ASSEMBLY REVIEWS PROPOSALS TO STRENGTHEN UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM; URGENT NEED FOR MORE EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE IS STRESSED

Press Release
GA/9173

ASSEMBLY REVIEWS PROPOSALS TO STRENGTHEN UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM; URGENT NEED FOR MORE EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE IS STRESSED

Delegates Say Efficiency, Not Just Cost-Cutting, Is Main Aim; President Makes Appeal for Victims of Honduras Flood Disaster

The General Assembly met this morning to consider the strengthening of the United Nations system.

The representative of Indonesia said reforms in the United Nations system must be undertaken with the full concurrence and participation of the developing countries, which constituted a majority of the membership. It was of pivotal importance, he added, that the General Assembly, the highest deliberative and decision-making organ, functioned effectively, focusing on major issues of political significance.

The representative of Japan said the purpose of efforts to reform the United Nations was not to downsize the Organization merely for the sake of economy, but to strengthen it by rationalizing its functioning, and enhancing its efficiency and effectiveness. He suggested that resources saved as a result of rationalization and reform be reinvested in United Nations priority activities, especially those in the area of development. "United Nations reform is a pressing issue", he warned, "we are indeed in a race against time."

Speaking for the members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the representative of Jamaica said those countries would like to see the universal nature and democratic character of the Assembly preserved. Steps should be taken to enhance the capacity of the Assembly and its subsidiary bodies to provide clear and coherent policy direction.

The representative of Nigeria said that after 50 years of the United Nations, there was the perception that it was "biting off more than it could chew". The paradox was why Member States continued to multiply their demands, without equipping the Organization with the material and human resources to deliver.

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Statements were also made by the representatives of New Zealand, Malta, Colombia, Cuba, South Africa, Philippines, United States, Ireland (on behalf of the European Union), India, Brunei Darussalam, Republic of Korea, Zimbabwe and Malaysia.

At the outset of the meeting, the President of the Assembly, Razali Ismail (Malaysia), called on the international community to respond adequately to appeals for help from the Government of Honduras following the floods which struck the nation at the weekend. He extended the "deepest sympathy" of the Assembly to the Honduran people.

Gerardo Martinez Blanco (Honduras) told the Assembly that ten people were so far known to have lost their lives in the floods. About 55,000 people were affected, with thousands of acres and crops amounting to millions of dollars in the export sector damaged. A health emergency had been declared, and there was particular concern for the children. There was extensive damage to roads and bridges, and the disruption of telecommunications had effectively cut off the northern part of the country. The receipt and distribution of emergency aid was being conducted, and he appealed to the international community to help mitigate the effects of the disaster.

The Assembly will meet again at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, 26 November, to conclude its consideration of the agenda item, and to consider the report of the Security Council.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to begin consideration of the strengthening of the United Nations system.

At its forty-ninth session, the Assembly established an open-ended high- level working group on the issue, and decided that the group would undertake a thorough review of the studies and reports of the relevant United Nations bodies and submissions of Member States and observers, as well as studies and reports of independent commissions, non-governmental organizations, institutions, scholars and other experts on the revitalization and strengthening of the system. The Assembly requested the group to submit a report on its work before the end of the fiftieth session, and decided to include the item in the provisional agenda of its fiftieth session.

The Assembly had before it the report of the working group (document A/50/24) with annexes on its procedures, and including a statement to the group by the Secretary-General on 11 March 1996.

Statements

NUGROHO WISNUMURTI (Indonesia) said reforms in the United Nations system must be undertaken with the full concurrence and participation of the developing countries, which constituted a majority of the membership. It was of pivotal importance that the General Assembly, the highest deliberative and decision-making organ, should function effectively, focusing especially on major issues of political significance. The strengthening of the role of the Assembly was a basic premise of the process of revitalization.

He said progress in the open-ended working group, particularly in the reorganization of the Main Committees and their agenda items, the finalization of the revised rules of procedure and the reduction in the number of reports requested from the Secretary-General, had been "excruciatingly slow", but had laid a solid foundation for the future. The question of clustering of some agenda items had already led to tangible results in some of the Main Committees. He reiterated his opposition to the merger of the First Committee with the Disarmament Commission. Each, he stated, had a distinct role. For the same reason, he said, he had reservations about the proposal to merge the First Committee with the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.

