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Statement by His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Siad Doualeh on the Role and Responsibility of the General Assembly on the Selection and Appointment of the Secretary-General

Date: 
Wednesday, 23 March 2016

 

STATEMENT BY

H. E. MR. MOHAMED SIAD DOUALEH

AMBASSADOR, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE

TO THE UNITED NATIONS

BEFORE THE

AD HOC WORKING GROUP ON THE REVITALIZATION

OF THE WORK OF THE GENERAL

ON

THE THIRD THEMATIC MEETING ON THE SELECTION AND APPOINTMENT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL

 

On 22 March, 2016

 

                                                                                                           

Distinguished Co-Chairs,

Djibouti se déclare horrifié par les attentats terroristes meurtriers qui ont frappé Bruxelles ce matin, provoquant encore une fois la mort d’innocents.  Elle exprime ses condoléances attristées à la Belgique et lui réaffirme sa solidarité. 

Ce dernier acte devrait non seulement nous pousser à approfondir la réflexion collective sur les causes profondes du phénomène malheureusement devenu banal et familier tant il est fréquent mais illustre l’urgence d’une action renouvelée et vigoureuse à combattre radicalement cette passion destructrice.

Distinguished Co-Chairs,

At the outset, Djibouti wishes to align itself with the statement made by Algeria on behalf of Non Aligned Movement this morning.

My Delegation wishes to commend you, distinguished Co-Chairs, for the very valuable contribution to the process and the achievements made thus far.

We would also like to thank you for convening the 3rd thematic meeting on the “Role and Responsibility of the General Assembly in the selection and appointment of the Secretary General.  My delegation is convinced that this meeting would give us another opportunity to deepen consultations among Member States and hopefully eventually agree on all aspects of both procedure and process.  We collectively achieved a great success of last fall when the General Assembly adopted resolution 69/321 on the Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.  It signals a clear departure from the past as it outlines innovative steps that would go a long way in enhancing the role, authority, effectiveness and efficiency of the General Assembly.  It has also helped clarify demands for reform and provided an opportunity for greater input legitimacy.

Furthermore, we wish to emphasize the following points:

  • Djibouti expresses deep concern about the non-implementation of most of the provisions as reflected in the updated inventory/chart of General Assembly resolutions on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, issued pursuant to resolution 68/307.  We would appreciate information on the nature of the constraints and challenges faced – leaving the implementation gap unaddressed would raise questions and undermine the on-going momentum.
  • We welcome the joint letters of the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council calling United Nations Member States to submit formal candidatures for the post of Secretary General to the United Nations, we continue to hold the view that such procedure should specify a clear timeline for such candidatures.
  • We welcome the opportunity given to Member States to have an informal dialogue and exchange of views – such an opportunity would be not only beneficial to Member States but it is equally of direct benefit to candidates as they would have to listen to the priorities, concerns and challenges as identified by the Member States.  They would then be in a much better position to adequately prepare to take up a position that is ever more difficult in an increasingly complex security environment as evidenced by the latest terrorist attacks on Belgium and lingering economic uncertainties as a vast proportion of humanity continues to struggle with extreme poverty.  We expect all candidates to participate in those dialogues – we are therefore looking forward to the forthcoming hearings scheduled from 12-14 April – These hearings should be adequately prepared in consultation with Member States – some useful suggestions and ideas were aired today and we take good note of them.
  • Djibouti embraced the call for a woman to be the next Secretary General – and believes this would be indeed a powerfully symbolic decision.

To conclude, you can always count on the support of this delegation in your very worthwhile endeavor.

Thank you, distinguished Co-Chairs.