STATEMENT BY THE DELEGATION OF GUYANA, ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA, AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL SESSION OF THE SECOND PART OF THE RESUMED 53^RD SESSION OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

New York, 10 May 1999

Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

2. The Group of 77 and China would like to thank the bureau for preparing the proposed programme of work and the Fifth Committee secretariat for the note on the status of documentation for this resumed session. These two documents would facilitate our deliberations.

Mr. Chairman,

3. The Group of 77 and China stresses that the bureau while revising the programme of work should allocate adequate time to the following issues in order to conclude our work on them as a matter of priority, apart from peacekeeping issues such as the Support Account, C.O.E. reform, report of the Board of Auditors on peacekeeping operations, financing of peacekeeping operations including UNIFIL, and Logistics Base at Brindisi, which have been traditionally agenda items of this session:

• Development account
. The Group of 77 and China regrets that the reports dealing with the modalities and mechanisms for sustainability of the Development Account and the reformulation of projects have been delayed. This has consequently delayed the requisite reports of the ACABQ and consideration of the agenda item in this resumed session. We hope that all the reports would be issued soon.

• Procurement reform
. This item was deferred from the main part of the 53^rd session. The Group has submitted its proposals and looks forward to the adoption by the Committee.

Mr. Chairman,

4. The Group of 77 and China recalls General Assembly resolutions 52/214 B and 53/208 B and decision 52/471 regarding the format of reports to be submitted to the legislative bodies for consideration and action. The Group deeply regrets to note that a number of reports issued by the Secretariat and some expert bodies including ACABQ do not comply with the provisions of the decision of the General Assembly. We reiterate that the Secretariat and the expert bodies must fully comply with the decisions of the Assembly.

Mr. Chairman,

5. The Group of 77 and China would be reluctant to consider the reports which are not submitted in accordance with the six-week rule and the provisions of resolution 53/208 B in the future.

6. The Group of 77 and China would like to underscore the importance and need to respect the decision making process within the framework of both formal meetings and informal meetings in order to ensure the full transparency in the consideration of all agenda items.

7. In concluding, the Group of 77 and China would like to assure you once again of its full cooperation and readiness to engage constructively in the work of the Committee.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.