STATEMENT BY H.E. M. MOHAMMED EL YAZGHI, MINISTER OF TERRITORY, DEVELOPMENT, WATER AND ENVIRONMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO, ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA, AT THE 11TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (New York, 28 April 2003)

Mr. Chairman,

On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I would like to congratulate you, as well as the other members of the Bureau, for your election to chair this highly important session of our Commission.

We would like also to commend the Secretariat for its appreciated efforts in producing a highly qualitative report which we consider a good basis for further discussion.

Mr. Chairman.

This session is taking place few months after the World Summit on Sustainable Development has put sustainable development and the environment back on the public and political agendas when globalization, while offering chances for development, continues, at the moment, in deepening inequalities between the poor and the rich.

It is regrettable to witness nowadays that poverty and hunger still afflict more than a billion of people; climate change is destabilizing many Nations; millions of children continue to die due to lack of access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation; deadly diseases continue to take millions of lives; and the gap between the poor and the rich continues to widen.

Such degrading situation finds its root cause mainly in the absence of a real willingness on the part of the international community to set up action-oriented strategies together with reliable means of implementation in order to effectively fulfill the jointly agreed sustainable development goals and targets. In this regard, and given the interaction between development and international peace, we would like to emphasize that durable security and stability are indispensable prerequisites for the attainment of sustainable development goals and targets and global prosperity, in conformity with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations.

Presently, the international community has at its disposal a solid and comprehensive repertoire of commitments pertaining to sustainable development goals and targets. What is critically needed now is how to turn these commitments into reality in order to put an end to global poverty and hunger and to renew respect for the environment so as to ensure a prosperous and promising world for the future generations.

The implementation track that we have chosen in the follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development implies the urgent need of the exploration of effective, durable, reliable and measurable means of implementation of commitments on sustainable development goals and targets while ensuring accountability of global partnership.

Mr. Chairman,

We believe that through practical, transparent and simple future modalities and a focused feasible, effective and action-oriented program of work, our Commission will be in a position to fulfill its vitally important role and function as the high-level Commission on sustainable development within the United Nations system and consequently serve as a viable forum for consideration of issues related to integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development.

In this regard, and in response to the wish of the Chair to focus our Statements on the future modalities and work program of the Commission on Sustainable development, I would like to highlight, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, the following points:

- We would like to reiterate that Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, the program for further implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation which constitute a solid and indivisible repertoire of commitments provide the basic comprehensive framework for the future program of work of the Commission on sustainable development.

- The program of work which needs to combine predictability and some flexibility should reflect the relationships between issues and the relevant means of implementation as well as the responsibility of the different actors involved in the process of implementation. We believe that addressing means of implementation as a cross-cutting issue in every cycle and for every theme, action and commitment is of paramount importance to ensure an effective durable and measurable implementation of sustainable development targets.

- We would like to reiterate in this context that while the primary focus of implementation remains at the national level, it should be recalled that Johannesburg Declaration and the Plan of Implementation strongly emphasized commitments to multilateralism and the urgent need for a more focused practical approach for the implementation of Agenda 21 through the reinforcement of the international community support and the provision of the required means of implementation.

- It is important to recall in this respect that the Plan of implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development stated clearly that adequate and reliable financing is indispensable for the achievement of sustainable development goals. Indeed the Plan emphasizes that "the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration and Agenda 21, as well as in the Plan of action, will require significant increases in the flow of financial resources as elaborated in the Monterrey Consensus, including through new and additional financial resources, in particular to developing countries, to support the implementation of national policies and programs developed by them, improved trade opportunities, access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, education and awareness-raising, capacity-building and information for decision-making and scientific capabilities within the agreed time frame required to meet these goals and initiatives".

- In this context, while recognizing the importance of enhancing partnerships between governmental and non-governmental actors, including major groups, on programs and activities for the achievement of sustainable development, the Group would like to underline the following remarks:

" Partnerships should be considered as complementary instruments to enhance the process of implementation but not as a substitute for the intergovernmental commitments contained in Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of implementation;
" Contribution of partnerships to the process of implementation should be balanced, effective, relevant and focused on concrete results, in accordance with the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation;
" Review of the implementation process should be presented in a transparent manner that also include achievements by the different actors involved in partnerships;
" UN agencies involvement in partnerships should conform to the intergovernmental agreed mandates and not lead to diversion of resources otherwise allocated for intergovernmental agreed priorities;
" It is necessary to define parameters that will govern and guide partnerships and in this context guiding principles for partnerships would require further elaboration in the CSD.

