Summary: May 3, 2004: Statement on the Organization of Work of the Fifth Committee at its Second Resumed Session by Margaret Stanley, Second Secretary, on behalf of the European Union (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
I have to honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey; the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and the EFTA countries Iceland and Liechtenstein, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.
I would like to welcome back the Chairman and the other members of the Bureau, as well as the Committee secretariat, to the second resumed session of the Fifth Committee. The European Union is looking forward to working closely with you and all delegations in order to have a successful outcome to this busy session.
The May session is mainly devoted to the financing of United Nations peacekeeping which is a priority area for the European Union. However we also have a number of other important issues to deal with, in particular we place an equally high priority on the Safety and Security of the UN.
With regard to the area of peacekeeping, we are particularly pleased to note the new user-friendly format of the ACABQ reports on the individual peacekeeping missions. The improvement in the quality of these reports will help us to complete our work in a more logical and stream-lined manner. Regarding our specific views on peacekeeping matters, we will make a comprehensive consolidated statement later this morning in an attempt to streamline the work of this Committee. However, at this point,
we do wish to register our disappointment that a number of important reports on cross-cutting peacekeeping themes including on recruitment, training and IT will likely not be before us during our considerations. We urge the ACABQ and Bureau to work together to see whether these reports could still find a place on our programme of work for this session.
On safety and security, we look forward to the introduction of the reports of the SG and the ACABQ on the funds needed by the UN to ensure that necessary short-term measures are undertaken whilst we are awaiting the comprehensive report due to come before us in the Autumn. We look forward to taking an early decision on this most important matter.
We are particularly looking forward to the presentation by the Under-Secretary-General of Management, Ms. Bertini, on the current financial situation of the United Nations.
We have many high priority issues to deal with in the coming four weeks. Nevertheless, we are confident that with hard work, constructive dialogue and harmonious cooperation we will be able to finish our deliberations speedily and with satisfactory results.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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