STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA BY MR. MISHAL MOHAMMED AL-ANSARI, STATE OF QATAR, ON AGENDA ITEM 120: ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE AT THE UNITED NATIONS, AT THE FIFTH COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY (New York, 29 November 2004)

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 120 entitled “Administration of Justice at the United Nations”.

The Group wishes to thank the representatives of the Secretary-General, the UN Administrative Tribunal, the Office of Internal Oversight Services and the Joint Inspection Unit for the introduction of relevant reports before us.

Administration of justice is an integral part of an effective human resources management. A strong system of the administration of justice in the Secretariat is a prerequisite for smooth, harmonious and transparent relationship between the staff and the management and has great impact on the efficient functioning of the Organization. The Group feels strongly that a successful reform of human resources management of the Organization cannot be fulfilled without a strong system of the administration of justice.

Administration of justice in the Secretariat requires an effective system of accountability and transparency. The Group cannot but stress the right of all staff members to a transparent and just legal system, one that is based on multilevel legal consideration and guarantees the concept of impartiality. Other serious problems exist within the current system of justice which makes it slow and cumbersome. The Group had expected to see progress in strengthening internal justice system of the Secretariat together with the reform of the human resources management and to receiving effective proposals from the Secretariat in this regard. It is regrettable that attention to this important area of reform is far behind expectations and considerable improvement in this area has been overdue since at least the 55th and 57th sessions of the General Assembly. The UN administration of justice system should be strengthened in conformity with the Charter of the UN and relevant resolutions of the General Assembly. The Group underlines the need for a concrete reform process to the administration of justice system and notes with appreciation that the Joint Inspection Unit has presented tangible recommendations in this vein.

The Group awaited consideration of this agenda item in this session with great interest but, regrettably, in addition to the late issuance of some of the documentation which resulted in the delayed introduction of this item, the ACABQ was not in a position to present a report due to the lack of clear proposals from the Secretariat on the resources needed to strengthen various parts of the internal justice system. The Advisory Committee is due to receive such proposals only when the work of the 5th Committee in the main part of the 59th session is about to conclude. The Group notes that consideration of the proposals pertaining to the reform of the administration of justice system is incomplete without a clear picture of the resource requirements for the effective functioning of the system.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.