REFORM OF UN TO MEET NEW CIRCUMSTANCES, CHALLENGES IS ONGOING PROCESS,

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

as delivered

R.A. revised by DSG

23October2003

the deputy-secretary-general

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This is the statement by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette to the General Assembly today on the question of United Nations reform:

address to the general assembly

on united nations reform

new york, 27 october 2003

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to join you today to present the Secretary-General's report on implementation of his "agenda for further change" (document A/58/351)..

This is a moment when the United Nations is facing formidable challenges and wrestling with fundamental questions.     There is growing interest in making profound and even radical changes to the Organization.  Welcome as that prospect is,The Secretary-General, in his speech to before the General Assembly at the opening of the general debate, called for bold changes in order to ensure that our Organization is up to the task. At the same time,   it is important not to lose sight of the more practical measures and day-to-day steps that have beenneed to be taken over the past several years to strengthen, adapt and otherwise equip the United Nations to meet the tests of our times.

A lot has already been achieved in that effort, both by the Member States and bysince the process of reform was spearheaded   initiated by the Secretary-General upon taking office in 1997.

The Millennium Declaration you adopted three years ago gives the world a common vision for the new century, including a set of development goals that now serves as a template for action by the entire international system.

Through the Brahimi report and other initiatives, we have made major improvements in our capacity to deploy and manage complex peacekeeping and

peace-building operations.

We have developed new tools mechanisms and procedures to ensure that the disparate parts of the Organization work better together both at Hheadquarters and in the field.

We have built strong new partnerships with the private sector, civil society groups and others, bringing new energies to the intergovernmental agendapursuit of our common goals.

And we have stressed managerial reform more than ever before, in recognition of the need to modernize our systems and our skills.

Last year, the Secretary-General introduced an "agenda for further change" that sought to build on these achievements and take into account important developments in the international arena, most notably the Millennium Declaration. 

      The report now before you sets out what has been done to implement that new agenda, and describes the steps to be taken next.  It also, of course, reflects the guidance you provided in last year's resolution.  Allow me to mention a few highlights:

-- * The budget submitted this year represents a major effort to realign activities with priorities, and to increase attention to development issues, in particular the Millennium Development Goals.  The Secretary-General will address the Fifth Committee tomorrow, and I refer you to his statement, and of course the budget documents themselves, for further detailsoffer greater details tomorrow in his address to the Fifth Committee to introduce the 2004-2005 budget;..

-- * The Office of the United NationsUN High Commissioner for Human Rights Rights (UNHCR) has moved forward with efforts to improve management and the services it provides;.

-- * Restructuring of the Department of Public Information (DPI) has taken place, and the regional Information Centre for Western Europe will be fully operational next year;.

      * Management capacity in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs has been strengthened.

-- * We have made major innovations in managing conferences and meetings, in particular through greater reliance on information technology;.

-- *The streamlining of reportsis moving ahead as a crucial part of efforts to revitalize the entire work programme of the General Assembly. Better reports, more focussed discussions and clearer working methods will, together, strengthen the Organization's development voice.  However, the Secretary-General has reached the limit of what he can do under his own authority.  If you want to take this further, some decisions are needed from you, including on recent proposals put forward by the President of the Assembly on revitalization of the Assembly, considered essential to better focus the work of the General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies,and of as well as the Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC, has been initiated. A number of reports on related subjectswere consolidated, leading to an overall reduction, during this session, of approximately 20 reports from what was originally foreseen.   and the total number of reports submitted to this GA is (NUMBER ) compared to (NUMBER ) last year Further progress on this front depends in large part on decisions which you, the Member States, can take in the context of the revitalization of the Assembly GA and the integrated follow-up to conferences;..

-- * The United NationsUN presence in developing countries is being made more effective through simplification and harmonization of toolsprocedures, joint programming, the pooling of resources, better knowledge management and changes improvements in the rRresident cCcoordinator system;.

