EU Presidency Statement - Fifth Committee work

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and Iceland, EFTA country member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

Let me start by welcoming back the Chairman and all other members of the Bureau, as well as the Committee secretariat, to this First Resumed Session of the Fifth Committee. As always, the European Union is committed to working closely with you to ensure a successful outcome of our deliberations.

Mr. Chairman,

In this session the Committee will deal mostly with issues related to the budgets of this biennium and the last one. The EU looks forward in particular to the presentation of the Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Connor, on the financial situation of the UN, which is always a very useful source of information on the state of the UN's Treasury. In this context, the EU would greatly appreciate it if the presentation would also outline the trends of expected expenditure for peace keeping operations beyond the subsequent fiscal year for the missions, so as to assist member states in their planning for adequate budget provisions.

The Integrated Management Information System is an important project designed for enhanced coherence and efficiency in the Secretariat's management. The European Union is generally inclined to endorse the recommendations of the ACABQ. However, the project has reached an important juncture where we must carefully consider how best to continue the mainstreaming of IMIS into the overall administration of the UN. This work has not yet been completed in the administration of Tribunals and peacekeeping operations. All IMIS activities - present and future - need to be reflected and clearly explained in the context of the UN's wider IT strategy, a further comprehensive report on which was requested by the GA. at the main part of the 56th session.

The work of the Economic Commission for Africa is of great importance to the European Union. We agree that the expansion of the United Nations humanitarian and development activities in the region have led to increased demand for office space at ECA. We are in favour of taking a decision on this matter based on the recommendations of the ACABQ.

We have taken note of the report of the Secretary-General on the review of public information in the UN outside the Department of Public information. The document is important in light of the reviews on public information, publications and libraries that the Secretary-General will present at the 57th session following the resolution A/56/253 on the budget 2002-2003. In this regard, we note that the report on the implementation of resolution 54/259 on the cost-effectiveness of publications has not been submitted at this first resumed session, as it should have been.

We would like to thank the OIOS for the submission of some very important reports, containing important observations and lessons learnt. We look forward to the informal consultations on this issue, where we understand a representative of the UNHCR will be present.

Mr. Chairman,

At this session, the General Assembly will also have to review the budget proposals of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and take some important decisions concerning the staffing of these courts. The EU recalls its endorsement of the ACABQ's recommendations on this respect.

The EU is committed to the UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When the Committee reviews the budget of MONUC for 2001/2002, the EU will seek that the mission is provided with adequate financial resources.

Finally, we note that there are items on HRM for discussion. In particular, the EU notes that the report of the Secretary-General on the mandatory age of retirement and the UN Pension Fund has been included in the programme of work of this session. The EU has a number of questions to raise in order to clarify the precise implications of any change to the separation age. We will require responses to these points before we can take any decision on this issue, either at this resumed session or during the 57th session.

In conclusion, the European Union believes that the two weeks made available to the Fifth Committee for this Session will be more than sufficient. We confidently expect, therefore, our work to be concluded on time and without recourse to night and weekend meetings. This will allow small delegations to participate fully. In this respect, given our concern at the postponement of a number of important issues initially scheduled for this session, we also believe that we consider dispensing with a March session in future years.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

| Top |