Discurso pronunciado por el Cons. Carlos Funes, delegado de Quinta Comisión de la Misión Permanente de El Salvador ante Naciones Unidas, en carácter de ejercicio de la Presidencia de la CELAC.
11 de octubre
Mr. Chairman,
1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States, CELAC.
2. Before I begin, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr.
Chairman, for taking the responsibility of the Chairmanshipleading the
discussions of the Fifth Committee. We have no doubt that with your ample
experience with our Committee, you and the other members of the bureau, will
guide us to a successful outcome for this session.
3. At the outset, CELAC would like to thank the Secretary General for the
presentation of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2018-2019.
We also wish to thank Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chairman of the Advisory
Committee, for introducing the Committee's related report.
Mr. Chairman,
Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations
4. CELAC attaches great importance to the budget of the United Nations. We
believe that budget proposals should reflect the strategic vision of the Secretary
General in delivering the mandates and priorities agreed upon by Member
States. We would like to ask you, Mr. Chair, and the other members of the
bureau, to ensure that adequate time is provided in the Programme of Work for
this important agenda item.
Mr. Chairman,
5. The countries of CELAC are strongly committed to implementing and working
towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In this regard, we
believe it is the obligation of the Secretariat to request, and of us, Member
States, to provide the resources to the Organization so that the UN can be a the
key enabler in the implementation of Agenda 2030.
6. The budget proposal from the Secretary General includes many unjustified
reductions, many under the supposed form of efficiencies. The Community will
study these proposals carefully, so as to ensure that they are not having ado not
have a negative effect on mandate implementation. We would like to voice
concern over the proposed reductions in the resources provided to the regional
commissions, in particular the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean. We have highlighted on countless occasions the importance that we
attach to ECLAC and we will . Our Community is not convinced by the
justification provided for these reductions. We firmly oppose the approval of
reductions that may jeopardize the Commission’sits capacity to deliver its
mandate.
Mr. Chairman,
7. Although the issue of the staffing structure of the Organization could be better
addressed under the Human Resource Management agenda item, we would
Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations
like take advantage of the opportunity and lend our support to the observations
and recommendations issued by the ACABQ on the increased number of senior
posts at the level of D-1 and above and the reductions in the lower professional-
level grades posts. This could have a negative impact on ongoing human
resource management initiatives, such as the young professionals programme,
and other efforts to achieve important human resource targets, such as those
pertaining to geographic and gender balance, as well as efforts to rejuvenate the
workforce of the Secretariat.
Mr. Chairman,
8. Since we are discussing the regular budget of the organization, I would like to
touch on the issue of the budget of Special Political Missions. SPMs play a very
important role in securing peace in a number of regions, including in our own.
Following the trend of the past biennia, approximately 20% of the total resources
in the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2018-2019 will be allocated
to SPMs. Their The arrangements for their funding and backstopping should
therefore be an integral part of the deliberations of this Committee in the session
ahead, much as other aspects such as the budgets of each individual mission.
9. The Fifth Committee must approach negotiations regarding special political
missions in keeping with its role as the sole main committee of the organization
entrusted with responsibilities for administrative, financial and budgetary
mattersone of the main committees of the General Assembly, where each and
every Member State may participate. The exclusive arrangements that have
characterized negotiations on this issue over past sessions were counter to the
multilateral spirit of this body. The Community calls upon all Member States to
engage in wide-ranging, inclusive negotiations on special political missions and
their funding and backstopping.
Mr. Chairman,
Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations
10. Finally, CELAC reiterates its commitment to collaborate on this agenda item and
to constructively engage in our discussions. We are certain that the negotiations
will remain transparent and inclusive and lead to a satisfactory conclusion for
the Organization and all Member States.
I thank you.