(Check against delivery)

 

 

Statement by Mr. Sho Ono,

Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations

Agenda Item 130:

Programme budget: biennium 2012-2013 on the capital master plan

Main Part of the Sixty-seventh Session of the United Nations General Assembly

November 5, 2012

 

 

Mr. Chairman,

 

At the outset, my delegation would like to thank H.E. Mr. Yukio TAKASU, Under-Secretary-General for Management, Mr. LIU Yu, Director of External Audit, Chair of the Audit Operations Committee, BOA,　Mr. Carlos RUIZ MASSIEU Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,　and Mr. David Kanja, the Assistant Secretary General for Internal Oversight Services, for introducing their respective reports on the capital master plan (CMP). I wish to briefly outline my delegation’s views on this issue.

 

First of all, Japan is encouraged by the fact that governance of the CMP has been strengthened under the Under-Secretary-General for Management and the Executive Director of the CMP, who play a proactive role in the management of the effective and efficient delivery of the CMP.  Japan also welcomes that the Secretariat will enhance accountability including through reporting the anticipated final cost on a quarterly basis until the project’s completion.

 

Second, Japan welcomes the Secretary General’s efforts to contain the overall cost of the project and values its proposal on cost savings and financing proposals described in section XII of the tenth annual progress report of the Secretary General.  My delegation will actively engage in the discussions on these proposals.

 

Third, Japan is of the view that it is imperative for the Secretary General to make his utmost efforts to further contain associated costs by the time he presents his report on the final expenditure for associated costs to the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session.  In addition, the cost for the swing space should be kept as low as possible through utilizing more efficiently the renovated headquarters campus through flexible use of office space such as “hot-desking”. 

 

Finally, I would like to assure you, Mr. Chairman, that my delegation will participate actively in the consultations on this agenda item under your able guidance.

 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.