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 express its deep appreciation to the outgoing Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit, Mr. Istvan Posta, for his outstanding work during his tenure. The Group welcomes and thanks the new Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit, Mr. Cihan Terzi, for introducing the Unit's Annual Report for 2013 and programme of work for 2014 as contained in document A/68/34. We also thank the Senior Adviser on Information Management Policy Coordination of the Secretariat of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, Mr. Kenneth Herman, for introducing the relevant note of the Secretary-General.

3. The Group highly values the work of the Joint Inspection Unit as the sole independent, external oversight body of the United Nations system. Over the years, the Unit has presented valuable reports on systemic issues that are relevant and beneficial to the participating organizations and Member States. We also believe that the Fifth Committee can and should continue to benefit from the quality input provided by the Unit. The Group thus congratulates the Joint Inspection Unit for making continuous improvement in areas under its direct purview such as improving strategic planning, professionalizing its staff, upgrading its working methods and procedures and improving coordination, with emphasis on quality control and knowledge management and sharing.

Mr. Chairman,

4. The Group notes that the year 2013 marked a year of change for the Joint Inspection Unit, including the arrival of five new Inspectors and a series of reform initiatives, and that the Unit successfully moved forward on a number of areas while producing significant work in the area of inspection and evaluation.

5. In 2013, the Joint Inspection Unit gave new impetus to its continuous reform process, reflecting on the direction for its work in the forthcoming years aiming at making its work more relevant to the needs of its stakeholders. In this context, the Unit has undertaken some major reform initiatives, including a self-evaluation, a peer review, the completion of norms and standards and strategic approach in the establishment of its programme of work. While welcoming all the reform programme of the Unit, the Group hopes that these changes will not slow down the work of the Unit, and looks forward to hearing more about these reforms and their impact on mandate delivery.

6. The Group further welcomes the self-evaluation process that the Unit undertook in 2013 and over the past few years as reported in the Chairman's Message in the Report. The self-evaluation showed that the reform efforts of the past few years have resulted in the Unit becoming more strategic, relevant, quality-oriented and utilization-focused. The self-evaluation also reflected the fact that the Unit had strengthened its working methods, internal working procedures and norms and standards. However, the Group notes with concern that despite the institutional framework of the Unit being solid, its independence was negatively affected by its inability to present its budgetary requirements to the Fifth Committee. The Group has expressed its concern in the past regarding the budget of the Unit, and looks forward to engaging more on this issue during the informal consultations.
 
7. The Group supports the use of the web-based tracking system to follow up on the acceptance and implementation of recommendations, this system has proven to be an important oversight tool for the JIU, UN Organizations and Member States, necessary resources for its maintenance and hosting should continue to be provided at the same level of the 2012-2013 budget.

Mr. Chairman,

8. The Group commends the efforts and progress 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 further commends the programme of work of the JIU for 2014, it includes 10 projects of interest for Member States, in particular Safety and Security of the United Nations personnel and premises worldwide, comprehensive analysis of the activities and resources dedicated to climate change, and the review of the implementation of the initiative for full and productive employment and decent work for all.

10. The Group is encouraged to note that the Unit continues to share information of the 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 while further synergy and cooperation can be achieved.

11. In conclusion, the Group values the principle of an enhanced role for the Joint Inspection Unit and wishes to reiterate its strong support to the continued relevance of the Unit and its mandate, as well as its important and unique role as the only external and independent system-wide inspection, evaluation and investigation body.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.