General Debate of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73^rd Session of the UN General Assembly

28 February 2019

Excellencies,

Distinguished co-chairs,

Ms. Catherine Pollard, Under Secretary General for General Assembly and Conference Management

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to address the general debate of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.

I would like, at the outset, to thank the Co-Chairs of the Working Group, Ambassador Bahous of Jordan and Ambassador Mlynar of Slovakia for their dedication and commitment since the very first day of their appointment. Already, we see interest and ideas for revitalizing the work of the Assembly. Under their leadership and your support, I am confident that we will achieve our goal of improving the methods of work and further strengthening the authority and effectiveness of this most representative body of the Organization.

Revitalizing the General Assembly is key to strengthening multilateralism and responding to the great challenges of our time. I have accordingly put it at the heart of my priorities, right from the beginning of the 73^rd session, dedicating many activities and events, as was mentioned by the co-cairs, to promote the process, including the first Morning Minga as well as two meetings of the General Committee. My commitment to revitalization remains unflinching and you can always count on my support during this process.

Excellencies,

The meeting with the former Presidents of the General Assembly on 4 February on the theme: “Revitalization of the United Nations in favor of a strengthened multilateral rules-based system” generated valuable recommendations.

It is clear that we all share a commitment to revitalization. Perhaps one lesson we have learned from the past is the importance of active engagement of PRs from the beginning to the end of the process.  I encourage you all, Excellencies, to invest the time and effort needed to achieve the objective of revitalization. You can be confident that the co-facilitators will be inclusive, transparent and action oriented.

I also support the co-chairs general approach to focusing on possible outcomes.  The success of our work will not be judged by the size of the outcome we produce, but rather by the quality of decisions we make. Those decisions must make the difference between a United Nations that is perceived as a talk shop, remote from the daily cares of people around the world and a United Nations that is relevant to all people.  

Fortunately, we do not start from scratch. We must build on the significant progress made during previous sessions on the main four building blocks of the process. That includes the establishment of more transparent selection and appointment processes for both the Secretary General and the President of the General Assembly as well as the Oath of Office, Code of Ethics and other matters related to the President’s Office.

Having said that, I still believe that there is so much more to be done. And I would like to commend the co-facilitators for identifying some of the main issues of focus during the current session, which remains of course indicative and not exhaustive. I note, in this regard, the programme of meetings of the thematic debates and interactive dialogue between Member States and the Secretariat, established by the co-chairs.

Excellencies,

At this point, let me share my perspectives on some of the relevant issues that require our attention:

First, I would like to start by addressing the increasing role of the General Assembly, resulting from the growing complex challenges and issues of a fast-changing world.

While that complexity and the need for comprehensive responses has led to the numbers of resolutions and events, the optimal use of limited resources, technical capacity and time demands a more efficient and effective way of doing business, if we are to respond to the high expectations of the people we serve.

For instance, the General Debate of the General Assembly, which sets the context for the sessions, risks losing its primacy and deference, as it competes with the growing number of side events and parallel activities. At the same time, delegations benefit very little from the side events as they are forced to shuttle from event to event. During the 73^rd session, we set a record of six high-level meetings and some five hundred and sixty other side events, convened by regional and other political groups, individual Member States and the UN System.

I share the ideas floated by some delegations to consider developing a set of guidelines to manage overall activities and enable all countries reap greater benefit.

Furthermore, we must collectively address the number as well as the size of resolutions and other outcome documents, which are getting unmanageable, even for big delegations. I have sensed genuine agreement and willingness from most delegations to further streamline our agenda and dedicate more time for dialogue as well as the review of the implementation of the resolutions we adopt.

We also need to make sure that activities of the Charter Bodies as well as their subsidiary organs are better coordinated, in order to improve the way we deliver and stay relevant for the people.

In this context, based on the established practice, I have closely coordinated with the other main Organs of the Organization, including the Security Council and the ECOSOC through monthly meetings with their presidents as well as with the UN Secretary-General.

