Madam Chair,

1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Community of Latin American and

Caribbean States, CELAC, at this first formal meeting of the Fifth Committee during

the seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly.

2. First and foremost, I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election

as Chair of the Fifth Committee. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are

particularly pleased to see a woman from our region conducting the work of this

important Committee, after a long period without a female in that position. Our

community wishes you and the other members of the Bureau, success during this

session. We also extend our appreciation to the previous bureau members, as well as the

Secretariat for their invaluable work in preparation of the documentation and the Committee’s

programme of work.

 

Madam Chair,

3. The programme of work introduced today includes issues of great importance to the

Community, such as, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the scale of assessments for the

apportionment of the expenses of the organization- Article 19, the proposed programme

budget outline for the biennium 2018-2019, the support of the Special Political Mission

in Colombia, First Performance Report of programme budget for 2016-2017, Human

Resources Management, and other issues related to the programme budget for the

biennium 2016-2017, including the programme budget implications of the New York

Declaration for Refugees and Migrant, the Operational arrangements and conditions of

service of the ACABQ, as well as the Secretary General’s report on the United Nations

System’s response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse cases in the Central African

Republic.

4. CELAC will deliver statements upon the formal presentation of the reports on the SPM

in Colombia, and the support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. However, we

also take this opportunity to congratulate the Colombia government and people for the

enormous success achieved in finally ending the war in that nation. The Fifth

Committee now has the responsibility of making sure that the Mission receives

adequate funding and support from the membership for the effective implementation of

its mandate.

5. Regarding the pending report on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, CELAC expresses its serious concern over

the delay of a comprehensive proposal by the Secretary General. We reiterate that it is essential

that the Secretariat abide by the mandates given by the General Assembly through the 2016-

2017 budget resolution. CELAC assigns the issue the highest priority in order to reflect the

ambition of the Agenda and the importance attributed by Member States to it.

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6. With respect to Human Resources Management, the Community reiterates its request to the

Secretariat on the need to improve geographical representation and gender balance in the

recruitment process, as we believe there is much more still needed to be done in this context,

especially with regards to senior level posts in the Organization to respect the aims and

objectives of its multilateral nature.

7. CELAC also regrets that the Fifth Committee has been unable to fulfill its commitment of

considering and deciding on the necessary reforms to the funding and backstopping for Special

Political Missions, notwithstanding the importance of the reforms. We reiterate our views that

the current administrative and budgetary arrangements for these Missions are inadequate and

have an adverse effect on the regular budget, accountability, governance, and transparency of

the Organization. Therefore, we insist on correcting the deficiencies of the current

arrangements, to finally respond to the constant and urgent calls of the Secretariat, the Advisory

Committee and the Board of Auditors, among others.

8. During this session, the Community will carefully analyze the reports of the Secretary General,

the Board of Auditors, the Office of Internal Oversight Services and the Advisory Committee

on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, which have been submitted or are being prepared.

Madam Chair,

9. CELAC reaffirms how crucial it is to have the complete official documentation required to

ensure the efficiency of the work of the Committees, the quality of the debates, the negotiating

process and to conclude the session within the established deadline. With many challenges

ahead, it is imperative that the Secretariat adopt the necessary measures to respond to the

continuous demands by Member States as reflected in various resolutions of the General

Assembly.

10. Our Community reiterates a strict respect to the principle of timely distribution of documents in

all working languages, as it is contained in successive resolutions of the General Assembly, as

well as in the Regulations of the Assembly themselves.

Madam Chair,

11. The CELAC group states its willingness to engage in the consideration of all items with other

regional groups or group of states in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion, and stands ready

to participate in a constructive manner in the negotiation process and collaborate in all items,

with the goal of advancing the negotiations and reaching agreements satisfactory to all.

Thank you Madam Chair.