AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to thank Ms. Maria Luiza Viotti, the Chef de Cabinet, and Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chairman of the ABABQ, for introducing their respective reports.

Mr. Chairman, the United States is a champion of improving the coherence, effectiveness, and efficiency of the UN system. We see the Secretary-General’s initiative to reform the UN’s peace and security architecture as a step toward that goal, and we are grateful for his efforts in seeking to enable more focused, effective and efficient UN operations that advance political solutions and address the needs of those on the ground.

The United States is supportive of the Secretary-General’s efforts to improve the coherence of peace operations by prioritizing conflict prevention, ensuring the primacy of political solutions, and aligning the peace and security pillar more closely with development, human rights, and humanitarian action. We believe that the Peacebuilding Support Office has a unique role to play in bridging the divides between the three pillars of the UN – peace and security, development, and human rights – and we support efforts to better integrate peacebuilding within the UN’s peace and security architecture.

Mr. Chairman, the United States believes that reform must ultimately make the UN more effective in preventing and responding to conflicts and advancing political solutions. In short, the United Nations must deliver results on the ground. As we consider this proposal, we will prioritize reforms that strengthen effective engagement in political processes and improve mandate implementation.

We are pleased that under the Secretary-General’s proposal, Assistant Secretaries-Generals will be empowered to look holistically at decision-making processes. We look forward to discussing how the Secretary-General plans to clearly establish roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines, and how best to promote integration between the thematic and regional pillars of the two proposed Departments. We will consider the proposed reporting lines, and look at the proper alignment of policy and operations.

In closing, we thank the Secretary-General for his efforts to enable stronger political strategies and more sustainable political solutions, and we look forward to discussing how this reorganization enables the UN to better plan, manage, support, and transition missions in the field. We also look forward to working closely and constructively with all delegations in considering this proposal. Thank you.