Mr. Chairman,
Please allow me, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, to extend to
you our warmest congratulations on your election as Chairman of the Third
Committee. We are confident that your personal and professional experience
will guarantee the success of our work. I would also like to congratulate
the other members of the Bureau. And I assure you, Mr. Chairman of our
full support and cooperation in order to guarantee the success of the
work of the Committee during the 59th session. And I take this opportunity
to thank the Secretariat for their comprehensive presentation of the
Secretary-General's reports.
Mr. Chairman,
The commitments made by heads of State and Government at the World Summit
for Social Development, contained in the Copenhagen Declaration and the
Programme of Action, for the eradication of poverty, achieving full and
productive employment and enhancing social integration, has been the
cornerstone for a new consensus to place people at the centre of development
policies and placed them at the centre of development efforts. The General
Assembly at its twenty-fourth special session sought to achieve social
development for all through taking further initiatives in this regard.
Despite the efforts made and the progress achieved in some areas of
economic and social development, they do not fulfill the spirit of the
text adopted by States in the WSSD and the 24th Special Session of the
General Assembly. Vast sectors of our societies, in particular in the
developing and the least developed countries, are still facing a serious
challenge, due to serious financial crises, insecurity, poverty, unemployment,
inequality in income growth, and the spread of deadly diseases like AIDS.
The Group of 77 and China is convinced that achieving social development,
or the movement towards equitable societies with equal rights and equal
opportunities, continues to be characterized by a gap between intentions
and actions, between proclaimed objectives and the actual orientation
of national and international policies. Adopting policies that focus
solely on people, is still extremely unrealistic. We are confident that
the issue of achieving progress in the realization of long-term goals
also requires supportive and coherent economic policies at the national
and international levels.
Mr. Chairman,
Achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including those
contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, demands a new
partnership between developed and developing countries, following sound
policies, establishing good governance at all levels, guaranteeing the
rule of law, mobilizing resources, attracting international financial
flows, promoting international trade as an engine for development, increasing
international and financial cooperation for development, sustainable
debt financing and external debt relief and enhancing the coherence and
consistency of the international monetary, financial and trading systems.
The Group of 77 and China, therefore, urges developed countries to make
concrete efforts towards achieving the target of providing 0.7 per cent
of their gross national product as official development assistance to
developing countries and from 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of their gross national
product as official development assistance to least developed countries.
The Group of 77 and China would also like to reiterate its support of
the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and calls on the
developed countries and the United Nations system to support this partnership
and complement the efforts undertaken by Africa to overcome the challenges
of sustainable development.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group of 77 and China is completely convinced that while social
development is a national responsibility in the first place, it cannot
be successfully achieved without the collective commitment and joined
efforts of the international community and within the framework of full
respect for national Sovereignty and religious and cultural diversity
of different societies.
It is appropriate, in the context of preparing and arranging for the
various reviews and events that will take place in the United Nations
in 2005, especially the 10-year review of the outcome of the World Summit
on Social Development and the review of and the 24th Special Session
of the General Assembly to stress the need:
a) to fully and extensively assess the implementation of the ten commitments
adopted at Copenhagen in 1995, the further initiatives adopted at the
24th session of the General Assembly, all major UN events and the Millennium
Declaration.
(b) to establish a real dialogue for strengthening and advancing North-South
partnership within the intergovernmental bodies that entails a comprehensive
assessment of the development obstacles encountered by countries, particularly
developing countries and Least Developed Countries.
(c) to address the negative impact of globalization on social and economic
development particularly in developing countries and Least Developed
Countries.
Mr. Chairman,
The critical situation in which many older persons live throughout most
of the developing world makes urgent the need to work towards the promotion
and protection of their civil political, economic, social and cultural
rights. The challenges older persons face need to be addressed from a
realistic perspective, in order to ensure their full participation in
society. They need to be supported and encouraged in accordance with
the provisions of the Madrid Plan of Action. As developing countries,
the Group of 77 and China are fully prepared to share our part of responsibility
by implementing the Madrid Plan of Action and providing the public sector
a pivotal role to play in this process. I would like to take this opportunity
to call on our development partners to intensify international cooperation
for the effective implementation of the provisions of the Madrid Plan
of Action and for the promotion of social development.
I thank you.
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