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PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA TO THE UNITED NATIONS

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Statement
by

Mr. George Talbot Charg6 d' affaires a.i.
ON BEHALF OF THE RIO GROUP at the Resumed Session of the Fifth Committee MARCH 6 20,o,6

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Mr. Chairman, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Member Statesof the Rio Group: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, panama, Paraguay, Pgl.r, Uruguay and Venezuela.The Rio Group associatesiiself with the statementdeliveredby the DistinguishedRepresentative South Africa on behalf of the of Group of 77 and China. We resume the work of the Fifth Committeeat a time of ongoing reform of the United Nations. We have approved the budget for the current bi"rinirr* and the SecretaryGeneral will shortly report on the t"tri"* of mandates and Secretariatand Managementreform. The agendarevealsthe range and gravity of issuesthat require continued negotiations.The needto do so in a traniputerrt u.rd inclusivemanner should be a minimum standardto guide further deliberations.In this regard,our Group, which counts small delegationswithin its membership, is "orr..rned about being able to participateeffectivelyin parallel meetingsand pro."rr.r. Mr. Chairman, The Rio Group attachesparticular importance to ensuring that the organization is oriented to function as an efficient *od"rn entity in acford with its Charter responsibilities in contemporary circumstances. Accbrdingly, the Rio Groupr is committed to active collaborationwith other delegations the-iiems on our agendato on assurethe achievement theseobjectives. of ,: r The approved budget for the zoo6 - 2oo7 biennium reflects the number and importance of the priorities and mandates of the organization. Its approval entails efficient mechanismsand procedures in the utilization of resourc", urh^.o.rf"r* "p;; this Committee a responsibilityto assureenhancedaccountability.The shared interest of Member Statesin the achievementof these goals will require"our continued inputs and strong support in this area. Mr. Chairman, Our countriesseethe financial health of the Organizationas essential allow it to to fully accomplishits mandate.In honouring the cleai obligation Member Statesbear to provide the finances that will enablethe olganization to"implement its progril;; budget, the countries of the believJsthat real .upuiity to pay remains the pivotal consideration in lio _Groupthe scale of assessments of members. finalizing Notwithstanding urgent social demands and domestic budget difficulties in many instances, our countries have exerted maximum efforts t" fulfill their financiai obligationsto the Organization. We thereforeencourage member rtui", to ftriue,q'a all fulfill their obligationswithout conditions. _In regard to the reftrrbishmentof the Headquarters,it is important to proceed with the implementation of the designand pre-constiuctionphaseof the CapitafMaster

Plan. While scoperemainsto avail ourselves the full benefit of further analysisof the of relative advantages the possibleoptions, the Group has taken note of the preference of of the Secretariat the fourth straGgy - executionof the project by stages.O"r d;; for will continue to take an active interest in advancing disc.,riio.rr-related the Capitai MasterPlan. Mr. Chairman, The United Nations attracts the spotlight of international media for perceived weaknesses its managementpractices.The Group welcomesthe implemeritation of in measuresaimed at increasing efficiency and effectivenessin the implementation of programmes and the related utilization of resourcesin all aspectsof the work of the organization. We urge continued efforts to improve the management practices and, procedures within the Organisationin order to better equip it to uchie"ettie purposesof its founding Charter. In this regard, we commend the endeavoursof thb Sbcretary General, especial_ly improving the system of accountability and the integrity und in transparencyof the administration of justice within the UN system.We believethat in concert with the expert bodies - ACABQ which must retain its place and function dsan independent adviserbgdy of the GeneralAssemblyand a CPC strengthenedto executb its distinctive role in the review of UN programmes - there is much promise of fult success. " Mr. Chairman, The Rio Group remains committed to collaboratewith colleagues and to advance more specificproposalsin the negotiationson the various items to achieveour common objectives.We encourage the bureau to allocateappropriatetime for the consideration of all agendaitems. Having regardto recurrent diffrcultiesin relation to d,ocumentation, we also wish to stressthe importance of the timely provision of all documentationto enab-le delegations to undertake the requisite analysis of important issues. In concluditg, we wish to assure that we will be always in a spirit- of trying to reach consensus and preparedto negotiatebasedon the interestsof the Group. Thank you.