Strengthening the Office of the President of the General Assembly at the Ad Hoc Working Group on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly on 23 January:

It is my pleasure to address the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly.

Given my role as President and my experience over the past five months, I consider this process of the utmost importance.

As the most representative body of the United Nations, the improved functioning of the General Assembly is critical for the Organization as a whole.

And for that reason, I consider the work of this Group to be critical as well.

Of the four clusters of the revitalization agenda, General Assembly resolution 77/335 covered the role and authority of the General Assembly as well as its working methods and I commend my predecessor for having delivered on many of the important mandates contained therein.

Today, however, our focus is on strengthening the accountability, transparency and institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly.

As we tackle today’s global challenges, it is vital that the United Nations remains a beacon of credibility, efficiency and responsibility.

The General Assembly plays a central role in this regard, and the Office of the President must reflect the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.

The process of General Assembly revitalization offers a valuable opportunity for the Office to become stronger, more effective and more sustainable.

I hope today’s discussions will lead to fruitful results, with the negotiation of a draft resolution during this session.

The last resolution on General Assembly revitalization, adopted in 2023, strengthened the Office of the President in a tangible and practical manner, including through the provision of additional human and financial resources.

The three new positions provided by the General Assembly through the regular budget have allowed for the recruitment of much needed expertise.

Moreover, the funding for meeting services, such as webcast and teleprompter support, are now covered by the regular budget, freeing the resources in the Trust Fund for other uses.

Thanks to the support of Member States, the continuity and sustainability of this Office have been enhanced, and I hope that support continues.

Over the years, the Ad Hoc Working Group has made many recommendations related to the accountability, transparency and institutional memory of the Office of the President.

I would like to highlight some of the ways we have responded to these requests in establishing the Office at this session.

Prior to taking Office, I shared my vision statement and participated in an interactive dialogue with Member states. As you heard in my presentation on priorities last week, that vision is now being executed in a bold and forward-thinking manner. 

My vision integrates key elements of the revitalization agenda, which have been encouraged by the Assembly. This includes the promotion of gender equality, interaction with civil society organizations, and the continuation of informal discussions with Permanent Representatives on issues of relevance to us all. 

In this session, these dialogues will be known as “Palaver Tree” Dialogues drawing on the long-standing African tradition of gathering under a tree (in the late hours of the day) to discuss the issues affecting the community with a view to resolving them in an inclusive and open manner. 

Also in this session, I have continued the practice -encouraged by the Assembly - of conducting regular meetings with the Presidents of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council as well as the Secretary-General, thereby enhancing coordination among principal organs of the United Nations.

As you know, the Assembly has called for gender parity in the President’s appointments. In my own Cabinet, women represent more than 50 per cent of my team, including in leadership positions. And we are working to ensure that there is gender balance in our selection of panelists and speakers at the many mandated high-level meetings that we will convene this session.

Geographical balance in the Office is also important. All five regional groups are well-represented among the Office staff. To ensure transparency in the staffing of the Office, the staff profile is published on the PGA website.

Institutional memory has been strengthened. Almost half of my team members were maintained from the previous session’s Office of the President and measures have been put in place to reinforce information and knowledge management. We continue to benefit from the induction programme coordinated by DGACM which takes place at the beginning of each session. All members of the team also undertake training at the start of the session, including on ethics and gender.

In response to the request to emphasize the multilingual nature of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, I am proud to report that multilingualism is being actively pursued. It is in fact, at the core of my priorities. 

For that reason, I have established a Task Force on Multilingualism in the Office and I will be working with Under-Secretary-General Abelian, as Secretariat-wide Coordinator for Multilingualism. I have launched an Action Plan to identify concrete steps to improve multilingualism in our work. As I mentioned in my “Priorities Speech” last week, I strongly encourage Member States to support the work of this Task Force, including financially. Further details will be announced in early February.

I am proud of these achievements and hope to see similar efforts in future Offices of the President.

Finally, let me touch upon a few practical challenges faced by our Office, for your consideration.

The biggest challenge is, as always, the question of resources, financial resources. 

The Office’s few regular budget posts available are the sole source of stability and continuity for the work of the President of the General Assembly but – as you know – they are insufficient, and time bound. 

We therefore have a critical dependency on gratis personnel and extrabudgetary resources which are inherently discretionary and not guaranteed. 

The lack of guaranteed funding at the start of each session, thus, is a very practical problem often undermining the critical activities of the Office during one of the busiest times in the year and compromising the continuity of mandates of the Assembly, most of which straddle various sessions.

With the High-Level segment approaching and the urgency for staffing and recruitment at its peak, it is essential that funds are available as soon as feasible in the Trust Fund at the start of the session.

Equally challenging is the turnover of staff.

While the sole source of stability, the few regular budget posts available to the Office expire every session leading to a change in the composition of its members. 

This poses serious difficulties in terms of continuity and consistency of the work affecting not only the institutional memory but also hindering the overall effectiveness of the work of the Office.

I appeal to Member States to further support the strengthening of the continuity and stability of the work of the Office by considering changes to the resources available for staffing.

Also challenging is the question of office space.

The physical division of the Office between the second and third floors of the Conference Building poses logistical challenges as well as obstacles to the flow of information and interaction among the members of the team. 

While this might seem a minor aspect of our work, consolidating the Office into a single location would significantly improve communication and consultation between the President, the Chef de Cabinet and the wider team, thereby increasing overall efficiency.

This would also be consistent with the greater importance that the Office plays in the context of ever-increasing levels of activity and a renewed focus on the Assembly’s potential for the maintenance of international peace and security. 

In sum, to continue doing more and doing it well, we need predictable resources, stable resources and an adequate space.

Our Office is ready to elaborate further on the examples of the challenges we face as the Assembly continues to task this Office with an increasing number of mandates for meetings and processes.

In closing, as we work together to address the complex issues facing the global community, we must commit to taking concrete measures to build a more accountable, transparent and resilient institution; one that is equipped not only to address the challenges of today but also to work towards a better tomorrow.

Thank you.

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