Mr. President,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the G-77 and China under agenda item 42 (a): Report of the Economic and Social Council Substantive Session of 2009.

Mr. President,

The Group of 77 and China welcomes the report on the work of the Economic and Social Council during 2009. Let me express first, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, our gratitude to the Her Excellency Ambassador Sylvie Lucas of Luxembourg, the President of ECOSOC, for the leadership provided by her and members of the ECOSOC Bureau during the entire year, most particularly during the substantive session of ECOSOC.  We take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to all the Facilitators of draft resolutions for their great efforts in reaching consensus on very difficult issues.  

Mr. President,

The 2009 has been a critically relevant year to the work of the ECOSOC. A string of multiple crises has placed United Nations at the centre stage of global discourse and policy responses.  

The current economic and financial crisis, food security, climate change and energy, have re-emphasized the centrality of inclusive multilateralism as well as the unparalleled convening role and legitimacy of the United Nations in this regard. The world body must step up to the challenge.  

Mr. President,

ECOSOC has indeed made important contributions to the work of the United Nations in addressing these challenges. The Spring Meeting with the Bretton Woods Institutions, the WTO and UNCTAD was an important opportunity for discussion of international financial crisis and its impact on development. The Group believes that the current crisis has further highlighted the urgent need for a substantive and comprehensive reform of the international economic and financial system and architecture, and stressed that International Financial Institutions, in particular, must have a clear development orientations. The Group of 77 and China will continue working towards making the Spring Meeting of ECOSOC more relevant and productive.

Mr. President,

We are concerned that the implementation of agreed commitments continues to be the Achilles heel of UN development agenda. The decisions of the 2005 UN Summit encapsulated the agreed commitments of all Member States on development. These commitments include the MDGs, but also other development goals internationally agreed upon during the series of major international conferences and summits held over the past decade - the Monterrey Consensus on FfD, the Doha Trade Conference, the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and more recently, the High Level Conference on the International Economic and Financial Crisis and its Impact on Development.  

Mr. President,

The adoption by consensus of Ministerial Declaration on the theme of global public health by the ECOSOC Substantive Session this year was a major landmark. The Council's Declaration has called for concerted action on critical issues related to global health, and the need to strengthen international cooperation.

The Ministerial Declaration augurs well for the strengthened ECOSOC and is considered groundbreaking in many ways. It paves the road forward for taking concerted action on many critical issues related to global public health.  It calls for the strengthening of international cooperation to confront unforeseen threats and epidemics, such as the current H1N1 pandemic, and for strengthening political will to achieve MDGs 4 and 5.

Most importantly, the Declaration acknowledges the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on developing countries, and calls for strengthening the global partnership for development.  It further stresses that international cooperation and assistance, in particular external funding, need to become more predictable and better-aligned with national priorities. The G-77 and China believes that securing a conducive international environment is imperative for the achievement of the MDGs, and is critical for assisting our global efforts to advance global public health.  The G77 and China looks forward to the full and effective implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on Global Public Health.

Mr. President,

The Economic and Social Council has indeed taken further strides towards its strengthening by convening the Annual Ministerial Reviews (AMR)  which is evolving into an effective forum for the exchange of experiences and best practices, and also in helping shed light on the obstacles facing countries in achieving the MDGs, and exploring ways and means to over come these obstacles.

The number of presentations by developing countries, and the depth and diversity of the issues discussed in their presentations is a clear signal to the seriousness with which developing countries are approaching the AMR.  We look forward to a greater level of participation by the developed world to further enhance the AMR and its outcomes.

The G-77 and China equally believes that the AMR can further be enriched by the contribution and active engagement of the UN funds, programs, and agencies, in addition to the international financial and economic institutions.

The Group has always maintained that the Council should seek to make the AMR and the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) action and result oriented.  We believe that the AMR would be more fruitful if its themes could emerge from the information and data provided by the functional and regional commissions with a view to monitor the implementation of development goals and commitments.

Mr. President,

The G-77 and China welcomes the adoption by ECOSOC of the decision, which had set in motion a process to conclude the discussion of UNFF 8 on the means of implementation for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), and the G77 and China welcomes the consensus agreement reached recently pertaining to the Mean of Implementation for Sustainable Forest Management.

The G-77 and China firmly believes that without the necessary financing, the Global Objectives on Forests and non-legally binding instrument on all forests will be empty words.  Furthermore, inadequate funding diminishes the effectiveness of the UNFF as an international forum for the implementation of sustainable forest management.

Mr. President,

We equally welcome the agreements reached during this session on key mandates on the Economic and Financial Crisis Outcome document.  We have made progress and set in motion the process for fulfilling our responsibilities on the Global Job Pact, the implementation of agreement with Bretton Woods Institutions, Promotion and enhancement of the United Nations Development system and the Ad Hoc Panel of Experts. We look forward to further progress in the matter.

We hope that the Council can redouble its work on constructing global policy responses to development challenges. The Group of 77 and China will remain constructively engaged in this effort.

I thank you.