CHAIR OF THE COORDINATING BUREAU OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR RODRIGO MALMIERCA D&, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CUBA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON BEHALF OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT, AT THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON SECRETARIAT REFORM NEW YO=, 16 F E B R U ~ O O ~ Madame President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General, Madame President I would like to thank you for convening this meeting. I reiterate the Non-Aligned Movement's support to your presidency. Once again, I have the high honor to address the General Assembly on behalf of the 118 Member States of the Non-Aligned Movement. As we did last 5 February, I would like to reiterate our Movement's steadfast support of and constructive cooperation with the work that Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has been carrying out. We appreciate, in particular, the way in which the Secretary-General and his team have been conducting this critical process of trying to strengthen our Organization's Secretariat and make it more effective and efficient. The Non-Aligned Movement expresses their sincere thanks to the Secretary-General for standing before this Assembly to further clarify the objective that he wants to achieve with these reforms. The two new non-papers issued by the Secretary-General will be a basis for Member States' consideration of the merits of these proposed restructuring of DDA and DPKO. Excellencies, allow me to briefly refer to the proposals that the Secretaly-General has presented to the Member States for their consideration, which as we all agree will follow the established intergovernmental legislative process, including the involvement of the General Assembly, the Fifth Committee, the ACABQ and the C34. With regards to the DPKO's proposed realignment, being the major contributor providing more than 80% of troops to United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, the Non-Aligned Movement stresses that any proposed changes should enhance the safety and security of United Nations personnel in the field, and there is a need to ensure that all actions promote security and unity of command. The Non-Aligned Movement is ready to continue to discuss the Secretary-General's proposal on restructuring the Department of Peacekeeping Operations within the framework of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C34), as the only United Nations forum mandated to review comprehensively the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects, and as has been historically done in the context of reform. To that end, NAM would like to seek a detailed explanation of the proposal to be submitted to the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations ((234). We also wish to emphasize our commitment and readiness to ensure a positive outcome, which would address the peacekeeping challenges. Madame President, NAM reaffirms the central role and primary responsibility of the United Nations in the field of disarmament and stresses that any restructuring of DDA should seek to enhance the implementation of the mandates in the field of disarmament, as legislated by the General Assembly. Our Movement strongly supports the intention of the Secretary-General to make the issue of disarmament an integral part of the policy decision-making process at the highest level, and takes note of his proposal to constitute the Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA) as an office with a direct line to him, thus ensuring access and more frequent interaction. We continue to believe that it is extremely important that the DDA remains an independent department, headed by an Under Secretary-General (USG). This would contribute to a large extent to the objective of securing the full implementation of the essential mandates of this department through a high-level commitment and appropriate institutional support. Our Movement is convinced that a DDA, headed by a USG, under direct supervision of the Secretary-General, would convey a clear and firm message to the international community on the need for more focused effort and determined leadership at the highest levels to revitalize the disarmament agenda. In this regard, the Non-Aligned Movement welcomes with appreciation the decision by the Secretary-General of appointing an Under Secretary- General as the head of the DDA. Madame President, In light of the new developments, the NAM Working Groups for Disarmament and International Security and for Peacekeeping Operations respectively will continue to work hard to deliver in the shortest possible time a coherent and high-quality response from the Movement to the proposals put forth by the Secretary-General. In conclusion, the Non-Aligned Movement reiterates its firm support and committed cooperation in this endeavor for change led by the Secreta~y-General and in his work at the helm of the United Nations. Again, we ratify our full confidence in his understanding, patience, wisdom and proven leadership. Thank you very much.