Mr. Chairman,
Allow me to congratulate you and the other members of the Bureau on your election to conduct the work of the Committee at this session. We trust that your guide will enable us to achieve our goals.
We thank the Secretary-General for his presentation, as well as Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chairman of the Advisory Committee, for the introduction of the introduction of the corresponding report.
Our delegation associates itself with the speech delivered by Ecuador on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
Mr. Chairman,
The presentation of the proposed budget is one of the most important moments in the Organization's work cycles. It must convey in practical terms how the mandates generated by the Member States in long intergovernmental sessions and fruit of delicate agreements, will be implemented. The documents related to the United Nations budgets are the most visible tools, through which it is hoped that the Organization will continue to be the depository of the system of multilateral relations to which we aspire.
Therefore, we oppose that through the budgetary presentation attempts are made to approve proposals that do not have a mandate from the Member States and where there is clear evidence of the lack of consensus among the membership. This is the case of the “Human Rights Upfront Initiative”, for which a D-1 post has been requested. Proposals such as these break the essential trust that must exist between Member States and the Secretariat.
Mr. Chairman,
The draft budget before us amounts to $ 5.405 billion, lower than the appropriation approved for the current biennium of $ 215 million, a decrease of 3.8 per cent. However, just over 20% of the regular budget, amounting to $ 109.6 million, is dedicated to financing the Special Political Missions. That is why we reiterate the need to consider a different financing mechanism for these missions, which does not affect the regular budget, taking into account that most of them are not approved by the General Assembly.
Mr. Chairman,
The proposed budget should reflect a balance between the three pillars of the Organization and its agreed priorities. There is no justification for one pillar to prevail over another and for the rest to be sacrificed under the development pillar. Without a fair balance we cannot, as an Organization, achieve the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Agenda for Action.
Mr. Chairman,
Cuba welcomes the Secretary-General's reform in the field of management.
The reform process should preserve the intergovernmental nature of the Organization and have as its fundamental purpose to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to fulfill its role and fulfill its functions, especially in the area of development, in order to ensure compliance with the 2030 Development Agenda, which all Member States have committed to support.
Many of the reform proposals put forward in the area of management should be further detailed so that the Member States can take duly substantiated decisions. An example of this is the simplified budget structure, which will require more analysis, especially the appropriation proposal by the Party and not by Section.
Successful reform will also depend on the commitment of all Member States to meet their financial obligations to the Organization in a timely, fully and unconditional manner, that enables full implementation of the programs and activities allocated, and to provide the essential services necessary for the proper functioning of the intergovernmental machinery. Let us harmonize political discourses with concrete actions that will give the Organization stable and predictable resources.
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation seizes the occasion to reaffirm the role of the Fifth Committee, as the main committee of the General Assembly charged with administrative and budgetary matters. In this regard, we wish to note with concern the tendency of some organs to become involved in administrative and budgetary matters by not taking into account Article 153 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly.
To conclude, I would like to convey the interest of our delegation to cooperate during the negotiations on the current proposed program budget. The latter should not become once more a hostage of political interests. Our efforts should result in a concrete improvement in the activities of the United Nations.
Thank you very much.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations.