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Mr Chairman
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the delegations of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (CANZ). We thank Mr Sach, UN Controller and Mr Saha, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for introducing their reports (A/61/519 and A/61/567) relating to the financing of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).
It will come as no surprise to you or the membership that CANZ, as a group and through our own bilateral contributions, strongly supports the UN’s role in Timor-Leste.
Mr Chairman
CANZ views Security Council resolution 1704 of 25 August 2006 establishing UNMIT as the result of careful consideration. Consideration about the needs of the people of Timor-Leste following the incidents of 28 and 29 April and late May and how the UN could best respond to those needs. UNMIT’s mandate has evolved through extensive consultations between the Timorese and international stakeholders, spanning across the Security Council, the Core Group of member states, and the high-level, multi-disciplinary team.
UNMIT’s mandate highlights not just the unique complexity of the situation in Timor-Leste but illustrates the changing and multi-faceted nature of UN peace operations today. Indeed, we have asked UNMIT to play a key role in promoting peace and reconciliation, to strengthen key governing institutions, and to prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections in 2007. The hybrid nature of UNMIT’s operations reminds us, the member states, of the need to continually refine and adapt our approach to peace operations to ensure, from a political, operational and resource perspective, the most effective and efficient response.
Mr Chairman
On the reports we have before us, we have read the ACABQ report with great care and note its recommendations. We have taken on board the ACABQ comments regarding the presentation of the financing request and encourage the Secretariat to do likewise. We are all aware, however, that the Secretariat has faced a heavy workload in peacekeeping since mid-2006. We look forward to the Secretariat’s presentation of UNMIT’s full budget, in accordance with the results based budgeting framework, at the Committee’s first resumed session next year.
With regard to the ACABQ recommendations on the reduced commitment authority and assessment level, we would be grateful for the Secretariat’s interpretation of these measures and practical assessment of their operational impact. We note the request for additional, short-term capacity at headquarters to help support UNMIT. Like the ACABQ, we believe the Support Account is the appropriate funding source for headquarters backstopping. If surge requirements demand extra help, we would urge the Secretary-General to set this out comprehensively so that any necessary revisions to support account estimates can be considered. Notwithstanding, we recognise there have been many new peacekeeping tasks added to the Secretariat's agenda since the Support Account was negotiated in mid-2006 and would like to know if the Secretariat thinks the ACABQ’s recommendation for the use of Support Account vacancies and resources is feasible.
And finally, we look forward to the informal negotiations and to hearing more detail about personnel deployment schedules, the transfer arrangements of resources between the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL) and UNMIT, and the expected areas of cooperation between the mission, country team partners, bilateral and multilateral partners.
Thank you Mr Chairman
