STATEMENT
BY
MR. ANTHONY ANDANJE,
PRINCIPAL COUNSELLOR,
PERMANENT MISSION OF KENYA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
ON
AGENDA ITEM 133: “PATTERN OF CONFERENCES”

Monday, September 10, 2007
United Nations


Mr. Chairman,

I would like, at the very outset, to thank Mr. Shaaban M. Shaaban, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, for introducing the report on Pattern of Conferences: A/62/161.

My delegation attaches great importance to the work of the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management. As host of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), our engagement with the Department takes on even greater significance. Obviously, we appreciate the fact that the Department works under several constraints considering that much of its work depends on other bodies.

Mr. Chairman,

My delegation notes with appreciation that the Department of Conference Management has provided us with a Compendium of Administrative Policies, Practices and Procedures of Conference Services. We believe this is an invaluable document that should serve as a template for the ongoing process of strengthening of co-ordination of United Nations Activities in the area of Conference Services at the four duty stations. The effort is timely.

More substantively, my delegation appreciates the ongoing global information technology initiative and in particular the efforts being made to co-ordinate, streamline and standardize conferences processes across the four duty stations. Additionally, we welcome the efforts made to increase the utilization of conference facilities at UN duty stations especially at United Nations Office at Nairobi. The projections indicated in the meeting statistics are encouraging. Nevertheless, the Secretariat should endeavour to ensure the increased use of conference facilities at UNON. Long-term sustainability should be the goal.

Mr. Chairman,

My delegation commends the Secretary-General for the efforts so far undertaken to increase the utilization and more efficient use of the facilities at the Conference Centre at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). We urge the ECA to continue collaborating with UNON in the area of service provision. The two organizations need to make more meaningful use of the agreement between them with special focus on best practices, and sharing of interpretation and information technology services as outlined in the Secretary-General’s Report.

Mr. Chairman,

At this stage, those are some of the observations I thought I could share with other delegations. I intend to contribute substantively in the formal deliberations.

Thank you!