co-Chairs,

          I would also like to thank the President of the General Assembly (PGA) and his Chef de Cabinet (CdC) for their extensive briefings. My appreciation also goes to Ms. Catherine Pollard, USG for Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM) for her detailed briefing.

 

          Increasing the accountability and transparency of the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA) was urgent task to be addressed during the 70th session in order to restore the credibility of the entire United Nations system. In this regard, resolution 70/305 adopted last September achieved a number of positive outcomes. In particular, oath of office and code of ethics are considered to be major achievements.  Now the implementation of this resolution is crucial in order to secure and enhance the progress made during the previous session.

 

          Financial disclosure is the most important element, and it should be robust and comprehensive. This is a prerequisite to allowing us to understand the overall picture of funding in relation to the President of the General Assembly and his/her office. The report of the Secretary-General on the sources of funding and staffing of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, as requested by OP 56 of resolution 70/305, will be critical from that perspective.

 

Co-Chairs,

 

          It is needless to say that the President of the General Assembly and his/her office play a critical role across the three pillars of the United Nations. It is noted that there have been many calls for the increase of financial and human resources for the Office of the PGA. This morning we heard 5 concrete suggestions from CdC on this matter. Of course, my delegation would like to highlight the need for maintaining the budgetary discipline.  However, I noted that the responsibilities and the role of the PGA and the workload of the OPGA are increasing significantly and that there is a great need for the PGA to respond to the increased responsibilities.  It is necessary to balance the activities of the PGA and OPGA with the available resources. My delegation will seriously consider the suggestion in the coming sessions.

 

          On the timing of the election of the PGA, at the meeting of this working group on 20 February, I suggested that the election date should be moved to an earlier date for smooth transition. I would like to reiterate this suggestion now again.

 

          As for the idea of interactive dialogue between the member states and the candidates for the PGA, I believe that it is a very interesting idea and we should further explore its possibility and feasibility.

 

          At the very moment of the adoption of resolution 70/305, on 13 September 2016, there was an oral statement issued by the Secretariat regarding the program budget implication (PBI) on the report of this Ad Hoc Working Group (A/70/1003) including, inter-alia, paragraph 64 of the resolution. But my delegation would like to discuss this PBI matter in the consideration of the biannual budget at the fifth committee in the 72nd session.

 

          In conclusion, Japan is ready to discuss this important cluster of the General Assembly revitalization and to cooperate with other Member states as to how to move forward in a constructive manner.

 

I thank you, Co-Chairs.