Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda item 118: Revised estimates relating to the progrmamme budget for the biennium 2008-2009 under sections related to business continuity management.

2. The Group of 77 and China would like to thank Assistant Secretary-General for the Office of Central Support Services Mr. Warren Sach for introducing the Secretary-General's report (A/63/359). We also wish to thank Chairperson of ACABQ Ms. Susan McLurg for introducing the report of the Advisory Committee.

Mr. Chairman,

3. We are cognizant of the multiplicity of risks currently facing the United Nations and its increasing dependency on information technology systems. We attach importance to business continuity management and support the strengthening of the United Nations' ability to respond to risks and to maintain continuity of critical business processes following disruptive events, such as a pandemic influenza outbreak. We note the overall approach relating to business continuity management as proposed by the Secretary-General and the progress that has been achieved so far.

4. The Group of 77 and China continues to believe that, in order to ensure the business continuity management including the health and safety of its staff, the United Nations needs to formulate a comprehensive, unified and multi-hazards approach. We share the views of ACABQ on the necessity for the Secretariat to draw upon the experience of other United Nations entities in formulating its business continuity strategy, ensure cooperation with host country authorities at all duty stations, and avoid a piecemeal approach to business continuity requirements. Hence, we concur with the views of ACABQ that the Secretary-General should pursue this issue within the framework of CEB and that the approach set out in the report of the Secretary-General requires further development and justification.

5. The Group of 77 and China would like the Secretariat to further clarify on a couple of issues. One is on the complementarities and the close linkages between disaster recovery for information technology and business continuity management, especially in the light of the adoption by the General Assembly of the resolution on ICT and ERP. Another one is on the proposed additional resource requirements relating to the development of telecommuting capabilities and remote access for staff with regard to how it is going to function and who is intended to utilize this technology. We would like to know how the Secretariat intends to achieve economies of scale through coordination among organizations within the United Nations system on relevant issues, including the use of backup centres for information and communications technology, the commissioning of consultants, the procurement of specialized equipment and medical supplies and training.

6. We generally agree with the observations and recommendations of ACABQ on non-post resources such as the acquisition of medical supplies and donation of vaccines before they reach their date of expiration. We also concur with ACABQ that in the event of possible future requirements for business continuity management, the Secretary-General should submit a fully justified request form post and non-post resources in the context of the proposed programme budget.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.