Madam Chair,

The Chinese delegation would like to thank Ms. Catherime Pollard, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, and Mr. Collen Kelapile, Vice Chairman of the ACABQ, for their respective presentations of the reports of the Secretary-General and the ACABQ.

According to the provisions of GA Res. 63/259, the current session of the GA will review the question of the salaries, pension and other conditions of service and compensation for officials other than Secretariat officials (ICJ, ICTR, ITY judges and ad litem judges). My delegation associates itself with the statement made by Yemen on behalf of G77 and China. On this item, I’d like to make the following observation:

We highly value the work of the ICJ and the two tribunals on Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. We believe that it is very important to ensure the effective carry-out of the work effectively of the ICJ and the two Tribunals and the smooth conclusion of the relevant trials of the two Tribunals by providing appropriate conditions of service for the judges and ad litem judges in accordance with the relevant provisions on their salaries and allowances as contained in the Statute of the ICJ and those of the two Tribunals.

As for the ad litem judges of the two Tribunals, we take note of the fact that their service is of a temporary and internitten nature for trials for a cumulative period of up to, but not including, three years, which means they are not entitled to pension fund. We also note that, in order to achieve the goals of the completion stragegy of the Tribunals, a policy of giving priority to the continuity in service of the ad litem judges was adopted. As such, by the time their respective cases will have been completed, the majority of ad litem judges of the Tribunals will have served to more than three years, in some cases reaching six to seven years. Given the significance of the completion strategy and unique nature of the services of the ad litem judges of the two Tribunals, we believe that due attention should be given by Member States to this issue so as to find an appropriate solution through careful consultation.

On retirement benefits of the judges of the ICJ and the two Tribunals, we hope that the Secretariat will continue its relevant review by taking advantage of the expertise of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund. We have noted the recommendation of the Pension Fund on forming a working group consisting of representatives of the OHRM, ICSC and the joint staff pension fund of the ICJ and the two Tribunals to carry out the review and we’d like to learn more about the feasibility of this recommendation and the coordination work between differen entities and department to be involved.

We have also noted that as requested by GA Res. 64/261, the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund made actuarial analysis on the possibility of granting pension benefits to the current ad litem judges of the two Tribunals, and it is estimated that if the benefits provided to the ad litem judges equal those enjoyed by the permanent judges of the two Tribunals, the total liability will reach $12 million. We hope to get further clarification in this regard from the Secretariat, including on the total liability for the permanent judges and the calculating methods used.

Thank you, Madam Chair.