H.E. Mr. Shinichi Kitaoka

Deputy Permanent Representative Of Japan

At The 59 th Session Of The General Assembly On Item 56: Cooperation Between The United Nations And Regional And Other Organizations

21 OCTOBER 2004

Mr. President,

In its capacity as Chair of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Japan, together with the co-sponsors, has the honor and the pleasure to introduce to the Assembly for adoption the draft resolution contained in document A/59/L7, entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization." The draft resolution is primarily of procedural nature and is meant to serve as a basis for the CTBTO to inform the General Assembly of its activities at the latter's sixty-first session. In its preambular part, the draft resolution takes note of both the note of the Secretary-General on the cooperation between the two organizations and the report of the Executive-Secretary of the Commission. In its operative paragraph, it decides to include the same sub-item in the provisional agenda of the sixty-first session. It is our hope that this draft resolution will be adopted by the General Assembly with the broadest support possible.

Mr. President,

I would like to take this opportunity to briefly touch upon the cooperation between the United Nations and other organizations. We believe that in addressing regional issues, it is essential to ensure the ownership of the countries in the region and their regional organizations. We are happy to note that such ownership has been demonstrated, for example, by the African Union and African sub-regional organizations in their efforts to address regional conflicts in recent years. Japan commends in particular the role the African Union played in Burundi, and more recently in Darfur, Sudan. We believe that the assistance of the international community and the United Nations will be more effective if it is conducted on the basis of the ownership of the region. Japan, for its part, will continue to support AU activities contributing to peace, for instance, those relating to DDRR in the Great Lakes region. As the AU Peace and Security Council has embarked on its activities and needs for peace support operations have grown in Africa over the past several years, cooperation between the United Nations and African regional and sub-regional organizations has become more critical than ever. We are pleased that, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1556, the United Nations Secretariat assisted the African Union with planning and assessments for the expansion of its monitoring mission in Darfur, and demonstrated how the United Nations and a regional organization may cooperate with each other effectively. Japan expects that, through cooperation with the United Nations, the AU monitoring mission will be expanded expeditiously to improve the security conditions on the ground.

Mr. President,

My second point is with regard to the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO). My delegation would like to commend the President of the Organization's forty third session, and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, for successfully hosting the very productive annual meeting of AALCO in Bali last June. AALCO is a truly unique regional organization. It promotes legal cooperation among countries in the region; it develops and disseminates expertise in international law by organizing annual meetings, seminars and workshops focusing on current issues in international law under consideration in various forums of the United Nations and other bodies; and it contributes to the process of codification and development of international law. Japan, as one of the original members of the Organization, continues to support these activities and is confident that the work of codifying international law will be greatly advanced through closer cooperation between AALCO and the United Nations.

Mr. President,

Finally, let me say a few words about the draft resolution contained in the document A/59/L5, entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-parliamentary Union," which was just introduced by the representative of Chile. The Inter-Parliamentary Union, consisting of parliaments of the majority of the Member States, is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue. The IPU, through its wide-ranging activities, has contributed significantly to promoting democracy and enhancing awareness in the general public of the role of the United Nations. As a co-sponsor of this draft resolution, Japan hopes that the IPU will continue to play its important and unique role. Since relations between the United Nations and the IPU are at a critical juncture, my delegation also considers it appropriate, as is stipulated in the draft resolution, that the IPU engage in extensive consultations with parliamentarians in different countries on the recommendation made by the Panels of Eminent Persons to study relations between the United Nations and Civil Society.