SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES ADOPTION BY ASSEMBLY OF RESOLUTION ON RESTRUCTURING OF UN IN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, RELATED FIELDS
Press Release
SG/SM/5990
GA/9075
SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES ADOPTION BY ASSEMBLY OF RESOLUTION ON RESTRUCTURING OF UN IN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, RELATED FIELDS
19960524 Following is the text of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's statement on the adoption of the General Assembly resolution on further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields:I welcome the successful completion of negotiations on agenda item 23 (restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields) and the adoption of a comprehensive resolution under this item.
This new resolution on the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields is the first to have emerged from a number of General Assembly working groups examining a wide range of issues relating to the reform and renewal of the Organization. Member States have reached agreement on measures which reconfirm the validity of the role of the United Nations in operational activities for development, foster greater harmonization of the work of the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly, strengthen the capacity of the Economic and Social Council to fulfil its Charter responsibilities and aim to further reinforce cooperation between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions. Furthermore, the resolution launches an important series of reviews to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the subsidiary bodies of the Council.
In a recent statement to the intergovernmental working group on the strengthening of the United Nations system, I stressed that carrying the reform process forward will require mutually supporting actions by the Secretary-General and the Member States. I pointed to some of the directions along which procedural and structural reforms in the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council might most productively move, and to the linkages between such reforms and the further streamlining and consolidation of Secretariat structures. The measures and studies provided for in this resolution will serve to make further progress in these directions. The resolution calls for a number of reports containing proposals from the Secretariat. The preparation of these reports will be given full attention in the period ahead, as will the provision of support to other working groups of the General Assembly pursuing related aspects of the reform effort.
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