STATEMENT BY THE DELEGATION OF INDONESIA ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL SESSION OF THE FIRST PART OF THE RESUMED FIFTY-SECOND SESSION OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

New York, 9 March 1998

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China this organizational session of the first part of the resumed fifty-second session of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly.

Let me begin by expressing our sincere appreciation to you for your excellent leadership at the last regular fifty-second session of the Fifty Committee of the General Assembly for bringing it to a successful conclusion. As we begin the first resumed session of the Fifty Committee, I would like to wish you well in guiding our discussions and to assure you of our full cooperation during the session.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group of 77 and China also takes this opportunity to thank you for the draft programme of work and status of documentation for the first part of the resumed fifty-second session of the Fifty Committee of the General Assembly as contained in document A/C.5/52/L.22/Rev.1. It is within this context, the Group would like to underline its position and concerns.

As to the proposed programme of work, the G77 and China is of the view that the issues on the gratis personnel, the pattern of conferences, the use of consultants, procurement reform, outsourcing practices, human resources management, code of conduct, and reports of the Board of Auditors, should be considered and decision taken on them in this resumed session together with other items on which reports have not so far been issued. In this context, we deeply regret that the reports on most of these important issues have either not been submitted or were issued very late.

Despite the fact that several specific resolutions of the General Assembly require the Secretariat to issue documents six weeks prior to their consideration, delays in the issuance of documents have become a chronic problem. In some cases, in fact, the documents were not available until well after the meetings had already begun. Delays in the issuance and submission of the reports by the Secretariat and the full implementation of the General Assembly resolutions, negatively affects the fulfillment and implementation of mandated activities and the work of the Fifth Committee. It is therefore important that the Secretariat should submit the requisite reports without any further delays. Reports on other issues should also be submitted at the earliest possible time so as to facilitate the Fifth Committee in making well considered decisions. We would like to cite a few examples in this regard so as to underscore the fact that the issue of the late submission of reports needs to be seriously addressed.

The issuance of the first report on Gratis Personnel (A/51/688) was very late in November 1996 which is seen as a complete disregard for General Assembly resolution 48/266 C of 29 July 1994 and 50/221 of 11 April 1996. In resolution 51/243 of 15 September 1997 the General Assembly decided to resume consideration of the issue at the first part of its fifty-second regular session. The reports, however, were not submitted in accordance with the resolution despite assurances given by the Secretariat in the last session. We regret to note that, even six months after the adoption of the resolution, the reports were not yet available for submission to this Committee.

The General Assembly in its resolution adopted during the fifty-second regular session requested the Secretary-General to submit some reports under the agenda item on Pattern of Conferences. The Group is also concerned that these reports have still not been submitted.

In addition we should note that the Secretary-General was requested, in General Assembly resolution 51/221 of 18 December 1996, to submit a report on the use of consultants and associated contractual procedures in the United Nations, though the Office of Internal Oversight Services, no later than 1 March 1997, which has not yet been submitted. The General Assembly also requested some reports on consultants in its resolution 51/226 which have also not been issued.

The Group of 77 and China believes that the continued late issuance of documents by the Secretariat adversely affects the decision-making process in the Fifty Committee. Therefore, it is important that the Secretariat should comply with the resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and to submit the reports in accordance with the six-week rule. Moreover, the Secretariat should indicate the reasons for the delay at the time it is being introduced. We will have an opportunity to return to this issue again during the discussions on the working methods of the Fifty Committee.

Mr. Chairman,

10. The Group of 77 and China would also like to propose that the report of the Board of Auditors (A/52/755) should be considered under agenda item 116 on the programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999 as the Committee will consider two other reports on Integrated Management Information System projects under the same agenda item. Furthermore, we believe that the draft of the United Nations Code of Conduct is an administrative issue which is related to human resources management and therefore should be considered in the Fifty Committee. However, it might be advisable to have views of the relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies on the proposed Code of Conduct in order to take a judicious decision on this important issue.

Mr. Chairman,

11. We hope that the Secretariat will do its best to meet the expectations of the Member States and to facilitate the work of this Committee by submitting its reports on time. This we genuinely consider to be essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of the Committee.

12. In concluding, the Group of 77 and China would like once again to pledge its support and cooperation for the successful conclusion of the work of this session.

Thank you.