Mr. Chairman

1. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on the organization of work of the 5th Committee at its second part of the sixty third sessions.

2. It has become both, a practice and a principle of work of the Group of 77 and China to support the Chairman and the Bureau of the Fifth Committee to ensure the smooth functioning of the Committee. The Group would like to reiterate these traditions, particularly during this session.

3. The Group was expecting the Bureau to unanimously propose a program of work for consideration and endorsement by the Committee, but regrettably this is not the case at this moment.

4. The Group is frustrated by the fact that the endeavors to pluck out some agenda items from their normal and legal context and to implant them somewhere else in the Program of Work have hindered the smooth work of the Bureau as well as the work of the Committee. We refer here to the agenda items 117: Report of the IAAC on the vacant posts in the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), 121: Pattern of conferences and 132: COEs/ TCC rates of reimbursement.

5. The G77 fails to understand the rational of these attempts, when it is clear that Rules of Procedures of the General Assembly and its Main Commissions are the main guideline for structuring any program of work of the body.

6. The Group of 77 and China will be ready to endorse a Program of Work for this week subject that it has been formulated in the right and legal way according to the following:

a. Report of the IAAC on the Vacant Posts in the OIOS (A/63/737) was issued under agenda item 117: Review of efficiency of the administrative and financial functions of the United Nations and introduced during the First resumed session under the same agenda item, there for the Committee should conduct its consultations on this report in the context of the agenda item under which it was introduced.

b. Agenda item 121 Pattern of Conference: should be maintained as an independent agenda item and any report related to this agenda item should be discussed under it. The Secretary General Report (A63/735) was issued under agenda item: pattern of Conferences and therefore it should be introduced and discussed under this agenda item and not under Cross-cutting Issues.

c. Secretary General Report  (A/63/697) on the rates of reimbursement to troop contributing countries was issued upon the request of the General Assembly in it resolution 62/252 on: the Reformed procedures for determining reimbursement to Member States for contingent-owned equipment, and it was not requested by a Cross-cutting Resolution, therefore it should be introduced and discussed independently. The Group is also for having a separate resolution on TCC's as it had always been in Fifth Committee.

Mr. Chairman

7. In conclusion, the Group of 77 reiterates its readiness and willingness to endorse a revised program of work that accommodates these observations. Moreover, the Group will not be in a position to endorse the programme of work beyond the first week, since, as it is the practice, it will be subject to changes following the evolution of the general debates and informal consultations in the current session.

Thank you.