Statement delivered by
Mr Ahmed Suzil, First Secretary
on Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly
15 November 2018
Thank you Madam President,
My Delegation wishes to congratulate Ambassador Sima Sami Bahous, Permanent Representative of Jordan and Ambassador Michal Mlynar, Permanent Representative of Slovakia for being appointed as Co-Chairs of the Ad-Hoc Working Group of Revitalization of the General Assembly during the 73rd Session. We also wish to thank Ambassador Maria Emma Mejia Velez, Permanent Representative of Colombia, and Ambassador Vladimir Drobnjak, Permanent Representative of Croatia for their dedication and leadership in Co-Chairing the revitalisation process.
My Delegation would like to thank the Secretary-General for his Report under this Agenda Item and we welcome the adoption of today’s Resolution that highlights the importance of strengthening the role, effectiveness, and efficiency of the General Assembly.
Madam President,
The General Assembly remains the only universal body and the most important forum to discuss the most pressing challenges facing the international community. The revitalisation work therefore must result in enhancing, in an incremental manner, the ability of the Assembly, in making meaningful and positive difference to the lives of people in our countries.
Towards that end, we note with a sense of appreciation, the steps that were taken during the last Session. We saw significant improvements in the work of the President of the General Assembly, we are seeing more transparency and accountability, including in the Office of the President of the General Assembly. We hope to see reinvigorated series of “Dialogues” by the pga, that brought together small groups of Permanent Representatives, which gave space for genuine dialogues on important issues relevant to the ga.
We encourage regular meetings between the Presidents of the Assembly, ecosoc, and the Security Council to assist the Assembly to make more informed decisions as well as to make necessary adjustments in shaping the work of the Assembly.
During the on-going 73rd Session, we would like to see on the agenda of the Working Group, the question of campaigns for elections in the Assembly. As we all know, every passing year, campaigns have become more competitive, more intense. We have to find ways in which, we could make elections free and fair. We therefore believe that the same standards of transparency, fairness, and accountability, we expect in our domestic elections, must be observed here at the United Nations as well.
The other aspect that the Working Group should look into is the amount of resolutions that the Assembly adopts and their implementation. Questions need to be asked about the usefulness of adopting the same resolutions repeatedly every year, or every other year, or adopting more than one resolution on the same subject. There is room for the Assembly to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
The Maldives believes in the promise of the United Nations – the beauty of multilateralism. We are making strides, but we can, and we should do more. We must ensure that every Member State in this room be provided an equal opportunity to let their voices be heard. We have made many strides but we still have far to go. We can, and we should do all we can to make a more effective, and efficient organisation, where the work we do here makes a real impact at home. We can, and we should look at the various means, the many ways in which we, the international community, can make a difference.
I thank you, Madam President.
