Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on the issue of human resources management.

1. The Group of 77 and China deeply regrets the late submission and the non-issuance of some of the reports which were to be considered in the first part of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly under this agenda item, in accordance with resolution 55/258 of the General Assembly.

2. We would like to stress again the need to fully redress the problems of the late issuance and non-submission of some reports by the Secretariat. The Group of 77 and China as well as other Member States have repeatedly requested the timely submission of documents in consonance with the decisions of the General Assembly. The non-compliance with the relevant rules and the General Assembly resolutions adversely affects the proper consideration which this issue deserves.

3. The Group of 77 and China regrets to note that reports such as A/56/839 on gratis personnel as well as A/56/834 on consultants and individual contractors, were submitted late and that their format of presentation does not comply with the provisions of paragraph 9, Part III of General Assembly Resolution 56/242 on pattern of conferences, which stipulates that if a report is submitted late, the reasons for this should be included in a footnote since also it does not identify the department from which this document comes. We emphasize that all the reports should be prepared in compliance with these provisions.

4. The Group further regrets that some documents that were requested in resolution 55/258 on human resources management such as the one on the subjects of a monitoring capacity of the Office of Human Resources Management as well as on the potential discrimination in the recruitment, placement and promotion process of the staff, have not been issued to date without any explanation. The Group would like to seek further clarification from the Secretariat on the reasons for non-compliance with the decision of the General Assembly.

5. The Group also considers that some of the reports presented under this agenda item lack clear and sound information that makes it difficult in some cases to make proper decisions on them, such as the case of the one dealing with the mandatory age of separation.

6. Taking into account the importance that the Group of 77 and China attaches to the human resources management item and due to the late issuance of documents as well as the non-availability of some reports we propose that, pending the explanations to be provided by the Secretariat on these matters, the consideration of this agenda item be concluded in a future session to be decided upon at a later stage. The Group expects that at that time all these concerns will be solved in advance and that all the required information as well as relevant reports will be presented in accordance with the relevant resolutions and procedures of the General Assembly.

7. In concluding, the Group of 77 and China stands ready to engage in a constructive dialogue on this agenda item.