Administration of justice at the United Nations

STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA BY TUMASIE C. BLAIR, PERMANENT MISSION OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON AGENDA ITEM 129: ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE AT THE UNITED NATIONS, IN THE FIRST PART OF THE SIXTY-THIRD SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S SIXTH COMMITTEE (New York, 6 October 2008)

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to address this Committee on behalf of The Group of 77 and China.

Mr. Chairman,

Allow me, at the outset, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, to congratulate you on your election as Chair of this Committee and the other members of the Bureau and we would like to assure you that you will have the full support and cooperation of our group during the deliberations of the Committee as we aim at bringing its work to a successful conclusion.

In this regard, the Group of 77 and China welcomes the developments achieved in the intersessional informal consultations and is looking forward to finalizing the Statutes of the United Nations Dispute and Appeal Tribunals in the shortest possible time, in order to meet the deadline we have set for the start of the new system on 1st of January 2009. The G-77 and China is committed to ensuring that justice, impartiality and fairness prevail in the UN administrative system, and a speedy implementation of the new system is achieved.

The Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate its supports for the reform of the administration of justice system in the United Nations in order to bring into effect a system that ensures justice and adequate remedy for all those affected by the system. We are well aware of the weaknesses of the current system throughout the years; hence we are committed to working in good faith and transparency to have a new effective and efficient internal justice system at the UN.

At this stage, the Group considers that all pending issues including the scope of application, jurisdiction and transitional measures need to be finalized expeditiously in the coming 2 weeks to enable this Committee to finalize its deliberations on the Draft Statutes and forward it to the Fifth Committee for final appreciation and adoption.

Mr. Chairman,

In recognizing the necessity that all UN personnel need to have recourse to an effective and just dispute settlement mechanism, the Group of 77 and China is confident that Member States will work towards consensus on the remaining issues as soon as possible.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.