United Nations General Assembly: Fifth Committee
9 May 2007
Item 132 Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations – Sexual exploitation and abuse
Statement by Olivier Poulin
First Secretary
Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations
On behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand
(as delivered)
Mr. Chairperson,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the delegations of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Let me start by thanking Mr Warren Sach, the Controller, for the introduction of the Report of the Secretary General on Special Measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (A/60/861) and the Secretary General’s Comprehensive report prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 59/296 on sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, including policy development, implementation and full justification of proposed capacity on personnel conduct issues (A/60/862) as well as Mr. Rajat Saha, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), for the introduction of the related report of the ACABQ (A/61/886).
Mr. Chairperson,
CANZ strongly supports the zero-tolerance policy of the UN and believe that it is the duty of the Fifth Committee and the General Assembly during this resumed session to spare no efforts to ensure that the Secretary General receive the clear policy guidance and the commensurate resources he needs to tackle this challenge effectively.
CANZ welcome the Comprehensive strategy on SEA and the proposed three-pronged approach comprised of measures aimed at prevention of misconduct, enforcement of UN standards, and remedial action. We commend the Secretary General and his staff for the progress achieved so far in ensuring the respect of the standards enclosed in its bulletin on special measures for protection from SEA (ST/SGB/2003/13). Although we remain concerned by the large number of allegations, we trust, similarly to the ACABQ, that the implementation of the strategy will lead to the decrease in the number of cases of serious misconduct.
CANZ fully support the request of the Secretary General to convert conduct and discipline positions and SEA-related positions in the Office of Internal Oversight Services currently financed through general temporary assistance in the support account and in peacekeeping operation budgets to posts. Considering the troops, police and staff rotation inherent to peacekeeping, there is a constant need for a conduct and discipline capacity in the field and in Headquarters. Even though the structures of the teams and their resource requirements will change in the future, the positions are part of ongoing functions and should be regularised. There is simply no rational for maintaining their financing through general temporary assistance, which is intended for another use.
We wish to underline that the proposal before us is just a first step in setting up the architecture this organisation has pledged to establish to eliminate SEA. In order to fully deliver on the Zeid report, which has been presented more than two years ago, the General Assembly still need to make decisions on a Revised Draft Model Memorandum of Understanding between the UN and Troop-Contributing Countries, a Group of Legal Experts’ Report on Criminal Accountability of UN Staff and Experts on Mission, and a Strategy on Victim Assistance. We urge the General Assembly to deal with these important proposals as a matter of urgency, for this policy will be incomplete without the necessary accountability mechanisms for all categories of personnel in the field and the appropriate structures and policies to assist victims of SEA.
Mr. Chairperson,
We can only succeed in our efforts to eradicate SEA in peacekeeping operations if we are proactive and show determination and perseverance. The Secretary General, building on the recommendation of his Special Advisor, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, has presented a sound policy that has shown encouraging results in implementing the UN zero-tolerance policy, let us follows his leadership and endorse his recommendations in order to provide him with the tools he needs to get the job done.