STATEMENT BY
MR. MOHD HAFIZ OTHMAN
MINISTER COUNSELLOR, PERMANENT MISSION OF MALAYSIA
TO THE UNITED NATIONS
AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE AD HOC WORKING GROUP ON THE REVITALIZATION OF THE WORK OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY (AHWG)
NEW YORK, 2 MARCH 2020
Co-Chairs,
All protocol observed. Congratulations on your appointment and thank you PGA for your insightful remarks today.
2. Malaysia aligns itself with the statement delivered by Algeria on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. I will add several points in my national capacity.
Co-Chairs,
3. The 75th Anniversary of the United Nations this year offers the best opportunity to reinvigorate further and revitalize the United Nations. A revitalized United Nations, and in particular the General Assembly – the most representative body of the UN, will certainly makes the Organization more effective, transparent, and accountable to the people we serve.
4. The General Assembly resolutions, decisions, and recommendations reflect the weight of world opinion. From tackling the root causes of conflict to establishing human rights treaties and to adopting the Sustainable Development Goals – General Assembly’s deliberations have and will continue to improve and protect the lives of millions of people around the world.
5. Given its representative character, primacy, and credibility, it is, therefore, pivotal to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency in fulfilling its functions as set out in the UN Charter. The revitalization of the General Assembly is also indispensable as it is interlinked with the overall reform of the United Nations.
Co-Chairs,
6. We have seen some tangible progress made on the revitalization process during the previous sessions. Moving forward, my delegation wishes to stress the following points:
- First: On streamlining of the agenda of the General Assembly, we should seriously aim for better reprioritization and elimination of duplication and overlap of agenda items where necessary. Consideration of agenda items in the plenary meetings shall only be reserved for global issues or issues of major political importance. Malaysia also calls for greater synergies, coherence, and complementarity between the agenda of the General Assembly, its Committees, ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies.
- Second: Malaysia calls for greater accountability, transparency, and strengthening of the institutional memory of the Office of the PGA. We commend the efforts taken by the previous two Presidents of the General Assembly in preparing and sharing their handover reports with all member states. We also hope that the President of the General Assembly can continue to disclose relevant information on the Office’s activities. Selected engagements with member states, for example, the morning dialogues and regular coordination meetings with other heads of principal organs, should continue to take place. For transparency, we urge the Office of the PGA to prepare and share the outcome of these meetings with all member states, in a timely manner.
- Third: In strengthening the role, authority, effectiveness, and efficiency of the General Assembly, and in ensuring that the Office can successfully execute the relevant mandates, Malaysia is of the view that the Office of the PGA must be given the necessary support, including the human and financial resources. My delegation supports the proposal for additional permanent staff as well as adequate financial allocation from the regular budget to be allocated to the Office of the PGA. The Office should not just rely on voluntary contributions from Member States for 87% of its expenses. As the only body that represents all member states, it is only rational for the regular budget of member states to be adequately placed in this Office. At the same time, we encourage member states which have not seconded their diplomats in the Office of the PGA to do so. In staffing the Office, Malaysia also calls for the respect for equal geographical representation and gender balance.
Co-Chairs,
7. To conclude, Malaysia reiterates that the General Assembly must be equipped with all the necessary capacities to address shared and global challenges that our world is facing today, be it in political-security or socio-economic aspects. In this regard, we look forward to engaging constructively with all member states towards meaningful outcomes of the AHWG this year.
Thank you.
