STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP OF 77 AND CHINA BY MRS. NORMA TAYLOR ROBERTS, DEPUTY PERMAMENT REPRESENTATIVE OF JAMAICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS, TO THE COORDINATION SEGMENT OF ECOSOC: TOWARDS ACHIEVING INTERNATIONALLY AGREED DEVELOPMENT GOALS, INCLUDING THOSE CONTAINED IN THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION (New York, 6 July 2005)

Mr. President,

I wish to thank you on behalf of the Group of 77 and China for introducing the item before us. We also thank the Assistant-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs for introducing the report of the Secretary-General (E/2005/56).

The Group of 77 and China is pleased to participate in this Session of ECOSOC and more specifically in this Coordination Segment as we look at the results of the various Summits and Conferences and plot a path to advancing implementation of their decisions within the targeted timeframes. General Assembly resolution 57/270B sets the framework for the work of ECOSOC in this area and the Group of 77 calls for its full implementation.

The internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs constitute the focus of the work of the United Nations in the field of development. These goals cover a range of diverse and complex issues which fall under the responsibility of different bodies in the UN system. Analysis, however, from the perspective of the actions required to implement them, suggests that there are many common themes and cross cutting issues. Coordination has therefore emerged as a central issue.

The Secretary-General has recognized this in his report entitled “Towards Achieving Internationally Agreed Development Goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration.”

The Group of 77 and China would like to stress the importance of the regional dimension of the work of the United Nations to support the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs.

Mr. President,

It seems that an effort has begun to effect this greater coordination. This year’s report to ECOSOC by the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), entitled “One United Nations” illustrates some collaborative initiatives and actions being undertaken by the System. Further, the Secretary-General’s report highlights the approach to coordination and strategic planning being pursued by the three Rome-based agencies – FAO, IFAD and WFP – through the United Nations System Network in Rural Development and Food Security.

The Group of 77 and China supports the general direction towards greater coordination and urges focused attention on implementation.

We would like to draw attention to two issues on which the Group has expressed itself on several occasions and which are reflected in the CEB report.

First, while the need for coordination has been recognized, the overall UN system and the constituent organizations have not yet internalized the cultural and organizational change required to give operational effect to such coordination. One constraint might be the tendency to continue to assess and even to fund the system and the various parts on the basis of specific programme, in some cases project, outputs. This results in a competitive relationship among the organizations as they compete for declining resources. This situation is made worse as an increasing proportion of the Organization’s (system wide) budget is funded from voluntary resources. In that situation, agencies – the constituent parts of the Organization – are not only forced to compete among themselves, but the programmes or elements of them which are implemented, are influenced significantly by donor objectives and preferences.

Second, the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs requires coordination, coherence and collaboration not only within the UN system, narrowly defined, but also with the other multilateral institutions including the Bretton Woods institutions (BWIs), WTO and UNCTAD.

The Group of 77 and China would like to stress once more the significance of the annual meeting with the Bretton Woods institutions, WTO and UNCTAD and the strengthening of this process.

Mr. President,

The higher level of coordination across the system places an even greater requirement on ECOSOC, given its role as the central mechanism for system-wide coordination. It is at this level and given the opportunity for all to participate – Governments, the constituent parts of the UN system, the BWIs, WTO, UNCTAD, Civil Society and the Private Sector – that issues can be discussed comprehensively and programmes can be evaluated from all perspectives.

Coordination and collaboration require a coordinated approach to the budget and to a higher percentage of resources being available for programming. An appropriate system of evaluation and accountability would have to be devised. The present financing arrangements and practice in some of the institutions make the required level of coordination, coherence and collaboration difficult.

It is however essential that efforts be made to bring the BWIs not only under improved governance structures but also in closer collaboration with the UN system. It is an issue which should be addressed by the High-Level Plenary since the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs, the objectives and schedules leaders set, will depend in significant measure on this.

Mr. President,

Another important issue is the need for ECOSOC to further address the long term reconstruction and rehabilitation of countries in post-conflict situations.

Concerning the future programme of work of the coordination segment of ECOSOC, the Group of 77 and China is ready to continue to engage constructively in the negotiations of a multi-year programme of work.

I thank you.