Mr. Co-Chairs:
The Group of 77 and China and the Non-Aligned Movement welcome your appointment as Co-Chairs of the consultations to consider the Report of the High Level Panel on United Nations System Wide Coherence. We are very confident of your able leadership and fully trust that you will guide the process in an open, transparent and inclusive manner.
Let me at the outset reiterate the willingness of both Groups to engage constructively in the process set up by the President of the General Assembly to facilitate an intergovernmental consideration of the recommendations emanating from the High-Level Panel’s Report and the Secretary-General’s comments thereon to ensure sufficient ‘buy in’ and support from all stakeholders in order to make the process fully owned and successful.
We reaffirm all the elements stated by the Joint Coordinating Committee of G-77 and NAM during the plenary meeting of the General Assembly on April 16th. Consequently, we reiterate the preliminary views of both Groups on the Report that were conveyed in the letter addressed to the Secretary-General by the Chairs of the two Groups on March 19, 2007. A copy of this letter is available in this room for all delegations.
On behalf of the JCC, we would also like to point out that as regards the process the JCC has conveyed to the President its position as follows:
- Both groupings would prefer an integrated process instead of a divided one. Our position on this approach could evolve further, depending on the results of the consultations.
- Funding, development and governance will be areas of priority interest for both groups.
- No a priori decision with regard to when decisions will be taken on the Panel report; this should flow from the consultations. In other words there should not be any artificial deadlines.
Likewise, let me stress once again what was stated in the joint letter of G-77 and NAM that the implementation of recommendations contained in the report should follow intergovernmental consideration and agreement by the General Assembly.
Mr. Co-Chairs:
The JCC expects the inclusion of some important elements in the overall discussion that you will conduct. Among those elements we want to emphasize the following:
- We reaffirm that economic and social development should remain the centerpiece of deliberations at the UN, and that the achievement of the Internationally Agreed Development Goals, including the MDGs, should continue to be the over-arching framework of the UN activities. We further emphasize the need for a strengthened global partnership for development, based on recognition of national leadership and ownership of national strategies that were acknowledged by the High Level Panel.
- We reiterate, as also advocated by the High Level Panel, our position that development cooperation should be demand-driven and be pursued on the basis of the national strategies and plans of developing countries. The JCC has always emphasized that UN development cooperation should be voluntary and grant-based in nature and that there should be no “one size-fits all” approach. The nature of development cooperation should be responsive to the specific needs, priorities and conditions of each country. The JCC would not support the introduction of new conditionalities through the reform process.
- For JCC, General Assembly resolution 59/250 remains the intergovernmentally agreed guiding policy framework for addressing the UN operational activities for development. It is relevant that this resolution stresses that reform efforts should enhance organizational efficiency and achieve concrete development results and that the value of UN operational activities for development should be assessed on the basis of their impact on the recipient countries. The JCC believes that reforms of UN operational activities for development should be aimed at ensuring both the efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of assistance. It should not be merely a cost-cutting exercise.
- It cannot be denied that the most important component for operational activities for development is an expanding and adequate source of funding based on development assistance from the UN system and other sources that is responsive to the national development plans and programmes of countries.
Before moving on to a more substantive and detailed futurediscussion of the various aspects and recommendations of the Report, we wish to add the following preliminary and general elements of the JCC position:
- The fundamental characteristics of UN operational activities for development must remain, inter alia, of a universal, voluntary and grant nature, neutral and multilateral, and able to respond to the development needs of program countries in a flexible manner.
- While there are a number of useful recommendations in the report, some areas of the Panel’s Report may have touched uponissues, such as human rights, gender and sustainable development as cross-cutting issues in the context of UN operational activities for development. While these issues are not confined onlyto developing countries, the Group has concerns that these issues,as well as humanitarian assistance, mightbe misused to introduce new conditionalities on international development assistance which is not acceptable to developing countries.
- Developing countries have a great interest in a fair, rules-based international system. The enhanced UN system-wide coherence envisaged as a result of this collective exercise should strengthen the standard-setting role of our Organization in order to reinforce its normative capacities.
Mr. Co-Chairs:
Finally, let me reiterate that there should be no rush to take decisions against artificial deadlines. We will participate actively and constructively in this process. We hope all delegations will do the same, taking into account the need to give better contribution to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs.
Thank you,