Summary: 19 November 2009, New York – Statement on behalf of the European Union by H.E. Mr. Per Örnéus, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Sweden, 64th session of the General Assembly on Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly (Agenda item 118), United Nations
Thank you Mr President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
The Candidate Countries Croatia*, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, Iceland and Turkey, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan align themselves with this statement.
At the outset, the EU would like to thank you, Mr. President, for having convened this meeting on the revitalization of the General Assembly. The EU would also like to express its gratitude to the former Assembly President, His Excellency Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, for his efforts during the sixty-third session. The European Union encourages you, Mr. President, to pursue your engagement in this vital process.
The European Union would also like to express its gratitude to the two co-Chairs, Ambassador Maria Fernanda Espinoza, former Permanent Representative of Ecuador, and Ambassador Morten Wetland, Permanent Representative of Norway, for the work accomplished within the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly during the sixty-third session.
Mr President,
As it is well known, the EU supports effective multilateralism and the central role of the UN in it. Furthermore, strengthening of the United Nations is a top priority for the European Union. The revitalisation of the General Assembly is an integral part of the reform efforts of the UN. The EU continues to be committed to the revitalisation of the General Assembly and supports efforts aimed at strengthening its role and authority, in line with the UN Charter and other relevant documents.
The EU strongly believes that the revitalisation of the General Assembly can be ensured only when it engages in issues of genuine concern to all Member States and to the international community as a whole. Doing so, it will live up to its role as one of the principal organs of the UN. At the same time, a number of practical steps could be undertaken that would make the proceedings of the General Assembly more effective and efficient. At this stage, we believe, concrete initiatives at the practical level are of critical importance for an overhaul of the General Assembly’s performance. In our efforts towards reform, we must be careful not to duplicate in this
Ad Hoc Working Group discussions and negotiations already held or still ongoing in other fora.
The European Union has heard the appeal of you, Mr President, as well as the Member States for the need to reform the United Nations, including the General Assembly. The EU remains resolved to participate actively in a genuine dialogue with all UN members to push those efforts forward.
The EU welcomes the adoption of the Resolution 63/309 on the Revitalization of the General Assembly. We noted with great appreciation the active will among Member States to engage constructively in the negotiating process in order to give substance to the further work. The EU looks forward to advance our common efforts in the same spirit of consensus.
We are counting on the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly to continue the advancement of reform. In this regard we would like to highlight the inventory chart of all relevant proposals on revitalization and the stage of their implementation contained in the last report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the revitalization of the General Assembly, A/63/959. The chart provides a useful tool which facilitates the continued monitoring of the further implementation of our joint commitments.
Mr President,
The EU is convinced that the best way forward is swift implementation of existing resolutions on the revitalization of the General Assembly, including the outcome of the 2005 World Summit.
As previously stated, the Secretary General could in his annual report on the work of the organisation present precise information concerning the mandates adopted by the General Assembly during the year, including information on the status of their implementation.
With regard to the working methods of the General Assembly, the EU looks forward to work together with the full membership and the Secretariat in order to further streamline and modernize the agenda of the GA.
We also reiterate the importance of introducing measures to improve the quality and accuracy of General Assembly documents in the 6 official UN languages, to ensure that they are systematically produced and translated using the texts and speeches as they were written or given in the original language. In this regard, we would like to request clarification from the Secretariat on the possible savings that could be made by eliminating distribution of the paper version of the UN documents to the permanent missions, savings which could be used to improve the quality of these documents and their distribution to the Member States.
As regards the process of selection of the Secretary General, that has also been under examination, the EU attaches great importance to the full application of the relevant provisions of the UN charter and respective resolutions of the General Assembly.
Mr President,
The EU looks forward to working with the Co-facilitators you have appointed for the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group of the current session, Her Excellency Ms. Sanja Štiglic, Permanent Representative of Slovenia and His Excellency Mr. Jorge Argüello, Permanent Representative of Argentina. We assure them our full cooperation and support.
The EU will engage, in an active and pragmatic manner, in the proceedings of the Ad Hoc Working Group with a view to contributing to a successful outcome of our efforts aimed at the collective objective of further revitalizing the General Assembly.
Thank you.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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