Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese delegation would like to thank the Controller, Mr. Jun Yamazaki and the Chairperson of the ACABQ, Ms. Susan McLurg, for introducing the reports of the Secretary-General and the Committee respectively. While associating itself with the statement made by the representative of Yemen on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, my delegation would like to make the following observations:

First, my delegation has noted that the total amount of peacekeeping budget is projected to increase from $5 billion in 2005/06 to nearly $8.4 billion in 2010/11, which is a rise of 65%. For the same period, the support account budget will register an increase of 110% from $150 million to $310 million (excluding the proposed budget for ERP). In our view, the increase of support account budget should be proportionate to the number and scale of peacekeeping operations. In providing support to peacekeeping operations, instead of relying heavily on additional resources, it is necessary to fully utilize information technology and improve operational process so as to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Secondly, we have noted that due to the limitations of the support account study done by the administration, the Board of Auditors was unable to meet the request of the ACABQ of making an analysis as to how the current usage and composition of the support account have come about and how they will evolve in the future. My delegation believes that such an analysis will help member states to consider support account budget in a systematic way, establish a fixed model for the staffing and budget level of peacekeeping support, and make a reasonable projection of the future development of the support account. We look forward to further studies by the Secretariat on the support account.

Thirdly, we welcome the presentation in the Secretary-General’s report of initiatives taken by operational divisions and offices for strengthening peacekeeping support. My delegation concurs with the recommendation of the ACABQ that the Support Account budget report should provide more information, including that related to progress of relevant initiatives, timeline, resource requirement and participating departments. The report proposed the establishment of a coordinating and planning group for Somalia and a headquarters support group for AMISOM. We support the Secretariat in strengthening backstopping for AMISOM according to the mandate given by the relevant Security Council resolutions. At the same time, we also want a clarification from the Secretariat on the structural framework of the above-mentioned groups and their relations with each other.

Fourthly, my delegation takes note of the fact that of the 39 new posts approved for the OMA, 38 have been filled. We hope that as a result of the implementation of the relevant measures, the OMA will enhance its capacity to provide strategic guidance and technical expertise and acquire a limited mission start-up and surge capacity. We have noted that in order to ensure the institutional continuity and stability of the OMA, the Secretary-General proposed to reclassify three seconded officer funded by the support account to civilian category. We are in favor of the proposal of the ACABQ that systemic continuation should be realized through the extension of the service time of seconded personnel and the utilization of information and communication technologies. We look forward to further analysis and clarification by the Secretariat.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.