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Malta's Ambassador to the U.N. addresses the U.N. General Assembly on the strengthening of the U.N. System
PR2016
26/11/1996
26/11/1996
| On Monday, 25 November 1996, Malta's Permanent Representative to | the United Nations Dr Joseph Cassar addressed the UN General Assembly on the "Strengthening of the UN System": A summary of Dr Cassar's statement follows (full statement is attached): |
| "Malta believes that the UN and the Security Council should | become more representative of today's geo-political realities and must reflect better the general views and opinions of the General Assembly" stated Ambassador Dr Joseph Cassar when addressing the UNGA on Monday morning on the Strengthening of the UN System. |
| He said that "Reform has been on the United Nations' Agenda | for a number of year. Discussions have ranged from the overall reform philosophy permeating the Organisation to the specific reform on the functioning of the United Nations' principal organs". Change within an organisation as complex and politically sensitive as the United Nations, necessarily required in-depth consideration and reflection. |
| Discussions in the High Level Working Group on the Strengthening of | the UN System reflected an awareness of the intricacy of the issues and the skilful treatment they deserve. Malta's strong belief that if the UN was to improve its credibility and authority in coming years it must improve its structure, its administration and its competence, was stated. The ultimate aim was to have a United Nations which can adapt itself to changing realities and to ensure more democracy in the decision-making. Reform had not and could not be equated simply with cost-cutting. |
| Dr Cassar stated that as priorities changed and emerged, structures | need to reorient and redirect themselves. Some areas on which the Organisation had focused for a long time had acquired renewed impetus. The co-operation which supplanted bloc confrontation following the end of the Cold War opened new avenues to address such issues. |
| The General Assembly's revitalisation was characterised as a | keystone in the work of the Organisation. The development of a more efficient mechanism by which the UN could implement and execute its decisions more effectively and quickly would enhance the effectiveness of the Organization. Malta had been in the forefront in advocating efforts to revitalise the General Assembly which comprises the totality of the Organisation's membership. Malta's support for an enhancement of the role and Office of the President of the General Assembly was restated. Regular consultations with the Presidents of the Security Council and of the Economic and Social Council could buttress the General Assembly's effectiveness. |
| Discussions on the report by the Security Council and by the | Secretary-General were indidcative of the need for improvement in the type and nature of imformation provided and should contain a balance between the descriptive and the analytical. Increased between the UN and Civil Society was an area which requires further elaboration. |
| With regard to the Secretariat it was stated that leaner management | teams at all levels and the rationalisation of the lines of command would make the Secretariat more manageable. The primary aim was that of enhancing co-ordination between different departments and programmes. The point of departure in any reform process was not an arbitrary decision to create additional or to delete existing bureaucratic layers but an objective assessment of existing activities and their coherent direction in a streamilined structure. |
| In concluding, Dr Cassar stated that "Our effort to | strengthen the UN System is best guided by a renewed faith in the principles on which this Organisation was founded. The means we adopt to strengthen the UN System should further enhance and underline these principles and preserve that balance which is an in-built characteristic of the Charter". |
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