Chairperson,
Distinguished Delegates,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The Group wishes to congratulate you on your election to the Chair and we are confident that under your guidance and leadeship the work of the Commission will achieve its objectives. We also extend congratulations to the other members of the bureau on their election.

The Group welcomes this opportunity to address the 42ND Session of the Commission on Population and Development, we thank the Secretariat for the preparation and presentation of the reports submitted to aid our debate.  

We also wish to thank the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs for the materials that inform and guide our deliberations.

Chairperson,

The Group of 77 and China firmly believes that the goals and objectives set out in the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action, as well as in other outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits, provide a comprehensive framework for international development. The implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action is crucial for the eradication of extreme poverty as well as the achievement of the other Millennium Development Goals. The group believes that population issues must be addressed in a comprehensive manner as outlined in the ICPD Programme of Action.

Chairperson,

Today, we see that the poorest people have the least access to social services. When it comes to education and health, it is the poorest who continue to be left behind. There is no question regarding the primary responsibility of the State for the welfare of its people and the Group is committed to take bold steps in the fight against poverty and suffering. The ability of developing countries to do so is hampered by other imperatives. Speedier and deeper debt relief, along with increased flows of ODA, and fairer terms of trade will further enable developing countries to make greater progress in meeting their needs and hopes for a better future.

Chairperson,

Over the years, the Group of 77 and China has emphasized that the relationships between international migration and development are numerous and extremely complex, and mutually reinforce each other.  The current era of increased global economic integration, quicker and cheaper transport, high mobility of people, and information and communication technology, provides a new context within which the movement of people between countries takes place and should be understood.

Chairperson,

The G77 and China has noted with concern that the resources directed towards the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development has been consistently below target.  To address this concern, the G77 and China would like to appeal to donors, UN organizations and other international organizations to enhance their financial and technical support to developing countries, including in the field of capacity building.

In addition G77 and China supports the principle of a multi-year work programme with a two year planning horizon, as we believe it will add further value to the work of the commission, and will improve our focus on meeting the internationally agreed development goals.  The group will continue to participate in the debate on the working methods of the commission.
Chairperson,

The Programme of Action points out that mobilization of adequate resources at the national level as well as new and additional resources to developing countries from all available funding mechanisms, including multilateral, bilateral and private sources is critical for implementation of the actions contained therein.  The G77 and China is pleased with the significant increase in funding for HIV/AIDS activities within the last several years, but hastens to draw attention to the need for the full implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, has a direct impact on the ability to achieve the MDGs linked to health and social and economic outcomes in the areas of children, mothers, HIV/AIDS, gender, poverty and employment.  In the context of population and development, those MDG targets aimed at reducing by half the proportion of people living in poverty by 2015 and at achieving significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020, are even more significant.

Finally, Madam Chair, the G77 and China wishes to commend the work of the UN Population Division and the role it plays in follow-up of the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action.  We also wish to acknowledge the United Nations Population Fund for its continued support to building the capacity of developing countries for population planning and management activities including in the areas of national policy formulation, data collection, research and advocacy.

I thank you Chairperson.