EU Statement – UN General Assembly 5th Committee Second Resumed Session: Organisation of work
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Madame Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro*, Albania*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Georgia, as well as Armenia, Andorra, Monaco, and San Marino align themselves with this statement.
At the outset, allow me to pay tribute to the unwavering dedication, professionalism, and courage of all UN personnel—women and men, uniformed and civilian—who serve under the UN flag across the globe. In the face of growing uncertainty and deepening crises, their commitment stands as a powerful reminder of what multilateralism can achieve at its best. We honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty and reiterate our deep concern for the safety and security of peacekeepers in the field.
Madame Chair,
In these times of escalating geopolitical tensions and persistent humanitarian crises, UN peacekeeping operations remain a cornerstone of collective resolve and one of the most tangible expressions of international solidarity. It is our shared responsibility in the Fifth Committee to ensure that these operations remain agile, well-supported, and prepared to meet today’s challenges head-on. In doing so, we must continue to ground our work in the mandates established by the Security Council.
As the largest collective financial contributors to the United Nations, the European Union and its Member States remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering effective, efficient, and impactful peacekeeping. We are deeply concerned by the Organization’s ongoing liquidity constraints, which carry serious operational implications. A United Nations that is underfunded is inevitably constrained—and at a time of heightened global expectations for the UN to deliver, such limitations are simply untenable. We firmly support the UN80 Initiative and we are convinced that sustainable and predictable financing is indispensable for its successful implementation, as it became even more visible in the Field Trip of the Fifth Committee.
The deteriorating financial situation demands urgent and collective action. We therefore urge all Member States to meet their financial obligations to UN peacekeeping operations—in full, on time, and without conditions, as set out in the UN Charter.
Furthermore, we stand ready to engage constructively and without delay on practical and credible measures to strengthen the Organization’s liquidity and safeguard the stability of peacekeeping operations. Continued deferrals of payments are putting lives of peacekeepers in unnecessarily risk.
We recognize our responsibility to carefully and constructively examine the proposed revisions to the Financial Regulations and Rules, as well as those governing programme planning and the programme aspects of the budget. These are important to ensuring sound governance and financial resilience. We trust that the Committee will treat this work as a priority, with a view to reaching timely and meaningful agreement that strengthens the Organization’s financial footing.
In a context of heightened expectations and continued fiscal pressure, our deliberations must be guided by responsibility, pragmatism, and a shared determination to reinforce the effectiveness and credibility of the United Nations.
We also reiterate our strong support for performance-driven, cost-effective peacekeeping. In this context, we acknowledge the indispensable role of the UN Support Account, the UN Global Service Centre, and the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe. These operational backbones are essential to ensuring that peacekeeping missions can deliver efficiently. We encourage continued efforts to further strengthen these support structures, on which missions heavily rely. We welcome ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency in line with the UN80 Initiative and look forward to engaging on concrete ways to further reinforce support functions for peacekeeping operations.
We express our appreciation for the efforts undertaken by all peacekeeping entities to frame their budgets in the spirit of the UN80 Initiative, reflecting an equitable approach that takes into account the specificities of each mission and their respective operating contexts. We also welcome the Secretariat’s efforts to promote a culture of efficiency, as well as the work of all peacekeeping entities in identifying and advancing sustainable efficiencies.
Beyond budgetary oversight, the Fifth Committee plays a critical role in shaping the administrative and operational capacities of the Organization. The decisions we take in this room resonate far beyond it; they have direct and tangible consequences in the field. From advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda, to enhancing the safety of peacekeepers, reducing the environmental footprint of missions, promoting gender parity, safeguarding human rights, countering misinformation and corruption, and eliminating sexual exploitation and abuse. Each of these priorities requires sustained and focused engagement in our cross-cutting negotiations. In this session, we must give priority to addressing the protection from, and prevention of, sexual exploitation and abuse, making full and effective use of the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit review. This is an area where our collective credibility is at stake, and where decisive action is both necessary and expected of us.
Madame Chair,
We welcome the introduction of combined performance and budget reports, which represent a significant improvement in analytical value while ensuring greater cost-effectiveness. We emphasize that enhancing our working methods must remain a collective and continuous commitment, that should materialize in the concrete deliverables of the Committee’s work.
Madame Chair,
As the Secretary-General wisely said, “budgets at the United Nations are not just numbers on a balance sheet – they are a matter of life and death for millions around the world.”
Let us take on this responsibility with unity and ambition. Let us match our words with action, and our commitments with the resources required to fulfil them. In doing so, we can ensure that UN peacekeeping continues to stand as a symbol of hope, resilience, and shared humanity.
I thank you, Madame Chair.
- ^North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.