KUALA LUMPUR: The United Nations (UN) must uphold the principle of transparency and accountability as it emphasises on revitalising the work of the General Assembly to enhance overall effectiveness of the UN, urged Asean.
Speaking on behalf of Asean at the plenary meeting on the Revitalisation of the Work of the General Assembly in United Nations in New York on Friday, Representative of Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the UN Khairi Omar stated that Asean recognises the primacy of the General Assembly as the chief deliberative, policy-making and most representative organ of the United Nations.
He said as a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues, revitalising the General Assembly is key to enhancing the overall effectiveness of the UN, bringing more credibility, representation and dynamism to global policy-making in the UN system.
He also underscored Asean's commitment to strengthening the revitalisation process and to work with other member states towards it.
"As we strive to address common challenges through reinvigorated multilateralism, a revitalised General Assembly is vital to deliberate urgent global issues such as climate change and global health crises.
"With bold reforms and renewed commitments, we can restore the centrality of the General Assembly in global governance," he said.
Towards enhancing the role, effectiveness, and efficiency of the Assembly, Asean has, among others, expressed its support for gender parity and geographical balance in inter-governmental processes.
The regional bloc also reiterated the call to encourage nomination of women candidates for the positions of the UN Secretary General and other executive heads, adding that nominations for such positions should strive to achieve balance in gender and geographical representation.
The Ambassador also highlighted the "tradition" of the First Committee of not disclosing the name of Member States that requested votes, in spite of requests by other Member States, stressing that such practice is inconsistent with the UN's principles of transparency and openness, which are crucial to building trust and confidence.
"Asean notes that Rules 87 and 127 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly merely provide that a recorded vote may be requested by any representative, as such Member States have no way of determining the veracity of such a call if they are unable to know which representative has made it.
"In this regard, Asean underlines the importance of upholding the principles of transparency and accountability across all main committees. This should include a standardised practice on disclosing information on Member States who call for a vote on paragraphs and draft resolutions," he said.
On the live webcasting of various meetings at the UN which contributes towards improving transparency and accountability, Khairi said this must be held in line with important principles such as respect for privacy and dignity which would be violated through the displaying of inappropriate photographic or video footage during deliberations, especially when they are being broadcasted to the public.
'We sincerely hope that appropriate steps will be considered and taken by the General Assembly to help prevent and deal effectively with such actions in the future in order to safeguard the dignity and decorum of this august body," he said. – BERNAMA