STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN) BY MS JOPHIE TANG, DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SINGAPORE ON PLENARY AGENDA ITEM 123 ON “REVITALISATION OF THE WORK OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY”, 15 NOVEMBER 2018

Madam President,

1                 I have the honour to speak on behalf of the ten Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).  ASEAN aligns itself with the statement delivered by Algeria on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.

2                 ASEAN expresses its appreciation to the previous session’s co-chairs - Ambassador Vladimir Drobnjak of Croatia and Ambassador Maria Mejia Velez of Colombia.  In particular, we thank Ambassador Drobnjak for his contributions to this process over the past five years.  ASEAN also congratulates Ambassador Sima Sami Bahous of Jordan and Ambassador Michal Mlynár of Slovakia on their appointment as co-chairs for the present session.  We are confident that they will successfully steer the process forward. 

3                 ASEAN has been a strong supporter of multilateralism and the United Nations.  We have consistently championed a more efficient, effective and accountable United Nations.  The revitalisation of the work of the General Assembly, the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations, is a critical component of the comprehensive reform of the United Nations.  It is imperative that the United Nations and the General Assembly remain nimble and responsive, to be able to effectively address evolving challenges.

4                 ASEAN recognises the significant progress that has been made over the past years, and welcomes the adoption of Resolution 72/313.  Nevertheless, revitalisation of the General Assembly is a continuous process.  We cannot afford to lose momentum, especially as the pace of work in the United Nations speeds up.  ASEAN would like to make several points:

5                 First, ASEAN welcomes the improvements in the selection and appointment process of the Secretary-General, which have brought about a new standard of openness and transparency to ensure the selection of the best candidate for this very important position.  But more can be done.    In addition, ASEAN reiterates that the improvements to the selection and appointment process of the Secretary General must also extend to all other senior appointments within the United Nations.  ASEAN calls on the Secretary-General to make appointments based on merit, while taking into account gender and geographical balance.

 6                 Second, ASEAN appreciates the efforts to strengthen the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA).  One particularly useful improvement to the institutional memory has been the handover reports by the PGA, which provide a useful summary of the accomplishments, and offer pragmatic recommendations to the incoming PGA.  ASEAN notes that one recommendation in Resolution 72/313 is to further clarify the process of election of the President of the General Assembly.  We are glad that the Ad-Hoc Working Group (AHWG) will consider this question during the 73rd Session of the General Assembly.    

7                 Third, as a regional grouping that greatly values consensus and dialogue, ASEAN appreciates the President of the 72nd Session’s “Morning Dialogues” initiative.  This provided a conducive setting for Permanent Representatives to exchange views candidly, contributing significantly to the work of the General Assembly.  We encourage its continuation, and welcome your intention, Madam President, to convene “Morning Mingas”.

8                 Fourth, ASEAN welcomes the improvements made in the working methods of the General Assembly.  These include improvements to the elections process, such as the improvements to ballot papers which have significantly reduced the number of invalid votes.  We are also pleased that campaign materials distributed on the day of elections have generally conformed to the decision taken by the General Assembly.  ASEAN supports the further elaboration on the potential concept and scope of guidelines pertaining to election campaigns.  Such guidelines should not disadvantage any Member State, but instead, focus on enhancing transparency and equity as well as a collectively agreed set of parameters to ensure that campaigning does not turn into a race to the bottom.

9                 Allow me now to add a few points in my national capacity.

10               First, Singapore supports efforts to utilise the General Committee more effectively. We note that Resolution 72/313 contains several references to the role of the General Committee, including to consider ways to decrease the number of high-level events held during the general debate.  The PGA’s synopsis of the recent High Level Week notes that the primacy of the General Debate cannot be preserved without making sure that parallel activities are managed rationally.  In our view, this is a matter that the General Committee should consider seriously. 

11               Second, Singapore is of the view that more consideration should be invested in scheduling the meetings of the General Assembly.  Two concrete examples come to mind.  One is the “Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization”.  This is a debate regularly scheduled in early October to discuss the Report of the Secretary-General.  Since the General Debate would have just taken place, the debate in the General Assembly would inevitably be duplicative.  Two is the “Report of the Security Council”, which is mandated under Article 24 of the Charter of the United Nations.  This year, the Security Council adopted its annual report on 30 August 2018.  The report was formally circulated to Member States on 11 September 2018, and the debate in the General Assembly was scheduled on 12 September 2018.  The timings of the debates should be reconsidered, so that discussion of these important reports are not conducted in a perfunctory manner.  We think that the General Committee may be a suitable platform to discuss this issue.

12               Finally, Singapore welcomes continued discussion on rationalisation of the work of the General Assembly.  This is important, as the continued proliferation of agenda items and high-level meetings would only lead to an unsustainable volume of work.  On this note, we welcome the voluntary decision by Guyana to remove Agenda Item 16 of the 73rd Session.  We hope that this will generate momentum towards further streamlining of the agenda.  Quality must take precedence over quantity, in order to ensure the continued credibility and the relevance of the United Nations. 

13               I thank you, Madame President. 

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