Mr Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on the Secretary-General's report on Secretariat and Management Reform (A/60/692). We thank the Deputy-Secretary-General, Mr Mark Malloch Brown, for introducing this report and the ACABQ Chairman, Mr. Rajat Saha, for presenting the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (A/60/735).

Mr Chairman,

The Group of 77 and China strongly supports ongoing efforts to reform the United Nations and bases its positions on the fundamental principle that the inter-governmental nature of this Organization should be upheld. We share a collective agenda and a common interest in making the United Nations more responsive to the present-day needs of our people. It is therefore a prerequisite that the views of every Member State on reform should be taken into account. The tendency now is that only the views of the powerful or those who pay more should be taken into account. The legitimacy and viability of the reform measures would ultimately be dependant on the buy-in of Member States, as well as of the Secretariat personnel who dedicate themselves to this Organization.

For reform to be meaningful, it should be aimed at strengthening the ability of the Organization to implement its mandates effectively and at better enabling it to serve the interests of the collective membership. The objective is to make the United Nations more efficient, effective and accountable to Member States. It should also be more responsive to the priorities collectively agreed to by all Member States. It should further be able to recruit and retain qualified staff that reflects the international character of this Organization.

Mr. Chairman,

The World Summit provided Member States with an opportunity to affirm our commitment to the principles and values of the Organization, as enshrined in its Charter. Our leaders recognized that development, human rights, peace and security are mutually reinforcing and reaffirmed our commitment to urgently address the numerous challenges by strengthening the United Nations. This in turn necessitates providing the United Nations with the requisite human and financial resources because it would be unrealistic to expect the Organization to deliver on the ambitious goals set by Member States within the limited existing resources. In this context, the Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to providing additional resources to the Secretariat to help address development challenges and meet the Millennium Development Goals.

In recognition that reform is a continuous process and not an end in itself, the World Summit Outcome Document requested the Secretary-General to submit proposals that would advance ongoing reform efforts.

Member States have already acted decisively by adopting several concrete measures that are intended to reform the Secretariat and strengthen its accountability to Member States. To this end, the Group of 77 and China has supported the creation of an Ethics Office, the development of a whistleblower policy, the strengthening of the internal auditing and investigation capacity of the Organization, and the evaluation and review of the oversight structures and accountability framework of the Secretariat. We have also ensured that the Secretary-General received the resources that he requires to implement the World Summit decisions, as well as to continue to implement the numerous other important mandates that we have bestowed on the Organization. The Group welcomes the opportunity to now address the remaining tasks at hand.

Mr Chairman,

The Group wishes to thank the Secretary-General for outlining his overall vision for reform in the report. Reform is an ongoing process and the current report presents the third major reform initiative undertaken by the Secretary-General since 1997. As noted by the ACABQ, many of the proposals in this latest round of reform measures have their genesis in past proposals, some of which are still in the process of implementation. It is therefore imperative for the reform proposals before us to take the positive aspects of existing reform efforts into account and to build upon them.

Whilst it would have been our preference to embark on a detailed consideration of the proposals at this stage, we recognize that the Secretariat will require some time to prepare the detailed reports proposed by the ACABQ. The Group fully supports the recommendation of the ACABQ for such reports and firmly believes that it is necessary to have well thought-out and rational proposals that will build on and tie together interrelated issues. The proposals should be cognizant of the inter-governmental nature and unique character of the United Nations. The submission of detailed and comprehensive reports will enable Member States to effectively consider and agree on reform measures that will build upon previous reform efforts.

Mr Chairman,

The Fifth Committee will revert to informal consultations on the reform proposals, as well as the recommendations of the ACABQ thereon. The Group looks forward to the opportunity to engage the Secretariat in the next few days and weeks. We believe that this dialogue would help Member States to arrive at a common understanding of the rationale behind the proposals and the type of information and analysis that should be included in the follow-up reports of the Secretariat.

It is important that we conclude the consultations and adopt a resolution as soon as possible, in order to enable the Secretariat to finalize its preparations for the reports. We therefore would appreciate it if the Bureau could prepare a tentative programme of work for consideration by the Committee in its next formal meeting. It is our understanding that the programme of work would be kept under review to reflect the progress of the Committee's negotiations. We also wish to acknowledge the efforts of the President of the General Assembly to ensure that resources for conference services have been diverted from the Plenary to the Fifth Committee. We believe that it is now up to the Committee to guarantee that the remaining services are provided in order to ensure that we complete our work as soon as possible.

I thank you.