– As delivered –

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

1 March 2019

Mr. Secretary-General,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

It is my honour to convene the informal meeting of the General Assembly this afternoon to hear a briefing from the Secretary-General on the financial situation of the Organization.

I welcome the Secretary-General’s commitment to continuously engage with Member States in an inclusive and transparent manner.

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Since last year, and earlier this year, on several occasions the Secretary-General has raised the seriousness of the financial challenges the United Nations is facing. A number of you also raised this concern in January during the Briefing by the Secretary-General on his priorities for 2019.

Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations imposes an obligation on all Member States to bear the expenses of the United Nations, as apportioned by the General Assembly. It is our collective responsibility to pay our assessed contribution on time and in full. This is crucial for the Organization to carry out its mandates and our ambitious agendas, including the reforms of the UN, in order to deliver and to be efficient.

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

I look to your support in working with the Secretary-General to address this challenge in a way that preserves the viability, effectiveness and authority of the United Nations.

We all know that the issues of the budget of the United Nations go beyond dollars and cents; they reflect our political will as to whether the UN will be able to play its role, as the indispensable instrument for the responses people around the world look for.

In this connection, while the Fifth Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the General Assembly with the purview of budget affairs, we have a responsibility to provide political guidance consistent with the high stakes confronting us.

Mr. Secretary-General, I am committed to working closely with you, to facilitate dialogue with Member States and to find solutions to the financial situation of the Organization.

I thank you.