STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. STAFFORD NEIL, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF JAMAICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND CHAIRMAN OF THE GROUP OF 77, AT THE INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS ON THE MODALITIES FOR THE HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT (New York, 11 May 2005)

Mr President,

On behalf of the G77 and China, I wish to thank you and your Facilitator for the draft resolution before us this afternoon. The process in which we are engaged is critical and the Group is committed to playing its part in ensuring the successful outcome of our deliberations as we prepare for the High Level Dialogue on Financing for Development. Against this background, I wish to draw your attention to some issues of importance to the Group.

Role of UNCTAD

We have noted the lack of any explicit role for the UNCTAD in the High Level Dialogue. We regard the UNCTAD as one of the major player in the financing for development process, as witnessed during the recent High Level meeting of the ECOSOC with the BWIs, the WTO and the UNCTAD. For this reason, we believe this is an omission which should be corrected and urge the insertion of the UNCTAD in operative paragraph 4(a) and operative paragraph 7 of the text.

Regional Development and Financial Institutions

Mr President,

The G77 and China believes that regional development and financial institutions can contribute to the discussions to be undertaken in the context of the High Level Dialogue. We would therefore propose that specific reference be made to regional development and financial institutions in operative paragraph 4 (b) and specifically to regional development banks in operative paragraph 7, to complement the references in both paragraphs to the role being played by regional and international intergovernmental organs in High Level Dialogue.

The Outcome

Mr President,

We note that from operative paragraph 15 the proposed outcome of the High Level Dialogue is a Presidential Summary. We would have preferred a more substantive outcome from this process but in view of the many significant processes underway in 2005, we consider this as a reasonable alternative.
Other observations

Mr President,

We wish to address operative paragraph 6 which invites Governments to enhance coordination among different ministries as well as central banks and other national stakeholders for the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus. We believe that this is an important issue and acknowledge that the text, as presented, reflects agreed language from past resolutions. We question, however, the relevance in the context of the modalities of the High Level Dialogue. We believe that this level of detail is better suited for a resolution to address the more substantive issues related to financing for development. With this mind and in keeping with the need to maintain the focus of this resolution on the modalities for the meeting, we would propose the deletion of the paragraph.

We also note some inconsistencies in the language used for the participation of representatives from the business sector and private sector in the High Level Dialogue, in the chapeau of operative paragraph 8 and in the text of operative paragraph 9. We believe there should be uniformed language and suggest that this be remedied by using one reference, that of 'business sector entities.'

We would also wish to make a small amendment with respect to operative paragraph 13 which requests the Secretary General to make available at the High Level Dialogue, relevant inputs related to financing for development. We would wish to request the insertion of 'institutional' before the reference to stakeholders in the text, to avoid any confusion as to whom the reference is directed.

We note from operative paragraph 9 that the informal interactive hearings with representatives of NGOs, civil society organisations and business sector entities will be held on 23 and 24 June, the same days as the hearings for the High Level Plenary meeting in September. We would appreciate some clarification on the proposed modalities for such an arrangement, bearing in mind the difference in subject matter between the two meetings.

Finally Mr President, I draw your attention to operative paragraph 14 which invites countries to report on their efforts to implement the Monterrey Consensus. We would appreciate some clarification as to the expected outcome of such an exercise, especially since there is no indication of what happens once the reports are submitted and in what context will they be considered.

I thank you Mr President.