- In defining the scope of our future joint action, it is of paramount importance to give due consideration to the fact that eradicating poverty is the greatest challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, particularly for developing countries. Therefore, we strongly believe that poverty eradication as well as sustainable consumption and production patterns, with developed countries taking the lead, education, science and technology and health should be addressed in every cycle as part of the consideration of the main themes, where relevant.

- Africa, Small Island developing States and other regional initiatives as well as the least developing countries should be given special focus in every cycle with respect to all relevant themes, actions and targets.

- With regard to the issues to be retained during the implementation cycles, we believe that the focus should be on areas where the Commission could add value to the cross-sectoral and sectoral issues and provide a forum for better integration of policies with the various dimensions and sectors of sustainable development.

- The Group is of the view that the issues and sectors identified in Agenda 21 and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation can be considered within a program of action and a time framework, with special focus on poverty eradication, means of implementation, globalization, sustainable consumption and production patterns.

- In relation to the new organization of work of our Commission, it should be underlined that if the deliberations of the first ten years of the CSD failed to meet the expectations, it was not primarily due to organizational aspects but mainly due to the failure of the international community to fulfill the intergovernmental agreed commitments. The focus on implementation of the Johannesburg Plan of Action calls indeed for a new adaptation of the CSD methods of work through the adoption of a practical approach during our deliberations in order to ensure a real and effective implementation of the outcomes of the WSSD.

- Therefore, those deliberations should focus primarily on the evaluation of the progress achieved in the attainment of WSSD goals and targets with the aim to identify action-oriented recommendations to enhance and expedite the implementation of those targets. We would like to emphasize in this respect that the Commission's high level segment should be structured in a way to ensure an effective and productive ministerial engagement in the CSD process. The high-level segment should also constitute an interactive and focused dialogue with the aim to reaching action-oriented recommendations to overcome the obstacles in the process of implementation with the aim to enhance the process of implementation.

- In this regard, we would like to emphasize that the overarching objective of the two year cycle should be the implementation of WSSD outcomes. Therefore, the cycles should be structured in a simple effective and efficient manner while avoiding the proliferation of unnecessary meetings.

- The first year of the cycle should review the progress in the implementation of commitments, targets and goals pertaining to sustainable development in order to identify constraints and obstacles during the implementation process.

- In this respect, the report of the Secretary general on the review of implementation should be comprehensive and based on national reporting, outcomes of regional implementation meetings and inputs from other relevant stakeholders. In this regard, it should be recalled that the United Nations regional Commissions primary role should consist in enhancing the implementation of regionally and sub-regionally agreed sustainable development programs and projects through the mobilization of technical and financial assistance and the facilitation of the provision of adequate financing for their implementation. Besides, the regional and sub-regional implementation of sustainable development should be pursued in conformity with Agenda 21 and JPOI.

- The review and assessment of the implementation of actions, commitments and targets of all issues and sectors should be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of Agenda 21, the program for further implementation of Agenda 21, JPOI and the outcome of specific CSD sessions as well as the Rio principles. Review of the implementation process should be presented in a transparent manner that should include achievements by the different actors involved in partnerships.

- We would like to underline in this regard the importance of a substantive outcome of the review year, an outcome that should comprise a comprehensive report of the CSD review session, that should comprise the identified constraints in the implementation process of Agenda 21 and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

- The second year should be devoted to the adoption of decisions on how to overcome constraints and obstacles in the process of implementation.

Mr. Chairman,

We remain convinced that it is only through an effective and accountable process of implementation of the specific goals and time-bound targets that we can, together, translate sustainable development objectives from abstract concepts to reality. In this respect, we would like to encourage the constructive ongoing dialogue within the General Assembly in order to ensure an effective integrated follow up to and the implementation of major UN conferences and Summits since the Millennium Declaration.

The Group of 77 and China would like to reiterate its determination and good willingness to engage constructively and positively into a discussion aiming at exploring the best ways and means allowing a tangible and effective implementation of the jointly agreed commitments with regard to sustainable development. We are convinced that under your able leadership and wisdom the outcome of the 11th session of the Commission on sustainable development will set up a real implementation track that will ensure an effective and concrete follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.