Mr. President,
Excellencies
and Distinguished Delegates,
On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I would like to thank the Secretary-General
for comprehensive and useful reports provided under agenda items 45 and
55, which are contained in documents A/59/282, A/59/224 and A/59/545
respectively.
The issues dealt with in the two substantive reports highlight the
main aspirations of all nations in the areas of development, the environment,
peace and security, the humanitarian needs, human rights and special
concerns of various countries. Our leaders agreed upon some common goals
which have been clearly articulated in the outcome documents of various
UN conferences and summits including the Millennium Summit. And all our
leaders agreed that those common goals must be achieved.
Regrettably, the report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration
points out that many of us are being left far behind and to those countries,
these common goals are becoming increasingly distant. These goals include
the objectives defined in the areas of development, peace and security
and reform of the international system. To address and reverse this trend,
the Group would like to emphasize the following points.
First, the Millennium Declaration must be implemented in its entirety.
All its goals are equally important and should be given equal priority.
The goals as they stand do not negate one another. For example, development
and peace and security are inextricably interlinked. Security without
Sustainable development is inconceivable and there cannot be sustainable
development without sustainable peace.
We have seen the erosion of multilateralism in these areas. Our first
and foremost concern is that the issues of peace and security should
be addressed through strengthened multilateral policies and actions.
The borderless problems of our times require collective action, as enshrined
in the Charter of the United Nations and reaffirmed in the Millennium
Declaration.
Second, realization of the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally
agreed development goals require greater collaborative efforts by the
international community. The Millennium Declaration highlighted not only
our goals, but also our responsibilities which will help fulfill our
aspirations. Whereas developed nations were urged to honour their commitment
towards 0.7 per cent of their GNP towards ODA; developing nations were
urged to improve governance. We continue to improve our governance systems
and procedures, and expect developed countries to live up to their commitments
in ODA.
The simultaneous implementation of our goals will be possible only
if vital resources are made available. While some countries have met
their commitment to provide 0.7 per cent of their GNP as ODA, a large
number of developed countries have fallen far short of meeting this target.
At the same time debt relief remains inadequate as do access to the markets
of developed countries, especially in areas of export interest to developing
countries. Trade is now a main avenue of financial resources that can
help developing nation achieve their goals in development and yet we
continue to lack resources despite the promises. As a consequence, we
continue to lack the basic resources that can empower us to participate
fully in the global trading system.
Such trade policies have also contributed in denying the large number
of developing countries the benefits of globalization. Globalization
has brought with it many opportunities as well as challenges that are
unique to the current phase of this phenomenon. The lack of liberalization
in labour movement as compared to the significant progress in finical
liberalization are asymmetries that are contradictory and unacceptable
in a world that is becoming increasingly borderless in economic transactions.
To be able to address these challenges and help nations seize the opportunities
offered by globalization, the United Nations itself must be strengthened.
The United Nations has a strong role in identifying the challenges that
developing countries face and in supporting their enforce to design policies
to respond to the challenges. We therefore call on the international
community to provide the United Nations with resources that can enable
it to execute this role effectively, be it in the area of development,
peace- keeping, peace building or humanitarian affairs.
Mr. President,
Excellencies
and distinguished delegates,
The Millennium Declaration is no doubt important, but equally important
are the outcomes of other UN conferences and summits. These conferences
have addressed diverse issues such as social development, sustainable
development, advancement of women, financing for development, human rights
and advancing the rights of children. These conferences have provided
a rich global policy consensus in areas that impact various aspects of
our lives. It was the outcomes of these conferences that also laid the
foundation for the adoption of such a historic document like the Millennium
Declaration. The goals of conferences are intimately linked with the
objectives of the Declaration. For this reason, implementing these outcomes
is crucial to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. They
are the foundation on which the MDGs can be achieved. Therefore we, the
international community should try our very best to ensure that the implementation
and follow-up processes are pursued coherently through a comprehensive
framework.
We believe that in pursuing the implementation of the Millennium declaration
and the outcome of the major international conferences and summits, their
distinct identities should be maintained, while at the same time recognizing
the need for thematic coherence in the process. This will not only help
in promoting synergies and ensuring efficient utilization of resources,
but also lead to an optimal process of integrating the goals through
themes that are common to the outcomes of the summits and conferences.
Mr. President,
Excellencies and distinguished delegates,
The 2005 high level plenary will be critical to furthering our common
purpose. Therefore, at this meeting we should clearly identify those
obstacles that are impediments to implementing the outcomes of our conferences
and summits. At the same time we should recommend some concrete steps
that could overcome those challenges, and renew our commitment to achieving
our common goals.
While the Group of 77 and China will address the substantive issues
related to the 2005 meeting at the appropriate time, at this stage we
would like to comment on the modalities of the meeting.
The GA resolution 58/291 already states that the participation in the
high level plenary will be at the summit level. The Group also stresses
the importance of the participation of UN agencies, funds and programmes
as well as the international monetary, financial and trade institutions.
The Group supports the active participation of civil society including
NGOs and the business sector. Such participation should help in the process
of intergovernmental decision-making, in accordance with the relevant
General Assembly rules and procedures.
The Group would like to emphasize that a clear focus and priority should
be given to development issues and is of the view that there should be
a mix of plenary and interactive debates. Moreover, the preparatory process
should be inclusive, open-ended and transparent and; should benefit from
inputs coming in from different UN system-wide processes.
The Group feels that the outcome should be inter-governmentally negotiated.
The outcome should be all encompassing, emphasizing the implementation
of commitments of major UN conferences and Summits and the MDGs. It should
be action oriented and should have full ownership of the Member States.
The outcome should also reaffirm previous commitments and agreements
and not seek to renegotiate outcomes of previous conferences and summits.
As far as the timing of the High-level dialogue on financing for development
is concerned, the Group is of the view that this should have the high
level of participation from all stakeholders, it should be visible and
send a message of strong political commitment to this issue. We would
like to see the issue of financing closely interlinked with the development
agenda and for this purpose the dialogue should receive maximum attention
from our leaders and policy makers.
The suggestions made by the Secretary-General in his report in modalities
provide a good basis for further work in clarifying these details and
the Group looks forward to working on these issues under your leadership.
We are confident that the facilitators appointed by you, Mr. President,
will take into account the concerns of the Group of 77 and China.
Mr. President,
Excellencies and distinguished delegates,
The realization of the goals
of the Millennium Declaration have gained increasing importance in
the wake of the new realities that have emerged over the last years,
which were so eloquently defined by the Secretary-General in his seminal
address to the 57 th session of the General Assembly. He said that
we have come to a “fork in the road”,
and there is a need for action to address the challenges that confront
humanity. He also announced the establishment of a high level panel on
Threats, Challenges and Change and while doing so he said, “The
United Nations must confront all these threats and challenges – new
and old, “hard” and “soft”. It must be fully
engaged in the struggle for development and poverty eradication, starting
with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; in the common
struggle to protect our common environment; and in the struggle for human
rights, democracy and good governance.” We are looking forward
to the report of the panel, which we are confident will provide us with
concrete suggestions to address these challenges.
The Group believes that the 2005 meeting provides us with a historic
opportunity to strengthen multilateralism and to provide even stronger
basis for collective action against the threats to security and the menace
of poverty and underdevelopment. It is our duty to realize the dream
of the founders of this organization and that is to save the succeeding
generations from the scourge of war and to raise living standards of
humanity.
I thank you, Mr. President.
|
