(Check against delivery)

 

 

Statement by H.E. Ambassador Hiroshi Minami

Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations

 

Agenda: Organization of Work

 Second part of the resumed session of the Sixty-Ninth Session of the Fifth Committee

Of the United Nations General Assembly

4 May 2015

 

Mr. Chairman,

 

         At the outset, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to you for your strong leadership, which led to the successful completion of the first resumed session on time. I believe we can finish this session on time too, under your able guidance, despite the number of difficult agenda items before us.

 

         With regard to deliberations on the peacekeeping budget proposals, what I should like to say first is that my delegation fully supports peacekeeping operations, which greatly contribute to international peace and security, and is ready to provide necessary resources to the peacekeeping operations for the successful implementation of their mandates.

 

         On the other hand, however, peacekeeping operations must be efficient, effective and accountable. My delegation has a concern over the incremental budgeting and unprecedentedly high budget request amounting to 8.5 billion dollars. In this regard, my delegation is ready to be engaged in negotiations with a view to achieving an agreement on budget levels which would neither exceed nor fall short of the requirements to implement each mission’s mandate, in particular through examining the funding to peacekeeping missions in the drawdown and closure phases, as well as the levels of civilian staff costs and operational costs in general.

 

         Cross-cutting issues are also critical to member states. My delegation has many questions on the issues of a second shared service center and the separation of the budget of the regional service center, and would like to examine these issues during the informal consultations.

 

Mr. Chairman,

 

         My delegation is looking forward to participating in the negotiations positively and constructively toward achieving a consensus on all the agenda items by the scheduled deadline of this session.

 

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.