Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you, Mr President.
I am pleased to deliver this statement today on behalf of Australia, Canada, and my own country, New Zealand.
On behalf of CANZ, I would like to congratulate the co-chairs on their appointment to the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly.
CANZ warmly acknowledges Ambassador González of El Salvador, on her reappointment and we welcome the experience and continuity you will bring to the role.
We are pleased at the recent appointment of Ambassador Fifield of Australia, who has ably represented CANZ at GA revitalisation negotiations. No doubt the Working Group will benefit from your fresh insights and enthusiasm for the role, Ambassador.
The Working Group’s efforts to improve the General Assembly’s efficiency and effectiveness, including streamlining and rationalising its agenda, are more relevant than ever.
CANZ welcomes the practical and concrete progress made by the Working Group in the last session. This includes a decision to biennialise the resolution so the General Assembly can focus on implementation the following year.
We also welcome the decision to bring forward the start of the next General Assembly session to allow more time for the incoming PGA to prepare for the busiest event of the session. Finally, our delegations welcome the new commitments to increase women’s representation in high-level meetings of the General Assembly, including achieving gender parity among invited speakers and panellists.
While we have made significant progress in the revitalization agenda for the past session, it is now incumbent on all delegations to ensure that during this session of the Working Group, we focus on implementing these measures effectively and without delay.
Australia, Canada and New Zealand look forward to working with all delegations in this session to advance the ambitious commitments contained in the most recent revitalization resolution, as well as build on the work from previous texts.
Thank you.