| Statement by
Let me begin by thanking you as the Co-Facilitator for convening these thematic consultations under Cluster IV: “Strengthening the United Nations.” My delegation is gratified that your efforts and the contributions of various Member States will enrich our input into the final oAutcome of the Secretary-General’s report as we prepare for the High-Level Plenary meeting next September. We associate with the statement already made on the issues under this Cluster by Malaysia, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and by Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Mr. Facilitator, The time has now come to summon the political will to move forward on the issue of general United Nations reform. This should be a comprehensive reform of all its structures, including the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Security Council, and the Commission on Human Rights. This exercise would transform this Organization into an effective multilateral mechanism capable of responding to our collective needs and challenges in the 21st century. In this connection, it is imperative that steps are taken to revitalize and restore the full authority of the General Assembly as the highest deliberative organ of the Organization and the only one with universal membership, as provided under The Charter, and cease to shift issues on its agenda to other principal organs. We support the call by the Secretary-General to accomplish this objective through a comprehensive package of reforms that would include reorganizing its agenda and methods of work, and strengthening the role and authority of the President of the Assembly. Towards meeting this objective, we must continue to implement GA resolutions 58/316 and 58/126. Turning to the Security Council, while its reform must be executed as part of this general package, it must be comprehensive, reflective of today’s geopolitical realities, and also include the body’s working methods. Only a combination of structural and methodological reforms can truly make the Council more transparent, inclusive and effective, and strengthen the multilateralism process. For the Council to be credible, its working methods must be governed by the principles of efficiency, transparency, and accountability. To this end, it is worthwhile to bear in mind that the reform of the Council is of great importance, and would have implications for the work of the United Nations. We must be conscious of the implications of our policy choices, and therefore strive to ensure that those choices do not upset the organizational unity of Member States, which would be contrary to the very spirit of reform itself. Within this context, Indonesia advocates the enlargement of the Council within the existing structure of both permanent and non-permanent memberships, on the basis of consensus. It is our view that if consensus cannot be reached on the permanent membership category at this time, expansion may be limited to non-permanent membership as an intermediate measure. We must caution, however, that it would be unhelpful to impose artificial deadlines on this process. Mr. Facilitator, With reference to the Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC), Indonesia believes that the United Nations should maintain development at the top of its agenda. Moreover, to avoid the tendency to turn the weight and influence of the United Nations to security issues, we underline the importance of addressing development and security in a balanced manner. In this context, it is crucial to develop and reach a consensus on a focused profile of ECOSOC’s functions and responsibilities. My delegation believes that ECOSOC should continue its role in providing policy direction and coordination on economic and social issues under the aegis of the General Assembly. This entails coordination with ECOSOC’s subsidiary bodies, specialized agencies, the Bretton Woods Institutions and funds and programs. Indonesia views the High-level Segment of ECOSOC as an effective mechanism for assessing progress towards agreed development goals that already have the participation at the ministerial level, and to that extent, the deliberative functions of the Segment need to be strengthened. Along with a broad set of principles to govern its work, therefore, the strengthening of ECOSOC should ensure that it is able to respond to critical situations that have a bearing on development, and can effectively advocate implementation of internationally agreed development goals. With reference to the issue of system coherence, my delegation would like to emphasize that greater coherence is not only necessary among the agencies of the UN system, but also between the UN agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions. Duplication of mandates between different bodies and financial constraints should be tackled so it will not impede the implementation of programme activities in the humanitarian and development fields. In this regard, the United Nations development system should improve its country level-coordination so as to optimize its support of national development efforts, at the request of national authorities. This will require the strengthening of the role of the Resident Coordinator, who has a key role in the effective and efficient functioning of the United Nations system at the country evel. In addition, humanitarian assistance must be delivered only in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 46/182 of 19 December 1991, which includes the consent of the affected country and respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and the national unity of States. On the issue of a human rights body, Mr. Facilitator, my delegation would like to thank the Secretary-General concerning his clarification of his proposal for a Human Rights Council with a smaller, selective membership, to take over the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights. His elaboration indicates that the work of the proposed Council would include a Peer Review mechanism. In our view, it might be difficult to expect developing nations to be enthusiastic about this proposal. First of all, rather than reduce the politicization problem which afflicts the existing Commission, the Council is certain to result in the exclusion of more countries from the decision-making process, and therefore end up not being more credible and effective than the Commission. Beyond this, the proposal of a Peer Review raises further questions. These include the sheer enormity of the work that the Council would be burdened with, concerning the individual review of over 190 Member States; a set of criteria for the review that would be satisfactory to the total membership; and ensuring that the process is not politicized. In light of these questions, my delegation believes that it might be better to reform the Commission so as to realign and re-energize it, than to abandon it completely for a new body that might be unworkable from the beginning. In this regard, we look forward to the report of the open-ended working group, established by the last session of the Commission, to address this issue. Mr. Facilitator, My last point pertains to the UN Secretariat reforms. Indonesia supports these reforms because they would lead to greater accountability, transparency and efficiency and professionalism. We also support the review of all General Assembly mandates older than five years towards re-focusing resources on new and emerging challenges, and urge that such reviews be conducted on the basis of urgency. On strengthening the independence of OIOS, Indonesia is of the view that it is the coordination functions of the Office, rather than its independence, that must be strengthened in the interest of promoting the accountability and transparency of the OIOS. Finally therefore, it is obvious that the reform process will have implications for The Charter, in terms of necessary amendments. Once States give their consent to structural changes in the United Nations, it is important that all those changes are immediately reflected in The Charter. I thank you, Mr. Facilitator.
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