In the context of the General Assembly, he said the office of the President was a focal point of interaction for all Members of the Organization, yet the potential had not been fully utilized. Consultation with the Presidents of the other organs, especially the President of the Security Council, should be institutionalized in the interests of democratization and accountability. He supported the recommendations of the working group, inter alia, that it should continue its work in accordance with the mandate in resolution 49/252.

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MICHAEL POWLES (New Zealand) said that the frankness and openness of the working group showed the willingness of its members to adopt a forward-looking approach and sophisticated working methods. Their willingness to retain all of those ideas in the group's working paper showed that decisions on many of the complex and far-reaching suggestions could not be brought to finality in the few weeks of meeting time left to the group in 1996. In any final outcome to the work of the group there would be individual ideas or components with which not all members would be entirely comfortable.

He said the group identified the need for a more interactive relationship between the General Assembly and other organs of the United Nations, especially the Security Council. It also considered the relationship of the Assembly, and indeed the United Nations system as a whole, with the ever-growing range of non-governmental organizations and other actors under the umbrella item "civil society". There was also clear agreement that the current structure of the senior management in the Secretariat, with a large number of personnel at the Under-Secretary-General level, was unsatisfactory and ran contrary to the desire for greater organizational efficiency.

JOSEPH CASSAR (Malta) said reform had been on the agenda for many years; the process had not been easy, nor as fast as some would have desired. Change within such a complex organization, and where there was such political sensitivity, necessarily required in-depth consideration and reflection.

If the United Nations was to improve its credibility and authority in the coming years, it must improve its structure, administration and competence. It must be a United Nations which could adapt itself to changing realities and ensure more democracy in the decision-making. Reform could not be equated simply with cost-cutting.

He said Malta had been at the forefront of efforts to revitalize the General Assembly and he supported enhancement of the office of the President, which had great potential for structured consultations with the Presidents of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. Reports submitted to the Assembly by the Council and by the Secretary-General should strike a balance between the descriptive and the analytical, so as to be tools of reflection for Member States in helping set the priorities of the Organization.

As for the Secretariat, he said "leaner" management teams at all levels, and the rationalization of the lines of command, would make the Secretariat more manageable.

CLARA INES VARGAS DE LOSADA (Colombia) said her delegation, working individually or through the Non-Aligned Movement or "Group of 77" developing countries, had -- along with Costa Rica -- alternated in presenting the voice of the developing countries belonging to those groups.

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Colombia and Costa Rica, she said, had focused on the need to re- establish the political authority of the Assembly in different areas, including peace-keeping operations; the need for adequate resources, and the need to reformulate its relations with other organs, in particular the Security Council. On the Secretariat, they had indicated that it should develop its activities based on mandates and directives from the General Assembly. The search for efficiency should not be a reason to dismantle programmes for developing countries.

It was only logical, she went on, that the working group had not reached any definite conclusions, but the discussions and interchange of opinions had been useful. Colombia was ready to keep on working next year.

ABELARDO MORENO (Cuba) said the current process offered a fresh opportunity to strengthen the Organization's methods, rather than redefining them. The report of the working group was an important step and its future efforts should focus on ways of enabling the United Nations to better fulfil the principles outlined in the Charter, through measures to strengthen the General Assembly.

Cuba shared the position of the Group of 77 and the non-aligned countries, he continued. In the future, the Secretary-General's report on the work of the Organization should be available prior to the beginning of the Assembly's general debate. The report should include a new section describing the political and economic objectives of the United Nations for the upcoming year, with the priorities set by Member States. The report of the Security Council to the Assembly should be debated, and informal Assembly consultations should follow that debate. Consideration of the Council's report should be kept open with a view to future discussion.

On the plenary which, he noted, was still the Organization's highest forum, he said its debates should not accommodate unilateral priorities, but should respond to the concerns of the majority. The role of the President of the Assembly could be strengthened. By enhancing the President's authority, he could invigorate the Assembly's work.

