Mr. Chairman

1. I have the Honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 123: Human Resources Management. The Group of 77 and China wishes to express its appreciation to Ms. Catherine Pollard, Assistant-Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, for her introduction of the report of the Secretary-General containing the amendments to Staff Regulations, as well as the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, Ms. Susan McLurg, for her introduction of the relevant report of the Advisory Committee.

Mr. Chairman,

2. The Group of 77 and China has pronounced itself on different occasions in favour of the efforts by the Secretary-General to continue the transformation of the human resources management. To us, the efficient and effective delivery of the UN mandates fundamentally hinges on the quality of its staff and the availability of resources. Ensuring the well-being of all international civil servants is of the utmost importance to the Group of 77 and China. We have thus always supported all reform measures aimed at establishing a satisfied, vibrant and dynamic workforce for our Organisation.

3. In this context, we believe that the adoption of resolutions 63/250 on Human Resources Management and 63/253 on the Administration of Justice form one of the most important achievements of the building block approach to HRM reforms. Bearing in mind its importance, the Group of 77 and China would like to embark on a discussion on the impacts of these reforms on the various categories of staff and the staff-management consultative process needed to explain the objectives and expected achievements of these reforms.

4. We believe that the report of the Secretary-General, while responding to the General Assembly's request, is lacking information on many issues in particular those referred to in the ACABQ report, such as detailed introduction to the context of the proposed amendments to the Regulations and to the drafting and approval process, as well as the legislative basis for the existing wording and the justification for the proposed changes, in particular those which are not related to resolution 63/250.

5. While fully understanding that temporary appointments are by nature limited in duration and that resolution 63/250 indicates that fixed-term appointments holders shall not have any expectations of renewal or conversion of their contracts, it is important that regulations reflect that there is nothing to prevent a holder of any of these two types of contracts from applying for other positions within the Organization and participating in a competitive selection process and that there will be no limitations to the number of future appointments.

6. The Report of the Secretary General anticipates a new full text of the Staff Rules, which is going to be presented to Member Sates during the main part of the 64th session of the General Assembly.  The issue is also highlighted by the ACABQ in its report.

7. The Group is confident that the new Staff Rules will include the decisions of the Assembly regarding measures to improve the imbalance in the geographical distribution of the Secretariat personnel, in particular in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as adopted in General Assembly resolution 63/250.

8. The Group of 77 and China also concurs with the recommendation of the ACABQ regarding the need for the new regulation 9.3 to fully reflect the interpretation of the General Assembly to the term "in the good administration of the Organisation" as contained in paragraph 22 of section II of its resolution 63/250. The Group wishes to emphasize that this issue is a key point in the Staff Regulations as well as in the work of the new system of Administration of Justice.

Mr. Chairman,

9. The concept of staff mobility is a useful tool that can be employed to further meet the diverse and competing demands on the Organisation. While it would be advisable for mobility to remain voluntary, its application must be accompanied with incentives, such as financial, opportunities for promotion and payment of hardship allowances. In this regard, we would like to have some clarity on the impact of the new arrangements resulting from resolution 63/250 on staff mobility, which is under review by the Secretary-General.

10. Similarly, to make use of the agenda item and in light of the many reports and information given to the 5th committee regarding the increasingly high vacancy rates at the D2 level for long periods of time, the Group would like to initiate a discussion during the informal consultations on criteria and parameters governing the selection process for posts at this level, which is supposed to be entrusted with high managerial responsibilities and consequently shall not be vacant for considerable long time, as it is the situation in many cases.

11. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, the Group of 77 and China believes that a proper framework for consultations with Staff representatives on all Human Resources reforms is imperative. The perception of mistrust between management and staff is regrettable and harmful to the image of the Organisation. We trust that every effort will be made to improve staff and management relations. We pay tribute to those who have given their lives to this Organisation. Their memory can only be best served by conducting full and complete consultations on the needs and concerns of the rest of the UN staff.

I thank you.