Summary: EU Presidency Statement - Mandate Review (New York, 15 May 2006)
Informal Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on Mandate Review, Cluster D and E; Statement by Ambassador Gerhard Pfanzelter, Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union
Mr Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Croatia, Turkey, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, member of the European Economic Area as well as Ukraine align themselves with this statement.
Since we had an opportunity to make comments of a general nature at the last informal meeting, I will not dwell on these aspects here and just make reference to our statement of 8 May 2006. Instead, I will go directly into the substance of the clusters we are discussing today: Cluster D "Promotion of Human Rights" and Cluster E "Effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts" following the Programme of Work as recently updated by the Co-Chairs.
Cluster D "Promotion of Human Rights"
Mr Chairman,
The European Union welcomes the review of mandates in the field of human rights.
We appreciate the report of the Secretary-General in this regard and share the view that the review should be conducted in the light of the 2005 Summit's commitment to further strengthen the human rights machinery of the United Nations.
In this context, it is worth recalling that the review process in the human rights field has already started. The adoption of resolution 60/251 establishing the Human Rights Council in itself constitutes an important step in this direction. The General Assembly has decided to replace the Commission on Human Rights by the Human Rights Council and given it a new mandate. The General Assembly has furthermore decided that the Human Rights Council "shall assume, review and, where necessary, improve
and rationalise all mandates, mechanisms, functions and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights in order to maintain a system of special procedures, expert advice and a complaint procedure." This process should be completed within one year and take place in a transparent and inclusive manner. In our view, the General Assembly's review process should take this into account. Many of the overlapping mandates of the HRC and the GA can be best addressed after the HRC has finished its own
review process.
With regard to reporting obligations under the international human rights instruments, we would remind of the ongoing process to improve the effectiveness of the human rights treaty bodies, a reform process which is well under way. We also need to take this into account when reviewing the mandates in the field of human rights.
Overall the review of human rights mandates is well on track. However, the European Union agrees that there is further scope for review of mandates of the General Assembly. The sheer number of mandates to be found in the Registry of Mandates illustrates the need for a systematic approach. In this regard, the European Union supports general efforts to consolidate reporting requirements and procedures where possible.
As outlined in the Secretary General's report, Member States should focus on existing mandates that request reports or other forms of documentation. Mandates which simply "invite", "encourage", "take something into consideration" etc. do not place a particular burden on the secretariat.
The Registry of Mandates provided by the Secretariat provides a useful tool for the whole review exercise. However, further improvement of the database would be helpful in order to clearly identify relevant and still active mandates and to distinguish more clearly between the different UN entities at the origin of the mandates. It would also be helpful if the database could be improved so that interlinked mandates could be identified to make visible the different layers of reaffirmation of
mandates.
The European Union looks forward to more specific suggestions by the Secretary-General for Mandate Review that take into account ongoing review processes. The European Union remains committed to Mandate Review in the field of human rights.
Cluster E "Effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts"
Mr. Chairman,
As to the effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts, the EU welcomes the useful recommendations in the Secretary-General's report that highlight worrying gaps in implementation. We are fully commited to achieving rapid progress on a number of these helpful and practical suggestions. Humanitarian assistance and the relevant mandates have close links with the Secretary General's High-Level-Panel on System-Wide-Coherence, GA revitalisation and the humanitarian reform process,
initiated by the Emergency Relief Coordinator. While we await the Panel's recommendations with interest, we should not delay the review of respective mandates. We welcome improvements in operational coordination resulting from the development of the cluster approach.
The EU believes that discussions in the General Assembly and in ECOSOC should be streamlined by bringing together humanitarian-related matters under a 'humanitarian umbrella' agenda item in the GA Plenary. This should not reduce the priority afforded to those issues in the General Assembly, especially as regards humanitarian emergencies. Our efforts should also aim at reducing inconsistency and duplication in the work of the GA and ECOSOC.
Mr. Chairman,
As a matter of urgency, the EU strongly agrees that mandates and responsibilities of agencies related to assistance to IDPs need to be clarified. Mandates ought to comprehensively improve protection and assistance based on properly assessed needs. UNHCR should play a central role, addressing the issue in close collaboration with governments and others, including NGOs. We also believe there may be scope for reinforcing the role of the Emergency Relief Coordinator in coordinating country-level
assistance and protection.
In the field of disaster management, UN leadership should be strengthened. Timely and effective response is crucial to save as many lives as possible and to minimise the effects of a disaster. We also recognise the importance of strengthening country, regional, and international capacities, including standby capacities, to prepare and respond to natural disasters, in line with paragraph 169 of the World Summit Outcome Document. Furthermore, the EU highlights the importance of disaster risk
reduction and welcomes the progress made in reforming the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. Close cooperation of Member States with the UN, in particular UNDP and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) are crucial to ensure the effectiveness of the risk reduction process.
Mr. Chairman,
Handling the complex endeavour of transition from relief to recovery also calls for clarity in the responsibilities of actors in the UN system, such as the Emergency Relief Co-ordinator and UNDP. This applies in both natural disasters and complex emergencies. This is an important issue facing the High Level Panel on System-Wide Coherence. The EU hopes that the Peace Building Commission will play a key role in supporting post-conflict transitional efforts, through ensuring increased coherence
with other agencies. Post-conflict repatriation and reintegration of returnees constitute a serious concern where the PBC shall undertake efforts to promote coherence. The ISDR is well placed to ensure coherence in the transition phase following natural disasters.
As in other segments of the Mandate Review, the EU echoes the call for more concise and focussed reporting. Writing annual country-specific reports following a humanitarian crisis should only be pursued in case an added value is eminent. Also, many country-specific resolutions will retain or even raise their relevance, if tabled every two or tree years. In some cases it appears to be appropriate to consider the issues relating to an affected country in a more thematic way while the transition
evolves.
Mr. Chairman,
Finally, the EU would like to emphasise the importance of a more timely and predictable funding for humanitarian response, including funding of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and for disaster risk reduction. The upgrading of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is a welcome move to ensure that resources are made available in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and to under-funded emergencies. However, improvements to the Consolidated Appeals Process, for
instance through better needs assessment, and other ways of improving the timeliness and effectiveness of funding are also important.
Mr Chairman,
As we have emphasised, the EU is examining all mandates with an open mind, including those initiated or co-sponsored by its members. We will continue working our way through the manifold mandates contained in the Registry and stand ready to examine and formulate more detailed proposals as the process unfolds.
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