STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR JUNE A. PERSAUD OF THE DELEGATION OF GUYANA ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA ON AGENDA ITEM 3: PREPARATIONS OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, IN THE COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT ACTING AS THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR THE REVIEW AND APPRAISAL OF THE IMPLEMENTAITON OF THE PROGRAMME OF ACTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

New York, 24 March 1999

Mr. Chairman,

As I take the floor on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I would wish to first recognise the important contribution which the preceding distinguished speakers have just made through their remarks to us. Certainly their comments and observations have served as an instructive and useful start to the debate and discussion which now follows. I would also wish to extend to the newly elected Bureau and to you, Mr. Chairman, our congratulations on your election to your new posts. In the many tasks which lie ahead, and in the work which you will undertake on our behalf, you are assured of the fullest cooperation and support of the Group.

The process in which this Preparatory Committee is now engaged, Mr. Chairman, is of critical importance to the successful outcome of the Special Session of the General Assembly for the review and appraisal of the ICPD Programme of Action. It is a process to which the Group of 77 and China is fully committed, and in which the Group intends to participate with seriousness and purpose. The ICPD Programme of Action should guide our focus, and as the PrepCom, we should begin to assess, with realism and clarity, the progress which has been made in implementing the goals and objectives of the Programme, as it was negotiated and agreed, five years ago in Cairo. If we are to map out an effective plan for promoting and accelerating the implementation of the Programme of Action, our review must of necessity be all encompassing, and must target for scrutiny the obstacles which have slowed or impeded implementation thus far.

As we joined in Cairo, Mr. Chairman, to speak with one voice through the Programme of Action, so too must we now join in partnership in this process of review and of planning for the full achievement of the goals which we set ourselves. As the Group of 77 and China, we recognize that for developing counties one of the major impediments to optimum implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action remains the reality of insufficient resource flows. The ICPD specified the extent of the financial resources, both domestic and external, necessary for the implementation of the Programme of Action. Our review will assess the shortfalls, and the alarming overall trend towards a decrease in the flow of external resources, to the extent that the projected Cairo target of 5.7 billion for external resources in the year 2000, is expected to fall short by 3.8 billion. (In effect, only 33% of the target will be met.) Given this reality, the negative implications for Cairo commitments for subsequent years (for the projected 7.2 billion in 2015 for example are of major concern. That having been said, Mr. Chairman, it should also be noted that within developing countries there is a noticeably more positive trend in the effort to meet projections for the utilization of domestic resources.

Mr. Chairman,

Cairo recognised adequate financial resources as an important underpinning of the goals and objectives of the entire Programme of Action. As we conduct our review five years after Cairo, it should be readily acknowledged that the paucity of resources has had an impact on the peace and efficiency of implementation. In the area of basic education for all children, boys and girls, just to name one example, we believe that sufficient support and resources for developing countries could result in achievement of access for all to basic education much before the 2015 target set in Cairo. A more immediate time frame is crucial to the entire process of sustainable development and we believe that more focused collaboration and resource support, could promote a much earlier and much need achievement of this goal. These objectives, Mr. Chairman, can be applied equally to all of the major objectives set forth in the programme.

Though time will not now permit an elaboration of our position on every aspect of the ICPD Programme of Action over the next days, the G-77 and China will make explicit its views on the progress achieved thus far in implementation of the goals of the Programme. It is our expectation that the process will be enriched by our continued commitment to those goals and to the partnership through which our targets can become reality. The membership of the G-77 and China intends to participate as fully as possible in the work of the PrepCom, and believes that inclusion of the views expressed by member states in this general debate in the final document or outcome is of great importance. Moreover, our participation and ultimately the process in which we are engaged, we believe be significantly enhanced by a meeting schedule which would allow particularly the small delegations to attend sessions of both the Plenary and the Working Group of the whole.

Mr. Chairman,

Under your able guidance, we anticipate a constructive start to this review process, and look forward to working with other partners in the continued promotion of the goals and objectives of the Cairo Programme of Action.

Thank you.