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Statement by Mr. Hiroshi Onuma
First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
On Agenda Item 132: Proposed Programme Budget for the Biennium 2014/15
Subvention to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)
Main Part of the Sixty-Ninth Session
United Nations General Assembly
15 December 2014
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
At the outset, my delegation would like to thank Mr. Chandramouli Ramanathan, Office-in-Charge, Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts and Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), for introducing their respective reports on this agenda item. In the following statement, I wish to share my delegation’s views on the relevant reports on the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
Japan attaches great importance to the ECCC and has been significantly engaged in and contributed to it. We believe that the ECCC is applying the final touches to the peace process in Cambodia, which Japan has long been actively supporting. In this regard, Japan welcomes all the progress achieved in the ECCC, including the delivery of the judgment in the first phase of Case 002, which shows that it is moving forward step-by-step to serve justice in Cambodia.
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation recognizes that the ECCC faces serious financial difficulties, and understands that this critical situation needs to be dealt with in order for the ECCC to continue carrying out its judicial activities. In this regard, at the first resumed session of the Sixty-Eighth Session of the General Assembly, Japan supported the proposal to provide commitment authority not to exceed 15.54 million US dollars to supplement the voluntary financial resources of the Chambers for 2014.
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation would also like to express its satisfaction with the inclusion of an estimated timeline for judicial completion in the Completion Plan, according to the law in each case and the major milestones to be achieved for each of them. We expect that the Completion Plan will be implemented completely and updated regularly so that it may contribute toward making all judicial proceedings more efficient and effective, while continuing to ensure fair and impartial trials and preventing any form of impunity.
On the other hand, Mr. Chairman, my delegation has to express its deep regret concerning the current level of existing pledges for 2015. The amount pledged so far is not enough to fulfill the requirements for both the national and international components, in spite of the intensive fundraising efforts made by the Secretariat. Japan would like to encourage all Member States to provide voluntary contributions, and requests the Secretariat to continue its efforts to obtain further voluntary contributions, taking into account Operative Paragraph 3 of General Assembly resolution 57/228, which states that the expenses of the ECCC shall be borne by voluntary contributions from the international community.
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation looks forward to participating in the discussion on this agenda item constructively by further scrutinizing the Secretary-General’s report, as well as the updated information to be provided by the Secretariat, taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of the ACABQ report. In this regard, my delegation wishes to emphasize that the General Assembly’s authorization of the Secretary-General to enter into commitments in an amount not to exceed 12.1 million US dollars for 2015, which is recommended in subparagraph 42(b) of the same report, would be a good starting point for the discussion.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