Along with the Security Council and the ECOSOC Presidents, we have convened a joint meeting dealing with the critical issue of Multilateralism.

I have also convened, for the first time, a joint briefing with the President of the ECOSOC, which provided a unique opportunity to engage with Member States on appropriate ways to ensure further coherence and coordination of our activities.

As far as my convening power is concerned, I have focused on already mandated meetings and events, creatively using them to advance issues related to the priorities for this session, while limiting the number of new initiatives. The close cooperation with the President of ECOSOC on issues related to youth and decent work are some of the examples of our willingness to avoid duplication and ensure coherence.

Second, the issue of “possible alternative dates for the beginning of the regular session of the Assembly and the financial and logistical implications, potential benefits and shortcomings.”

I would like to thank the Secretary General for providing his comprehensive Report on this important matter, in accordance with Resolution 72/313.

The Report came up with a set of possible options for Member States deliberations. I strongly encourage delegations to consider positively this critical issue for successful management of the General Assembly by the Office of the President.

Let me, in this regard, share with you my own experience at the beginning of my presidency, which started just a few days before I convened the General Debate as well as not less than five high-level Events of the General Assembly.

While the preparation of all these Events as well as the General Debate itself was handled by the outgoing presidency and I was fortunate to receive their support and cooperation, my team and I had to grapple with huge implementation challenges. On the other hand, the outgoing team had their regular responsibilities and could not be expected to be fully available to my team as we managed a challenging transition.

Changing the date of the beginning of the regular session will not impact the dates of the General Debate itself. It would rather provide enough time for the incoming Presidency of the Assembly to plan and arrange for all activities during the high-level week, which gets increasingly complex.

Third, I would like to focus on the need to strengthen the Office of the PGA.

I strongly encourage Member States to redouble efforts to further strengthen the institutional memory of the Office.

While recognizing the steps undertaken in this direction so far, I still believe that we need to do more if we are to align the role and capacity of the President with the evolving role of the General Assembly.                                                               

Instead of focusing on the activities for delivering on the growing number of mandates addressed to the President of the General Assembly, the PGA-elect must struggle to raise funds and secure secondments; manage an administrative structure without the required support. This is a small example of the challenges a PGA-elect faces and the picture is not much different upon assumption of office. Let me, in this context, pay a special tribute to all countries who have provided financial support as well as those who have seconded staff to my Office. Their contributions are commendable and vital for the United Nations. However, relying on the good will of contributions is neither sustainable nor desirable.

I cannot emphasize enough how critical the management of the transition periods between outgoing and incoming Presidencies is. The decision of Member States to fund a transition period, the practice of preparation of handover Reports, as well as the convening of annual retreats, such as the already established one by Finland, are some of the positive steps undertaken in this context.

Besides staffing and budgeting issues that are all well known by Member States, the support from the United Nations Secretariat is critical for a successful presidency of the Assembly. That support must be based on the needs for a Presidency for the primary organ of the United Nations.

Other issues that continue to engage the attention of Member States include timelines for the process of selection and appointment of the UN Secretary-Generals, the scope of guidelines on how to conduct election campaigns by Member States as well as the prohibitive costs of the use of the Delegates’ Dining Room.

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

We will have the opportunity to engage in an interactive dialogue with the candidate/s for election of my successor in May. I have already launched the process by calling upon the African Group last month to submit its nominations for the position of the President of the 74^th session of the General Assembly. As soon as I get formal candidatures and vision statements, I will share them with Member States.

While we look forward to this year’s resolution on the “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”, to establish the guidelines for the informal interactive dialogue with candidates for the position of PGA, I will stick to the established practice in convening the dialogue for the next session’s presidency.

Excellencies,

Friends,

Let me conclude by acknowledging the leadership shown by PRs, including the chairs of the Main Committees who have mapped out areas for enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. No doubt, the engagement that has taken place and the initiatives being pursued make our task easier as we work to further strengthen the General Assembly and the United Nations.

I look forward to your deliberations and wish you a successful outcome we can all be proud of.

Thank you for your kind attention.