2. The Group expresses its appreciation to Ms. Elia Yi Armstrong, Director of the Ethics Office, as well as Mr. Cihan Terzi, the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, for introducing their respective reports.

Mr. Chair,

3. The Group of 77 and China believes that Human Resources Management is of utmost importance for the Organization. As we enter the 74th Session, this item remains a priority for the Group. We hope this year the Committee will be able to find common ground and adopt a resolution on this subject. Our group is committed to make its best efforts in order to achieve a positive result. We therefore note with great concern that not all relevant reports have been issued in a timely manner, imposing additional challenges on the Fifth Committee.

4. The Group supports the Secretary-General's efforts to improve human resources management. We acknowledge that the delivery of UN mandates hinges on the quality of its staff and the availability of adequate resources. We therefore support reforms that contribute to a highly motivated, diverse and dynamic workforce for our Organization, with a view to making it more representative of the multi-cultural and geographically broad membership. The ideal work environment should also be fair, transparent, accountable, and responsive to the needs of its Member States.

5. We regret that, since our last deliberations on this item, and despite repeated requests by our Group to take appropriate measures towards attaining the goal of equitable geographical representation in the United Nations Secretariat, no comprehensive proposals to this end are being presented to this Committee. We once again urge the Secretary-General to implement a comprehensive strategy to ensure equitable geographical representation in the Secretariat through the increase of the representation of developing countries, in particular at senior levels, in order for the United Nations to have a truly global Secretariat adequately representing the diversity of its Member States, a condition necessary for the United Nations to succeed in implementing its global mandate.

Mr. Chair,

6. The Group places great importance on the advice and guidance to staff on ethical issues provided by the Ethics Office. The protection of the core values of the Organizations and the adherence to the highest standards of ethical conduct is paramount to building a United Nations that achieves its goals in an irreproachable manner and becomes a model of transparency and public administration.

7. The Group commends the Office on the conduction of ethics briefings for groups and individuals at Headquarters and in the field and appreciates the high level of participation, which reached more than 31,000 UN staff. The Group further welcomes the remarked decrease in the average number of days taken to conduct preliminary reviews of the protection against retaliation cases. Likewise, the Group notes with appreciation the continued expansion of the number of staff covered by the financial disclosure programme and further encourages more senior officials to disclose the summary of their assets.

8. At the same time, the Group takes note of the proposals of the Secretary-General for strengthening the independence of the Ethics Office, restating measures that had been proposed in his 2018 report (A/73/89). The Group acknowledges the need for a strong and reliable Ethics Office. Nonetheless, as in last year, we will seek further clarifications regarding the measures contained in the item "Observations and Conclusions" of the report, as recommended by the Advisory Committee. Taking into consideration the very important role of the Ethics Office, the Group is of the view that revisions to its stature, reporting line and governance structure would have significant consequences for the Organization as a whole. Therefore, further analysis of such proposals is necessary.

Mr. Chair,

9. In conclusion, I wish to emphasize that Human Resources Management remains a priority for the Group. We reaffirm our commitment to engage in a constructive debate to foster substantive progress on this issue.

I thank you, Mr. Chair.

2. The Group would like to take this opportunity to express its gratitude to Mrs. Megayla Ulana Austin of Guyana, for her able leadership as the Chairperson of the Committee on Conferences for 2019, and once again congratulate Mr. Abelian for the assumption of his new role.

Mr. Chair,

3. The Group of 77 and China commends the Committee on Conferences for the work undertaken during its substantive session in 2019 and for the quality of its report, which will greatly benefit the consideration of this agenda item by the Fifth Committee. Similarly, we are of the view that the proposed draft resolution will serve as a framework for the consideration of this item.

4. The Group is aware of the liquidity challenges that the Organization faces and the austerity measures enforced as a result. Notwithstanding this situation, the Group continues to call for the delivery of quality conference services in accordance with the equal treatment of the six official languages of the United Nations, particularly in support of the work of the intergovernmental and expert bodies of the Organization. In this context, matters related to the utilization of conference services and resources, documentation and publication, translation and interpretation and the calendar of conferences and meetings are all equally crucial for the effective and efficient functioning of the Organization.

Mr. Chair,

5. The Group commends the efforts of the Secretariat to address underutilization of conference servicing resources and facilities by UN organs. The Group notes that the overall utilization factor for all calendar bodies in the four main duty stations was 82% in 2018 and thus met the established benchmark of 80%.

6. We note as well the continued increase in the number of non-calendar meetings, which place constraints on the resources allocated to servicing otherwise mandated calendar meetings. We look forward to learning more about the implementation of a cost-recovery mechanism for meetings not related to the intergovernmental process in New York.

7. The Group notes with appreciation the updated administrative instruction concerning the use of space for meetings, conferences, events and exhibits at Headquarters in New York. We urge other conference-serving duty stations to follow suit and update their respective information circulars governing the use of United Nations premises, bearing in mind that all duty stations need to manage conference services in an integrated manner in the spirit of one Untied Nations. We will study the updated administrative instruction closely to see how it compares to the previous administrative instruction.

8. The Group welcomes the report of the JIU on the current status of accessibility for persons with disabilities to UN conferences and meetings.

9. The Group supports the idea of going beyond a dedicated policy on accessibility to conferences and meetings and establishing a comprehensive approach to addressing accessibility needs. We note that UN organisations likewise recognise the benefits that it brings to staff, visitors and beneficiaries with disabilities.