He said the role of the Main Committees should be strengthened, but artificial merging of their work should be avoided.

FREDERICK O. BERGH (South Africa) said the report of the working group provided a sound basis for continued discussion. While clearly waste and duplication must be eliminated, efforts to bring about a streamlined, responsive and accountable Secretariat should be undertaken without negatively impacting development programming. South Africa fully supported initiatives to improve the Assembly's ability to review issues being considered by the Security Council, prior to the formal introduction of those items. Such discussions would enhance the consideration of those issues, and would ultimately strengthen the important political role of the United Nations.

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South Africa suggested that priorities be set and that areas in which agreement had been reached on the need for improvements should be revisited, he said. The focus of deliberations was to enhance the relationship between the various organs of the United Nations. Any attempt to use the working group for the purposes of advancing narrow, national agendas would frustrate the proceedings. The process was not solely one of modernizing the United Nations, but it was one of making the United Nations system more relevant to respond to the changing needs of humanity.

FELIPE MABILANGAN (Philippines) said a convergence of views appeared to exist on a number of issues, especially on the strengthening of the General Assembly. The working group should build on that, to reach agreement on more precise language at an early date. It was also important that detailed consideration be given to issues, particularly those regarding the Secretariat, on which a convergence of views did not yet exist.

The Assembly should be enabled to conduct a detailed consideration of the Secretary-General's report. There should be a more transparent process in formulating the speakers' list for the plenary debate in the Assembly. Concrete measures should be taken to ensure a more transparent process for negotiating and adopting resolutions for items considered in the plenary segment of the Assembly. On the Secretariat, he spoke of the need for a more transparent process of selecting the Secretary-General that would include more meaningful participation by the Assembly, and also an urgent need to ensure full implementation of the principle of gender balance at all levels.

VICTOR MARRERO (United States) said a comprehensive set of significant reform measures was needed to impress upon capitals the ability of the United Nations to serve shared global interests into the next century. The working group would continue to consider ways to improve the United Nations in three general areas: in its institutional design; managerial functioning; and intergovernmental routines. The United States strongly supported continued efforts to work out a comprehensive "blueprint" for United Nations reform through continuation of the working group.

Last year, he said, the United States submitted to the working group a comprehensive package of proposals, which had included restructuring of the United Nations Secretariat; consolidating related entities; rationalizing related programmes; phasing out marginal entities or programmes, and modifying mandates in need of review. The proposal also included enhancing the policy- setting role of the Economic and Social Council and improving inter- governmental processes. The United States looked forward to continued discussion on the variety of proposals.

Many regional groups and blocs of like-minded States had met during the past year and determined that the world needed the United Nations, he went on, but it should be a well-managed and well-designed United Nations. The reform

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spirit had caught on. Regional commissions were analyzing their priorities, the Secretariat's efficiency board had installed a suggestion box, and many programmes for paperwork reduction were under way. There was a collegiality among the parties towards outlining the zero-growth regular budget for 1998-99. The continued work of the group depended on voluntary contributions, of which the United States had contributed $50,000. The United States had found that the working group recognized the need for the seriously overdue Secretariat organizational manual for identifying structures, mandates and activities.

JOHN H.F. CAMPBELL (Ireland), speaking on behalf of the European Union and also Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, said that United Nations reforms were an ongoing process. The setting-up of the working group, only a little over a year ago, was an important part of the wider process of reform. The group, he said, had made considerable progress in identifying a range of concrete means that could meet its objectives. Opinions among Member States seemed to be converging on many issues.

The European Union believed that the working group should continue to implement its mandate, focusing on the General Assembly and the Secretariat. It was encouraging, he said, that some of the ideas and proposals still under discussion were beginning to find reflection in the proceedings of the Assembly's current session. The President of the Assembly, he noted, was already anticipating the more effective role which the working group had included in its objectives. Enhanced efficiency and cost-effectiveness were resulting from management reform in the Secretariat. If the working group translated discussion into action during the present session, this initial progress could be put on a much broader and more secure footing.

