Member States have come together to kick off this years’ session of the Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly. H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Drobnjak of Croatia and the newly appointed Co-chair, Ambassador Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates opened the debate by stressing the need to consolidating but also to go beyond the significant achievements of the past resolutions.
H.E. Ambassador Katalin Bogyay permanent representative of Hungary in her statement condemned the transparency and accountability strengthening measures put in place by the Working Group concerning the selection of the SG, as well as the Office of the PGA. She encouraged the Working Group to explore the lessons learnt from adoption of the resolution demanding an immediate end to all hostilities in Syria and on the establishment of a mechanism to assist in the investigation of and prosecution for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Syria. Ambassador Bogyay also mentioned that the Working Group should focus more on the improvement of working methods of the Main Committees and on making sure that adequate regional representation and gender balance continue to be the guiding principles while appointing new executive heads at the UN.
During the debate Member States noted that the creation of the more transparent selection process of the Secretary General contributed to strengthening the United Nations’ credibility in the world and in the eyes of its people. Reform at the UN is possible, this has been proved by the landmark resolutions 69/321 and 70/305. The Working Group should make sure now that the results are consolidated and the resolutions are fully implemented. Hungary remains committed to further strengthening the role and authority of the General Assembly, and supports the Secretary-General in his reform aspirations.
Hungary supported the statements of the European Union, the ACT Group as well as that of the Group of Friends for Gender Parity. After the general comments made by the representatives of Member States the Co-Chairs are planning to help four thematic meetings on each cluster of the GA revitalization process, such as the role and authority of the GA; Selection and appointment of the Secretary-General; Working Methods, and Strengthening the accountability, transparency and institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly. Hungary will continue to actively engage in the discussions. Please find on the right the statement made by Ambassador Katalin Bogyay.
To read the full statement of the Ambassador, please click here.
