'We need greater transparency, accountability,' Member States told at debate

In his address to the annual joint debate on Assembly revitalization, Lykketoft said that a recent resolution had mandated the Ad hoc Working Group on the issue to continue its work during this 70th session.

The Assembly President explained that the Working Group focused on four thematic clusters that identified ways to improve the General Assembly, in compliance with its mandate.

Firstly, Lykketoft said that the Working Group assessed the role and authority of the Assembly and encouraged the implementation of resolutions and reaffirmed the relationship between the principle organs of the UN.

“I am working to increase cooperation, coordination and exchange of information with the presidents of the principal organs and the Secretary-General. Indeed, only two weeks ago, I briefed the Security Council during its open debate on working methods, an exercise which I feel was beneficial to both Organs,” said Lykketoft.

Secondly, the President noted that the Group focused on the working methods of the General Assembly and reported that significant progress has been made through the sharing of best practices and lessons learned between the Main Committees.

“I have met with each of the chairs of the [Assembly's] six Main Committees, and we have until now had one meeting with the General Committee where we discussed issues of common interest, including the streamlining of the agenda of the General Assembly in light of the 2030 agenda and the need to efficiently manage time in the work of the Committees – a further meeting will be held in November,” stated Lykketoft.

He added that he will convene an informal meeting on enhancing cooperation between permanent missions and the Secretariat during the ongoing session.

Lykketoft said that the third cluster focused by the Working Group relates to the selection and appointment of the next UN Secretary General and added that Assembly resolution 69/321 provides clear guidance as to the way forward on this issue.

“In this regard, I and the President of the Security Council will circulate a joint letter to the membership inviting candidates to be presented in a timely manner and describing the entire process,” he explained, adding that the resolution also the inclusion and consideration of female candidates will go a long way to ensure that the position is filled by the best candidate.

He went on to note that the final cluster consider considered by the Working Group relates to the running of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, a matter which has taken on even greater significance given “recent events” relating to the President of the 68th session, referring to John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda, who was recently arrested on charges of corruption.

“The primary role of the President and his or her Office continues to be to officiate the meetings of the General Assembly but in reality, the work of the Office is much more extensive and includes the fulfilment of mandates set down in multiple GA resolutions,” Lykketoft remarked.

“Transparency, however, is also a matter for each and every President and from the outset I have taken a number of steps to support this objective including by carrying out regular press briefings or providing information on the staffing of my office,” he added.

He stressed that the Presidency is not just a great honour but a “considerable responsibility” as it requires an adequately staffed office that needs to be run effectively while adhering to the highest standards of ethics and governance.

“Like any institution, however, there is always scope for improvement and this, I believe, should be considered in further detail as a matter of priority by the Ad-hoc Working Group on GA Revitalization,” said Lykketoft.

Lykketoft also vowed that each staff member at the Office of the President of General Assembly, himself included, will ensure to uphold integrity and impartiality, transparency and accountability and professionalism and effectiveness in all its work throughout the session.

In his remarks, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also called for greater transparency and accountability following the allegations against Mr. Ashe, “ a serious matter which strikes at the prestige and reputation of this General Assembly.”

Reiterating his shock at the “very serious allegations against the former Assembly President, Mr. Ban emphasized that the Assembly must learn from the incident and act with resolve.

“It is critical to learn from any unfortunate incident or terrible event. Member States must now improve the functioning of the Office of the President of the General Assembly to make it more robustly organized, including the budget supporting the President's activities,” said Ban.

He stressed on the upholding the highest level of integrity and ethical standards throughout the UN and added that he has taken note of the intent of the United States Attorney to get to the bottom of the very serious allegations about the propriety of the conduct of the former Assembly President.

Ban noted that in order to address the issues raised, he has requested an internal audit by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) of the interactions between the UN and the entities mentioned in the criminal complaint.

He also added that OIOS had been asked to audit any funds received from these entities, as well as any funds disbursed by the UN to them and to determine whether, during the course of the audit, any other matters arise that merit further audit.

Further, the Secretary-General said that he had established an internal Task Force, chaired by the Chef de Cabinet, to review the arrangements for the Office's financing and staffing.

“I have also requested the heads of UN entities mentioned in the criminal complaint that may have engaged with the entities involved in the criminal complaint, to advise me about what they are doing to look into the matter,” said Ban.

Regarding the revitalization of the General Assembly, Ban said that he welcomed the Assembly's initiatives to involve more stakeholders on issues of critical importance to the international community.

“Informal interactive thematic debates now include civil society and others whose voices and actions can add great value to our work,” noted Ban.

“These advances show us the wide-ranging scope of this agenda item, which encompasses the role and authority of the General Assembly, its working methods, and the institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly,” he added.

UN Photo/Cia Pak