10. The Group is also looking closely at the recommendations that the Joint Inspection Unit has set forth in its report, and notes that the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management has already begun to implement accessibility measures for persons with disabilities since the start of the 74th session. We are also looking at the comments issued by the organizations of the United Nations system on the recommendations provided by JIU.

Mr. Chair,

11. The Group continues to be concerned by the deteriorating conditions of the Nairobi conference center, which are severely hampering its capacity to provide conference services, especially for the regular calendar meetings of United Nations bodies headquartered in Nairobi. The Group welcomes the Secretary General's report which has been prepared within the context of the 2020 Programme in order to address the deteriorating conditions and limited capacity of the conference services facilities and it expects a speedy and effective solution.

12. With respect to conferencing facilities at the Economic Commission for Africa, the Group notes with appreciation that the utilization and improvement of the conference facilities remained high in 2018. We also appreciate the efforts done to improve the carpeting and the podiums of the conference centre, and continue to call for regular renovations and urgent technological improvements to ensure that the Commission maintains its ability to provide cutting-edge conference services.

Mr. Chair,

13. With respect to staffing, the Group of 77 and China acknowledges the efforts made by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management in addressing the staffing challenges. We also commend the steps taken to enhance the recruitment of language professionals, including by increasing outreach to universities as a means to address the gap of qualified candidates from Africa and from the Latin American and Caribbean region.

14. In conclusion, the Group stands ready to engage constructively on this agenda item and looks forward to its timely conclusion.

I thank you.

2. The Group expresses its appreciation to Ms. Alayne Frankson-Wallace, Executive Director, Office of Administration of Justice, and to Ms. Shireen Dodson, United Nations Ombudsman, as well as Mr. Cihan Terzi, the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, for introducing their respective reports. The Group also welcomes the report of the Internal Justice Council.

Mr. Chair,

3. The Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to the United Nations internal system of justice as an independent and transparent system operating to ensure respect for the rights and obligations of staff members as well as the accountability of both managers and staff members. We believe that an adequately resourced and decentralized system is necessary for an effective management of human resources, which is the most valuable asset of the Organization.

4. In that connection, the Group wishes to reaffirm that the Secretary-General, as the chief administrative officer, has a responsibility to ensure that the internal justice system of the Organization functions properly and to keep the General Assembly fully informed on the operation of the system. We also reaffirm the independence of the Office of the Administration of Justice, its operational and budgetary autonomy, and its mandate to ensure the institutional independence of the formal system of internal justice.

Mr. Chair,

5. The Group takes note of the data on the trends relating to the operation of the formal system of administration of justice in 2018 as follows:

i. The Management Evaluation Unit received its third highest volume of requests in 2018, totalling 1,182, of which 1,087 requests were closed by 31 December 2018;

ii. The Office of Staff Legal Assistance received 3,216 new requests for assistance and closed 2,483 requests during the reporting period. In 2018, the Office filed 173 requests for management evaluation and 119 applications to the Dispute Tribunal and represented staff in eight proceedings before the Appeals Tribunal. The Group particularly notes that 68 percent of requests for assistance from the Office related to benefits and entitlements, reflecting changes made to the staff salary and benefits package that came into effect during 2017;

iii. For the United Nations Dispute Tribunal (UNDT), the number of pending applications at year end increased from 372 in 2017 to 404 in 2018, which is interestingly the highest number of pending applications since the system was introduced in 2009.

Mr. Chair,

6. With regard to the implementation of the case disposal plan in January 2019, it is observed that this plan contributed to the Dispute Tribunal caseload reducing by 29.45 percent, from 404 to 285, and the caseload pending over 401 days reducing by 52.68 percent, from 205 to 97 cases;
On UNDT dual presidency, the Group of 77 and notes with concern that it led to the suspension of the implementation of the case disposal plan, and calls for a quick and effective resolution of the issues associated with the UNDT Presidency. The Group also encourages exploring institutional mechanisms to avoid any such recurrence.

7. Despite the positive results spurred by the case disposal plan, there still remains a valid concern for the length of time it takes to dispose of some cases. The Group enjoins that efforts be strengthened to reduce the length of time for case disposal and the number of ageing cases.
On the issue of outreach, the Group of 77 and China acknowledges the Secretary-General's response to a request on the subject in resolution 73/276.

8. The Group in this regard welcomes the outreach efforts, including the availability of the handbook "A staff member's guide to resolving disputes" in all six official languages, as well as its dissemination to staff in the field. We urge the Secretary-General to continue efforts in disseminating information to staff both at Headquarters and in the field.

Mr. Chair,

9. With respect to the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services, we note the overall upward trend of cases with the Office opening 3,577 cases in 2018, including mediation cases, representing an increase of 10 per cent compared with 2017.

10. The Group reiterates the importance of the informal dispute resolution process in the Organization and acknowledges the cost-efficiency of this method for dispute resolution in comparison with the formal process. Efforts in encouraging this route of dispute resolution should be continued.

11. The Group also welcomes the initiative of the pilot project to offer access to informal dispute resolution services to non-staff personnel by the Office of the Ombudsman as "part of the Office's mandate". We look forward to having a quantitative and qualitative analysis of this initiative during informal deliberations.

12. Lastly, the Group welcomes the report of the Internal Justice Council, which provides useful views and recommendations to the Assembly on the implementation of the system of administration of justice. We will give this report a thorough assessment and analysis.
In conclusion, Mr. Chair, I wish to assure you of our commitment to engage constructively with a view to concluding the agenda item in a timely manner.

I thank you.