Statement delivered by Peter Stone, Advisor, Australian Mission to the United Nations, in the Fifth Committee on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand under agenda item 129 Administration of Justice
20 October 2008
(As delivered)
Mr Chairman,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of Canada, New Zealand and Australia. We thank Ms Kane, USG for Management, Mr Barkat, the Ombudsman, and Mr Kelapile, Vice-Chair of the ACABQ, for the introduction of their respective reports. We also thank members of the Sixth Committee for their consideration of the legal matters that fall within their purview.
Mr Chairman,
As we have said before, we believe that United Nations staff members and the Organisation deserve a fair and efficient system of internal justice, which is consistent with international law and the principles of the rule of law and due process. The United Nations should lead by example.
We also firmly believe that a properly functioning system of internal justice underpins all efforts to strengthen accountability, oversight, and human resources management in the United Nations.
CANZ has strongly supported fundamental reform of the current system, and we were very pleased that the General Assembly, drawing on the Redesign Panel recommendations, decided in resolution 61/261 to establish a new, independent, transparent and professionalised system for the administration of justice.
Mr Chairman,
With the implementation deadline fast approaching, we now need to finalise the structure and implementation details of the new system. Most importantly, we must adopt draft statutes for the Dispute and Appeals Tribunals this session to allow preparations for the new system to progress. The Sixth Committee has agreed most elements of the statutes. Where the Sixth Committee was not able to reach agreement, it has usefully provided us with options to consider, which should save us time and effort.
One element that we would like to highlight is the need to ensure access to justice, which is especially important when considering the intertwined issues of the awarding of costs and the provision of staff legal assistance. Transitional arrangements and associated costs also need to be finalised.
We appreciate that these are still challenging issues to agree, but CANZ will work constructively towards a consensus on these, and we look forward to working with colleagues on establishing a functional system of UN internal justice, if not by 1 January, as soon as possible after.
Thank you.