Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 140 entitled Joint Inspection Unit.

2. The Group would like to welcome and thank the Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit, Mr. Mounir Zahran, for introducing the Unit's Annual Report for 2011 and programme of work for 2012 as contained in document A/66/34. We also thank the Secretary of the High-Level Committee on Programmes of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, Ms. Phyllis Lee, for introducing the relevant note of the Secretary-General.

3. The Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to the work the Joint Inspection Unit carries out under its Statute. Over the years, as the sole external and independent system-wide oversight body in the United Nations system, the Unit has presented valuable reports on UN agencies and the systemic issues that are relevant and benefitial to the participating organizations and Member States.

Mr. Chairman,

4. The Group of 77 and China appreciates the efforts and progress made by the Unit in carrying out its program of work for 2011. We note with encouragement that of the eleven reports and one note addressed to its participating organizations, eight reports and a note were of a system-wide nature, which will help promote greater coordination among the organizations of the United Nations system. We believe that the legislative organs of all participating organizations should fully consider and discuss JIU reports and their Secretariat entities should fully implement the accepted recommendations.

5. We also note that, while keeping up a solid level of outputs, the Unit has progressed on the development of a web-based recommendation tracking system. We commend those participating organizations accounting for 90 per cent which have advanced their contributions in 2011 to the Unit and expect the rest to do the same expeditiously.

6. The Group notes, however, with concern that the Unit was unable to meet all the expected accomplishments for the medium term of its strategic framework for 2010-2019, due to the unavailability of the necessary increase in budgetary resources, except for the web-based follow-up system. The strategic framework was approved by the General Assembly and aims at enhancing the accountability of the managers of the participating organizations. We hope to get clarification from the Secretariat on this specific situation.

Mr. Chairman,

7. The Group notes with interest the Unit's programme of work for 2012 which includes twelve new projects and its commitment to address the backlog of ongoing projects. We commend the contribution of the participating organizations which submited suggestions for the Unit's 2012 programme of work. We welcome the Unit's decision to establish a preliminary list of topics for 2013 and trust that this will facilitate the planning of resources approved for the biennium.

8. The Group commends the efforts and porgress made by the Unit in continuously improving its work, including by updating its internal working procedures and striving to harmonize its established practices with the norms and standards of the United Nations Evaluation Group. We wish to reiterate our full-fledged support for the Unit's efforts in further improving its working methods.

9. The Group is encouraged to note that the Unit continues to share information of programme of work, experiences and best practices with other oversight bodies including the Board of Auditors and the Office of Internal Oversight Services. We trust that, with such close coordination and collaboration, possible overlapping and duplication can be avoided.

10. The Group regrets instances where Member States did not abide by General Assembly resolutions on the issuance of visas for the official travel of some Inspectors and members of the JIU secretariat. The Group urges all Member States to refrain from interfering with the affairs of the JIU and to extend, without any condition, the required facilitation to enable the individual Inspectors and members of the JIU secretariat undertake the tasks assigned to them.

11. In conclusion, we wish to reiterate our strong support to the continued relevance of the Unit and its mandate and important role as the independent external oversight body in the UN system.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.