-- * A review of technical cooperation activities in key areas was carried out and is being transmitted to you in a separate report.  This review provides information on a representative selection of issues, and seeks to better define roles and responsibilities in order to assist decision-making by programme countries and the donor community.identifies the various Secretariat entities and operational agencies involved in the provision of technical cooperation in a selected number of issues, and identifies areas where further clarification of roles and responsibilities will be undertaken in order to avoid duplication. It is hoped that this compendium will be a useful source of information for programme countries and the donor community;.

-- * A panel is examining interaction between the United Nations and civil society.  Its report, expected early in the new year, should also feed into the work of the panel on wider change that the Secretary-General will be appointing shortly.The panel of eminent persons to review the interaction between the United Nations and civil society, which the Secretary-General announced in his reform report last year, was formed last in February(MONTH). It is chaired by the former President of Brazil, Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and comprises 12 (NUMBER) mmembers from allregions of the world. The panel’s report is expected early in the new year.

* And we are continuing to make new investments in our staff, in particular through training.  The new management team intends to bring new intensity to the effort to expand opportunities for General Service staff.With the appointment of a new Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources, renewed impetus will be given to the implementation of the measures identified in the Secretary-General’s report last year, particularly as with regard to regards staff mobility and career prospects for General Service staff.

Some of these issues are also covered in a number of complementary reports -- some of them already issued, others still to come.  But whereas each of those reports shows progress -- albeit with different levels of success -- one additional report addresses a major piece of unfinished business: the planning and budgeting process.  The Secretary-General feels strongly that the processSome of the reform activities I have just mentioned are covered in greater detail in complementary reports. These are identified in the report before you today and should be read in conjunction with it.

While implementation is underway on all elements of the Secretary-General’s reform package of last year, there is one major piece of unfinished business: the reform of the planning and budgetingsystem. The Secretary-General argued in his report last year that the process needs to be more strategic and results-oriented, and less time-consuming.  His proposals on this were probably among the most ambitious parts of the Agenda for Further Change.  He proposes changes to the format and content of the budget document, and to the reports on performance evaluation.  He proposes that the “strategic framework” for the Organization should consist of a medium-term plan that would cover a two-year period, combined with the budget outline.  And he suggests that the Committee for Programme and Coordination shift its focus to monitoring and evaluating the work of the United Nations -– critical functions that are all-too-often overlooked or given short shrift -– rather than replicating the reviews of plans and budgets already done by other bodies.

The Assembly requested further deliberations on these matters.  Yet this remains an area where change is badly needed.  The reports now before you contain the supplemental information you asked for on a number of questions.  The time has come to act, and did not reach decisions on most of these issues last year, and requested supplementary information. This information is contained in documents A/58/395 and A/57/786.   (NUMBER). The changes proposed are not dramatic, but if adopted they would significantly improve the quality of the budget process while reducing the quantity of time and documentation that go into it.  I hope you will take your decisions before the end of the year so that the changes can shape the way in which the budget for 2006-2007 is developed.  If instead we are left with the status quo for another two years, while in so many other areas we forge resolutely ahead, that would be a sorely missed opportunity, not least for yourselves.

Mr. President,

Reform is not a single, specific destination.  Rather, it is , but rather a wide-ranging, indeed all-encompassing journey.  Ultimately it is a the state of mind -- an openness to new ideas and partners, a continuous search for better ways of doing our workthings, a commitment to excellence, a talent for focusing on what matters, an appetite for service. – in which we should always pursue our mission, and which should suffuse every task we perform for the world's peoples.  As we, the Secretariat, pursue this vital path, we look to you, the Member States, to make commensurate changes in the main United Nations organs on which our larger success also depends.

All of these reforms, big and small, swift or slow, internal or intergovernmental, that have been achieved, started or are still to come, show not only that the United Nations can change, but that change is an integral part of the way we do business.  Indeed, change has been our métiermétier since our earliest days.  We all look forward to wise decisions in the days ahead, that will enable us to keep it so for the future.

Thank you very much.

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