STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA BY MRS. NORMA TAYLOR ROBERTS, PERMANENT MISSION OF JAMAICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, ON AGENDA ITEMS 114 AND 123 IN RELATION TO THE MATTER OF SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND SEXUAL ABUSE, DURING THE SECOND PART OF THE RESUMED 59TH SESSION OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY (New York, 20 May 2005)

Madam Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on agenda items 114 and 123 in relation to the matter of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. The Group wishes to thank Ms. Rosemary McCreery, Ms. Barbara Dixon and Mr. Warren Sach for their introduction of the respective reports. We also thank the Chairman of the ACABQ for his oral report on this issue.

The Group of 77 and China is very concerned over the reports of cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by personnel deployed in peacekeeping missions. This is even more disturbing considering that the total number of allegations registered in 2004 was more than double the number reported in the previous year as pointed out in the Secretary-General's report A/59/782 and the Group affirms that there can be no excuses or compromises for such misconduct.

The Group notes the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General towards implementing measures to discourage the occurrence of sexual exploitation and abuse and to facilitate the response, reporting and investigation of such incidents when they occur.

We have also taken note of the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the recommendations which address primarily the administrative and managerial policies and guidelines and the system for implementation of such policies.

The report of the Advisor to the Secretary-General on this question, His Royal Highness Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Permanent Representative of Jordan has pointed to various dimensions of the problem, the resolution of which will require a comprehensive strategy to eliminate future sexual exploitation and abuse. Consequently, Madam Chair, the Group of 77 and China look forward to examining the proposals of the Secretary-General and the observations of the ACABQ during the informal consultations.

I thank you.