STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR BYRON BLAKE, DEPUTY-PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE, PERMANENT MISSION OF JAMAICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA, IN THE GENERAL SEGMENT ON FOLLOW-UP TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT (New York, 19 th July, 2005)

Mr. President,

The Group of 77 and China is most pleased to participate in this general segment on the Follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development.

The discussions in the various segments over the past three weeks confirm that the lack of financial resources has been the major handicap in the implementation of the decisions of the major United Nations Conferences and Summits and in the achievement of their objectives. It has also constrained the ability of institutions to work in a coordinated and integrated manner. There was an underlying feeling that a breakthrough in the areas of Financing for Development as agreed in the Monterrey Consensus would be vital for a successful High-Level Plenary Meeting at the General Assembly in September 2005. The Group 77 and China made a number of specific proposals for action in the areas of domestic financial resources, international trade, international financial and technical cooperation, external debt and in addressing systemic issues to enhance coherence and to promote a better policy framework for development cooperation.

Mr. President,

Since the discussions at the end of June the G-8 has had its Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. The results are being studied by the G-77 and China, but there are some encouraging signs. The G-77 and China is encouraged inter alia, by:

  • The recognition that there is a global development challenge facing the world as a whole which will require financing from a range of sources;

  • The justifiable focus on the urgent need of Africa while acknowledging that this is not exclusive;

  • The acceptance that developing countries need to decide, plan and sequence their economic policies to fit their own development strategies;

  • The recognition that in addition to other resources, a substantial increase in official development assistance (ODA) is required to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration;

  • The commitment to double the 2004 level of ODA generally and to Africa by 2010;

  • The establishment of firm timetables by the European Union for its older Member States to achieve the 0.7 percent of GNP to ODA by 2015;

  • The agreement to cancel 100 percent of the outstanding debt of some Highly Indebted Poor Countries to the IMF, IDA and the African Development Fund and to provide additional resources to ensure that the financing capacity of the institutions is not reduced; also

  • The agreement to monitor commitments and to enhance aid effectiveness including through untying of aid, and timely and predictable disbursement.

The above measures should provide a basis for further discussions as the international community prepares for the High-Level Plenary Meeting to review the United Nations Conference and Summits including the Monterrey Conference.

Mr. President,

The G-77 and China still has some concerns however in light of its own proposals for urgent and comprehensive action on the development issue. These include:

  • The process for broadening the agreements of the G-8 into commitments of the United Nations through the High-Level Plenary meeting in September 2005 to ensure wider applicability;

  • The process for managing the delivery of ODA and the extent of involvement of multilateral institutions;

  • The implied conditionality and selectivity inherent in the “eligible” Heavily Indebted Poor Countries which exclude 50 percent of the objectively classified Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and the statement that “substantial extra resources will be focussed on countries where they will make a difference…”, countries, “which are committed to growth and poverty reduction, to democratic, accountable and transparent government, and to sound public financing management…” The G-77 and China has consistency maintained that political conditionalities should be excluded in the allocation of Aid;

  • The treatment of other countries with special needs such as the LDCs, LLDCs and the SIDS, many of which are not in Africa; and

  • The treatment of the systemic issues.

The G-77 and China is encouraged by the call for a successful WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong in light of the potential role of export trade in providing resources for development. The process for converting the message into positive action is however not clear.

Mr. President,

The G-77 and China reiterates that, through the continued mobilisation of internal resources and through South/South cooperation including through trade, investment and technical cooperation, it is prepared to continue to make its contribution to financing development in the South.

Closing

 Mr. President,

The G-77 and China looks forward to a new approach in the negotiations for the outcomes of the High-Level Plenary Meeting.