I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda items 117, 129 and 130, in particular on the Strengthened and Unified Security Management System for the United Nations.

2.     The Group wishes to thank the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, Mr. David Veness, and the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), Mr. Rajat Saha, for introducing respectively the report of the Secretary-General and the Advisory Committee on these important items.

3.     The Group of 77 and China supports the provision of safety and security for the United Nations staff, operations and premises at Headquarters and main duty stations, as well as in the field and the Group will continue to support measures aimed at ensuring a coherent, effective and timely response to all security-related threats and other emergencies.

Mr. Chairman,

4.     It will be recalled that the General Assembly has requested, in its resolution 59/276 (XI), the Secretary General to submit several reports on various aspects related to this issue, and we believe that the reports before us respond to a great extent to these requests. However, more information needs to be sought throughout the course of negotiations on some of those aspects.

5.     It will also be recalled that the General Assembly emphasized in this resolution that the primary responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of the United Nations staff and premises rests with the host country. Any provisions for safety and security of the United Nations cannot work in vacuum. It is thus imperative to have a clear idea about the status of formal arrangements between the United Nations and host countries in this field, in accordance with the mere role, responsibilities and obligations of those countries.

6.     The Group applauds the efforts exerted by the Department of Safety and Security and that of the Under-Secretary-General Mr. David Veness towards establishing a system of strengthened and unified security management as requested by the General Assembly. However, we believe that there is still a need for setting clear criteria for determining security needs and clear standards for threat and risk assessment on a world wide basis, which can justify the additional requirements of the Department to ensure that it is able to respond to any emergency, bearing in mind that the level of risk and threats vary from one place to the other.

7.     In the same context, the Group has in the past emphasized the importance of identifying time frames for the completion of the various projects previously agreed by the General Assembly. It is even imperative now, especially in the context of the forthcoming discussions on the new projects proposed under the first phase of the standardized access control scheme and the expected effects of the Capital Master Plan and the proposals of the Secretary General for realigning the Department of Peace Keeping Operations. In addition, the Group is of the view that a comprehensive framework for the enhancement of system-wide security arrangement is needed, especially in relation with the two phase approach of the standardized access control, so as to enable Member States to take informed decisions in this important area.

8.     The Group shares the views expressed by the ACABQ in relation with the standardized access control and underlines in particular the importance of assuring Member States that effective measures are in place to guarantee the highest level of protection of personal data available in the system and that they are not shared with other entities or authorities, unless otherwise agreed by Member States.

Mr. Chairman,

9.     The Secretary-General report on Strengthened and Unified Security Management System for the United Nations (A/61/531) sheds light on the staffing level of the Department of Safety and Security and the vacancy rates of different posts. The Group of 77 and China wishes to express its concern over the high rate of vacancy in the different divisions of the department, and looks forward to receiving further information on the current composition of the Department as well as on the efforts made to meet the agreed benchmarks on equitable geographic and gender distribution in its various divisions.

10.     Turning to the issue of cost sharing, the relevant report of the Secretary-General (A/61/223) refers to difficulties expressed by some organizations that participate in the cost sharing arrangements. The Group of 77 and China shares the views of the ACABQ on the matter and emphasizes that it is the responsibility of organizations participating in the United Nations security management system to pay their share in the costs of security support extended to them under this system. The Group also wishes to have more information on the organizations refusing to pay their share and the reasons behind their positions.

11.     Finally, Mr. Chairman, the Group wishes to assure you of its willingness and readiness to work constructively with you and with all delegations with the aim of coming to a successful conclusion of this important item, while emphasizing in the meantime that increased funding for safety and security should not be to the detriment of funding for other critical programmes and priorities of the Organization.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.