Ad-hoc Working Group on Revitalization

of the UN General Assembly

Thematic Debate on

Strengthening the accountability, transparency

and institutional memory of the Office of

the President of the General Assembly

INDIA STATEMENT

Counsellor Anjani Kumar

27 April 2018

Distinguished Co-chairs,

Thank you for convening this thematic meeting.

I thank the President of the General Assembly for outlining some of the key challenges faced by the PGA’s office earlier in this meeting.

I also thank USG DGACM and Chef de Cabinet of PGA for their interventions.

We associate ourselves with the statement delivered by Algeria on behalf of the Non-Aligned Group.

Co-chairs,

The primacy of the General Assembly flows from the universality of its membership and the principle of sovereign equality of all its members.

Strengthening the accountability, transparency and institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly is an integral part of the process of revitalization of the General Assembly.

The success of the United Nations and multilateralism depends, in large measure, on the effectiveness of the General Assembly in addressing issues and challenges of global importance. The President of the General Assembly has a key role to play in this process.

Co-chairs,

It is widely acknowledged that the workload of the PGA has expanded simultaneously with the expansion in the work and programme of the General Assembly.  It is, therefore, important that the office of the PGA is adequately strengthened and provided with the necessary financial and human resourcesin an institutional manner for its efficient functioning.

In recognition of this need, India contributes annually to the PGA's Trust Fund.

Co-chairs,

We are aware that there have been several suggestions made over the years for enhancing continuity and strengthening the institutional memory of the PGA's office. This is especially important for the ongoing and future processes of the General Assembly.

The progress achieved by various dialogue processes and working groups of the General Assembly during each session must be documented for the benefit of the subsequent sessions to build upon them.

My delegation, therefore,fully supports the idea of providing institutional and secretarial support to PGA's office such as through documentation, record keeping with references and date of the documents on the official website of the UN and webcast etc for those General Assembly negotiation processes which have been going on since a long time to ensure continuity and enable the incoming PGA to effectively lead these processes and members States for prepare for the said negotiation.

Co-Chairs

The General Assembly must lead in setting the global agenda and restoring the centrality of the United Nations in formulating multilateral approaches to resolving transnational issues. The President of the General Assembly plays a key in this process. It is, therefore, important that PGA's office is providedwith the resources required for its effective and efficient functioning in a dedicated and institutional manner.

We sincerely hope that the debate this session, as in the previous session, will yield concrete results to carry forward the process of revitalization of the General Assembly.

My delegation will continue to play an active and constructive role in these deliberations.

I thank you.