Informal meeting of the General Assembly for a briefing of the Secretary-General on Management Reform

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72^nd Session of the UN General Assembly, at the Informal Meeting of the General Assembly to hear a Briefing by the Secretary-General on his Reform Proposal, “Shifting the Management Paradigm in the United Nations: Implementing a New Management Architecture for Improved Effectiveness and Strengthened Accountability”

I would like to warmly welcome all of you to this meeting.  I would also like to acknowledge the presence of the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General, the Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, the Under-Secretary-General for Management and the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support.

I have convened this informal meeting for the General Assembly to hear a briefing of the Secretary-General on the management reform.

I wish to begin by commending the Secretary-General for his ongoing commitment. He has remained engaged with Member States throughout the reform process. I hope that today’s briefing will enhance the inclusivity of the management reform deliberations.

For my own part, I’ve emphasized the need for all Member States to feel ownership of the reforms. And I’ve stated my readiness to facilitate interaction between the Secretariat and Member States, as needed and requested.

Excellencies,

The Secretary-General has presented three United Nations reform initiatives. And now, we are at a critical juncture on them.

Next week, on May 31st, the General Assembly will adopt a resolution on the Repositioning of the United Nations Development System. Here I want to thank Ambassadors Boukadoum and Petersen for their professional work as cofacilitators of the text.

Last December, the General Assembly unanimously adopted two resolutions on the peace and security architecture and on management. They expressed universal support for the reforms. And the Secretary-General has issued the detailed follow-up reports requested in those resolutions.

The Fifth Committee will consider these reports. I’m pleased to note that discussions on the peace and security architecture are already underway. And deliberations on the management reform are scheduled to begin next week.

Excellencies,

On numerous occasions I have raised the concern that multilateralism is being challenged.

Unilateralism and isolationism are gaining ground in many parts of our world. We cannot afford to take the multilateral order for granted.

The best way to foster multilateralism, and safeguard the place of the UN in it, is to show that it works.

We must show that Member States can come together to address the most pressing global issues. We must show that the United Nations delivers – for people.

And we do this by equipping and reforming the Organization. By enabling it to work in the most effective, efficient and accountable manner in delivering the mandates we have given.

Our success is crucial to sustaining the organisation. It is essential to strengthening multilateralism. But most importantly, it is key to improving the lives of the people we represent here.

Without further ado, I invite the Secretary-General of the United Nations to brief the Membership.