Statement delivered by H.E John McNee, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations General Assembly Fifth Committee on Item 128: Programme Budget for the Biennium 2008 – 2009 – Strengthening of the Department of Political Affairs
March 13th, 2008
(As delivered)
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We would like to thank Mr. Pascoe, Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, for the introduction of the Secretary General’s report on the Strengthening of the Department of Political Affairs, as well as Ms. McLurg, for the introduction of the corresponding ACABQ report. As this is the first time that I have had the honour of addressing Ms. McLurg in this capacity, I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate her on her appointment as Chair of the ACABQ, and wish her all the best for the coming year.
Mr. Chairman,
The prevention of violent conflict and the peaceful settlement of disputes are central to the mandate of the United Nations and CANZ countries have long supported UN efforts in this area. Preventive diplomacy lies at the very core of the Charter of the United Nations and the Organisation’s effective pursuit of these functions has an enormous impact on the security, stability and prosperity of us all.
As the General Assembly and Security Council have increased the mandate of the UN in preventive diplomacy, and Member States and Regional Organizations have increasingly asked for support in their own efforts to prevent conflicts, the demand on the Department of Political Affairs to provide support for these activities has continued to grow.
We commend Mr. Pascoe and his team for pursuing these mandates with professionalism and dedication, and recognise that they have achieved a great deal in spite of the limited resources available to them.
However, a growing number of independent reports, dating back to the Brahimi report of 2000, have shown that DPA is simply not equipped to provide the strategic leadership necessary for the Organization to truly engage in preventive diplomacy.
Mr. Chairman,
We have the Secretary-General’s report before us today. We think his proposals are pertinent, as they provide us the opportunity to focus on three key elements; reconfiguring the structure to make the Department more field-oriented, providing adequate resources for preventive diplomacy, and ensuring better cooperation with partners both in and outside the organization.
CANZ would like to stress this last point, as strengthening DPA must also improve the functioning of the organization itself. There is a need for better coordination across the UN system in addressing potential conflict situations, and we will be seeking reassurances that DPA is working effectively, not only with DPKO and DFS but also with the wide range of actors within the UN system. The ACABQ has raised a number of valid concerns in this regard, and we look forward to hearing responses to them.
While we are committed to equipping the Secretariat with the resources it needs to operate effectively and efficiently, we must also be convinced that all opportunities for reallocation have been exhausted, and that the extra resources requested stand up to a critical analysis.
We do recognize, however, that additional resources will be necessary. In particular, we think that the arguments for increasing resources to the Asia and Pacific and Africa divisions are well founded, as is the decision to split the current Asia and Pacific division in two. The proposals to strengthen the Mediation Support Unit and the Electoral Assistance Division, both of which perform difficult tasks with limited resources, are also well justified and deserving of support.
Mr. Chairman,
CANZ believes that the Secretary Generals report is timely, and that the ACABQ has provided us a solid analysis on which to base our discussions. A successful resolution of this important proposal is possible in the coming days, and we look forward to working constructively with our colleagues in achieving consensus.
Thank you.