AUSTRALIAN MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS AUSTRALIAN MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS

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Assembly: FifthGommittee UnitedNationsGeneral
9 June2006

Mission of ftem 151. Financing the UnitedNations in the Sudan
by Statement PeterStone Attach6 to Missionof Australia the UnitedNations Permanent Australiaand New Zealand On behalfof Canada,
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M r. C h a i rma n , of I have the honourto speak today on behalfof the delegations Canada,New the Controller,Mr. Warren Zealand and Australia. Let me begin by thanking the Sach and the Chairof the ACABQ,Mr. RajatSaha for introducing respective Missionin the Sudan. on reports the budgetfor the UnitedNations M r . C h a i rma n , the At the outset,we would like to thank the personnelof the Secretariat, UN countriesand membersof AMIS for troop contributing funds and programmes, effortsto securea lastingpeaceand alleviate to their contribution the continuing in n t h e d i ffi cu lh u ma n i ta ri as ituation Sudan. t Progressin the region has been made with the signing of the Abuja Peace Agreementlast month and the subsequentdeploymentof the UN Technical Assessment Mission to Darfur. An expansion of UNMIS could see the soon. We urge budgetfor the Missionrelatively a Committee considering revised gainedover the last year duringthe initial to the Secretariat use the experience of set-up phase of UNMIS in its preparation any revisedestimates. We also possibleexpansionof the Mission is taken into consideration in hope that the decisions. and ongoingrecruitment management

-2The size of the UNMISbudget,now exceeding US$1 billion, reflects the scaleof the mission,both in its geography and complexity.We would like to thank the Secretariat the detailedbudget before us, and thank the ACABQ for their for thoroughanalysis and recommendations, whichwe generally with agree. The expectedlong term natureof the missionservesto highlight the importance of full integration all UN actors in Sudan. The successof the missionwill of policeand civilian dependon the coordination military, of aspectsof the mission w i th A MIS , th e A fri ca nU nion,the gover nment Sudan,OCHA, UN funds and of p r o g ra mme a n d N GOs. s ln this regard,we welcomethe details providedin the budget on the progress made in implementing unifiedworkplanand the description respective a of roles of UNMIS and variousUN agencies. We encourage the SecretaryGeneralto continueto pursueand formalise conceptof integrated the missionpartnerships, a n d fi n a l i sed o ctri n ep o l i cies , and guidelines gover nnot only UNMIS,but al l to p e a ce ke e p i nmi ssi o n s. g MrChairman, CANZ joins the ACABQ in welcomingthe effortsof the missionto implement results based budgeting to record the progress made on performance by programmemanagers. In a missionof this size and complexity, is essential it that clear linesof responsibility accountability established ensurethat and are to UNMIScan effectively efficiently and achieveits mandate. Of some concernto our delegationsis the difficulty experiencedin recruiting staff,both national and international, a timelymanner. We supportthe use of in nationalstaff in peacekeeping missions where possible, it plays an important as role in capacitybuilding and transferof skillsto the local population.We would be interestedto hear from the Secretariat its strategies improverecruitment on to processes, particularly faced with a requestto expandthe mission,and look if forwardto a significant declinein vacancyrates. We welcome the savingsachievedthrough the use of water based transport ratherthan air, and encourage missionto continue explorealternatives the to to ensurethe most efficient use of resources.We also urge the Secretary General to continueto explorethe possibility sharingaircraft of with other missionsin the r e gi o n . MrChairman, U N MIS co n ti n u e s fa ce many challenges. The UN TechnicalAsses s m ent to Missioncurrently Dadur may presentadditional in challenges.CANZ would like to take this opportunity pledge our full supportto ensuringUNMIS has the to necessaryresourcesand structuresto meet its objectivesnow and throughout the lifeof the mission. T h a n kvo u .