091217_Fifth_Political_Missions

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the delegations of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (CANZ). Let me start by thanking Mr. Jun Yamazaki, Assistant-Secretary-General/Controller for the introduction of the Estimates in respect of special political missions (SPMs), good offices and other political initiatives authorized by the General Assembly and/or the Security Council (A/64/349), as well as Ms. McClurg, Chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), and Ms. Inga-Britt Ahlenius, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), for the introduction of their respective report on this item.

Mr. Chairman,

We recognise the particular challenges of accurately budgeting for Special Political Missions - their operational environments are constantly changing. Member states must appreciate the complexities involved in the UN’s task. Nonetheless, we believe that the Secretary General should, to the greatest extent possible, provide the membership with as accurate budget forecasts as possible for the full biennium. While the current Proposed Programme budget for the 2010-2011 biennium provides approximately $829 million for SPMs, we have before us a request from the Secretary General to fund the SPMs to the amount of almost $600 million for the first half of the biennium only, which would leave a balance of $230 million for year 2011. Therefore, we believe that it would be good budgetary policy to appropriate a more realistic estimate of requirements for the biennium as a whole.

We also believe that, given the particular nature of Special Political Missions for which the budget tends to fluctuate considerably more than other parts of the regular budget, they complicates analysis of the regular budget as a whole. Consideration should be given to a different method of budgetary presentation.
Mr. Chairman,

CANZ is of the view that special political missions play a key role in preventing, controlling and resolving conflicts, in addition to post-conflict peacebuiliding. While we welcome the background information provided by the Secretariat on the criteria for establishing SPMs and the concept of “lead department”, CANZ, similarly to the ACABQ, believes that greater clarity is required on the rational behind the determination of the type of mission to be established, the scope of activities and size of the mission, and the lead department. Moreover, in order to allow Member States to evaluate the progress in the achievement of expected accomplishments, CANZ Delegations urge the Secretariat to develop, for all SPMs, clear performance indicators that adhere to the SMART principles (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound).

Turning to specific missions, CANZ note the Secretary General’s proposal to establish two new integrated peacebuilding offices: the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau, and the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Support Office in the Central African Republic. As these types of offices are fairly new, we understand the desire of the Secretariat to use lessons learned during the establishment of their structures of administrative components of peacekeeping missions. However, given the range of activities performed by SPMs and the requirement for flexibility, CANZ Delegations align themselves with the ACABQ by cautioning against the development of administrative structures and templates that are modeled too closely on peacekeeping operations.

CANZ welcomed the extension of the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) earlier this year. As was agreed during the International Conference on Afghanistan, held in The Hague on 31 March 2009, CANZ firmly believe that UNAMA plays a central role in coordinating international action and assistance in support of the Government of Afghanistan. As Canada, Australia and New Zealand are heavily involved in Afghanistan, we fully understand that increased emphasis on civilian efforts focussing on governance, service deliveryand a better alignment of international efforts through UNAMA will help the International Community and the Government of Afghanistan to offer a better future for Afghans.. In this context, we welcome the Secretary General’s budgetary proposal to strengthen UNAMA's capacity to implement its mandate.

We are cognisant of the challenges UNAMA will face in strengthening its presence outside Kabul in a volatile environment. We would therefore appreciate clarification on the potential impact of the ACABQ recommendations to reduce the appropriation for the operational costs and the deployment of civilian staff. Moreover, our delegations would like to stress that safety and security of UN staff is a grave concern to us. We look forward to working closely with all Member States in informal sessions to ensure that the expansion of UNAMA occurs in a manner consistent with the safety and security of all UN staff in Afghanistan. We would also like to extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the UN victims who lost their lives in Afghanistan this year.

Mr. Chairman,

Regarding the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and specifically the construction project for an integrated headquarters compound in Baghdad we note that the Secretariat had to reconsider its planning assumptions and the proposed scope and timelines of the project due to changing circumstances. However, CANZ is of the opinion that the Secretariat should have provided updated estimated costs of the project. Moreover, we wish to reiterate the importance of submitting a convincing proposal which includes sound financial analysis, and containing assurances that the project can be completed within the planned timeframe and resources. As Baghdad remains a high risk and challenging environment for UN staff as recent terrorist attacks demonstrated, we look forward to the completion of the integrated headquarters compound.

In concluding Mr. Chairman, let us again this year express our concern with the timing of the introduction of this important item. For several years in a row, the General Assembly has been required to consider complex proposals for Special Political Missions for hundreds of millions of dollars just a few days before the end of the session. This makes it challenging for us to adequately perform our oversight role. We look forward to clarification on this matter in the informal negotiations.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.