Thematic Debate on Strengthening of the accountability, transparency and institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly

Thursday, 23 January 2025

Trusteeship Council Chamber

Thank you, Co-Chairs, for convening this thematic debate and also for your able leadership of the Ad-Hoc Working Group.

We appreciate this discussion with President Yang and the membership over the activity of the Office of the President, as an essential element towards further enhance the role, authority, effectiveness and efficiency of the General Assembly.

Albania aligned with the statement of the European Union and the statement delivered by Mexico and in national capacity I would like to add few remarks:

1. The President of the General Assembly is integral to the effective and efficient functioning of the United Nations as a whole and today we reiterate our strong support to strengthening the accountability, transparency and the institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly.
2. While the role and responsibility have evolved in line with the enlarged activities that OPGA is expected to do, we believe that having an adequately staffed and funded OPGA is essential for the President to fulfil his role and mandate. The President should enjoy a solid organizational back up by the Secretariat as well as support from Member States, which are indispensable for strengthening the capacity of the OPGA, while at the same time we expect transparency in order to maintain accountability and integrity of the office.
3. We welcome the initiatives undertaken by President Yang to increase cooperation, coordination and exchange of information with other presidents of the principal organs and the UN Secretary-General and encourage further engagement in that direction.
4. On the institutional memory, further steps need to be taken to consolidate a system in place, to make sure that lessons and expertise, do not get lost, when there is a changeover in staff as the turnover rate in the Office of the President remains high.
5. Last but not least, on gender equality -despite the United Nations’ unwavering commitment on this topic, statistics speak for themselves.  With only four women as President of the General Assembly, this glaring disparity signals a need for change, not because of lack of leadership of the current President or his predecessors. Indeed, we commend President Yang for his strong commitment towards gender equality in the composition of his team. Advancing gender equality in leadership, particularly the promotion of women to high-ranking positions, including that of President of the General Assembly, is a call for action to us, Member States, by ensuring that gender equality becomes a reality and not just an aspiration. Let us remember that inclusivity in leadership is not just a matter of fairness but a strategic imperative to strengthen the United Nations’ capacity to serve its people.

To conclude, we look forward to cooperating with all Member States and support co-Chairs’ work towards an ambitious and consensus outcome during the upcoming negotiations on the biannual resolution.

Thank you.