Statement by Mr. Keisuke Fukuda
First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations

Agenda item 139: Human Resources Management

 Main Part of the 71st Session of the Fifth Committee
Of the United Nations General Assembly
28 October 2016

 

 

Madam Chair,

 

          At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation to Mr. Yukio Takasu, Under-Secretary-General for Management, Ms. Elia Yi Armstrong, Director of the Ethics Office, Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, Mr. Rajab Sukayri, Inspector, Joint Inspection Unit and Mr. Kenneth Herman, Senior Adviser on Information Management Policy Coordination of the Secretariat of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, for introducing their respective reports.

 

Madam Chair,

 

          My delegation believes that human resources management is a core element of the effective and efficient operation of this organization, and a better managed organizational mobility programme has the potential to contribute to improving the delivery of mandates and also to respond better to the career aspirations of staff members.

 

Madam Chair,

 

          My delegation emphasizes the need to secure appropriate talent at all levels. The Secretary-General needs to continue to facilitate the influx of young, diverse talent through the young professionals programme examination and give them opportunities to develop their abilities in order to strengthen middle and senior management in the medium and long term.

 

          At the same time, the United Nations Secretariat has many P-3 and P-4 posts to fill to deliver its mandates and so it is critical to secure competent mid-career staff serving at these levels. Whether the organization can accomplish its mandates depends on their performance. Therefore, the Secretary-General should make use of both internal and external experts who have excellent professional experience, including Associate Experts.

 

          My delegation also emphasizes that human resources professionals and managers need to make efforts to provide career development support to each staff member and also to provide opportunities for promotion to staff members who make outstanding achievements in the delivery of the organization’s mandates. Properly rewarded, such high achievers should serve as role models for other young professionals; promotions should foster a sense credibility and reliability amongst staff members in the organization and enable it to retain talent over the long term.

 

          In order to realize this benefit, it is essential to improve and develop the performance management system. However, amongst public organizations, it is sometimes difficult to get an accurate grasp of individual achievements because of the difficulty of setting indicators. Therefore, while requesting establishment of comprehensive indicators and benchmarks, human resources professionals and managers may also be encouraged to collect and ascertain the reputations of staff members shared by their local group as a means of conducting evaluations from holistic view point. It is generally true that the brightest individuals are likely to already be highly regarded by those around them, such as supervisors, colleagues and subordinates.

 

Madam Chair,

 

          Finally, as the succession of the Secretary-General is expected during this session, we the Member States should express our collective will by adopting a General Assembly resolution. My delegation is committed to participating positively and constructively in the negotiations on this important issue.

 

I thank you, Madam Chair.