C. NARAYANA SWAMY (India) recalled that the working group on the issue at hand had been created in the midst of uncertainty and some controversy; it had since identified and made progress on specific subjects for discussion. The report, his delegation noted with satisfaction, includes not only a procedural description of its work, but also a substantive document indicating areas where there was some convergence of views. Further discussion to achieve convergence was required on the budget process and the participation of non-governmental organizations.

He said discussions should reflect the seriousness with which Member States approached the issues and the United Nations itself, even while dealing with often unjustified negative public perceptions. United Nations reform, he noted, should not be a purely cost-cutting exercise. India hoped to contribute to other areas not yet taken up by the working group, including the relations of the United Nations with the specialized agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions.

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SLAHEDDINE ABDELLAH (Tunisia) said the task being undertaken through the various working groups reflected the commitment to restructuring the United Nations for a better future. There was a need for compromises and consensus in the negotiations and it was important to ensure that both the Assembly and the Secretariat met the goals of efficiency and transparency.

On the relationship between the Assembly and the Security Council, various aspects of which would be dealt with in the working group next year, he said greater interaction between them must be given more prominent consideration in the future work of the group. The President of the Assembly must be more visible. The many important issues concerning the Secretariat would have to be dealt with in the appropriate forum and framework. Contemplated reforms, he cautioned, must not call into question any initiatives concerning the developing countries. Among major issues was finding a more democratic formula for the selection of the Secretary-General. Also, the criteria for regional representation must be institutionalized. The use of the veto by permanent members of the Security Council must also be settled. There was need to carry out specific projects to improve the image of the United Nations, he stated. New information technology should be employed with the information being made available in all the official languages of the Organization.

MASAKI KONISHI (Japan) said that efforts to reform the United Nations were not just to downsize the Organization for the sake of economy, but to strengthen it by rationalizing its functioning and enhancing its efficiency and effectiveness. To that end, his Government had proposed that resources saved as a result of rationalization and reform be reinvested in United Nations priority activities, especially those in the area of development.

He said the role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC), in coordinating United Nations activities by setting priorities and eliminating duplication among programmes, should be carefully studied. He further suggested an appropriate increase in the budget and support staff for the office of the President of the Assembly, whose efforts in the strengthening of the Assembly had been hampered by those shortcomings.

In the course of the working group last session, he said, he was often struck by the need for coordination among the efforts of the five working groups to ensure that the reforms in the respective areas were carried out in a coherent manner. There was also need for coordination between the President of the Assembly and the vice-chairmen of the working groups. He cautioned that if the United Nations was too slow in putting itself in order, it would not be able to respond to the growing and urgent demands of the international community. "United Nations reform is a pressing issue", he stated, "we are indeed in a race against time."

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M. PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica), speaking on behalf of the members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said those countries were united in their desire to see a reorganization of the existing structures of the United Nations. As developing countries, they needed an international environment which would enable them to achieve their national goals for security and development, and to improve the standard of living for their people.

She said CARICOM countries would like to see the universal nature and democratic character of the General Assembly preserved; steps should be taken to enhance the capacity of the Assembly and its subsidiary bodies, to provide clear and coherent policy direction. Action taken to involve non-governmental organizations and civil society, she noted, had paved the way for considering the modalities of their relation to the United Nations; the valuable contribution they made could not be ignored.

PEHIN MOHAMMED (Brunei Darussalam) said Member States should not allow the General Assembly to become marginalized and downgraded. The Assembly should be more involved in the discussions of substantive issues, especially those affecting international peace and security. It should not act as a "rubber stamp" for any decisions reached by the other United Nations organs.

Further enhancement of cooperation and coordination between the Assembly and the Security Council was needed. The monthly forecast of the Council's work programme should be circulated to the Assembly, and would be especially useful to small missions, such as that of Brunei Darussalam. He said the staff of the Secretariat, as the key organ of the United Nations, was one of its biggest assets, but it needed greater diversity and balance in geographical origins. Any measure to improve its cost-effectiveness should not be at the expense of its competent and efficient staff.

