Statement by Mr. Jun Yamada
Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations
Agenda item 118: Safety and Security

Second Resumed Part of the Sixty-third Session
of the United Nations General Assembly
11 May 2009

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

At the outset, I would like to thank Mr. David Veness, Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, Mr. Kenneth Herman, Senior Advisor, Secretariat of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board, Mrs. Inga-Britt Ahlenius, Under-Secretary-General for the Office of Internal Oversight Services and Ms. Susan McLurg, Chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, for introducing their respective reports.

Mr. Chairman,

In the statement delivered at the opening of the first resumed part of the current session, my delegation said that while it fully understood the importance of the issue of safety and security, it regretted the fact that once again the report submitted by the Secretary-General was taking a piecemeal approach. I wish to reiterate my delegation's view that the Secretary-General should present his proposals on safety and security in accordance with the established budget cycle.

We remain at a loss as to why, at this stage, the Secretary-General is choosing to take up only certain issues, leaving aside such important matters as accountability and management review, which were raised by the Independent Panel on Safety and Security. We also take note of the letter from the Controller to the Chairperson of ACABQ dated 11 March annexed to the report of ACABQ. My delegation is of the view that budgetary aspects of this agenda item should be considered only when all of the relevant reports, including the comprehensive report on the safety and security framework at the United Nations, have been received and can therefore be discussed in a comprehensive manner. In this connection, my delegation wishes to hear during this formal meeting from the representative of the Secretariat how likely it is that the comprehensive report will be completed in May, as indicated in the report of the ACABQ. If the target is likely to be met, my delegation would like to ask the representative of the Secretariat to provide us with an outline of the report at this meeting.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Related Information (United Nations)
Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations Official Web Site