STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA BY MS. KAREN LOCK, PERMANENT MISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON EXPLANATION OF POSITION AFTER THE ADOPTION OF THE DRAFT RESOLUTION A/C.5/61/L.6 ON PATTERN OF CONFERENCES, IN THE FIFTH COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ( New York, 21 November 2006)

Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China in explanation of position after the adoption of the draft resolution A/C.5/61/L.6 on Pattern of conferences.

2. The Group of 77 and China wishes to thank the distinguished representative of Argentina for the able manner in which he coordinate the negotiations of the Fifth Committee. Under his guidance, the Committee was able to conclude negotiations on this important draft resolution in record time.

Mr. Chairman,

3. The Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to the establishment of clear lines of accountability in the Secretariat for the submission, processing and issuance of documentation. It will be recalled that the General Assembly, in its resolution 60/236 B requested the Secretary General to submit to the Committee on Conferences a report on this matter.

4. The Group consequently was concerned when we were informed that the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management did not provide sufficient information on this matter in the consolidated report of the Secretary General. Thereby undermining the ability of the Committee on Conferences to submit concrete recommendations to the General Assembly outlining ways to improve accountability.

5. Mr. Chairman, we therefore expect that the next report of the Secretariat on this agenda item will contain sufficient information so as to enable the Committee on Conferences to fulfill the mandate given to it in paragraph 5, Section IV of the draft resolution. The Group of 77 and China believes that issues related to Accountability are of great importance and expects that the Secretariat will make a concerted effort to meet the request of the Assembly.

6. Furthermore, the Group of 77 and China remains concerned with instances where rules related to the issuance of all parliamentary documents in all official languages are breached. Recent examples include the consolidated annual report, which was requested by the Assembly in resolution 60/283 but only issued in one language and to the public without following proper procedure. We also regret that the publication requested in paragraph 10 (a) of the Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism adopted in 1994 was published only in English and French. The Group expects the Secretariat, in particular DGCAM, to comply fully with the mandates of the General Assembly and to ensure the publication of parliamentary documents in all official languages.

7. In conclusion, the Group wishes to stress the importance of ensuring that summary and verbatim records are issued on time, in hard copies and in all official languages simultaneously. On the question of Integrated Global Management, the Group is looking forward to receiving further information on the development of this project from the Secretariat so as to facilitate the action and consideration by the Assembly of the proposed project.

8. I thank you, Mr. Chairman.