PARK SOO GIL (Republic of Korea) said the foremost goal of reform was to better equip, better finance and better organize the United Nations so that it could more effectively fulfil its mandate according to the Charter. In the midst of uncertainly and chaos, the need for a more effective and responsive United Nations was greater than ever, but efforts to better prepare the United Nations to cope with the new challenges could succeed only if they were backed by the strong, unified political will of Member States.

Through reform, he went on, the Secretariat must be enabled to provide the most effective and coordinated support possible to Member States. To ensure the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, the Secretariat needed to attract highly qualified personnel. Geographic, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity must be maintained. His Government supported the appointment of a Deputy Secretary-General to coordinate day-to- day administration and management duties. Such a move would enable the Secretary-General to focus more on policy-oriented matters.

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He said the selection process of the Secretary-General, a topic currently on the minds of many at the United Nations, was another area in critical need of reform. The process must be broadened and further articulated, and the General Assembly should play a greater role. The Assembly must have the opportunity to address all major issues facing the international community. It should also be in a position to coordinate activities of various organs of the United Nations. Also, cooperation should be enhanced between the General Assembly and the Security Council.

MACHIVENYIKA T. MAPURANGA (Zimbabwe) said any reform which did not strengthen the role of the General Assembly was bound to fail. Reform and restructuring of the Secretariat was the responsibility of Member States and not the Secretariat itself. Also, the role of the Assembly President must be enhanced through the provision of adequate resources. He said the work of the Security Council must be more transparent to the Assembly, since the Council was accountable to it.

His Government did not agree with the suggestion that activities be streamlined by declaring a moratorium on international conferences. That suggestion was made against the backdrop of the failure of some States to honour the international commitments entered into at previous conferences.

The restructuring of the Secretariat should expedite and enhance programme delivery, he continued, particularly in relation to development activities. The creation of additional posts was the prerogative of Member States, and it was the Member States who determined the priorities of the Organization, not the Secretariat. He said he wished to echo statements by the Group of 77 and the non-aligned countries calling for the re-installation of the post of Director-General for international economic development. Instead of establishing another layer of bureaucracy, that should be achieved by creating the post of Deputy Secretary-General.

ISAAC E. AYEWAH (Nigeria) said that over the years, the United Nations had come to represent a bastion of hope for the weak and a companion for the strong. It identified with the goals of peace and security, development, and the codification of international law. After 50 years, the Organization had certainly grown, but there was the perception that it was "biting off more than it could chew". The paradox was why Member States continued to multiply their demands on the United Nations, without equipping the Organization with the material and human resources to deliver. The United Nations could only be the Organization that Member States enabled it to be.

Citing Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda and Liberia, he said no one suggested that the United Nations had not made efforts. It counted for much, in many conflicts, but it could certainly do better if Member States made resources available. He said the Security Council needed to correct its geographical balance and also to increase its membership.

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On other issues, he said, the working group should not pursue interminable debate, but come up with workable solutions. The Secretary- General was appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. Therefore, the ultimate responsibility rested with the General Assembly and it should not abdicate that responsibility to any other body.

HASMY BIN AGAM (Malaysia) said his delegation was heartened to note the convergence of views over a large number of issues covered by the working group. The strengthening and modernization of the United Nations should address inequities in the decision-making process and promote efficiency to better meet the complex demands of its Members. The General Assembly was the only universal organ in the United Nations system, but notwithstanding its Charter-mandated powers, its role had eroded. The challenge was to prevent that process and reverse the encroachment on its areas of competence.

Within the working group, Malaysia had proposed that the Secretary- General be appointed for a single, non-renewable term of perhaps six to seven years. It had also proposed a termination clause, as this was provided for in the Constitutions of virtually all Member States. Malaysia favoured a close examination of the composition of the Security Council, and also a process leading to the election of the members of the Credentials Committee of the General Assembly. It favoured a concentrated two weeks for the general debate, with guidelines for the speakers' list, as opposed to the current system which was highly subjective and exposed the Secretariat to all forms of pressures and manipulations.

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