REMARKS BY MR PETER LE ROUX, COUNCELLOR, SOUTH AFRICAN PERMANENT MISSION, ON BEHALF OF THE G77 AND CHINA, TO THE INFORMAL SESSION OF ECOSOC ON MANDATE REVIEW (New York, 11 May 2006)

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on the process guiding mandate review in the ECOSOC.

The Group of 77 and China thanks the President for circulating the Co-Chairman's opening statement in the General Assembly informals on 25 April 2006. The Group views the guidelines as being more indicative than mandatory.

The Group of 77 and China shares the consensus that the process of review of mandates should be inclusive of the entire membership of the United Nations. The Group believes that ECOSOC must carry out the review of mandates in a manner that is open, transparent and inclusive, showing due regard for the political sensitivities of mandates.

Mr. President,

It will be important to discuss the parameters we are going to follow in the review of mandates and in this regard the review of mandates as it relates to ECOSOC should be by means of a cross-sectoral approach, reviewing the progress made in implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits and their follow-up processes, and assess its impact on the achievement of the goals and targets of the conferences and summits.

The mandate given to ECOSOC for the promotion of the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, in accordance with GA Resolution 57/270B should be preserved and strengthened. Therefore, the role of ECOSOC in providing overall oversight, coordination and guidance for the UN operational activities should be reinforced, as well as its role as the central mechanism for system-wide coordination.

At the same time, it is important to recognize the need to analyse the mandates of both the General Assembly and ECOSOC, including those of their different subsidiary bodies, with regards to development. In most cases the results will probably indicate that these mandates are intended to complement each other, providing different visions and solutions to development issues from the specific perspective of each organ.

It should also be recalled that it is within the purview of the General Assembly, as the most representative body in the United Nations, to provide guidance on the strengthening of ECOSOC and the other bodies. Furthermore, to avoid duplication, the review of cross cutting mandates between the principal organs must be undertaken by the General Assembly.

Mr President,

The Group of 77 and China wishes to reiterate that the review of mandates must be aimed at strengthening the United Nations in order to ensure that the United Nations becomes better equipped to deliver on the mandates. Mandate review is not a cost-cutting exercise, its purpose is rather to strengthen and update the United Nations programmes of work.

Of primary importance, in the review of mandates will be to assess the current status of implementation of mandates and to analyse the reasons as to why some mandates have not been fully implemented Therefore, the challenge of addressing the gap between mandates and resources needs to be prioritised. We will only know if a mandate has achieved its desired objective if there is information on the status of its performance.
The Secretariat should therefore identify the areas where there are gaps between resources and current mandates, this will also assist Member States to develop recommendations on the allocation of resources.
The Group reaffirms that the process of review of mandates is an exercise by States, but we also remain cognizant of the role played by the Secretariat in facilitating our work by providing us with the information necessary to carry out the exercise.

The Group would therefore, appreciate it if the Secretariat could unpack the mandates into the respective principal organ areas of responsibility. In this regard the Group believes that the Secretariat should be provided with the requisite resources to better enable our exercise of reviewing mandates and requests the Secretariat to indicate the resources it requires to enhance program evaluation capacity at the United Nations.
The proposals in the SG report with regards to reporting requirements will have to be closely examined. We would like to emphasize that the capacity of Member States to obtain the necessary information for decision-making should not at all be affected.

In conclusion, Mr. President, the G77 and China wishes to reiterate its assurance to you that it is approaching this process positively, pragmatically and with an open mind in an effort to strengthen the United Nations, and the group looks forward to further discussions so as to clarify the way forward on mandate review in ECOSOC.

Thank you.