STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA BY MRS. NORMA TAYLOR ROBERTS, PERMANENT MISSION OF JAMAICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON THE ORGANIZATION OF WORK OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE RESUMED FIFTY-NINTH SESSION OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY (New York, 7 March 2005)

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

The Group takes this opportunity to commend you and the other members of the Bureau for the manner in which you have guided our deliberations to date. We also wish to thank you and the members of the Committee for the hard work, commitment and spirit of co-operation shown during the main part of the 59th Session. We further wish to express our appreciation to the members of the Secretariat for their collaborative efforts and support throughout our negotiations. We have shown that through our collective efforts the Committee was able to achieve a great deal more than it had achieved in preceding sessions.

I would like to assure you of the Group's fullest co-operation in achieving our common objectives in the interest of Member States and the Organization.

Mr. Chairman,

We also convey our thanks to you and the Bureau for providing us with the draft program of work and the status of preparedness of the documentation.

Concerning the status of documentation, the Group notes that, although most of the documents have already been prepared for previous sessions, there are still outstanding reports for items to be considered at this Session. We regret that we once more have to express our concern regarding the lateness of documentation which affects timely preparation and the effectiveness of the work of the Committee especially regarding time-bound issues.

The Group of 77 and China draws to attention also that the decision on items either to be considered or deferred rests with the Committee. We expect that the pertinent documentation will be prepared and submitted in keeping with the mandates given by the General Assembly.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group of 77 and China stresses the importance of allocating adequate time to the priority items to ensure their successful conclusion and we stand ready to make the necessary adjustments to the proposed programme of work as required.

In this connection, I wish to make specific reference to the item on Administration of Justice at the United Nations and to state that the Group of 77 and China is of the view that priority should be accorded to this item on which there are fundamental policy issues that have been awaiting consideration by the Committe well before the main part of the 59th Session. We consequently look forward to an in-depth discussion on this item during the coming weeks.

Mr. Chairman,

The Group of 77 and China attaches great importance to the item on the review of the regular programme of technical assistance and the Development Account, and expects that the outstanding policy issues relating to the effective implementation of programmes and projects will be given adequate consideration at this session. We trust that the Advisory Committee will be able to provide us with an input when we consider the item in this session.

Regarding agenda item 114 on the redeployment of the 50 posts experiment, the Group regrets that the report of the Secretary General has to date not been issued, in order to enable Member States to have a meaningful consideration and assessment of the feasibility of the project.

Under item 108, concerning the Capital Master Plan (CMP), the Group trusts that the Secretariat will be able to provide the Committee with an update on the administrative costs for the Project when it considers this item later in the session. It will be recalled that the Group requested this information in the main part of the 59th Session and still deems it necessary for any well-informed consideration of the immediate costs associated with the design development phase of the CMP.

Mr. Chairman,

In conclusion, the Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate its assurance of full co-operation and wish you the very best for a successful conclusion of the Session.

I thank you.