ANNUAL DEBATE ON REVITALIZATION OF THE WORK OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Statement on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (CANZ)
Delivered by H.E. Mr James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
13 November 2025
Thank you, President.
And thank you to the Permanent Representatives of South Africa and Romania, for their hard work and dedication to revitalisation.
I speak on behalf of Canada, New Zealand, and my own delegation, Australia.
In a system too often challenged by division, the unique convening power of the General Assembly – as a forum for all member states, big and small – remains unmatched.
The adoption of Resolution 79/327 by consensus demonstrates that member states believe in – and want – an effective General Assembly.
Reform has always been part of the UN conversation.
But today, with growing global challenges and even more limited resources, it’s more urgent than ever.
Revitalisation is a crucial mechanism to make the General Assembly function better, so it delivers more.
We are committed to a strong, efficient, and streamlined General Assembly.
In this regard, revitalisation goes hand-in-hand with the Secretary-General’s UN80 reform Initiative.
Today, CANZ makes three key points.
First, we welcome resolution 79/327 as a strong step in the right direction and encourage all Member States to walk the talk and support its full implementation.
For example:
- the resolution prioritises efficiency:
- through the ‘one gavel approach’ to adopting consensus Main Committee resolutions,
- by encouraging members to keep explanations of vote to under five minutes, and
- by pausing new proposals for international days, weeks, months, years and decades and grouping together future commemorative resolutions.
These practices will help the GA focus on the key issues that matter most, and can make it easier for all Member States, particularly small and medium delegations, to meaningfully engage in the work of the Assembly.
Second, looking forward, CANZ encourages us all to carry momentum forward and continue to advance the unfinished business of GA revitalisation:
- to include time-bound provisions or at least mandate review clauses – when they are appropriate – in new GA resolutions,
- to assess resource implications and programme budget implications early in the establishment or renewal of mandates, and identify appropriate offsets where needed,
- to promote multiannual renewal for GA resolutions that do not substantively change from year to year, and
- to encourage the President of the General Assembly to provide action-oriented recommendations regarding the use of the veto, as requested in Resolution 79/327 – to realize the potential of the Veto Initiative in increasing transparency and accountability around the use of the veto.
Third, CANZ welcomes the establishment of the Working Group on the Strengthening and Revitalizing the Work of the General Assembly.
And calls for the new Working Group to coordinate closely with the UN80 Informal Ad Hoc Working Group on Mandates under workstream 2 –including ways that the GA revitalisation working group could build upon, and implement, the outcomes of the Informal AdHoc Working Group to improve the creation, implementation and review of resolutions.
We also welcome each of the six Main Committees reviewing their working methods this session and submitting concrete proposals to the General Committee on how to make their work more efficient and effective,
while also ensuring coordination with ongoing work under UN80 Workstream 2 to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure coherence across committee work.
In closing, CANZ supports continuing to work towards a revitalised and resilient General Assembly – because a more effective and efficient General Assembly is crucial to creating a UN that is capable of solving the world’s problems for generations to come.